Gonna Be A Guru

The writing/editing jobs I like on iFreelance are scarce right now. I have lost three projects to other writers/editors - that's three more than the number of projects I've won. Once, I stayed up until 8 AM to finish a bid for a project that was approved less than 24 hours prior. I slept shortly after I submitted the bid. When I woke up and checked the status of the project, I discovered that it had been awarded to someone else!

That was depressing.

Since business is still kinda slow, I registered for a Guru account. I'm still building my profile, though. I started writing the profile overview tonight and I should be able to finish the final draft by Thursday. Take that, procrastination!

One great thing that came out of joining the website is that I got to write a slogan for the business. I even put it on the official website and my iFreelance provide profile!

Another great thing about Guru is that it uses a mandatory SafePay system, where the employer's payment is deposited into the freelancer's SafePay account. The freelancer can then withdraw the funds by requesting a cheque or by transferring the money into the freelancer's PayPal account. It's safer for both employer and freelancer, especially if the SafePay Escrow method is used. In this method, the employer pays the deposit into Escrow and releases the funds when the work is satisfactory. Mediation or arbitration is also available of the Escrow method is used.

iFreelance's edge over Guru, however, is that the former does not charge commissions when the freelancer gets paid. On my Basic profile, if I get paid USD$100, Guru gets 10% of that amount.

But a freelancer's gotta do what she's gotta do. I need to generate business, dudes!

Are you a freelancer on Guru too? How has it helped your business? What other pro or con can you add to the above?