Start a New American Holiday Tradition - Give the Gift of Local Services

If you walk into any store at this moment, the abundance of holiday items just might overwhelm you. The brightly colored decorations, the cinnamon pine cones, and the urgency to buy is apparent. It’s already time to start thinking about the holidays; in fact, it if you are just starting to think about it, you’re already late!

Before you panic and stop at a store to purchase the entire aisle of holiday items, think about them first. Where are they coming from and do they have true meaning? As the holidays approach, overseas factories are producing monstrous piles of cheaply made goods. Not only is it just “stuff,” but its merchandise that has been produced at the expense of good ol’ fashion American labor. Now what?

Give a genuine gift of local services. Think outside of that Chinese product wrapping and start thinking about what your gift recipients’ need. What about a gift certificate to a local hair salon or barber? Everyone needs a haircut and a little pampering.

What about that person who keeps making New Year’s plans to get in shape, and never does? A Personal Trainer would be a wonderful gift.

Does mom always stress out about cleaning her house before company comes over? Give the gift of a local cleaning service for the day.

What about those nieces and nephews? Wouldn’t they love a guitar lesson, horse riding lesson, or a karate class?

Is your favorite college student dreaming of a trip to Germany? Give a gift of a German lesson, or three!

Many Americans are out there, right now, ready to start a new holiday tradition. 

 Join us here at TryMyWork.com by supporting local small businesses by giving the gifts of local services this holiday season.

Inspired by an article from the Jefferson Review.

Announcing Enhanced Features on TryMyWork.com

Dear Customers,

Thank you for helping make TryMyWork’s first months successful!  

To show our appreciation we’re bringing you even more value.  TryMyWork now offers both great $5 work samples and Bonus Deals if you choose to hire the Service Provider.  

Finding what you want on TryMyWork just got easier.  We have enhanced our Service Provider profiles and have provided you with improved ways to search our thousands of listings.  

Help us get the word out.  If you refer a friend to TryMyWork you’ll get a free sample when they sign up. 

Finally, if you have a free sample request use it soon, they expire on September 30th.

Thank you for your continued support solving unemployment one neighbor at a time.

Sincerely,

The TryMyWork Team

Enhance Your Profile with New Features from TryMyWork.com

Dear Service Providers,

Thank you for helping make TryMyWork’s first months successful!  We’ve recently unveiled a number of new features to help connect you with the thousands of customers using the site.  

Take full advantage of your new enhanced profile.  Make sure that you have uploaded your photo and clearly defined your sample and its value to the customer.  These two elements have proven to be crucial in bringing work sample requests.

To help you convert sample requests into long-term paying customers we’ve also given you the ability to offer Bonus Deals to customers who hire you.  If you haven’t yet, login and describe yours today!  

Finally, use our improved search to find a service you’d like.  If you have a free sample request use it soon, they expire on September 30th.  

Thanks again,

The TryMyWork Team

Announcing New Features on TryMyWork.com

We’ve been listening to your feedback and are giving you the new features you need.

Enhanced Profiles
Each Service Provider profile has been redesigned to highlight the value of the work sample.

Bonus Deals
Service Providers can now offer Customers even more value by offering a Bonus Deal to Customers who hire them.

Unique Profile Web Pages
To make it easier to share and link to Service Provider profiles, every profile page now has its own unique web address.

A Better Dashboard
We’ve improved the dashboard making it easier for both Customers and Service Providers to manage connection requests.

Refer a Friend
As a reward for helping us grow, members who refer a friend to join TryMyWork will receive a free sample when the friend signs up.

New Promotion Channels
In addition to our email offers, we are promoting Service Providers through: Internet search ads, banner ads in local news media, TV, social media, and safe Craigslist listings.

Service Provider Success Story

Recently TryMyWork sat down with one of our most successful Service Providers to see what we could learn from her experience.  Jamie was featured in one of the first promotional emails we sent out and her results confirmed our faith in TryMyWork’s vision of neighbors coming together, hiring one another, and building their businesses.  Jamie’s success shows that a great profile with a clearly described, valuable sample will bring in new customers.  Listening to Service Providers like Jamie, who offer customers upgrades on their samples, has also helped us come up with new promotions like our new bonus deals.

Jamie's Experience

My profile was so easy to set up.  TMW helped me get started and I just added my strengths, how long I’ve been in practice, etc. Then I had 5 responses in 2 days and another 3 in about a week. Out of all the samples I’ve given, more than half, (5 out of 8) are going to be consistent clients. And that’s a pretty damn good number!

