As a small business owner you may be aware of crowdsourcing and its power to dramatically reduce the cost of many outsourced tasks for entrepreneurs.
While certainly a great source of budget services, crowdsourcing is sometimes also controversial in some circles in the small business community.
The process uses contests in which designers or other professionals, often small business owners as well, compete for a single project. These designers submit completed work, a logo or other design. Then the person who created the contest chooses (and pays for) only the one he or she likes best.
But now crowdsourcing company 99Designs has created a different business model using its existing community of designers and other professionals. The company says the new service will offer same day design services for only $15.
Swiftly Provides New Low Cost Option
99Designs claims on its website it has paid out an estimated $60 million to designers in its network since 2008. The company announced its new service Swiftly.com this week.
The new same day design service doesn’t offer full projects like 99Designs. Instead, Swiftly offers essentially touch up work. This work might include logo alterations, business card changes, photo resizing and cropping, PowerPoint fixes, photo retouching, banner ad changes and more.
Members simply log into Swiftly.com with their Design99 account, and create a task.
This is done by filling in details of the changes they want and uploading a file of the work they need altered.
A member of the 99Designs community claims the project and makes appropriate changes. The file containing the changes is then downloaded by the client who pays for the work on approval.
Image: Swiftly
Sounds like a win-win situation for both clients and designers. The job can be done within 24 hours and this is the plus point for most busy entrepreneurs.
Shawn Hessinger
Hi Diana,
Thanks for the comment. One point made in another post on this topic is that it represents another steady revenue stream for some members of the 99Designs community. It’s easy to imagine how much work there will be.
Thanks for this, Shawn.
Didn’t know about it until this post.
I don’t think it’s going to hurt Fiverr.com, though. If you know who to use, $5 for some great graphic work is the shizzy.
The Franchise King®
Shawn Hessinger
Hi Joel,
Yeah, I think the distinction here is that, in theory, members of the 99Designs community taking part in this new service have been essentially screened already. Unless you’ve worked with the designer on Fiverr.com before, you kind of don’t know what you’re getting. Of course, the point is that in both cases your investment is kind of low.
Shawn,
It’s great to know that a reputable design crowdsourcing site does that. I’d definitely go to 99Designs rather than Fiverr for business-related design works.
To be honest with you, it’s kinda scary hiring someone on Fiverr for design works, especially when you are talking about business brand design (hiring other graphic design works – illustration, cartoons, etc. – on Fiverr is a good experience for me, though…)
Aira Bongco
If it’s done fast. I would go for it even if it costs $10 more than Fiverr. The problem with Fiverr is that the good gigs take DAYS to finish it. Sometimes, little design fixes does not need to take that long. Thanks for this. And I have to commend their name. “Swiftly” is a good name for something that is done quite fast.
The service concept of Swiftly is a copy of my own service that I launched in April. I guess is true that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, right? 🙂
Anita Campbell
Hi Filipe,
I don’t know anything about Swiftly or your service, other than what appears on this page.
However, I would caution you against assuming that they copied your idea, unless you have specific evidence, such as evidence that they used the exact same software code or one of their executives admitting in writing “yes, we copied this other site.”
Lots of people and entities come up with similar ideas independently. It happens all the time — it happens to entrepreneurs constantly.
Look at it this way: it’s actually a positive thing. What that says to me is, it’s a service whose time has come. The fact that you saw the same opportunity and someone else did, suggests there is a market need. One of the worst things that can happen to startups is to have a great idea that is ahead of the market, and then you spend all your resources just getting people to recognize they need a service similar to yours. Most startups that are ahead of the market run out of money and time, before they make it big.
That’s how I’d look at it. Good luck with your business, Filipe.
– Anita
Hi Anita,
Thanks so much for your reply Anita.
You are right. They might had the same as idea. But anyone can see that the core concept between websites have many similar aspects. I’m waiting to receive comments from the Swiftly team regarding this, as I found other curious coincidences.
And yes, I’m trying to look at the positive side of things (I always do)
Take care,
Filipe,
Unfortunately, that’s what happening in online business… people imitate others – and that’s quite “normal” in this line of business (unless our idea is copyrighted, that is!)
I am a big fan of how Fiverr is continuously adding value to differentiate their services from the sea of imitators out there on the web; they succeed. A lesson to learn for all of us, I think.
So, yes – being positive works 🙂
Hi Ivan,
Thanks for commenting. I got reply from their team but I’m finding really hard to assume this is just a coincidence due to the amount of several similar aspects of the service between my site and theirs.
I find that the original concept behind my website has been copied and it’s difficult to accept that. I don’t have millions dollars of funding to keep adding value and keep up. I guess I’m another case of “big fish eats little fish”.
Filipe,
Unfortunately, that’s how things go in the business world, both online and off line. The best thing we small fishes can do is to make the most of the situation.
Just like what Anita said, when someone copies my/your idea, then the market we serve is actually a big one – often (way) bigger than we think it is.
So, instead of focusing on the stolen idea, again, let’s make the most of the situation.
Yours are new – perhaps serving European market is a good start, as 99Designs.com’s target market is US.
Just my 2 cents…