There are hoards of freelancers that swear against websites that outsource freelance work, but there are just as many contractors that say these sites can yield a successful career.
At 24, Luis Lazo drew upon his experiences completing projects for RentACoder.com and leveraged that into a second career running RACSuccess.com, a mentoring service for coders and other freelancers. Luis has an interesting background and a unique take on freelancing—let’s hear what he has to say about using outsourcing sites.
Tell us about yourself, what you do, and a little on your background. Where did you go to school and for what?
I started using computers about eight years ago reading textbook after textbook of computer programming. Thanks to this knowledge I started working as a freelancer on RentACoder.com having completed more than 150 projects so far. I attended Baker College in Michigan and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.
You’ve mentioned having some success working on RentACoder.com. How does that work?
Well, RentACoder.com is a freelance marketplace which basically connects freelancers that have technical skills with employers or buyers who need projects done. Whether buyers need a website or a desktop application they have plenty of freelancers to choose from. Everything happens online: the process of hiring, awarding the projects, providing the deliverables, and finalizing project.
Many freelancers are leery about sites like oDesk and elance. What do you have to say to them?
Well, the truth of the matter is that working as a freelancer doesn’t impose any limits. You can work on more than one freelance website at the same time if you want and you will not get in any trouble. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to what freelance websites they like working on. Frankly speaking, oDesk.com and elance.com are actually very good freelance websites and are good places to find projects simply because they have very nice options such as escrow services, quantity of projects available and various tools. I have heard many good comments about both freelance websites.
In addition to the technical work, you also run RACsuccess.com. How did that get started?
Well, RACsuccess.com started initially with the authorization of Ian Ippolito who is the owner of RentACoder.com as an idea I proposed to him about selling videos on our site with the purpose of teaching people how to take the most of RentACoder.com both as a freelancer and as a buyer. This product appears in the tools page inside RentACoder.com.
After that, I decided to start with a mentoring service on our site and our site became more global expanding to other freelance websites as well not just to Rent A Coder. For instance, before the letters RAC in RACsuccess meant “RentACoder” but now the letters RAC in RACsuccess mean “Running Against Competition” which clearly indicates that we dedicate to help freelancers beat their competition and to help employers successfully hire freelance workers.
You work with mentors a lot—do you have a team that you rely on to provide services for RACSuccess? Why should someone hire RAC instead of finding their own mentor?
We do work with mentors a lot but mentors are not really our representatives or employees. What we do is to hire real successful freelancers and employers to assist our members on our site. We hire these people as independent contractors and they assist our members through the mentor’s area.
It can be easy to get confused when you hear the word mentor but the truth of the matter is that things are simpler than they seem. When you hire a freelancer on a freelance website, you are actually looking for a technical job to be done. When you hire a mentor on our site, what you get is a friend that can help you start a career in freelancing or help you improve your existing freelance business. A mentor doesn’t do any technical job for you, it’s basically a guider that helps you find success as a freelancer on any freelance website or as an independent freelancer.
On our site, mentors can give you advice on any concern or situation you may have and can give you tips on how to be a successful freelancer. Mentors will even write effective proposals for you for the projects that you wish to get on any freelance website.
So, what’s your typical day like?
Wake up, grab a snack, go to my computer, check my email, and look for freelance jobs to apply for. I also like to stay in touch with my online contacts. I know so many people; especially freelancers and I like to communicate with them. Most of my day is basically spent in front of my computer but I also take some breaks in order to do some other things as well.
Finally, what’s your ultimate career goal?
I would like to continue with my education and obtain my Masters Degree and then a Ph.D. in Computer Science. I also want to continue running RACsuccess.com.
