Since the beginning of the 21st century, the global workforce has shown an increased preference for independent jobs. Earlier individual freelancers only accepted contractual work because of reasons such as unemployment and inflation. But today they favor doing them over conventional career paths because of benefits such as better work-life balance and more autonomy in the job. This change in work preferences led to the rise of micro job websites and marketplaces.
A micro job marketplace is a platform where service seekers can find thousands of freelancers for doing small gigs or micro-jobs such as graphic designing, programming, marketing, or even home services like plumbing, electrician, cleaning, roofing, and HVAC. Once the micro job ends, the freelancer can select another micro-job and adjust it in their work schedule.
The micro-job industry is also expected to flourish in the upcoming years. If we consider the freelance market, its estimated market size is expected to grow from $4.9 billion to $11.7 billion in the projected period 2022-2028. On the other hand, the handyman services market is also doing well with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.5% in the forecast period 2023-2028. Considering the ease of finding jobs that micro-job marketplaces bring, it is safe to say that the industry holds lucrative opportunities for entrepreneurship.
This article will guide you through how you build your micro-job marketplace and enter the industry most efficiently.
The growth statistics of the micro-job industry are quite astonishing and highlight the profitability of launching a micro-job marketplace very affirmingly. There are also a few incumbents in the industry to take inspiration from. These incumbents are mentioned in the following table.
| Apps | Launch Year | Estimated Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Agni | 1995 | $1.6 billion |
| Bark.com | 2014 | $455 million |
| Thumbtrack | 2008 | $300 million |
| TaskRabbit | 2008 | $245 million |
| Handy | 2012 | $216 million |
| Fiverr | 2010 | $367 million |
| Toptal | 2010 | $167 million |
| UpWork | 2013 | $780 million |
| Freelancer | 2009 | $34.4 million |
For exploring the freelance market of different geographic regions or planning a cross-border operations marketplace, you should have a look at the following growth rates:
| Country Wise Microjob Market Growth Rates (2023) | |||
| USA | 78% (Estimated) | ||
| Canada | 71% | ||
| Australia | 86% | ||
| Spain | 66% | ||
| Argentina | 66% | ||
| Mexico | 72% | ||
| Japan | 87% | ||
| India | 160% | ||
| Philippines | 208% | ||
| Hong Kong | 79% | ||
| Pakistan | 69% | ||
To build a micro-job marketplace, it is essential to select a feasible business model that you can easily promote and follow for years. Additionally, the model should be easy to incorporate into your website. At the same time, you need to ensure that the business model is market-fit, which can also be a hybrid model – one of the three feasible models mentioned below.
In the direct hiring model, service seekers visit your micro-job website and browse freelancer profiles. When selecting a freelancer, they can directly invite them for a job.
Workflow Reference for the Direct Hiring Model
In the second model, service seekers upload jobs, gigs, or tasks on the platform and freelancers place their bids after reviewing those jobs. If a bid gets selected, that freelancer gets hired for the job.
Workflow Reference for the Job Posting and Bidding Model
Due to consumer preferences and market trends, it becomes essential to provide both direct hiring and job posting models on a single platform. Not only doing so will help you meet user expectations, but will also provide you with a competitive edge.
Workflow Reference for the Hybrid Model
After selecting your preferred business model, you can articulate clear and concise documentation for all your requirements. This will help you further shortlist a software that encompasses your vision for the micro-job marketplace. Once selected, you can deploy and promote the marketplace to get started with business operations.
The modern approach to software development, i.e., using a readymade software has made the entire development process considerably easier and cost-efficient for all entrepreneurs. In the freelancing industry, there are a few no-code and low-code solutions available that you can use to create and deploy your marketplace. To find the most reliable micro-job marketplace software, look out for the following core features:
Thus, to cater to all such requirements, your micro-job software should support all these job types.
Yo!Gigs is a future-ready solution that is made to launch robust marketplaces like Fiverr, UpWork, Toptal and Thumbtack. Its new version was launched in the year 2024, making it the most advanced micro-job marketplace software with industry leading features including all the ones mentioned above. As Yo!Gigs is meticulously developed to help you with numerous marketplace use cases, it can be easily used to deliver, manage and enhance freelancer and handyman services.
For long-term business operations, Yo!Gigs comes with a lifetime usage license at one-time cost. It also supports unlimited listings, transactions and profile creations. For ensuring uninterrupted business operations, 12 months free technical support and onboarding support hours are available with Yo!Gigs.
A micro-job marketplace is a complex software that includes various interfaces and numerous webpages. On the top of it, the marketplace requies vast functions to operate. Thus, the overall timeframe to custom develop the software can take up to 1000 hours or even more. On the other hand, a no-code solution that comes with all essential features and webpages pre-built into the software. As the marketplace owner, you only need to configure them. Because of this, readymade no-code solutions can help you get started with your business operations within 2-4 business days.
