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MenuHow can I go about hiring staff for building marketplaces?
I've been working offshore with teams over the last few years and struggling to get/keep people who are skilled, have attention to detail, and test their work well before assessing it as completed. Is this something you have experience of and have strategies to share of how I can overcome this problem?
Answers
This is a common problem.
Here are some solutions (some more obvious and some less):
1. Make sure you hire skilled workers. This can be done by using service providers who you reached through recommendations (preferably from people that you know) and if you don't have any other choice: then based on reviews from freelancers websites (anything less than 5 stars usually means there was an issue with that service provider, but don't only check the star ratings, check the verbal reviews people left as well).
2. Structure the compensation in a layered way:
a. small down payment (only if required)
b. payments only after completion of each stage (completion = you've reviewed it and find it satisfactory). Always leave at least 30% for the end - which you only pay after you've reviewed and confirmed that everything is 100%. I even advise leaving another 10% for at least 1-3 months after the project has been completed - this isn't always possible - it depends how big the project is.
c. Bonuses: if each section/the final project was done wit no mistakes (what you called "attention to details") they get a bonus. If there were mistakes, they 'only' get the original payment.
3. Be very specific with what you want in the document that you provide them and ask them to highlight (in green) each item once completed.
4. Test their work on a small project before giving them the big/main one. Preferably something that requires attention to details.
5. Sign a service provider agreement (I can draft this for you) which clearly defines the work done and more importantly, protects your IP (intellectual property).
I can give you some recommendations if I know what type of product/service it is.
Good luck
I've successfully helped over 300 entrepreneurs, startups and businesses, and I would be happy to help you. After scheduling a call, please send me some background information so that I can prepare in advance - thus giving you maximum value for your money. Take a look at the great reviews I’ve received: https://clarity.fm/assafben-david
Hi! I am a marketplace entrepreneur myself (Sharing Academy) and have helped dozens of sharing economy entrepreneurs as well (Lendi, Truke, Mentor Alliances...). What worked best for me was convincing the users to become team members.
Our best programming tutor in Sharing Academy became CTO, his best student in the platform became his intern. Another student became head of our customer care department, and so on...
Build a great product, engage wit your users and make them become part of your movement.
There are 1000s of worker on freelancer, upwork, people per hour and fiverr and all of them works very great but i have experienced one thing you have to hire the worker who have more than 10 reviews and the review is more than 4 out 5. if you will only hire the person with this criteria then i can guarantee you that you get a professional.
To hire staff for building marketplace that lasts really for a long time and making considerable profits keep the following in mind that behind every successful marketplace is a dedicated team. Starting a marketplace requires a varied list of skill sets.
1. Identify positions: This will determine the structure and foundation of your marketplace activities. Starting up can be scary when you are navigating the business world alone. It will also lower costs while allowing you to leverage on a wider set of skills for your marketplace.
2. Identifying candidates and hiring them: When identifying candidates, it is important to consider a few factors. Firstly, they must have experience and skills in areas that complement the rest of the team, and not replace them. Most importantly, they must be fans of your marketplace. Now that you know how to build a game-winning team for your marketplace, it is time to find out who you should scout for your awesome team.
3. Technology team: Before marketing and operations begin, you would need a technology team to put together the marketplace. These engineers oversee the tech behind your marketplace. To build a marketplace, you would likely need to find a technology partner to co-find your marketplace. You may choose to outsource the technological process to third-party Marketplace-as-a-Software service providers such as Arcadier. Also, it allows you to focus your resources into developing your business idea and marketing it. Building a game-winning team for your marketplace start-up will take up a significant amount of time and effort. With the right team, the possibilities for the growth of your marketplace is endless.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
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What is the best pricing (business model) to apply to a marketplace?
I like to separate your question into 2 sub-questions: #1 How do we determine which side to charge? #2 How much is the right amount to charge? On #1, my answer is that you can charge the side(s) for whom you add the most value. In your examples, Uber really solves a big problem for drivers, it's that they sit idle for a good part of the day, so are willing to pay a lot for new leads. (their alternative is no work) Consumers are charged more for the convenience of a private car but they are probably not so much willing to pay more for a taxi, even if they can hail one from their phones. For AirBnB, it's a mix, it's a way for landlords to monetize idle capacity which they are willing to pay for, but it's also a way for a renter to pay less than they would normally pay for a hotel. On #2 (how much), I like to triangulate a number of factors: - What's the maximum amount I can charge one side, while still being a good deal for them. - How much do I need to charge so that I can become profitable? (the economics are quite different if you charge 3% vs. 12%) - What are comparable services charging for substitutes/competitive offerings? I will just add that there is no formulaic way to determine pricing strategies (curated vs. open), and it's a lot more about what's the comparable and what the value delivered is. That's how I approached the question while deciding the business model at ProBueno.com (my startup)MR
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Holding funds in a 2-sided marketplace?
