How Does an Entrepreneur Tap Online-Video Talent?

I ran into the TubeFilter’s new job board, which has lots of California opportunities but little else. Then I was thinking about the bunch of inquiries I’ve received since I was mentioned in Entrepreneurial Magazine. 

• The reality is that there’s a lot of amateur talent available to work without high cost structures — often folks who work part-time or are students. They can create incredible videos, brilliant graphic design, and understand social media.
• Then there are countless entrepreneurs who need these skillsets on an adhoc basis.

But I’m not aware of a matchmaker service that allows people to post their skills & experience, hourly rate, and garner some “trust” rating (like eBay sellers). Are you?

I do know that Ben Relles, when he needed to produce his first “Obama Girl” video, placed an ad in Craigslist! Within hours he had people to help on various areas of the production. A number of talented video creators found Xltnads/PopTent via Craigslist too. But I doubt most less savvy buyers know how to surf for talent on Craigslist.

Have you seen a service that connects small companies or startups to freelance video creators, graphic artists and writers? I’m just struck that there’s demand for digital talent, and a lot of brilliant talent eager for cash and experience. The big buyers use agencies, who help reduce risk and vet talent. But those larger agencies are expensive because they’re often siloed and bloated with high costs (real estate, overhead, etc.). 

Entrepreneurs want someone reliable, talented, eager and not too expensive. I love linking entrepreneurs with talent, because both win. As an example, I was glad to introduce my neighbor’s startup (iamintown.com) to Brett Slater (slatersgarage.com). The former gets a good service at a fair price. The talent gets business.

But entrepreneurs are not my target clients for video creation or consulting. It’s very hard to tell if they’re serious, and they often want you to work for free/cheap with the promise of something bigger down stream. Of course, if I was in college or didn’t have a family and a big mortgage, I’d welcome a few hundred bucks to spend time I’d otherwise use to play video games. It would build my portfolio, and certainly be more profitable than working at Wendy’s. But likewise I’d probably have no idea how to find clients. 

I probably get a dozen random messages from individuals or startups a week, and it kills me to ignore them. Sometimes the note is so desperate and poorly written that I know I’d be sucked into a time-wasting vortex by even engaging (example: I’m gonna be big, you won’t be wasting your time, I want to give you a piece of my company). But other times I’m curious if I may be overlooking a chance to work with the next Zappos before they pop.