That will be very difficult since with every introduction, the person making the introduction is putting their reputation on the line. So you will have to build up credibility by doing the research and then cold calling the institutions. That will slowly build your network and then you may get reciprocity where people introduce you to their contacts.

In the US, Angies list is the leader. Unfortunately creating a two-sided marketplace is relatively cheap to start and very, very expensive to build. My suggestion is that you start locally to test the concept and the costs. If you have a USP that gains fast traction you are going in the right direction. If no traction, do not throw good money after bad.

Short term answer - yes. However your problem will be execution. A two-sided marketplace takes years to grow and millions of bucks to keep the door open until you are big enough to grow naturally.

The issue is not the cost of the platform (less than $ 100k) - the issue will be getting freelancers and clients - Upwork was loosing money until last year or so.

Set-up a business page on LinkedIn describing your services. Then post interesting content from the business page. Also you can search LinkedIn for companies that could use your skillset and solicit them for your company's services.

Depends what your interests are and where you are located. To start I suggest you study the various freelancer platforms to see what people are looking for and what they are willing to pay. If you are thinking investments or work from home or multi-level marketing - do your due dilligence - way too many are a scam.

If you do not own your own brand or design/patent you will find out that 99% of drop shipping businesses fail and fail fast. So instead of just drop shipping, create a brand and then find manufacturers that will put your name on the product and all the POS materials and packaging.

Join various platforms such as Upwork, People per Hour, FIVR and offer your services.

Depends on your product. If it is food - go and give samples to potential customers. If it is a physical product - find the first customer, provide the product, utilize the feedback to improve and get a testimonial. For digital products - offer a free trial.

Specialize in niche markets or niche packages (i.e. yoga trips, academic trips etc). Once you get practice in handling one niche, you just keep adding niches.