I came across Mike Stratton on oDesk way back in 2009. He had then posted a project Increase Your ODesk Rating 5/5 – Fictional Story of Encouragement. The intriguing project title drew me to it. Leave alone the ranking and the money, Mike was talking about, it was for a noble cause. Besides it would help me assess my creative skills. Mike should like it enough to publish it on his site.
I did not submit my bid immediately. I had to make sure that I had something to write about in Mike’s own words , “a personal story of encouragement/ empowerment”. I had to write a fictional story in about 500 words.
When I woke up the next morning, I had the story outline. When I sat before my keyboard it took me something like sixty minutes to complete it. You can read the story here.
Thank you Mike, for giving me that break.
Please, leave your comment here to let me know what you think about Mike, his initiative and my story.
Thank you.
Hi, this is Nicole from Rent a Coder. Rentacoder provides access to programming, writing, illustration, even data entry jobs. (You can get a sense of the broad scope of work available here: http://www.rentacoder.com/RentACoder/SoftwareCoders/BrowseWork.asp)
I’d like to point out a few differences between our service and services like oDesk since those differences could influence your satisfaction and earnings.
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Working with a new buyer on a Pay-for-Deliverables project:
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A new buyer doesn’t know yet that you’re productive, and won’t run up a huge bill with fluff hours via pay-for-time projects. To help you establish that trust, both Odesk and Rent A Coder let you work with them by bidding a fixed price for the final deliverables (called pay-for-deliverables). However, oDesk doesn’t offer safety features (escrowing and arbitration) to be able to guarantee payment to you.
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Working with a buyer you know on a Pay-for-Time project:
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Once a buyer trusts that you won’t bill them for unproductive hours, you can bill them by the hour (called pay-for-time). This has many advantages over pay-for-deliverables including cheaper fees, flexibility (you don’t have to define all the requirements in advance to start working) and less risk (under-estimates are no longer your responsibility to bear). However there are important differences in how oDesk and Rent A Coder provide this service.
1) Fees.
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Rent A Coder charges 10%-35% less than oDesk (9% for one-on-one auctions to as low as 6.5%). The less you pay, the more savings you can pocket yourself, pass on to the buyer, or split. oDesk charges a higher flat fee of 10%. As a result, you have less money to pocket, pass on to the buyer, or split.
2) Guaranteed Work Payments.
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When working hard to meet a buyer’s deadline, you may find yourself working long hours. Odesk does not guarantee payment past the first eight hours in a day. Rent A Coder guarantees payment for all work done.
3) Mental Tasks.
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When working for a buyer, you may find yourself doing mental work that should not be interrupted (such as reading, planning or writing at your desk). Odesk requires that you simultaneously remember to move your mouse every minute or so, and if you don’t, you are not guaranteed payment. So you can choose to be constantly interrupted (and perhaps distracted and frustrated), or forgo the payment guarantee. Rent A Coder does not require you to make this choice, and guarantees payment for mental work.
There are other differences as well. I invite everyone to compare the 7 major services through this link to learn even more: http://www.rentacoder.com/RentACoder/DotNet/misc/CompetitorInformation/WhyRentACoder_ForSellers.aspx (Short version: http://www.rentacoder.com/RentACoder/DotNet/misc/CompetitorInformation/OneOnOneComparisons/oDeskVersusVWorker_ForSellers.aspx)
If you have any questions, please let me know. You can also call in to talk to a facilitator 7 days a week, or email us (see http://www.rentacoder.com/RentACoder/misc/Feedback.asp).
Nicole
http://www.rentacoder.com