2 January 2008
Recently the Internet is seeing a new trend of people using online services to outsource their personal tasks.
Chief executive of iwantaPA.com, Anya Portnik, says that her most unusual request has been an investment banker that employs them to read a story to his daughter every evening, for an hour, in French.
This is the new world of “person-to-person outsourcing”, where those that are cash-rich and time-poor are using the web to outsource personal tasks, popular tasks include; booking holidays, tracking down prospective life partners, and educating children.
According to India-based research firm, Evalueserve, the personal outsourcing market was worth more than $250 million this year and is expected to hit more than $2 billion by 2015.
Caroline de Courreges, an American expat, works 11-hour day for a fund of hedge funds in Mayfair and is one amongst the latest trend, comments:
It probably saves me a couple of hours a week. More, recently, in the run-up to Christmas. The little things that everybody could do, but take up the ten minutes here, ten minutes there that I just don’t have.
AskSunday, provides a ‘24/7 personal assistant’ which is accessible on the phone or via the web and allows users up to 30 tasks a month. The company, which charges £14.60 a month for its service, channels work to sites in India and the Philippines.
Keep up to date with industry and Nomensa news by signing up to Nomensa newsletters.
