This is an interesting concept, much like DoMyStuff, though the difference is in the selection process. DoMyStuff is setup in an auction style while Hire A Helper is a direct method based on the quote set by a helper.
Hire A Helper is setup with college students in mind, though I'm sure anybody can join, who may want to make money with a schedule that they prefer to work in. The service seems to be limited to the U.S and Canada now and is a pretty simple concept. If you need someone to mow your lawn, move equipment, paint or any other general type of help around the house or even an office, business etc...then you simply search for local helpers via zip code, get an instant quote from the helpers you select and even view their profile for their past jobs or experience, plus read any reviews/ratings they may have.
How does it work?
If you are willing to offer your help then simply sign up here, specify the kind of help you are willing to provide and wait for jobs to come to you. If your ratings/rankings, price etc...are what a customer is looking for they will hire you. You need to then either accept or decline the job, if you accept the job you will get an authorization code from the customer upon completion and you will be paid 85% of the quote amount, the 15% goes to H.A.H, and the money goes directly to your bank account.
You have 24 hours to accept or decline, auto decline takes place with no action taken in 24 hours - which negatively affects your rating. I think the time limit is a bit too short, 48 hours seems about right to me. I'm hoping that you can turn off your profile from accepting jobs in case you go away for a few days and don't want to check your email every 24 hours.
Customers need to provide the job location, the description of the type of help you need, the date and the number of hours they need it for. You then get a quote based on your input and you can hire right away or add more jobs and do a check out all at once. So far though the site seems to be populated mostly with local companies, which typically charge more than college students.
They have received $150,000 in VC funding to advertise their site in the U.S. The site was built on an investment of only $4000, as compared to Guy's $12,000 for his Truemors.com debacle.
Mike Glanz is the man behind this site and his previous startup was called YouGotComments.
Personally, I like startups like this which provide an online service and allow you to make money in the real world - rather than just online. Now only if there was something like this in Europe....
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It seems fairly new site. However, I really liked the idea.
Thanks for sharing.