Things Jamie Loves about TMW

I love the social networking part of it. I wanted to meet people outside of my norm and this allows me to meet people from our community that I might not otherwise come in contact with.  I’m on this website to promote health and wellness by providing corrective care and treatment.  I’m also here to promote a local lifestyle by supporting local business people.

Safety is a plus! Business cards don’t offer that. My profile does, they can check me out and feel safe and confident trying my sample. I don’t have my own website and I don’t think I have to get one.  Thanks to TMW, anyone can view my profile.

How to Further Promote Yourself

I put my TMW profile on my business cards. Business cards can be thrown away and don’t ensure someone will remember you. When my profile is on there too people can check me out and see more about what I do.

I also put TMW on my Facebook page. This has led my friends to create their own TMW profiles, which is great!

I am encouraging customers to upgrade their 30 minute sample to a full hour. That’s good for both me and the client!

Check out Jamie’s profile on TryMyWork.com.

Work Sample Hints

The work sample is the key element of TryMyWork and giving a good sample will bring you more customers.  Instead of sitting through another interview or making another sales call you spend the same amount of time showing an interested Customer what you do best.  Giving a good sample is the best way for you to convince the Customer that you are the right person for them there on the spot.

When thinking about your sample put yourself in the Customer’s place and ask yourself the following questions.  What kind of sample would help you make an informed decision?  What kind of sample would make you want to click the request button right away?  The average reader of a web site has an attention span of 8-10 seconds, how can you hook them quickly?

Finally, remember that the Customer always has a choice and that you need to encourage them to choose your sample.  You can do this both by making sure that your sample is clearly defined and that it offers a clear and attractive value to the Customer.  A consultation or estimate is not effective.  If there is a single service that you know your existing customers always need or want, that is a good place to start.

The work sample is your chance to shine in front of a customer, but it doesn’t end there.  Reviews of your samples will show up on the site and tell other Customers why they should seek you out.  Nothing speaks for your abilities like a job well done. 

5 QUESTIONS for J.P. Bauman, spokesman for TryMyWork - Boulder Daily Camera

5 QUESTIONS for J.P. Bauman, spokesman for TryMyWork - Boulder Daily Camera

How to Create an Effective Profile

The basics:

Make sure all your contact information is up-to-date and accurate and that the service area and categories you have chosen are correct. Last, but certainly not least, make sure to check the number of samples you have authorized. Remember that you need to authorize at least 8 samples to be eligible to be promoted in our special emails.

Describing your services:

Here you should describe the full range of services you can offer to customers as well as any special qualifications or experiences that you possess. Promote yourself here and explain what makes your service unique and attractive. Your descriptions should not include contact information or your business name because we are committed to protecting the privacy of your information.  Listing information like full names, email addresses, and phone numbers on the web is an invitation to spammers and web scrapers.  Our process ensures that the only people who get your information are TryMyWork Customers whose sample request you have reviewed and authorized. 

Describing your sample:

This should be a clearly defined description of the service you are willing to offer to Customers as a free sample. You’ll want to make sure 1) that the Customer will read the description and know what to expect and 2) that the sample is something at which you know you excel and that will leave the Customer wanting more.

Want more information on how to develop a winning work sample?  Click here. 

Describing your bonus deal:

We encourage you to offer a bonus deal in addition to your sample.  The bonus deal gives the Customer an extra incentive to hire you on the spot.  Think about the bonus deal as an introductory offer that will help convert your work sample requests into long-term paying customers.  You might offer a 20% discount off of your regular rate or a package deal in which the fifth or sixth service is free.

Uploading your photo:

This picture should only be of you. Please DO NOT upload images containing your business logo, your business name, other individuals, or objects. Photos that include information about your business make you vulnerable to scrapers and spammers. One again, we never share your last name, business name or contact information with customers until you review and accept their request. We also want customers to know who to expect at their door when the time comes to provide the sample. This keeps both parties safe.

Boulder-based website empowers the self-employed - Colorado Daily

Boulder-based website empowers the self-employed - Colorado Daily

Staying Safe Online and In Person

Tips for Connecting Safely

TryMyWork is committed to your security and safety, but online connections can open you up to risk.  There have been several reported crimes linked to online commerce.  In the interest of your security we want to remind you of steps you can take to stay safe while using TryMyWork.  If you have any safety concerns please let us know at (970) 631-8746.

