Released on: March 16, 2008, 8:23 am

Press Release Author: Peopleperhour.com

Industry: Human Resources

Press Release Summary: A recent poll on PeoplePerHour.com shows that more than half
of small business owners who use the site achieve a better work-life balance than
before.

Press Release Body: London - March 2008
The latest poll on http://www.PeoplePerHour.com, the leading online skills
marketplace, shows that more than half (59.3%) the small business owners and
freelancers who use the site went into self employment to achieve a better work-life
balance:
The poll asked:
Q: What is the main reason you are self-employed?
The results:
22.9% - Earn more money
59.3% - Better work-life balance
9.3% - Hated my boss
Xenios Thrasyvoulou, CEO of the online skills marketplace, PeoplePerHour.com says:
\"Feedback from our freelancers certainly supports this result. They often mention
the improvement to their work-life balance from going self-employed.\"
PeoplePerHour.com are already the UK leaders for the online skills market with over
6,000 registered users. To date nearly 1500 projects posted by businesses on
PeoplePerHour.com have been successfully completed by a selection from around 4500
registered providers from the UK (49%), and (in decreasing order) from US, India,
Argentina and Spain, demonstrating that small businesses are increasingly able to
tap into a global labour market.
Buyers choose from an average of five bids per project posted and in many cases can
access CV, photo, description, sample work and referee contact details.
PeoplePerHour.com ensures service providers get paid fast on completion through a
combination of their unique escrow facility plus PayPal.
The busiest work categories are (in descending order): web development &
programming, design, admin support, writing (including translations and
transcriptions), marketing & PR, and research.
London-based PeoplePerHour.com's innovative system matches buyers of services to
providers directly, through an online bidding system designed to encourage providers
to pitch their most effective solutions at their keenest prices. eBay-style user
ratings and feedback provide quality control, and PeoplePerHour's unique escrow
system provides credit protection to both sides.

ENDS (background information follows)
For further comment, interviews, or photos please contact Penny Haywood at PHPR on
0131 669 5190 (day or evening - voicemail is monitored if I'm not at my desk) or
email penny@phpr.co.uk.
PeoplePerHour.com Background Information
Founded in 2007 by two Cambridge graduates: Xenios Thrasyvoulou and Simos Kitiris,
PeoplePerHour.com are targeting an estimated £5 billion opportunity. That's based on
the Federation of Small Business (FSB) figures for 2006 showing the total annual
spend on part-time, agency workers and casual labour in the UK across all businesses
was £70 billion a year. 4.4 million small businesses in the UK are currently growing
by 10% annually and account for 35% of the UK workforce, but only 44% of the small
business workforce is in full-time employment.
The company has already attracted £350,000 of seed investment from prominent angel
investors and is in discussions with a number of VCs.
PeoplePerHour.com practises what it preaches. Their team consists of developers in
India, designers in the US, a virtual assistant, PR agent and bookkeeper - all from
the site.
The typical buyer runs a small business (usually less than 20 people). No sectoral
bias: companies seem to vary from boutique financial firms, Internet companies,
property and PR agencies. See PeoplePerHour.com in action on
http://www.peopleperhour.com
Registered address:
3rd Floor
15 Knightsbridge Green
London
SW1X 7QL
UK

Web Site: http://www.peopleperhour.com

Contact Details: Registered address:
3rd Floor
15 Knightsbridge Green
London
SW1X 7QL
UK