The Subject
In keeping with the spirit of productization, I developed Workreap.com, a service for Freelancers and Employers. Why have I chosen to make this my longterm passion project? Isn’t AI going to make us all obsolete? No, silly. While it’s true that AI has narrowed the gap on what’s possible for a single person to achieve, there’ll always be a need for talent to maintain and uphold those systems. So why did I choose a freelancing site? Isn’t the online freelance marketplace cornered by likes of Fiverr and Upwork? Yes and no. There are a lot of places for great online talent, Fiverr and Upwork included, but Workreap.com offers an internal white glove service that acts almost like an agency to help make sure your projects are done on time and stay within the scope. Committed to having the best support, you can livechat with staff whenever needed (I’m right there, in that chat-bubble in the corner, if you need me). Workreap was born out of my efforts on Drone.vet, a year long project completed in my spare time, that connects Employers with Licensed Drone Pilots. Since I had familiarized myself with the Workreap theme during my time with Drone.vet, I thought I would try something a little less niche. Some thing that would allow me to address the theme’s shortcomings while highlighting it’s attributes.
The Challenge
Offer an online freelancing service and naturally incubate the project using my Marketing & AI Services Agency. This includes:
- Create it within a given budget.
- Properly market it and fill it with active users.
- Maintain it and foster engagement for transactions.
My Solution
Picking up where I left off using the Workreap theme, after my work on Drone.vet. Yes, Workreap is a theme available for purchase. I came upon the domain by speaking to it’s owner, who wasn’t doing anything with it. The theme isn’t perfect out of the box, but I’ve become acquainted with the costs to get an instance of the platform up and running, while implementing exclusive critical features for a smooth experience.
The project would need to scale, so pricey subscription packages to uphold the service were out, as far as options. Being the AppSumo junkie I am, I started browsing some Lifetime Deals.
The Numbers
If it doesn’t make dollars, it doesn’t sense (zing!). So how will it make money? Through a competitive pricing model for both Freelancers and Employers. Major sites will take anywhere from 10 to 20 percent. Processing fees are 2.9%+0.30¢. This gives us a healthy margin to work with and start high, then gameify the process of lowering commission fees (for instance through an aggressive referral program, or by sharing us on their social media).
The Process
A part of me needs to remind myself to curb my enthusiasm. The beginning is always fun, but like anything worthwhile, the process is a little bit more grueling than if I were to use the theme out-of-box. After the fun stuff, like picking a logo, begins the large arduous task of feature building and Q&A testing. All the while, harvesting potential users with my lead generation tools. Hopefully, my experience with the theme will help me create the best iteration of it yet.
The Reason
A few reasons. First, never before have all the chess pieces been made so accessible. Second, as more jobs go remote, we’re going to find an increase in specialization, which is perfectly captured with Workreaps productization features (Similar to Fiverr). Third, what made Upwork so special (it’s time tracking features) is, quite frankly, not so special anymore. And finally, because the online freelance market space is projected to double to nearly $14 Billion by 2030.
Value-Add
So, how do we set ourselves apart from publicly traded organizations with deep pockets? Stuff it with high-quality SaaS tools so that users will prefer to come back to Workreap. What kind of tools? Best in class tools involving:
- team collaboration
- time tracking
- course training
- and realtime communication.
The Target Demos
- Freelancers of all stripes, work-from-home warriors, talented sidehustlers, covering a variety of task types.
- Business owners, large and small, entrepreneurs, project managers, startups and self-starters.
The Pitch
An alternative to Fiverr, Upwork, TopTal and Freelancer.com, with a competitive payout, low processing fees, and top tier service.
The Roadmap
Like Drone.vet, Workreap.com is my baby. It is an ongoing development, but unlike Drone.vet, it cannot be re-used, re-sold or re-purposed for any other markets. Workreap.com isn’t niche in the way Drone.vet is, and casts a wide net on the variety of services offered. Which is why it will continually need to evolve. I will be committing myself to it’s ongoing development and growing it’s userbase.
Key Results
Productized Services
Actionable sales menus for quick transactions.
Google Meet
Conference fuctionalityusing OAuth with Google built in.
Livechat with Users
Communicate with Freelancers or Employers in realtime chat via DMs.
Time-Tracking
Hourly time-tracking with screenshots for efficiency and peace of mind.
Feature Set
- Productized Services or 'Gigs'
- Hourly Tracking Component
- Advanced Skill Filtering
- Client Onboarding
- Job & Task Management
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