New Ways to Work

Media, television and bloggers alike are clamoring about changes in the way people work. Journalists, Economists, Academics, Businesses, and just about every one you run into these days, seem to agree on a couple of things.

One, the market need for short term, contract based, “Just in Time” professional services is growing. Small businesses, pressured more than ever to do more with less, are turning online to find talent and ways to complete projects without adding permanent staff (see Wall Street Journal, Negotiating the Freelance Economy).

Two, there are no signs of any near term returns to the 9-5 cubicle life. The corporate world as we know it has forever changed, driving a new perspective on the future of work. (see Time Magazine, The Future of Work). The internet, the opportunity presented by remote collaboration, and the diminished loyalty between employer and employee will continue to cultivate a growing community of professional consultants working on a contract basis as opposed to a permanent full or part time basis.

What remains to be seen is how small and medium sized businesses are going to effectively get work done in this new world. At 26% of the current US workforce, and growing, the 40 million plus “freelancers” clearly offer an unprecedented value to these businesses desperate for their services. But how do you sift through the maze of providers to find the right one? Can you build trust and rapport between a business and a provider while avoiding the inefficiencies of face to face meetings? Are the tools and technologies in place to successfully complete a transaction once a business and provider engage?

These are the questions that Mavenlink will answer over the coming months with the help of our growing community. Small and medium sized businesses will finally have a place to find and engage with professional consultants and expect high quality service. Highly talented Mavens will finally be able to shed the negative connotations of the“freelancer” label, spending time in a work environment that compensates them fairly for their efforts and develops the skills that are going to be necessary to succeed in this new economy.

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Passionate About Quality

One of the things that the team at Mavenlink is most proud of and vows to protect is the high quality of the Mavens that have joined our charter community. There is no question that the individuals and firms that have signed up to date are impressive both in the depth of there expertise and there ability to deliver valuable services to the small business clients that need there help. As we continue to roll out new features to showcase the talents of our Mavens, you will see us work passionately to maintain the high caliber of professionals that we hope our clients and maven community come to expect from Mavenlink.

Measures in place:

1. Screening of Maven profiles, backgrounds and experience
2. Requiring real names and robust profiles for transparency on the site
3. Linkages to other social and business networks
4. Community Feedback- Ratings provided by peers and Clients relating to quality of services and real work performed on Mavenlink
5. Building a business model that targets quality of service not quantity of providers or bidders
6. Groups for peer to peer development and education

Upcoming Maven Programs:

1. Updates to the find a Maven experience
2. Enhancement of the Maven Profile and Mavenlink promotion and marketing of individual Mavens
3. Training, Skill Development and Career Development to succeed as Mavens in the new economies of work
4. Additional Screens to validate certifications, background
5. Development of a business connections within Mavenlink focused on expanding your trusted personal network for getting work done

Our goals for these initiatives are pretty straightforward. The quality of the Maven community is critical to build Client trust. When deciding whether or not to conduct work within Mavenlink, we know potential Clients are interested in assessing not only the Mavenlink platform but also the resources available to them, often starting their evaluation of the site at Meet our Mavens. The expertise and targeted coverage of our Maven community will continue to be a differentiator for us all. Additionally, we want to develop a level of trust between Mavens, enabling the community to swarm together and collaborate where appropriate to solve complex, multi disciplinary challenges and projects. If we are successful in developing a strong and talented pool of expert providers, there is limitless potential in the work that can be done by the community. If we are successful, Mavenlink will be a site that enhances, not detracts, your personal brand.

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Announcing the Maven Proposal

In gathering feedback and planning future features, something has continued to come up with many of our mavens - they would like to be able to propose to their current and prospective clients. We're extremely thrilled to be announcing that feature starting today.

As anybody with consulting experience knows, proposing to a client can often be tricky. A good consultant knows to clarify and set the scope of work, understand the client's time frame, and get a sense of the client's budget. With those terms nailed down and a mutually agreeable services agreement in place, the price can be negotiated, agreed upon, and the work can begin. It sounds so simple, but how many processes break down somewhere in that series of steps? Maybe it begins with a lack of clarity around the client's needs, maybe the consultant isn't responsive enough, maybe an email gets lost, maybe, maybe, maybe - the list goes on and on.

Mavenlink is looking to change this game for both clients and consultants (mavens). As a client, you have a need that you may or may not fully understand, but you need someone to help. As a maven, you have expertise and your client has come to you to solve their problem or you're approaching a client you haven't worked with in the past, thinking that you have the skills to help them. No matter the situation, work needs to get done; Mavenlink's Maven Proposals make it easier to come to terms, engage in work, and successfully complete the project for both the client and the maven.

Our proposal system allows you, the maven, to propose to clients who may or may not already be within Mavenlink and use all the collaboration tools we're providing for "regular projects" with your client. We think it's dynamite for getting work done, so give it a shot.

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Mavenlink@Blogspot

Engage experienced professionals and collaborate online to get projects done.

Professionals

For mavens, Mavenlink provides a single, integrated environment for marketing your services, finding challenging and rewarding projects, working online efficiently throughout a project and getting compensated reliably and securely. Browse and select projects on your own, or let Mavenlink suggest projects for which you are especially well-suited.

Businesses

For clients, Mavenlink provides the most accessible, affordable, and efficient way to provide your business with the flexibility you need to acquire expertise. Find exactly the expertise you're seeking to complete projects of any size or complexity. With Mavenlink, you can access just-in-time advisory and consulting services, save substantial time and money, and eliminate cumbersome administrative overhead.

Make a Profile

Once you're a member, you can fill out a more detailed profile, or begin posting or finding projects immediately.

Post and Find Projects

Once a project is posted on the site, Mavens can find it, ask clarifying questions of the Client, and bid on it when they're ready.

Collaborate on Work

Collaboration tools enable Clients and Mavens to communicate, track, deliver, and evaluate at each stage of the project.

Accept and Pay

When the Maven delivers the project and the Client accepts, Mavenlink triggers an immediate PayPal payment.