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As a ghost writer, Jeff Haden has penned an assortment of books for a wide variety of clients.
He wrote a real estate manuscript for a French mortgage banker, a book about pregnancy for a Seattle-based doctor and a guide on cultivating roses for a landscape artist in Peru.
Haden, a 46-year-old ad agency executive, earns extra income by writing from the comfort of his Harrisonburg home.
"I get paid whether the book sells or not," he said.
His secret?
He finds writing work on Elance, a virtual marketplace where freelancers bid on business projects.
"The cool thing about Elance is that if you're good at writing, you have a good work ethic and you do a good job for people, there's plenty of work out there," Haden said.
But Elance is not limited to writers.
There are a slew of design, Web development, marketing and programming projects up for grabs.
"It doesn't matter what you do, chances are virtual work can offer you something unique," said Fabio Rosati, Elance president and chief executive officer of the Silicon Valley-based company. "There's an almost unlimited use."
Elance works by allowing businesses or individuals to post specific projects online. Service providers, or freelancers, then bid competitively on the projects.
A freelancer's experience and the price he's willing to accept to complete an assignment help determine whether he wins a bid.
There is also a rating system in place where buyers can give feedback on their experiences with a service provider.
If you're a buyer "it really matters to you who else has used this provider and what they have to say," said Rosati.
"The rating system makes or breaks you," Haden said.
The lure of Elance is that it creates work opportunities for those who may not have access to a wide variety of jobs.
Haden was able to freelance for clients across the U.S. and around the globe from his Southwest Virginia location.
And Web designers in Ohio or computer programmers in India can market their skills on Elance.
There's also significant earning potential for Elance's service providers.
Bid prices range from writing projects that pay a few hundred dollars to programming work that pays up to $40,000.
But annual income will depend on the effort put into freelancing.
Haden says his writing work from Elance helped him rake in over $70,000 in 2005.
"You really have to approach it as a business," he said.
Just as the networking site benefits freelancers, it can also help small, cost-conscious businesses outsource assignments.
"If I'm a small business I typically have very little time to search for the right talent," Rosati said. "Elance has this advantage of a work force that is available
After Haden was successful finding writing work on Elance, he began to buy services for his marketing and advertising company, Blackbird Media Inc.
Elance helped him locate a graphic artist in Australia.
"I would have never stumbled across him had I not posted this job on Elance," Haden said. "As a buyer, Elance is a great way to go out and find very specific, highly specialized skills that you can't necessarily find in your community."
While outsourcing has led to the loss of United States-based jobs, Rosati says he does not believe that trend will spill over to the online world.
He said it is unlikely that international freelancers will drive down bids and win projects over U.S.-based service providers.
U.S. businesses still prefer to use American freelancers, he said.
About 75 percent of the companies that post projects are U.S.-based, and 55 percent of the site's freelancers are located in the country, according to Rosati.
Haden said his business mostly uses U.S.-based freelancers because time-zone differences can impede deadlines.
"The time lag is a problem if you need really rapid turnaround," he said.
Since its inception in 1998, Elance has surged in popularity. More than 100,000 projects are posted on Elance each year.
Rosati says Elance's success is a reflection of the Internet's wide range of capabilities.
"There's a whole new generation of people embracing the Internet," he said "We're using the same technology and tools for very productive work if you have talent."
To reach KAFIA HOSH:
Email: khosh@freelancestar.com
