Freelance Flyers: The Markup Play

1. Gig work arbitrage: A company needs 10 people to hand out flyers at 150 RMB per day. We hire people at 120 RMB per day and pocket the difference.

2. Recruitment outsourcing: Some HR companies outsource their hiring operations, paying a referral bonus of 2,000 or 3,000 RMB for each candidate who stays on for a set number of days. We split this into two models: direct recruitment and distribution. Direct recruitment means building our own hiring team to source candidates and claim the full bonus. Distribution means we take on a hiring contract and then subcontract it to others, earning a markup of a couple hundred RMB—a practice commonly known as "selling heads."

3. Job placement: Jobs considered "premium" in some circles—like airport ground staff, firefighter, PetroChina, hospital nurse, etc.—are almost all contract positions. The pay isn't great and benefits are mediocre, yet they remain wildly popular, creating a surplus of applicants. As a result, these roles have turned into paid slots, with placement fees charged to the job seekers themselves.

4. Labor dispatch: In labor dispatch, the hiring company outsources certain positions to a dispatch agency, which signs employment contracts with workers and then assigns them to the client company. For example, a firm might outsource its customer service roles to an HR agency. The firm pays the agency 5,000 RMB per month per agent, while the agency pays the agents 4,500 RMB, keeping the 500 RMB margin. #SideHustleShare