Charles Chiu:

Great animated video with what sounds like a professional voice over talent.

Salma Jafri:

This mom found that she can make great money writing in English! Did I mention she is from Pakistan?

Viralogy:

I like this entry because it explains some of the difficulties of working in a virtual environment with the solutions they’ve found.

Muhammad Ahmed:

When it comes to working virtually, religion, political opinion, etc. don’t matter one bit. The only thing that matters is: can you do the job well, and on time?

Mike:

Good story, very familiar. We all wear a lot of hats, don’t we?

Austin Evarts:

Austin is traveling the world while creating some exciting start-ups for thrill-seekers such as himself. A fantasy life? Not anymore. Today, this kind of lifestyle is a reality to many of us. I hope to see you somewhere around the world buddy!

Mina:

Another last-minute video that looks great. I’m not sure what technique they have used to create the cartoon effect, but I like it!

And of course, I still think my own video rocks the most:

Merav Knafo:

The New Way to Work to me means: “Upgrade Your Life!”. I created this video using my iPhone with a couple of my friends, and as you can see, they really got into their characters!

What do you think? Who should win this competition? Did you read any of the blog entries or just watched the videos? Who is your favorite?

For entrepreneurs, business owners and managers who use Elance.com, those days are over. I’ve been using Elance for almost eight years, and it’s changed my life.

Outsourcing through Elance has allowed me to start my own businesses online and with a very small budget, and expand at a rate that I could afford. I’ve created three companies with the help of the talent I found on Elance and I consider it an essential tool for success.

These are the benefits that I’m getting out of using Elance:

1. No office politics and no drama.
   When you work by yourself, you can focus on managing work instead of massaging egos.
2. Short meetings.
   I spend maybe 5-10 minutes a day on Skype meetings with my developers. Shorter meetings means more time getting things done.
3. Easy firings.
   If someone doesn’t do a good job, I simply don’t hire them again. That’s much easier than handing out a P45 to someone who works with you at the same office.
4. I get to be picky.
   When I post a project and get dozens of bids, I can be as choosy as I want to be and hire only the best talent.
5. I get a lot more done.
   I hire people to help me with the dull, time-consuming stuff, so that I can focus on my highest income producing activities. For me, that’s product development and marketing.
6. Working with talent around the world is fun!
   I’ve had the opportunity to virtually meet and work with a number of great, talented people from across the globe.
7. I’m free to make my own schedule.
   I can punch 16 hours on one day, and then put in just one or two hours on another day. And if I don’t feel like working, I don’t need to call in sick. I get to choose my time off.

There is an art to outsourcing though. I’ve learned to identify which types of work fit suppliers from which countries best. And, in time,  I got better at hiring the right people.

When there is so much talent available at my fingertips, I can achieve more and save more, giving me more time and money to invest back in my companies. To me, Elance has meant a much better lifestyle,  an upgrade to first class. If you’re looking to start working at home either as “talent for hire” or a “buyer”, Elance is your new best friend.

Special thanks to Tina and Giles for helping me create this video, we all had a great time!

Merav Knafo
Founder
iJoomla.com

meravkn @ elance.com

Contact me at merav @ ijoomla.com