Find, hire and network with a Virtual Assistant

Bidding for Jobs

Rating: 5 after 2 votes

As a new VA I am trying just about anything and everything to find work to build up my business reputation and client list.

Something which is very new to me are these websites where you have to put a bid in for the work. On some of the websites I've signed up with some of the people posting jobs seem to want (quite literally) something for nothing and ask for a very low price for their work to be done. The worst thing is that there are people willing to do it for peanuts!

Out of the sites I prefer People Per Hour as it at least "feels" it has genuine jobs for reasonable money. I haven't won anything on there as yet but I am at least happy to try and make a bid there.

What experiences do you have with these types of sites?

Julie J Farrell

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jason Murphy on December 29, 2008 at 2:52pm: I've used this one for a few months now: http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-3154669-10356603; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Julie J Farrell on December 29, 2008 at 4:15pm: Hi Jason

I've seen these sort of sites before. Do you really earn money from them? I am always a little suspicious when you have to pay them first.

What is your experience of them?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Michelle Mangen on December 29, 2008 at 4:51pm: I agree, anyone that has done these and success? I just signed up with the link that Jason sent and every link on their bonus report (20 ways to work from home) was expired. Not a single link took me to a webpage. I emailed support, will see what happens.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Deb Lamb on December 29, 2008 at 6:23pm: Have you tried guru.com, elance.com or odesk.com? Those are some of the one's I have used and did establish one of my clients from there. Although, like you mentioned above, I have noticed that some that are on guru.com, are bidding so very low and I just cannot compete with that. However, it might be worth it to get established and hopefully gain a few clients. I have placed SO many bids on those sorts of websites and sometimes it does take some time to get any response. I wish you the best of luck!!!
Deb:); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Apex Bizness Solutions on December 29, 2008 at 7:17pm: When I initially started my VA business, I realized very early on that sites like getafreelancer.com, guru.com, odesk.com, etc. work great as long as you don't live in the U.S. Someone living in the U.S. can't survive making $4.00 an hour, but if you live in Pakistan, one U.S. dollar equals 78.5 PKR (Pakistan currency). The majority of my clients in the beginning actually came from me having to market within my state. I sent out postcards, I went out and talked to local businesses, and I joined local networking groups. Some other ways to market your services would be advertising in directories, search engines, and classifieds.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jason Murphy on December 29, 2008 at 11:02pm: This site used to be money, have not used in awhile though...I like odesk and DoMyStuff.com too; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cecilia Parish on December 30, 2008 at 4:51pm: Hi Julie! I am pretty much in the same boat as you are. When I launched my business this year, I purchased an elance.com subscription for six months to 'test the waters'. At first, I thought it was a wonderful concept. However, I found that the bidding process was ridiculously competitive and expensive. I was constantly being overbid by overseas bidders, and I decided not to renew my subscription. Recently, I was tempted to try it again but decided not to. I guess if you hang in there, and you are very patient - an opportunity might arise. I just don't have the time or resources for this now. What has helped me is sending letters to local businesses and following up with them. I have had several leads so far, and it works. Virtualassistants.com and ivaa.org have also helped me find leads. I hope this helps.

Have a wonderful New Year :-); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lia Harman on January 2, 2009 at 6:07pm: Hi Julie,

I am based in Sydney, Australia, and the biggest generator of jobs for me by far is simple networking. Don't just limit yourself to online networking though. In Australia, we have many different support groups for small businesses, ranging from Chamber of Commerce groups in the local area, through to business networking groups that meet weekly or monthly. I have joined a number of networking groups - I go along to a weekly or monthly meeting, and whilst I am generally meeting the same people each time, they are getting to know me and my services and they are gaining confidence to either use me, or recommend me to others that they know.

I have gained a lot of clients this way. I don't think you can underestimate the power of positive word of mouth and networking - if there is something similar in your area you should really give it a go. It can be intimidating at first, but well worth it!

Lia...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by April Sullivan on January 26, 2009 at 11:24am: Julie,

I've tried almost all of them, but the only one that I've received work from is ifreelance.com. They do seem like a good company with the least amount of cheap overseas workers, but it is still extremely competitive. I'm moving away from it more and doing more networking now, as that seems to work the best for me.

Good luck to you!

-April Sullivan; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Alana Daveduk on February 26, 2009 at 9:50am: It is great to finally see this topic discussed. I have been researching the VA business for over 2 years. All the info has become noise- I am interested in networking locally and obviously starting on a shoe string.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dinesh |Your Virtual Assistant | on July 5, 2009 at 12:06pm: I got my first client from FindVirtual.com. I worked with him for a log period of time. Now I prefer Elance.

Thanks,
Dinesh
http://www.websitedevelopment-india.com
web designer assistant $5 per hour; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Diane Hess on July 17, 2009 at 10:14am: Hi Julie,

I've been using Elance since 2003. I know exactly what you are up against with the "low-ball" bidders. But...we (U.S. based entrepreneurs) must keep in mind that all bidding forums are International.

Overall, I am pleased with Elance. The major benefit to maintaining a subscription with them is that your business portfolio is searchable. Since Elance has a high search engine ranking, you don't need to spend the extra money to get your name out there. There isn't a month that passes without someone who's found my profile on Elance calls.

I would say to stick with it.; ▶ Reply to This