SLOPED - A new place for SketchUp and LayOut businesses and freelancers to connect

Commercial and Collaborative Work
41

You would have to use a different email address or google login.

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42

I understand the intention and part of me agrees, but…

  1. It’s easy to determine whether or not someone is an “expert” or even just simply competent at producing the deliverables a particular customer is looking for by providing examples of their work. Among other things CAD is a tool to help visualize, and visualizing a portfolio or part of one, should be ample enough.

  2. My (mostly rhetorical) question to you (and hopefully a clear indicator I didn’t move forward with Sloped yet) is: is the objective to build a database of SU “experts” that you can advertise as “best value for the dollar”? Or is it to help SU users not be victim to yet another “gig” system that traps them into taking on work they can only obtain by being the lowest bidder?

Personally, I do fine with the existing clients I have and word-of-mouth expansion. I’m not measuring by client or project quantity, but I do implore you to aim for the latter option: build a catalog of SU experts who aren’t just going to win projects by being undercut: a rising tide lifts all boats.

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43

Hi Chris, thank-you for your thoughtful message.

  1. We would agree with you on this point, however the businesses that work with Sloped are not looking for finished products only. If this was the case, what you’re suggesting would be sufficient. In fact, it wouldn’t even matter what program was being used if it was just about the deliverable. Our businesses are usually small offices, solopreneurs or 1-3 staff, and they have people help them with their models, but they actively use the models themselves as well. If a person who is not a professional SketchUp and LayOut user handles the model of someone who has specific standards and methods in these programs, it can have truly devastating results. Myself and my fellow founders have had this happen in the past, and it’s what led us to form Sloped. You can’t hand your models over to just anyone who has a pretty portfolio. You have to have a clean and organized model in order to get efficient work done.

  2. Sloped doesn’t have a bidding system of any kind. Businesses start a contract with us, which involves filling out information such as the scope, deadlines, hourly rate or overall budget, and we match them with the freelancer that we think fits this criteria the best. The freelancer sets their own hourly rates, but they are never in competition with someone and therefor put into a bidding position.

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44

I see. Yes, that is absolutely true. I’ve been using CAD systems since 1993 and the absolute worst thing to have to deal with is to have to deal with a disorganized mess.

This also explains why your test is about specific SOPs and workflows in SU, which is something I was questioning.

That’s good, I’m glad to hear it.