To reduce your risk, follow these tips from Dan Clements and Owen Rubin, private security specialists:

·       Pick a public place to meet

·       Do not include a home phone or address in your listing

·       Set a specific time and place to meet

If you are either a Service Provider or a Customer travelling to a first meeting you also should:

·       Tell a friend or family member where you're going

·       Take your cell phone along if you have one

·       Consider having a friend accompany you

·       Know who you are meeting

How Does TryMyWork Work?

We allow Service Providers to offer samples of their services to interested Customers.  We give self-employed Service Providers fast, targeted, new media marketing and provide Customers with a safe, community-monitored resource. The process is very simple.  The Service Provider registers to list services on our website and authorizes a set number of work samples.  We connect customers to Service Providers, either through our searchable listings or our email promotions.  To request a work sample the Customer pays a $5 connection fee; the Service Provider never pays a thing.  The work sample replaces the awkward and unproductive interview or sales call.  Customers get to try before they buy and Service Providers get to let their skills do the talking.  Each connection gets us one step closer to our goal—solving unemployment one neighbor at a time.

Our First Commercial!

Our first TV ad is on air! Watch for us on KGWN-TV/Northern Colorado 5.

What does TryMyWork do?

We innovatively market self-employed Service Providers by allowing them to offer a sample of their work directly to potential customers.  We have created a network in which Customers, Service Providers, and the Community all profit.  Customers gain by getting to “try before they buy” and getting a work sample for only $5. Service Providers get to forgo the time-consuming, uninformative interview or sales call, that neither party enjoys, and show off their skills to interested Customers.  Our Community benefits as each connection gets us closer to the goal of solving unemployment – One Neighbor at a Time. We are the first service to provide trustworthy, safe, scam-free, community-based employment connections. Also, our ratings allow Customers and Service Providers to rate each other. New users can review the ratings online before requesting a sample and Service Providers consult reviews before accepting sample requests.  To ensure your safety, we verify Customers’ identities, pre-screen all Service Providers’ profiles, and keep contact information confidential until both parties agree to connect. The service is free for Service Providers. Customers pay the $5 connection fee.

Who is TryMyWork?

We are a grass roots network of Customers and self-employed Service Providers dedicated to solving unemployment – One Neighbor at a Time.  We are 100% locally owned and operated – our entire team lives and works in Fort Collins.  Our vision and mission is shaped by our own experiences in the community.  Our co-founders, Glenn and Jeanette Corliss, were inspired to create TryMyWork after they purchased a 100-year-old home and attempted to hire contract workers, nannies and handymen.  They scoured the usual anonymous online listing services and conducted countless interviews. They quickly realized that a good interview or sales call was no guarantee of a job well done. The process was frustrating and they realized that their neighbors were facing the same frustration. The experience sparked the idea for TryMyWork, a better way to connect self-employed Service Providers with Customers. 

Realities Ride and Rally

Support Realities for Children Motorcycle Ride and Rally and Visit the TryMyWork Booth!

Grab your boots, leathers and bikes and come enjoy your Memorial Weekend in Old Town Square, Fort Collins this Saturday, May 28, 2011. The Realities for Children Motorcycle Ride and Rally event is in its ninth year and one of the largest charity rides and rallies in the Front Range area. All funds raised benefit the Realities For Children Emergency Fund for abused and neglected children in Larimer County.

Two of our amazing service providers, Paul and Marla, will be at the TryMyWork booth to sign up new members and answer questions. Marla not only helps with TryMyWork, but offers her services as a hairstylist in the TryMyWork network—Find her in the Salon and Spa Services listing category and request a free sample. Paul is offering 20 free bike tune-ups as a sample of his services for new members who register and request a sample from him at our booth this weekend. Customers can find Paul in the Professional Services and Other listing category in Fort Collins.

When: May 27-29th, 2011: Friday night kick-off Concert and nearly 20 hours of exciting weekend events including giveaways. Saturday, 11am-6pm & Sunday, 12 noon-7pm: Join the rally and enjoy entertainment, food, drink and shopping. Don’t forget to visit the TryMyWork Booth on vendor row!

Where: Old Town Square: Bike parking along streets

Why?: To support children across the Front Range.

Who can go?: Everyone! Families, couples, or just you and your bike! This event is community-friendly and there will be many things to do and see.

Activities: Enjoy great live music, Stunt Show’s, Burn Out pits, great food, Vintage Bike Shows, Rat Rod Show, and visit with us at the TryMyWork booth.

Come show your support!