New freelance resources including useful articles and job boards

I recently became aware of some new resources for freelancers and consultants that I think you should check out!

I found the first, Freelanceswitch, as I was following an incoming link to my blog from someone else's (sorry - I forget whose).  They describe their site as:

"A Community & Resource for  freelancers of all varieties - designers, writers, programmers, illustrators, photographers ..."

In the month since they have launched, it looks like they have built up a good subscriber base, have useful articles and just started a freelance job section where companies can post projects that are looking for freelancers, and freelancers can look for work.  In their startup phase, it looks like posting jobs are free until July 1.

I like the look and feel of their site and the content of their articles, which seem to be very useful and applicable to the freelance community.  They also welcome outside authors for certain features, so if you serve a similar target market and have good stuff to share, this could be a good vehicle for you.

I hope they add an archive by month section, as it seems they only have recent posts and posts listed by category.  Besides a good search function, one of my favorite ways to look at the meat of a site is with a table of contents like my friend Ramit Sethi created for his blog iwillteachyoutoberich.com.  I don't know if I can do this in Typepad, my hosting platform, but I sure want to!

I have been aware of the second resource, Go Big Network, for quite awhile, but just received some info from their team that they launched a new projects service yesterday.  This is a job board for freelancers and consultants that includes work categories like business planning, marketing and sales, creative services and programming.

Since sales and marketing can overwhelm new freelancers, connecting with services such as these can really open up some opportunities and prevent you from begging for work from friends and family.

Please let me know what you think of these services if you use them, and suggest other good ones!

Comments

[Hugh]

I think that was my blog you found the Freelance Switch site on. I think they have done an amazing job with the look, feel and content of the site. The reason I found the site is because of this post http://northxeast.com/blogging/how-we-took-a-blog-from-0-to-500-subscribers-in-just-7-days/ which describes how they went from 0 to 2000 subscribers in 12 days!

It tells you how many people want to escape cubicle nation huh?

[Mike @ PartnerUp]

I wouldn't normally post a description of the company that I work for, but since I think it's a valuable resource and you asked for suggestions, here it is.

PartnerUp.com is another web site that people looking to escape from cubicle nation might find useful.

PartnerUp is a free site that helps entrepreneurs and those interested in starting a business find business partners, advisors, executives, consultants, freelancers, and highly skilled professionals.

For people who don't have a specific idea, but are interested in getting involved, PartnerUp helps them find opportunities to get involved in the above capacities.

The site is at: http://www.partnerup.com/

[Pamela Slim]

Thanks for reminding me about the reference Hugh! Sorry I didn't take note. I was amazed at the "2000 subscribers in 30 days," and frankly insanely jealous.

No prob with promoting your company Mike - never be afraid to share the good things you are doing!

All the best,

-Pam

[Beeron]

Thanks for the information

[susan]

Great information. Thanks

[Carlos]

Threre is also this search engine for freelance projects. I hope that you find it useful in your quest for self-employment: http://www.lancebot.com

[Jay Lohmann]

TheFreelanceNation.com is an Internet Marketing service and network of 119 city-specific and freelance job boards where independent professionals, companies, and recruiters can source each other. Our company enables the self-employed to easily source, fairly price, and successfully transact business and enhance their small business through collaboration and cooperation.

The Freelance Nation provides freelance work through 100% blind bidding, customizable membership rates, search engine optimized profiles and projects, 500 skill sets in 23 professions, self-employment support, a professional networking forum, local to national search, and many other features that makes it an effective online marketing tool and business resource.

On October 9th, we announced a partnership with Jobster, one of the largest Internet Job Boards in the world. You can see the press release here.

http://www.thefreelancenation.com/press_article.php?aid=16

More partnerships announced next week!

Thanks Pamela! I hope this helps your readers escape the cubicle nation.