For cost estimate, we performed an evaluation of all traditional and modern development methods. To provide a close estimate for custom or bespoke development, we have taken the aforementioned timeframe of 100 hours. The country-wise pricing also varies because of their varying hourly development charges.
| US | Canada | UK | Australia | India | Philippines | |
| Bespoke Development | $80,000 – $180,000 | $75,000 – $150,000 | $70,000 – $120,000 | $70,000 – $120,000 | $60,000 – $100,000 | $60,000 – $100,000 |
| Self-Hosted Software | $20,000 – $40,000 | |||||
| SaaS Software | Lifetime Recurring Costs with Limited Scalability | |||||
| Yo!Gigs (Our Recommendation) | $2,000 – $6,000 (Depending on the type of license you select. Additional charges may apply for adding more functionalities and features) | |||||
After developing the micro-job marketplace, host it on the server of your choice. The bespoke development approach or self-hosted solutions like Yo!Gigs will give the freedom to select your own hosting server. This can either be an on-premise server installed in your work premises or a reliable third-party server like Amazon Web Services or Bluehost. Our best recommendation is to to select a fast server with high security to ensure quick load times, 100% uptime and invulerability to cyber attacks.
On the other hand, if you select a SaaS software, the software will be deployed on the software provider’s own servers. There also may be several restrictions on the number of transactions, listings and user profiles based on the subscription package that you select. To gain access to all features, unlimited listings and transactions, you will need to subscribe to the SaaS software’s most premium package.
The next step in deploying your micro-job marketplace is to configure the payment gateways. Some payment gateways may be pre-integrated in your software solution. Depending on the software, the software provider may allow you to add more payment gateways. If you feel the need for the same, then you can select a payment gateway based on the following criteria:
Your micro-job marketplace content will help users receive a thorough understanding of your services. Additionally, it will help in establishing a brand image and secure high SEO rankings on search engines. As per evaluation, there are few primary webpages whose content you need to set up:
While creating content for the marketplace, ensure consistency in branding, writing style, tone and voice all across the platform. You may also need to integrate search terms or keywords (look at step 6) for search engine optimization.
Test the marketplace to verify whether all features are functioning as intended. Your micro-job marketplace will have 4 interfaces, which are:
To effectively check out the various features and functionalities in these interfaces along with the user experience, create a testing account and register yourself as the admin, customer, and client. Place an order on the user front-end while analyzing various sections of the interface, such as content blocks, buttons, scrolling, payment gateways, payment methods, transactions, cart, notifications, and more.
After placing an order from the user front end, log in to the freelancer dashboard and mark status updates. These updates should be visible in the admin dashboard. Also test other features such as chat messenger, payment withdrawal settings, and more. You can also log in to the admin dashboard to see the placement of a new order. The same should be reflected in your earnings.
Lastly, test the interlinking on the platform including navigation, social media handles, and external links. See whether all the forms are working as intended and as the customer or freelancer, you are easily able to fill-in and submit the forms.
Note: Selecting a tried and tested solution that has already been evaluated on the diverse use cases by the software provider can vastly reduce your testing efforts. Thus, it is wiser to carefully select your micro-job marketplace solution.
To start business operations, you need to onboard some freelancers. This can be done by providing various incentives to the first freelancers, such as zero commission rates and featured listing spaces on the marketplace. At the same time, you need to promote the microjob marketplace to attract customers. SEO will be beneficial in fulfilling this purpose. With accurate search terms (example: hire graphic designer online), you can compete with other players in this space.
Additionally, launch various markdown strategies to draw customers. These can either be discounts on the first three jobs or a referral bonus strategy. After customers find out the convenience of finding freelancers on your microjob marketplace, you can expect them to become repeat customers and increase their customer lifetime value.
As your marketplace will be comparatively new, you will need to focus your marketing efforts on paid campaigning as well. When your organic SEO presence grows strong, you can reduce your expenditure on paid campaigns. Doing so will help you stabilize your overall customer accusation costs and reach the breakeven point faster.
During times of adversity when unemployment increases, micro-job marketplaces emerge as the only solution to help talented professionals survive. The great economic recession of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic are evidence to that. However, once professionals get used to working on these marketplaces, they don’t want switch back to traditional 9-5 jobs because of several benefits such as higher profit margins and work autonomy. Additionally, the change in the modern workforce mindset remains to be a strong growth factor for the marketplace industry.
Q 1: How Much Does It Cost to Start a Micro Job Website?
The cost of developing a micro job website depends on the selected software technology and development approach. Via the traditional development approach that is charged on a per hour basis, the overall cost can range between $60,000-$150,000. Via the no code or low code development method, you can easily drop this cost to $3,000 – $40,000.
Q 2: What are Some Common Challenges Faced by Micro Job Website Owners?
Onboarding freelancers is the primary challenge that micro job website owners face. Secondly, they also have to ensure a smooth browsing experience and secure payments. Along with these, ensuring job satisfaction via timely delivery and quality of the work is must. All such problems can be easily dealt with by investing in a tried and tested readymade software. To discuss the challenges that FATbit’s Yo!Gigs helps micro job website owners deal with, get in touch with our industry experts.
Q 3: Can You Develop a Micro-job Marketplace for my Requirements?
Yes, at FATbit, we have a readymade micro job marketplace solution – Yo!Gigs. Revamped in the year 2024, Yo!Gigs is the most advanced job marketplace software that helps you deal with numerous use cases. It comes with next-gen features, supports 24/7 payments and can help you seamlessly connect freelancers with customers. For more information or to get a price quote, contact our experts.
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Abhishek Kataria is a business consultant at FATbit Technologies. He assists entrepreneurs and business owners in developing viable digital touchpoints and marketplaces. Abhishek is curious about exploring and analyzing new business trends and has a keen eye for the latest developments in the eCommerce sector. Apart from consulting, you can find him practicing French and exploring his creativity in Photoshop.
