Tips to Keep In Mind You First Become a Service Provider with Elance

PART 5 - Go To Part 1

How To Go From No Job To Your Own Business For Under $300 - Getting Started
(Part 5)

Hints To Get Off To A Good Start At Elance Don't overspend.

As a new business, it's tempting to either splurge on buying lots of bids, or be too cautious. Balance is the key.

Factor in payment delays.

Remember, at first you will have more expenditure than income, and you might have to wait a month to get paid for a project by the buyer. So watch your expenditure. Elance has standard 30 days payment terms, although you can alter this by using their detailed invoicing feature. Just don't expect payment on the nail the day after you turn in work - some buyers can literally take a month or more to pay, unfortunately!

Play the numbers game.

On the other hand, as a new service provider, you will be competing against people who are old hands, with good feedback scores (and your feedback rating will be initially blank). So you'll have a low success ratio in all probability - that means you'll need to place lots of bids to get selected for a project. As you get good feedback scores, your profile will be more attractive to buyers, and your biding ration will get better and you can place less bids to get projects.

So it can be a good idea to invest a little cash if you can afford it up-front, to give you the freedom to bid hard at first until you start seeing some success. The good news is that you can start off with a Limited or Professional membership and upgrade when you've run out of bids, so you don't have to decide straight away.

Escrow

Escrow is offered at Elance . If a buyer offers escrow, you have no other choice, but if they don't offer escrow you can ask for it in your bid. Be aware, however, that once you select escrow this is fixed - and if a buyer cannot escrow funds but needs to pay by paypal or check, they won't accept your bid. Escrow gives you great security that you will be paid, but can be a barrier to some buyers, so it may be better to be flexible at first.

Profiles vs. Feedback.

Finally, always remember that at first, having no feedback means that your written bid and profile are all the buyer has to recommend you, so you'll need to put special care and effort into these. Getting feedback is vital to building your Elance image, so always ask for it promptly on project completion so a buyer doesn't overlook it.

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