More than 14.8 million people were self-employed last year, accounting for about 12 percent of the private, nonfarm work force, according to Steve Hipple, an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Many of them appear to be registered with elance.com, an online marketplace for freelance talent in several categories–sales and marketing being one.
According to The New York Times, Karen Swim, 45, of Sterling Heights, Mich., left a successful career in corporate marketing four years ago to write for a living. “I found Elance through a Google search,” she said. “I was amazed. I thought, Oh my God, there’s a whole underground of people making a living, and they’re not going to a corporate office every day.”
If you’re a freelancer, I’d love to hear from you in the comments here. Are these sites worth one’s time? I don’t want to judge from afar, but I’m a big believer that freelance opportunities come from one’s friends, former colleagues and the “natural” contacts one makes in person or online.
