Have you ever considered outsourcing for your small business? Well as an entrepreneur there will no doubt be times where you'll need specific tasks done in order to build your brand and market your business. The problem is that most small business owners don't have a lot of front-end money at their disposal and are building their business on a budget.
So how can you build a small business on a budget?
Got $5 Bucks?
You may be asking yourself well what can $5 get me these days? Well the answer may surprise you...If you are a small business owner or entrepreneur building a business from home, money can be tight and the thought of outsourcing for your small business may seem overwhelming. Most small business owners don't even make a profit their first year in the game.
If you haven't heard of Fiverr.com, then please let me enlighten you...because you are missing out on one of the best places to outsource for your growing small business.
Wouldn't it be great to get business cards, banners, websites, social media exposure, backlinks, ebook covers and SEO services for under $5? Well this is the idea behind Fiverr.com, the website designed to connect you with people who will do just about anything for $5.
Features of Fiverr.com
- Everything is offered for $5.
- Everyone can join for free.
- Customers pay via PayPal.
- Sellers will receive their Payout thru PayPal.
- You have the ability to cancel or withdraw an order.
- Customers can rate their sellers based on product quality, time of delivery and performance.
- Sellers can rate their customers based on compliance and response.
How to Use Fiverr For Your Small Business
I stumbled upon Fiverr.com after attending a webinar hosted by fellow marketing rockstars, Toby and Layla Black, about building your brand online through blogging. I was in the midst of creating my first eBook and I decided to give a a whirl because I was in need of an eBook cover. Needless to say I fell in love! Within 24 hours I had a killer eBook cover in 7 different formats all for $5.
Fiverr in my opinion is a great place to start outsourcing random tasks at a low rate for your small business.
Here are a few tasks that I have outsourced from Fiverr.
- eBooks
- Website optimization/SEO
- Promo Videos
- DVD covers
- Logo Design
You can also outsource small business projects such as your wordpress set up, website banners, blog posts, business cards, social media backgrounds, and much more.
I suggest that you do your research first. Before you outsource anything for your small business project compare other outsourcing or work-for-hire websites such as oDesk.com, Elance.com, 99 Designs, and see how much they are charging for the project you want completed.
Pitfalls of Using Fiverr.com for your small business...
Yes with every good there's a bad...The major pitfall is that it costs $5. There is something that can be said for the phrase "You get what you pay for?" and though in my experience I've been pretty satisfied with the end result, there are some limitations.
#1 There are a lot of gigs to choose from and though most Fiverr vendors have reviews and comments posted you just never know what you are going to end up with. Sometimes conveying your vision through an email is not the best way to get your point across and for 5 bucks there are only so many revisions people are willing to do.
#2 This has happened to me on more than one occasion. I commission a project, love the work, and when I want to go back and find the same vendor they are gone or no longer doing that specific gig. This sucks big time because it is hard to find vendors that can do a job exactly how you want it done and when you find them and then they leave you, it's really like losing a boyfriend...yes Heartbroken!
#3 Sometimes you just gotta pay a little extra to get it done fast and get it done right. There will be times when you need a reliable source to complete your small business project. Efficiency is just as important as cost. If you have to pay multiple people on fiverr $5 because it wasn't done right the first time you could find yourself wasting more time than if you just paid a little bit more to get it done exaclty how you wanted it from the get go.
The bottom line is this...I love Fiverr!! There are a lot of people online who give it a hard time because they expect to get a $300 dollar job done for five bucks! I’ve lot's of projects done on Fiverr and will continue to outsource using this site. Though I've never posted a gig myself, it's also a fantastic place to sell your services too...just another way for you to earn income promoting your expertise while you get your main business off the ground.
The primary message here is that outsourcing is here to stay and you shouldn't be afraid to pay outside experts to do what you can't do yourself or you don't have time to do yourself. Rapid growth and success in your small business comes with knowing how to effectively and efficiently leverage your money and your resources. Fiverr is a great place for both!
Have any cool experiences with Fiverr?! Share them here...I'd love to know how you've used the $5 site.
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