Will cubicles be a distant memory for today’s workforce? Will the expense of office space and the tremendous burden of employee benefits be a thing of the past for modern day businesses?
The reality is, for thousands of people, this change has already occurred. Internet based 'Service Auctions' now abound where businesses can post their ongoing jobs or one-time projects to a global market of freelance professionals, a.k.a. - 'Service Providers'.
The service providers then bid on the work, adorn the bid with their 'pitch' and online portfolio and voila! What commonly takes weeks to accomplish and thousands of dollars in payroll and advertising revenue... can take a business as little as a day with no overhead costs at all.
Another advantage to this reverse auction model is the feedback system. Providers are rated by previous buyers who have used their service. Generally a buyer can review a providers resume, portfolio, job history, references AND their feedback reviews with a click of a mouse.
It can be a challenge for new service providers to jump in on these job sites without any previous feedback to grace their bids with the coveted five star rating. But once that first project or two is under their belt, it is absolutely possible to make a successful freelance career via these types of job sites.
Many freelancers have found their best long-term clients from these boards and only utilize the system for a short time. Others use them continually and some work with a team of professionals to juggle the work that they are awarded.
There is no doubt that the Global Work Marketplace is here to stay and is every day expanding. It is a win-win for businesses and workers.
Businesses get the advantage of a global array of workers to choose from. The benefit from harvesting the talent of workers in different states that often isn't available locally. There are tremendous savings from office space, benefits, and HR staff costs etcetera. Often times there are time zone advantages, particularly for internet based businesses that have online chats available to their customers and want those 'manned' 24 hours a day. Or software companies who want to provide technical support 24 hours a day.
For the workers, the number one advantage is working from their home office. Eliminating costs of commuting, wardrobes, lunches, childcare services and more from their budgets is a terrific economic relief. The work arrangement often times has very flexible hours. And being your own boss is the best advantage of all.
People working for themselves on their own terms, in their own homes tend to demand more of their work and deliverables. They hone skills for the sheer pleasure of building their portfolio of skill to potential clients and they tend to think of their client's businesses on a much more professional level. Because their work for the client reflects on their own business, not just the client's they work harder and with more care then the all too typical unhappy cubicle worker will.
Lori Redfield is a freelance Internet entrepreneur. She and her husband work solely from home and support their family of five comfortably – with plenty of time for play!
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