Lean & Profitable

Can a business save money using freelancers? If you really check out your sources a business can save money using freelancers. Where do you find the freelancers? Below is a list of where freelancers can be found. Always check out first anyone you want to use. Get samples and business references you can call or email. Make sure you clearly spell out what is needed in writing before hiring a freelancer so no communication errors occur. I have used freelancers in my business. I have also been a freelancer. It can be profitable on both sides.

1. Elance.com - so far the largest online marketplace for free lancers and service buyers
2. Aquent.com - offers marketing organizations a wide range of services including consulting, studio solutions, project management, and translation/localization.
3. Adveres.com - another cool marketplace for freelancers.
4. Bidradar - recently merged with governmentbids.com and published mostly government-owned jobs for freelancers.
5. CGI Lance - largest marketplace for CGI scripts.
6. CTITjobs.net - most projects are programming and web design and even technical support for IT-related problems.
7. Codelance.com - custom software development and webhosting for companies outsourcing offshore.
8. Coswap.com - offshore marketplace for web design jobs.
9. Design Quote - a reputable marketplace for graphic and design jobs.
10. Developreneurs.com - an online marketplace where buyers looking for web development services can receive bids from dozens of qualified service providers.
11. Ework.com -delivers three outsourced value-added services— integration and implementation for eWork Enterprise 5, business process consulting to streamline contingent workforce business processes, and a comprehensive workforce staffing management service.
12. Freelance Auction - almost all services are offered here.
13. Freelance Auction Network - is designed to bring affordable high quality services to small business owners and provide freelance contractors from around the world a better way to market their services.
14. Freelance.com - a good place for independent professionals, freelancers, and service buyers.
15. Freelance Writers - the best site for non-fiction writers.
16. Freelancefree.com - the first and best free freelance website.
17. Freelancewriting.com - another great freelance site exclusively for writers.
18. Freelancewebprojects.com - all services offered and requires all freelancing talents.
19. Freelanceseek.com - available in 7 major European languages.
20. Freelancewebprogramming.com - another freelance site for webmasters and programmers.
21. Getafreelancer - this is my favorite freelance site so far. I am a member of this site and having some decent customers in SEO and writing.
22. Guru.com - Use Guru.com’s free service to search for and find freelancers. Post your project. Get free quotes within hours. Outsource your contract work today.
23. Hirecoders.com - not only a marketplace but also a general classified for job seekers and employers.
24. Ifreelance.com - huge freelance site for talented people.
25. Listbid.com - a very simple freelance site but has a bigger population.
26. No Agencies Please - is a free freelance site concentrating on programming and design.
27. NUJ Freelance Directory - the biggest freelance job board in UK.
28. OutsourceToday.net- is the online market place where buyers can post their projects. Businesses and consultants such as freelance programmers, copywriters etc will bid for the work you outsource and you can select the best one that matches your requirement.
29. Projectlance.com – One of the webs busiest websites

Here are the 10 largest (by revenue) U.S. public companies where CEO pay cuts took place:

General Motors (reduced to $1)
Ford Motor (reduced by 30%)
Sears (reduced by $50K)
FedEx (reduced by 20%)
American Express (reduced by 10%)
Motorola (reduced by 25%)
Eaton (reduced by 6 weeks’ worth of pay)
Continental Airlines (reduced to $0 for Q3 and Q4 of 2008)
EMC (reduced by 15%)
Cummins (reduced by 10%)

In this economy, it may require a cut in pay to remain strong or have a business to survive. Are you or is your CEO willing to take a cut in pay?

I believe there are four important lessons that can be learned from the remarkable turnaround at McDonald’s.

1. How you grow matters as much as that you grow. The financial services industry would have benefitted from a focus on “growth by quality, not by quantity.” Clearly, the “growth at any cost” credo of some led to exactly that: any cost.

2. Changing your business model may not be needed, but belief in it is. Start by asking yourself what business you are in and whether customers still have a need for it. If they do, commit to it — fully. At McDonald’s, we knew that people still “deserved a break today” and we were willing to let go of all other initiatives (many of them very exciting) in order to demonstrate unwavering commitment to the core business.

3. None of us is as good as all of us. It’s the system, stupid! Understanding that you are leading a system, not a company or a person, is a critical insight if you want to successfully change something large. McDonald’s is extremely good at this. To some people (me included), it is a frustrating process. It takes time. It requires buy-in and plenty of patience and tolerance from everyone. It also requires adequate policing, oversight and incredibly detailed measurement systems. This is tedious work, and intimidating to those being measured. But it’s needed.

Large systems work best with a hard-wired operating system in the hub that enables innovation, entrepreneurship and decision-making in the nodes. The Internet would not have happened without HTML. Our country would not have prospered without the U.S. Constitution. But it is worth all the pain. And it must start with the humility that you are in the service of something larger than your own institution. As we say at BE-CAUSE — the company I founded — a purpose bigger than your product.

4. Plan your work, and work your plan. At McDonald’s we created a “plan to win.” Some would argue that it wasn’t perfect. Perhaps it wasn’t, but we decided that it was. And we haven’t looked back. Even through tragic circumstances — losing two CEOs in less than one year due to tragic deaths — the plan stayed intact and is still central today to the focus and alignment of the organization.

Information as per http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/cs/2009/07/what_mcdonalds_can_teach_us_ab.html?cm_mmc=npv-_-TOPICEMAIL-_-JUL_2009-_-STRATEGY2

In a recent study the results are as following:

Work effort was decreased by 48% (less work, less money)

More time off work was taken by employees by 47% using sick leave or vacation time

Quality of work decreased by 38%

Performance at work declined by by 66% (slower and poor performance causes a loss of income)

If a specific bad incident occurs with another employee or supervisor the worry and stress by the incident led to 80% time off work by the employee who felt stress

If an employee or supervisor was only at the location at certain days or times the employee who felt stressed out will cost the employer by avoiding the agressor by 63%, therefore not fully functioning at work.

The biggest cost to an employer working in a poor or stressful atmosphere is 78% of the stressed employees will not longer be committed to the employer or business.