From small industries to large corporations, today, every business is striving to have an edge over their competitors. In a war where entrepreneurs and business owners are constantly struggling, rising competition is spurring work complexities.

For a clearer vision, if we look at the US economy, $12.7 trillion are spent in service-based industries. The highest spending recorded was $1.7 trillion, made in the professional services industry. The information industry contributed $1.14 trillion and the finance & insurance sector generated over $1.45 trillion.

This indicates that the professional service industry, which includes legal firms, software houses, IT firms, consulting agencies, and creative agencies, struggle through various working intricacies to cater to the needs of a vast base of customers. However, technological developments and advancements have transformed the way businesses manage their work.

Let’s see how.

Upstream Business Sector vs. Downstream Industries

Since a decade ago, service-providing businesses with low-cost services, like Uber and eBay, have been incorporating new technologies into their management systems to enhance their performance.

Of course, these businesses incur less cost and use one-to-one distributions, which make the integration of automation easier as compared to the professional service industry.

In comparison, such industry incurs higher costs and their distribution network is not limited, but extensive. That being said, downstream service industries run through small transactions whereas upstream businesses, such as Lectron, Freelancer.com or Upwork, deal with higher transactions. This whole scenario gives an explicit idea as to how complex it is to automate their business activities.

Companies following the current approach work on a low-cost model. They complete a larger number of transactions to generate the volume of revenue they aspire for. On the other hand, newer industries will handle primarily big-ticket jobs, with each project contributing thousands of dollars to the bottom-line. The model for distribution also varies, with newer industries involving a large number of people working on the same project while often catering to a single client.

In the conventional model, a single person executed the project and delivered the service or solution to the end client. The time required for delivery was shorter as well, and because of the low value, the impact on business for each transaction was low as well. The main difference is in terms of automation. Industries embracing the new model will find it difficult to automate their processes, with user involvement necessary at almost every stage. In the case of Uber, for example, the entire system is more or less automated.  

Transformation of Work (a Future Projection of the New Model)

When it comes to the future of the service industry, experts have forecast that businesses would be offering well-customized services, which could be expanded to an individual or to a number of people. While customers’ demands are increasing at a blistering pace, it’s anticipated that it will be highly difficult to keep up with those demands in an effective way.

However, it’s vastly predicted that businesses in the future will have to optimize their data to make the transaction processes simpler and more efficient. Google’s entire net worth, i.e. close to $700 billion, relies on the company’s ability to embrace big data and invest in solutions to process it efficiently. For this, entrepreneurs or established business owners will have to deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for their businesses.

Prior to a couple of decades, a man could never imagine how technology will transform the world. More specifically, when we talk about businesses, one couldn’t have imagined that machines would eventually replace individuals to some extent.

As technological innovations have proven to enhance work efficiency and efficacy, more and more businesses are integrating advanced technology. Today, it seems impossible for businesses to operate without utilizing tech sources.

The Biggest Marketplace of the Future; Freelance Workforce

The freelancer workforce is growing around the world. Estimates show that by 2025, 50% of the workforce in the US will comprise of freelancers. While this doesn’t mean this number will comprise of full-time freelancers, companies have to adapt their business models to adapt to this trend.

Lectron embraced this opportunity to provide a marketplace that freelancers actually want to join. This way, we are contributing to the future of freelance marketplaces, ensuring they are compatible with what freelancers seek.

Simply put, instead of hiring employees, businesses can get in touch with freelancers, who are looking for an opportunity to move away from the traditional workplace model. Therefore, we attract the best talent and create the best marketplace. But why are freelancers motivated to join a marketplace?

How the Marketplace Will Change

How Companies and Freelancers Benefit

As mentioned, addressing the pain points that freelancers deal with regularly can make a marketplace an attractive prospect for them. But, how does this benefit the marketplace? This part is where data-driven methodologies come into the mix. Based on the ideal freelancer profile, you can extract hundreds or even thousands of data points. With the resume of a top freelancer in hand, filtering through thousands of resumes becomes a breeze. You can automate the process and create a list of qualified candidates suited to your network.

Moreover, the freelancers can become part of the screening process. Not only does this offer them a chance to generate passive income, or at least boost their standing, but they feel they are an integral part of the process. They can use their experience and expertise to help the marketplace filter resumes or profiles they receive, and in turn, receive a commission for each new recruit.

The Importance of Data

Saying that the freelancing market will see exponential growth is barely skimming the surface. You have to understand the importance of data in making important decisions, especially when setting up a freelancer marketplace.

• As mentioned, you can filter profiles and resumes by using data and AI. Machines can sort through the profiles you receive, enabling you to pick the cream of the crop.
• Data-driven technology will provide a clear picture on how well the freelancers are able to perform in the marketplace. For instance, you can use data to measure the performance of each freelancer in your network.
• The key indicators will be measured against their performance, including client satisfaction, quality of work, and timeliness of their deliveries. In addition, feedback from their teammates’ counts, as it helps determine if they are team players or not.

