Launched last week, Guru.com is the latest attempt at matching up independent "gurus" with potential employers, at no cost to the freelancer.

The site features job boards, a search facility, an area for posting bios, as well as articles and message forums targeted at freelancers and their concerns. Setting up an account and your profile is easy. In your public profile, you can display as little as your name and contact information, or go whole hog with a full recount of past work experience, skills, rates of pay, and references. Guru.com simplified this process, which I have found tedious at other freelance sites. Guru.com excels at providing tips for freelancers, such as how to file estimated quarterly taxes, and also offers pep talks. The RunYourBiz section features channels that cover legal and lifestyle issues, small-business technology, tax, and finance. Each of these channels includes advice columns and message boards. There_s also a channel for potential employers called "SmartHire" that covers topics such as setting rates and legal issues. The site claims to have signed on more than 4000 hiring companies, but that number was not reflected by the quality of my search results.