If you are not familiar with what Upwork is, it is a freelance site that connects employers looking for tasks to be completed with freelancers who are looking for work. It is successful in the sense that it is a very popular site but there are also a lot of issues with it.
DeeLance (DLANCE) is a crypto project that is going to build a site on its blockchain that will provide a service similar to Upwork but will improve on aspects where the traditional site lets down both employers and employees.
Before we get into exactly what DeeLance is going to offer, let’s first take a look at some of the issues that Upwork and other legacy platforms have.
Where does Upwork let down its clients?
The recruitment service industry is estimated to be worth over $760 billion annually which is an absolutely staggering number. Freelancing is becoming such a popular method to produce work that some experts have predicted it will replace the traditional 9-5 fixed income as the most popular work style before the end of this century.
The pandemic has helped people and employers realize that commuting to or renting an expensive office isn’t really a necessity. The way internet speed is today means people, in most office jobs, can do their work from anywhere on the planet if they see fit. This has meant many more people have left their fixed jobs to continue their career via freelancing.
This means companies like Upwork are getting a huge amount of business even though they can be quite expensive and have been known to let both sides down on occasion. A particular problem that irks both employers and freelancers is the fees they charge. Employers must pay a flat rate of 5 percent no matter what while it is even worse for freelancers who have a portion of their future income taken.
For example if you wish to charge $14 an hour Upwork might take $3 an hour from you meaning you must up your asking price to $17 to receive the $14 you want. This can cause some freelancers to miss out on work as they have to up their asking price while some employers might be forced to fork out more money than they are comfortable with due to the fees on their side.
Another issue that is commonly complained about is payment times and exchange rates. While Upwork does connect employers and employees they can be very slow to help rectify disputes. This can go both ways. Sometimes an employer is left without any work from the freelancer and sometimes the work is completed but the employer is very slow to pay the freelancer. Ownership can be a sticking topic here as no one is ever quite sure who owns the work.
When payments are made to freelancers there can be issues here too, Upwork generally works through US dollars so anyone using a different currency will have to deal with exchange rates which could mean their overall fee is lower, they also could be charged the exchange rate fee depending how the employer sends the payment.
How DeeLance improves on existing models
DeeLance (DLANCE) is a decentralized platform that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. It incorporates web 3.0 technology in order to streamline all the processes traditional sites struggle with. So, let’s look at why employers and freelancers should be looking to make the switch.
We think the highlight of the site is how it utilizes the escrow system for payments for employers and employees. When both the freelancer and employer agree on the work the employer must pay the full fee straight away, however they need not worry about the freelancer running with the money as it will be stored in escrow until the work is completed. This is also great for the freelancer as they won’t have to chase any employers up about payments or face any delays.
The next feature is also to do with payments. Thanks to its decentralized nature, DeeLance can run a peer-to-peer payment system, this means there is no need for third party charges and they can charge much less than legacy sites like Upwork. Currently freelancers will only be charged a 10% fee which is much lower than most sites while the 2% employers charge is the lowest on the market.
As we mentioned ownership can be a difficult thing to define in the freelance world as sometimes people disagree on when property belongs to one party or the other. This is where Web 3.0 technology comes in handy, once the work is completed employers will receive an NFT token. This token will represent that the work they have purchased from the freelancer now belongs to them.
Disputes can be a big factor in freelancing as employers and employees can sometimes have different visions of how the process should go. DeeLance will have a dedicated dispute center set up that will always have a record of previous disputes. This way they will be able to track everyone and make sure any repeat offenders are weeded out.
Finally we come to the Metaverse and the coolest implication of Web 3.0 technology in our opinion. The aforementioned NFTs that are used for work ownership can also be used as avatars that both freelancers and employers can use in the Metaverse. The goal here is to create a sense of community and allow everyone to mix and socialize in a nice environment. A step we think is really going the extra mile.
Conclusion
The great thing about a lot of crypto projects is how they look at an activity or job that has been done a certain way with Web 2.0 technology and say how can we make this better. DeeLance is the perfect example of that. Freelancing as a way to work has exploded in popularity in the last few years and will continue to do so for years to come.
However, it is clear these legacy Web 2.0 sites present a lot of challenges to freelancers and employers, so why do we just put up with them? DeeLance thinks we shouldn’t and through Web 3.0 technology they will show the world that there is a better way. The presale for this token has only just begun but already a lot of hype is growing so interested investors best act now to get the presale price.