Qualifying their performance using these indicators enables you to work out the freelancers that are performing the best. Your system can automatically assign the high-ticket jobs to freelancers who have the most experience and the highest success rate.

A Sense of Community

A major opportunity cost freelancers’ bear when they quit their job to work on their own is the sense of community. They might feel isolated, to a certain extent, because they don’t have anyone to discuss their work with. A major motivator for people to continue with their jobs, even if they are not 100% satisfied, is interacting with their colleagues.

A freelancer marketplace offers them a chance to be part of the community. They can work on a project with other freelancers. Other factors for finding a common ground include geography, roles, and shared interests.

Career Progression

Quitting your job and being your own boss is the new American dream. Yet, freelancers do crave a sense of career progression. They don’t want to keep doing the same thing over and over again. This part is where a freelancer marketplace offers them a chance to move to the next level.

Let’s say, a person working as an independent contractor can work on 10 projects a year, valued at $30,000 on average. His or her payout is 40% of the project value. Simple math shows that the yearly earnings for the freelancer will be around $120k.

The next stage is progressing to the level of manager, where he/she oversees 5 ICs. Even after cutting his/her payout to 10%, they can increase their earnings to $150k. A rung above manager is the position of a director, who supervises 5 managers. With a standard rate of 3% per project, the earnings increase to $225k. The final stage of the progression is VP, where he/she manages 5 directors. Even at 1% per project, the earnings increase to $375k.

In other words, for each rung the freelancer climbs up the ladder, the earnings increase exponentially.

Good to know: Lectron embraced this business model, offering talented individuals a chance to step away from the rat race and work on quality projects that satisfy their creative urges. At the same time, we are constantly embracing new technologies to make decision-making and performance measurement seamless and smooth.

Benefits of the Lectron Business Model

From the outset, the idea behind the business model Lectron follows is to make life easier for freelancers. Rather than embracing the traditional structure of hiring employees for different roles, Lectron instead brings freelancers on board, depending on their areas of expertise. The benefits of the Lectron business model are numerous, including

Availability of Top Talent: We actively work to secure the services of the top talent in the market. Our network follows an invite-only model, i.e. we reach out to the best engineers, designers, and product managers in the industry. We don’t accept requests from just anyone who wants to join our network. Clients work with the top talent, while the freelancers on our panel have the pick of the projects available in the market.

Innovative Processes: We will explore the importance of data and automation in the next section. At Lectron, we embraced the power of data, researching and highlighting different patterns to facilitate better decision-making. Our streamlined process uses data and technology to pick the best people for each project, allowing clients to save time and money.

Risk-Free Model: Lectron absorbs any financial risks involved in a project. We protect all clients from the adverse impact of any challenges or unexpected occurrences over the course of a project, ensuring no risk for them.

Why Data Needs To Be Automated

Data is a key part of performance measurement in a freelance economy, particularly when making key decisions. For instance, deciding to award a project to a particular freelancer becomes easier when you have tangible data and stats showing his or her performance. This component of data-driven methodologies can prove the key to creating distributed teams quickly.

You simply have to define the metrics for measuring performance and the AI will do the rest. Conversely, collecting data without automating the process will prove counterproductive.

There are three key things that you need to understand here:

1) Data helps you measure performance: Achieving these three requires you to automate data. Firstly, you can quantify and qualify the performance of each person on the network. This tabulation will give you a clear picture of who is performing the best.

2) There are patterns to work data: Next, you will notice that there are some factors that contribute to high performance (or low performance, for that matter). For instance, the success ratios of workers who have a history of delivering work late will be lower than those who deliver their work on time. This factor will be evident from the client satisfaction they deliver.

3) You can use the patterns to make future decisions: Naturally, a freelancer with a low client satisfaction score cannot be relied upon to work on sensitive projects. This data pattern helps the AI evolve to pick the most suitable candidates every time you plan to assign a new project.

Understanding the Business Model

So, how does the gravitation towards a primarily freelance-based economy and data-driven methodologies affect the conventional business model?

Firstly, businesses need to realize what the talent wants. If the top talent in the market comprises mainly of freelancers, companies that don’t offer them what they are looking for will miss out. Freelancers are looking for a seamless ecosystem, where they do interesting work, have a chance at stepping up, and face no issues with payouts.

Companies, on the other hand, need to implement systems where AI collects data points from the work the freelancers are doing. Using this data, they can then extrapolate patterns and use them to make key decisions. A marriage of these two scenarios will results in the optimal business model that satisfies all key stakeholders, especially freelancers.

The bottom-line is that there is a fine line between risk and reward for freelancers. They are willing to risk delays in payments, excessive communication with clients, and even a work-life balance if the payout is worth it. A freelancer marketplace offers them the optimal blend of all the rewards they are seeking by stepping away from the conventional career path.

Don’t Wait Any Longer

The Lectron business model has a client-first structure. The satisfaction of all our clients is our utmost priority, and hence, we designed our practices to reflect this mission. We bring on board the best people in the industry, and ensure that our clients face no risk when working with us. All in all, you gain all the rewards of working with the finest talent while offloading the hassle to us. Interested to learn more?Visit our website.