www.icenationwide.com
What it offers: A straight-up matchmaking service. Hiring companies pay a fee, but contractors don't.
What it's good for: Seeking technical contractors or finding techie gigs.
Don't waste your time on: Learning more about the company itself -- an "About ICE" listing led only to a form on which visitors could provide feedback by E-mail.
What our panelists had to say: They missed the articles and advice the more well-rounded sites provided. But one panelist was intrigued with "spider" technology that promised to harvest job listings from a hiring company's own Web site and automatically post those listings on Icenationwide.com and other unnamed "partner sites." The spider weaves its Web for a cool $1,000 a month and offers some discounted fees for longer-term use.
www.paulandsarah.com
What it offers: Sarah and Paul Edwards, coauthors of numerous self-employment books and a syndicated newspaper column called "Your Home Office," deliver their folksy empowerment message.
What it's good for: Motivation, inspiration, and cheerleading: a Daily Calendar Message (usually an inspirational paragraph culled from one of the pair's books) is intended to fire you up for a hard day's self-employment.
Don't waste your time on: In-depth advice for experienced entrepreneurs. Tips on marketing, taxes, and other topics are useful but meager.
What our panelists had to say: "This site appears to be a glorious ad for the authors' books," wrote one.
Ned Snell is a freelance writer based in Arlington, Va.
The Savvy Entrepreneur's Guide to the Solo Web
|
Would our soloists go back? |
What is the site good for? |
Soloists' quick take |
www.guru.com
"Power for the independent professional" |
Occasionally, if they had a specific need |
Training/learning, reference |
Good for new entrepreneurs; "clearly identifies myriad topics facing entrepreneurs in an evolving marketplace." |
www.freeagent.com
"A brave new workforce"
|
Occasionally, if they had a specific need |
Training/learning, applications, one-stop shopping |
Good mix of basic services. But "all contract jobs I looked at were for on-site only, not remote work." |
www.workingsolo.com
"Connecting you to the SOHO entrepreneur" |
Never |
Training for novices |
"Promotional blurbs about Terri's books ... very little content of immediate use." |
www.soho.org
"Small office home office" |
Never |
Training/learning, reference |
"Good for a beginner, but too basic for most experienced practitioners." |
www.icenationwide.com
"Independent Contractor Exchange" |
Occasionally, if they had a specific need |
Reference, getting jobs |
Too few resources available; shallow content and tools |
www.paulandsarah.com
"The place to be ... on your own but not alone" |
Occasionally, if they had a specific need |
Training/learning, reference |
"Visitors thinking about leaving the rat race and going solo will find lots of book references that may aid in making this decision." |
Our Panelists
Martha Bator, artist
Beth Brody, founder, Brody PR
Michael Cramer, founder, Adagio Teas
Jake Fannin, president, Employment Publishing
Mark Hall, marketing consultant
Raymond Hutchins, founder and president, SecurityDecals.com Inc.
Robert Huebner, product designer, Driveway Safety
Mark James, proprietor, 2kdata.com
Constance Mazelsky, principal, Constance Mazelsky Communications
Elliot McGucken, CEO, Classicals & Jollyroger.com LLC
Sue Neiditch Schwartz, owner, YarnXpress.com
Roger North, corporate-finance consultant
Stever Robbins, founder, VentureCoach.com Inc.
Andrea Ross, publisher, Ross Publications Inc.
Carolyn Williams, CEO, The Left Hand.com
Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.
