Hello there, thanks for the well thought out description of Moonlighting! As an employee of the platform I’d be happy to answer any direct questions people may have and would love the opportunity to add just a couple of quick notes to what was discussed by Brian.

First of all, we greatly appreciate the pros and cons you laid out in this post, very helpful and insightful. The platform is built on a freemium model as you portrayed and gives people an opportunity to find work and get hired. The premium service includes some assistance in getting set up and an opportunity to leverage the platform to your advantage from a marketing/promotion standpoint. This program is custom fitted to businesses of all sizes and gives people the ability to get the word out about the work they do through social media, a powerful mobile platform, and through networks of local and national publication partners (McClatchy, TRONC, Gannett).

Moonlighting does not make any money off of what you earn and you are not required to utilize the payment processing system built into the application. While the banks take a standard service charge, this is common for service providers – every time you pay with a credit card the business you are transacting with often incurs this charge. In our platform of individuals transacting, the service providers also incur this charge if you utilize the optional Moonlighting payment processing system.

Furthermore, the invoices or proposals are not required, nor do they cost extra money to utilize. Moonlighting set out to create a platform that was very open and inclusive, which is why the premium membership focuses so much on promoting you and the services/skills/work you provide. That way the assistance we provide (and the way our company earns money) is unbiased in where you get business from, how you transfer money, communicate and manage your work.

Finally, as you mentioned, there is no guarantee that posting a service or requesting a job on Moonlighting will yield income. Even when you are a part of our premium service it is still up to the individual, or business, to ensure they are working leads and getting hired. Moonlighting’s role in this process is to provide an open marketplace where people can display their abilities and find people looking to hire. We facilitate many connections and help serious people find work everyday. The premium ‘Boost’ membership is a way to increase your visibility in this marketplace and market yourself to a broader audience of people outside of the platform, giving you the best opportunity to get found and get hired.

Hope this helps, happy Moonlighting!