Check out https://www.balancedpayments.com/ They are made for marketplaces. Airbnb CEO among others invested in them and they have some of the best pricing/payout fees. Also some good info on http://www.collaborativeconsumption.com/2013/10/08/online-marketplaces-are-hard/ One of Balanced Payments co-founders is writing this blog series on marketplaces.MA
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I have this social media idea,but no coding skills. How do I get someone to do the coding (cant afford to pay them) and not give away half of my idea?
Dilip was very kind in his response. My answer might be a bit on the "tough love" side. But that's for you to decide. My intention, just for the record, is to help you (and those like you) on your path to success. And that starts with having a viable philosophy about entrepreneurial-ism and business. And I'm going to answer this because I get asked some form / version of this question very frequently from newcomers to entrepreneurial-ism. The scenario goes something like this: "I have a great idea. It's amazing, I love it, and I just KNOW it's gonna make me a ton of money. But I have no money right now so I can't afford to (fill in the blank with things like "to build it / create it / market it / etc" or "to hire the required staff needed to work in my business to sell it / develop it / etc"). And I don't want to tell anyone about my great idea because I'm worried someone will steal it and make MY million / billion dollars. But I can't afford to legally protect it either... So how do I launch without the skills to personally create the product AND no money to hire anyone else to do that either??" The answer is ... You don't. Look - let's be honest. All you have is an idea. Big deal. Really. I'm not saying it's not a good idea. I'm not saying that if properly executed it couldn't make you a million / billion dollars... But an idea is NOT a business. Nor is it an asset. Until you do some (very important) initial work - like creating a business model, doing customer development, creating a MVP, etc - all you really have is a dream. Right now your choices are: 1. Find someone with the skills or the money to develop your idea and sell them on WHY they should invest in you. And yes, this will mean giving up either a portion of the "ownership" or of future income or equity. And the more risk they have to take - the more equity they will want (and quite frankly be entitled to). 2. Learn how to code and build it yourself. MANY entrepreneurs without financial resources are still resourceful. They develop the skills needed to create what they don't have the money to pay someone else to do. 3. Get some cash so you can pay someone to do the coding. You'll probably have to have some knowledge of coding to direct the architecture of your idea. So you will likely still have to become knowledgeable even if its not you personally doing the coding. (This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of options... And I'm sure some of the other experts here on Clarity have others to add - and I hope they do) To wrap up - Here's my final tip to you that I hope you "get"... It's FAR more valuable to have an idea that a very specific hungry crowd is clamoring for right now - One that THEY would love and pay you for right now - Maybe even one they'd pre-order because they just have to have it - Versus YOU being in love with your own idea. [Notice I didn't say "an idea that some as-of-yet-undetermined market would probably love"] I wish you the best of luck moving forward.DB
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How can I manage my developers' performance if I don't understand IT?
Whenever you assign them a task, break down the task into small chunks. Make the chunks as small as you can (within reason, and to the extent that your knowledge allows), and tell your devs that if any chunks seem large, that they should further break those chunks down into bite size pieces. For instance, for the overall task of making a new webpage, _you_ might break it down as follows: 1) Set up a database 2) Make a form that takes user email, name, and phone number and adds them to database 3) Have our site send an email to everyone above the age of 50 each week When your devs take a look at it, _they_ might further break down the third step into: A) Set up an email service B) Connect it to the client database C) Figure out how to query the database for certain users D) Have it send emails to users over 50 You can keep using Asana, or you could use something like Trello which might make more sense for a small company, and might be easier to understand and track by yourself. In Trello you'd set up 4 columns titled, "To Do", "Doing", "Ready for Review", "Approved" (or combine the last two into "Done") You might want to tell them to only have tasks in the "Doing" column if they/re actually sitting at their desk working on it. For instance: not to leave a task in "Doing" overnight after work. That way you can actually see what they're working on and how long it takes, but that might be overly micro-manager-y At the end of each day / week when you review the tasks completed, look for ones that took a longer time than average (since, on average, all the tasks should be broken down into sub-tasks of approximately the same difficulty). Ask them about those tasks and why they took longer to do. It may be because they neglected to further break it down into chunks as you had asked (in which case you ask them to do that next time), or it may be that some unexpected snag came up, or it may be a hard task that can't be further broken down. In any case, listen to their explanation and you should be able to tell if it sounds reasonable, and if it sounds fishy, google the problem they say they encountered. You'll be able to get a better feel of their work ethic and honesty by how they answer the question, without worrying as much about what their actual words are. Make sure that when you ask for more details about why a task took longer, you don't do it in a probing way. Make sure they understand that you're doing it for your own learning and to help predict and properly plan future timelines.LV
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