Technological advancement has given rise to innumerable job opportunities, causing a proliferation in multiple types of careers, especially in the digital fields. Besides creating many new occupations, the advancement in technology also changes the mode of the working life. To date, it has become increasingly common to take up freelancing jobs and work from home. This phenomenon results in the rise of the gig economy, and subsequently to the emergence of platforms such as Fiverr which are available worldwide, including in Malaysia.
What is a Gig?
Before diving into the discussion of the gig economy, it is helpful to understand the basics of a gig. A gig is an occupation that lasts for a specific period. The lifespan of a gig is often dependent on a project’s length and a company’s need. Nevertheless, gig workers also engage in formal agreements with on-demand projects or companies to provide specific services.
Gig occupations are different from regular jobs, which usually involve a long-term commitment to a role within a company. Many posts expect the daily return of employees to their companies for work. On the other hand, the working model of a gig is flexible and often online. Hence, gig workers can work anytime and anywhere, instead of during office hours in a company.
The Gig Economy
The gig economy is, therefore, a financial system driven by all gig occupations. This free-market system has clients hiring independent contractors to provide short-term services. From the perspective of employers, the gig economy saves resources by eliminating the needs of providing office spaces, training sessions, and benefits. Meanwhile, gig workers are more likely to achieve work-life balance and turn their interests into careers.
Introducing Fiverr
One of the biggest marketplaces for online and digital services in Malaysia is Fiverr. It is an online platform that seeks to connect both the freelancer community and the potential buyers or clients.
Freelancers on Fiverr provide a wide array of digital services, including digital marketing, writing and translations, graphic designs, business, video and animation, as well as programming. There are also online lessons focusing on different aspects of one’s lifestyles, as well as entrepreneurship opportunities in various industries.
Some of the world’s biggest brands, such as Facebook, Netflix, Google, and Paypal, are the clients of Fiverr. In addition to providing services for well-established brands, Fiverr also caters to new and growing businesses. Fiverr provides remarkable services such as brand building, site customization and management, and content creation for prospective and newly established businesses.
Business owners who are looking to establish, expand, and improve their businesses can search for digital services on Fiverr’s homepage. As a buyer, you will have access to different freelancers’ work samples, contacts, and feedbacks from their previous clients. Moreover, Fiverr also offers sets of services in value packages to help lower your expenditures.
As for the freelancer community, Fiverr makes an optimal platform to showcase various talents and turn interests into careers. Fiverr provides comprehensive guidance for sellers to set up professional profiles. Besides, there are also free tips and courses that train sellers to grow and improve their online careers. You can find the complete instructions to become a seller on Fiverr here.
Alternative Platforms
Besides Fiverr, there are many other similar platforms that offer quality digital services and freelancing job opportunities in Malaysia. This section provides 4 other freelancing marketplaces that are commonly known.
1. JomService
JomService provides a variety of freelancing services, ranging from household maintenance to entrepreneurship assistance. Some of their services include cleaning, plumbing, painting, moving, locksmithing, and electrical appliances maintenance. These household-related services are not limited to homes but are also applicable to buildings as large as hospitals, companies, and shopping centres.
To cater to lean entrepreneurs, JomService offers brand-building services like graphic design, digital marketing, and copywriting. JomService also makes an excellent platform to discover freelance jobs in various fields. Not to mention other job-searching services, such as resume writing and reviewing.
2. Shopify
This platform aims to build and expand businesses by providing various entrepreneurship services. Such services include SEO features, website customization, graphic design, and social media management.
Shopify is known to offer a wide range of quality, built-in features and connections to thousands of applications. This allows Shopify to be one of the best platforms to buy and sell services online. Besides, the platform is also beginner-friendly, allowing budding entrepreneurs to explore and navigate Shopify services easily.
3. Squarespace
This online services platform is known for creating beautiful, eye-catching designs for not only business sites but also freelancers’ portfolios. Attractive layouts help freelancers in advertising their online services creatively, which in turn sparks the interests of more potential clients.
Squarespace makes an ideal platform to build online business platforms due to professional site-building services. Such services include built-in payment processors and SEO features, email marketing, automatic discounts, blog and social media integrations, as well as custom galleries.
4. Guru
Similar to Fiverr, Guru is a freelance marketplace that connects both freelancers and potential clients. Containing over 800, 000 employers worldwide, Guru is the best platform for freelancers to showcase their talents.
Services provided by Guru include programming, writing and translating, art and design, marketing, administrative, architecture and so on. It can be seen that the services of Guru are not limited to business like many other platforms. There are freelancing opportunities and services available for various fields, such as engineering, secretarial, and legal disciplines.
Now that you’ve been exposed to the gig economy, Fiverr, and other platforms available in Malaysia, are you ready to establish a freelancing career? Explore other useful business and financing articles through Lokapost!
