New website creates new job opportunities

A new online marketplace has launched today (24th September), allowing small businesses to out-source projects of all sizes - even small tasks - to a community of skilled people who can complete them.

PeoplePerHour.com taps into the demand for a new approach to matching the needs of employers with the needs of the employee, which has arisen due to recent profound changes in the structure of the UK workforce.

According to a survey carried out by the Equal Opportunities Commission in 2006, over 40% of UK women and 10% of men are now making lifestyle choices which involve opting for part-time or occasional work patterns, rather than the traditional '9 to 5' regime.

Meanwhile, at the beginning of 2006, there were approximately 4.4m small business enterprises (employing 0-49 employees) in the UK (up 2.9% on 2005 ñ the highest level since data was first collected in this way in 1994) employing around 13.2m people (58.9% of employment) and producing a third of all enterprise turnover in the country. Of these, 2.8m were sole traders. (Source: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform)

Recognising these dramatic trends in both the type of employee and type of employer, Xenios Thrasyvoulou, founder and CEO of PeoplePerHour.com, realised that the traditional facilities enabling small businesses to identify and hire specific skill sets on a needs basis, were wholly inadequate.

ìHow does a sole trader find someone to help them write a business planî, asks Thrasyvoulou, ìwithout making a financially unaffordable commitment to a full time accountant or employing a firm that is looking for fees which are simply out of reach? How does that trader find an occasional secretary, or an IT specialist, or a translator for a potential one off export deal, without spending almost as much money recruiting as the job is worth?î

On the other hand, it is almost impossible for a skilled person, looking for that type of occasional work, to find the job opportunity that will supplement their income whilst retaining their need for flexibility. Employment agencies, classified ads and the like donít offer these types of vacancies.

The result is tens of thousands of occasional and one off projects going begging ñ to fill and be filled.

PeoplePerHour.com solves this problem!

By creating an online community that matches project demands with qualified people with available skills, PeoplePerHour.com taps into this burgeoning market.

PeoplePerHour.com has been trialling the site for the last four months and, according to Thrasyvoulou, has hit its target of 1,000 skills providers, three months earlier than forecast.

ìDespite having undertaken no marketing whatsoeverî, enthuses Thrasyvoulou, ìpurely by word of mouth, we have over 1,000 service providers signed up to our service offering their talents, which range from copy typists and web designers, to sales assistants and marketing consultants. And these are growing at about 50 a day!î

With a steady and increasing flow of projects being posted on the site, from ëHelp with an exhibitioní and ëDesign a 3D animation', to ëGet an audio transcribedí and ëset up my IT network in my new officeí, PeoplePerHour.com is confirming its founders vision:

ìWe are successfully tapping into spare capacity, from skilled, competent people who want to earn an extra living by doing things in their spare time. We are finding that skilled individual bidders are often as much as ten times less expensive than the equivalent companies. And, based on the feedback we are getting, the quality is equal or better, as these people each have their niche specialities.î

ìThat is a huge saving that goes straight back to the Buyer,î adds Xenios, ìWhile still giving the Provider an excellent level of extra and, until now, unavailable income.î

As the new PeoplePerHour.com campaign says: Job Done!î