Make Money Online, Anywhere!
The nature of work has well and truly changed in recent years. No longer does the 9 to 5 model cut it. Both employees and employers want more flexibility. And what a great time we are in to work remotely, because I have to tell you, there are sites everywhere offering opportunities to people who want:
- flexibility
- work from home (or anywhere)
- additional income streams
- the ability to expand their skills without having to go through a massive career transition
Right now we also have the added concern about being out and about, and looking for alternatives so we can work remotely.
There is a huge array of platforms available that are general freelance jobs from home, there are specific freelancing sites, and there are general ‘get paid to’ sites that don’t require particular expertise, just motivation.
Whatever your situation, there is probably a site that will suit you.
In this Guru review we’ll find out if Guru we’ll delve into what it’s all about and whether it is worth your time and effort.
Guru is a freelance jobs site. People who sign up as freelancers on Guru bid for jobs they can do, and once awarded those jobs, complete the work to a high standard and get paid.
Let’s take a look at Guru.
Some basic information about Guru:
- Website: https://www.guru.com
- Price to join: Free, but there are paid levels of membership
- In operation since: 1998
- Recommended: Yes, if you like freelancing work
My Guru review will take you through the following sections:
- What is Guru and how does Guru work?
- How do you get paid with Guru?
- Is Guru legit?
- My recommended way of making money online
What is Guru and how does Guru Work?
Guru offers freelance assignments across a range of fields. Here are some of the more popular skills requested:
- Android App Developers
- Virtual Assistants
- iOS App Developers
- PHP Developers
- Graphic Designers
- Sales and Marketing Experts
- SEO Experts
- Web Designers
- Web Developers
- User Interface Designers (UI)
- Translators
- Social Media Marketers
- Python Developers
- Artists
- API Developers
- Copywriters
- Marketers
- Mobile App Developers
- Logo Designers
- Illustrators
- Editors
- Accountants
- Microsoft Excel Experts
- Video Editors
- Web Content Writers
- JavaScript Developers
- Software Developers
- Data Entry Services
- Project Managers
- User Experience Designers (UX)
- AngularJS Developers
- C# Programmers
- WordPress Experts
- Interior Designers
- Blog Writing Services
- Staffing And Recruiting Experts
- Engineers
- Architects
- Animators
- Writers
- Proofreaders
- Bookkeepers
- MySQL Developers
- HTML Developers
- Adobe Photoshop Designers
- Facebook Marketing Experts
- Email Marketers
- SQL Developers
- Java Developers
- Customer Service Experts
- jQuery Developers
- 3D Designers
If your skill set doesn’t appear here, don’t worry. It’s still worth checking out to see for yourself.
Set up your profile by describing the services you offer, showcasing your portfolios and including other details that will get you noticed by employers.
You can search for particular jobs using search criteria. You may also receive an invitation from an employer. You may also receive job match alerts – these are notices of new jobs that match your profile.
If there’s a job that you feel you are a match for, you can submit a quote for it. Bids are the currency used to apply for jobs within the Guru platform. You spend your bids each time you apply for a job. Freelancers receive a limited number of bids with their membership – these are outlined below. Submitting a premium proposal will put your quote at the top of the employer’s list of quotes. It costs extra bids, dependent on your membership level.
When you have found the work that you’re a match for, discuss the quote in detail with the employer and finalize the agreement to start work.
Membership Levels Within Guru
There are five different levels of membership, with the higher the level of membership the better the incentives, such as more bids available and lower job fees.
The membership levels are as follows:
Basic
- Free to join
- Job fee: 9%
- Bids: 120 per year
- Team members: unlimited
- Questions and answers: not available
- Bid rollover: not available
- Premium quotes: not available
- Search boost: not available
- Sales messages: not available
- Link to personal site: not available
Basic+
- $8.95 per month billed annually
- Job fee: 9%
- Bids: 600 per year
- Team members: unlimited
- Questions and answers: free
- Bid rollover: not available
- Premium quotes: not available
- Search boost: $1K boost
- Sales messages: not available
- Link to personal site: not available
Professional
- $15.95 per month billed annually
- Job fee: 7%
- Bids: 600 per year
- Team members: unlimited
- Questions and answers: free
- Bid rollover: 100 per year
- Premium quotes: Costs 6 bids
- Search boost: $2K boost
- Sales messages: Costs 5 bids
- Link to personal site: not available
Business
- $24.95 per month billed annually
- Job fee: 6%
- Bids: 600 per year
- Team members: unlimited
- Questions and answers: free
- Bid rollover: 200 per year
- Premium quotes: Costs 5 bids
- Search boost: $4K boost
- Sales messages: Costs 4 bids
- Link to personal site: yes
Executive
- $39.95 per month billed annually
- Job fee: 5%
- Bids: 600 per year
- Team members: unlimited
- Questions and answers: free
- Bid rollover: 300 per year
- Premium quotes: Costs 4 bids
- Search boost: $8K boost
- Sales messages: Costs 3 bids
- Link to personal site: yes
How Do You Get Paid With Guru?
There are three ways you can quote for the work:
- Fixed-Priced Agreement (completed milestones) – you set up milestones. Each milestone has a value and a due date. You bill for a milestone once it’s completed.
- Hourly Agreement (weekly time tracked) – You set up the hours you will work per week, an hourly rate and a billing end date.
- Placeholder (estimate quote) – when you’re not certain what the entire scope of work is and wish to add a placeholder quote until you have more details.
Employers can add funds to SafePay and pay invoices by check, credit card, e-check, PayPal, cash account funds, or wire transfer.
If the payment method is by check or E-check, you’ll receive payment within three to five business days. Credit card payments are immediate, and PayPal is usually immediate. Wire transfers can take up to five business days.
Is Guru Legit? Absolutely!
Guru is absolutely legitimate.
There is no Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating for Guru. However, there were several reviews on sitejabber, and they were surprisingly negative. Of the 96 reviews, 84 gave Guru a rating of only 1 or 2:
Poor ratings often mentioned the same issue – that employers were asked for copious amounts of documentation that was not accepted, and payments to freelancers was blocked as a result.
There were a few positive reviews, but overwhelmingly the reviews were negative.
All I would say is to be careful when using this site. If you are going to sign up, start with one piece of work of a smaller size and value, and don’t do anymore until the payment is made to you. That way you will test out the site first and have some confidence in moving forward with them.
The fact is, Guru has been around for some time, and there are people who get paid, so it definitely is not a scam. It does like their dispute resolution processes aren’t too good though.
Other Ways to Earn Extra Money From Home
Check out my list of ways to Earn Extra Money From Home. This includes cash back sites, get paid to sites, surveys, writing, website testing and other freelancing sites.
Whilst getting extra money through freelancing is awesome (and in many cases necessary!), you can build your own business while you’re working. My preferred way to earn money from home is through affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is a great way to be in charge of your career and create a residual income:
Be your own boss. Who knows, maybe one day you can use Guru as an employer and pay people to do jobs for you!
Create your account today and explore the opportunity: