Freelancer.com believes that every time a project is posted and subsequently delivered that lives are changed. In some cases, it's as simple as making a project budget go a little further, getting a concept proven or some amazing design work delivered. In other cases, the projects posted and the work delivered by freelancers help feed their families, spend more time with friends, travel the world or liberate themselves from restrictive 9-to-5 jobs. 'Changed Lives' is even a key metric that gets tracked internally.
A review of their 2014 data has found that 74% their users are Millennials (people aged between 18 and 34 years old). This group of employers and freelancers is key in shaping and building the world that we all live in. It's no real surprise as Millennials are generally confident, enterprising, resourceful and have great hopes and drive to make the world a better place.
I asked Matt Barrie, CEO of Freelancer.com to weigh in on this:
"In 2014, I spoke at the G20 Young Entrepreneurs's Alliance Summit (G20YEA) where I said that entrepreneurship is the way forward for youth unemployment. Our statistics show that Millennials are at the forefront of taking risks and becoming entrepreneurs by being connected to the internet. Freelancer.com facilitates them to also make a change in their own lives, and make an impact in communities, by helping them start their own business or find work wherever they choose to be."
A deeper dive into the data from 2014 shows that there are four project categories in four areas that impact many parts of our lives every day...
1. We Build Our Cities
Engineering-related projects have risen greatly during 2014. Civil Engineering - the discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment (like roads, bridges, parks etc.) - has risen by over 136% from 2013. Building Architecture is also up by over 89% this year accompanied by Mechanical Engineering, which is up 80%, and CAD/CAMDesign which follows closely behind at 73%. Larger scale engineering projects are estimated to look to Freelancer.com in the upcoming year.
2. We Build Our Businesses
Employers - entrepreneurs and SMEs on the site are super-charging their businesses by implementing eCommerce platforms like Shopify, whose projects on Freelancer.com increased by over 93% during 2014. In addition, they are still looking to outsource business processes with Accounting up by 84% and Recruitment also up by 71%. Marketing and design are also popular across the platform, and we see Brochure Design up 71%. These and other business-related projects are expected to skyrocket in 2015.
3. We Make Great Homes
Everyone wants their home to look and feel great. To express ourselves, we create amazing environment to live in, host our friends and to build our families. Part of that expression is to create unique items. Furniture Design tops home-related projects at over 132% increase with Interior Design and Home Design up 77% and 71% respectively. It also seems like people want to bring moreMusic into their lives with that category up by 51%. The collaborative economy will continue to connect more than just businesses. People will do more for other people.
4. We Tell Stories
Social media and content have been strong performers throughout 2014 so it is no surprise to see the creative side of people being represented on Freelancer.com. Pinterest was one of the biggest performers of the year with a whopping 394% increase in projects. Social media platforms are expected to slug it out to assume a position of dominance on 2015.
In addition, Creative Design shoots up 254% and Creative Writing also showing a strong increase at 157%. We all love to tell stories and they say a picture tells a thousand words. So it is also no surprise that Photography is up by over 135% in 2014. We expect that more and more of this work will be coming to Freelancer.com as the world gets more creative and the Maker Movement builds steam.
There is even a snazzy infographic for this as well - click here to download.
2015 has began and it's going to be a very exciting year. Freelancer.com is starting the year with over 14 million registered users, the world's largest freelancing, outsourcing and crowdsourcing marketplace by number of users and projects. It has had great momentum since 2009 and is about to go into overdrive.
Note: Data relates to projects posted between January 1st and December 31st, 2014, compared with the same period in 2013.