The Roadmap to Create a Service Marketplace like TaskRabbit

TaskRabbit is one of the leading names in the service marketplace industry with an estimated annual turnover of $81 million. Its roots can be traced back to 2008 when Leah Busque, a software engineer from IBM got the idea to help people find reliable sources of earning during the Great Recession. Gradually, Leah’s business grew and raised several million dollars in funding.

Today, thousands of service providers on TaskRabbit offer useful services in over a hundred categories. As per TaskRabbit’s record, they have completed over 700,000 home repair projects.

Due to its success and popularity, TaskRabbit has inspired several entrepreneurs to launch their own service marketplaces. Those in the planning stages or looking for a complete solution to launch a marketplace like TaskRabbit can immensely benefit from this guide.

Business Model Workflow and Revenue Streams

Service marketplaces like TaskRabbit follow a simple workflow that helps service seekers connect with service providers. After that, both these user types coordinate with each other to get the job done. For reference purposes, consider the following workflow.

• The service provider signs up on the marketplace and creates a detailed profile.
• Service seeker browses different categories and selects a service provider.
• The seeker completes payment on the marketplace, which includes the marketplace commission as well.
• The service provider coordinates with the service seeker to deliver the job.
• Alternatively, some marketplaces also allow service seekers to upload jobs. Service providers can explore those jobs and send their bidding proposals.

Note that the aforementioned workflow is only for representation purposes. The actual workflow can vary depending on your business preference. Additionally, to launch a service marketplace like TaskRabbit, you will need to understand the viable revenue generation channels:

1. Marketplace Commission: The commission charged for every transaction that takes place on the marketplace.
2. Featured Listing Spaces: These are paid promotions for top-rated service providers on your marketplace.
3. Subscription Packages: You can also sell subscription packages with special benefits for service providers and seekers.
4. Third-Party Ads: You can charge money for promoting local businesses on your marketplace.

Steps to Develop a Service Marketplace like TaskRabbit

Although there are various options available in the software development industry to launch your marketplace, moving forward with a self-hosted solution that you can host on your own server is the most reliable for the following reasons:

• You get complete control over the marketplace. Unlike SaaS solutions, there will be no restrictions on the number of listings and transactions.
• Self-hosted solutions are also highly cost-effective in the long run. They can help you save thousands of dollars in just the first five years by eliminating monthly recurring costs.
• These are also tested and tried by professionals in the service marketplace industry.

Step 1: Select your Service Marketplace Software

Based on the aforementioned information, you can select any self-hosted software of your choice. In our guide, we are going to recommend and proceed with YoGigs service marketplace software. YoGigs comes with all essential features to launch handyman and freelance service marketplaces.

Meaning, not just TaskRabbit, but with YoGigs you can launch platform like Fiverr, UpWork, Angi, AirTasker, and Bark as well. As its new version was recently launched in the market, it is the most advanced service marketplace software available to date.

Key Features of YoGigs Service Marketplace Software:

• Custom Registration Fields: This software allows the marketplace owner to create custom registration fields for different service categories and professions.
• Job Posting: Service providers can create and upload detailed job postings on the marketplace.
• Direct Job Invitation: Service seekers can invite their preferred service providers to do the posted jobs.
• Public and Private Jobs: On YoGigs-powered marketplaces, seekers can create public jobs that are visible to everyone, and private jobs that are only visible to invited professionals.
• Bidding Module: Along with direct hiring, Yo!Gigs supports bidding and proposals as well.
• Service Packages: Additionally, service providers can create varying service packages that include their costs for different types of jobs and services. Service seekers can directly purchase these packages.
• Job Cancellation Window: To prevent any losses to the service providers because of late job cancellations, YoGigs let the admin set a custom job cancellation window.
• Discussion Forum: Service seekers can post direct questions on the discussion forums that service providers can explore and answer. This helps providers establish trust amongst service providers and increases the usefulness of your marketplace.
• Reviews and Rating System: Both service seekers and providers can rate and review each other on the marketplace.

Click here to explore the new advanced features of YoGigs.

Step 2: Deploy the Software

In the next step, deploy the software solution on your selected hosting server, which can either be a third-party hosting service like AWS, Hostgator, and Bluehost or an on-premise server actually present in your office premises. In the case of the latter, you will need to ensure that the server matches the minimum requirements of the software.

After deploying the software, configure your TaskRabbit-like marketplace. Set up primary pages such as the home page, about us page, contact us page, and add content. Add brand name, logo, and other trademarks. To receive payments, configure the payment gateways and add your bank details. Additionally, set up your social media handles for social proofing and business verification services.

Step 3: Launch and Market

Your service marketplace is ready for launch. However, to get the first few bookings, you will need to attract service providers to your platform. This can be done by introducing various incentives for early registrations and promoting them in the local discussion forums and groups of your target region. You may also need to introduce a markdown strategy and policies such as a service guarantee to create a name and hype about your business in the market.

Initially, the response may be slow, but it will develop gradually as you start attracting more service providers and seekers. You can also do local SEO on terms like ‘hire + service profession + city name’ or ‘service profession + near me.’

Conclusion

The gig economy is expanding like never before and marketplaces like TaskRabbit are some of the early entrants in the industry. However, there still remains immense scope in many cities and towns around the world to launch a similar marketplace like TaskRabbit and capitalize on the opportunity. Due to the diversification of revenue streams, you can also establish a stable business in the gig economy, and in doing so self-hosted solutions like YoGigs can help you out. Lastly, we also recommend doing a competitive analysis so that you can understand the marketing and pricing strategies of your competitors and gain speed.