Hiring a freelancer - the good, the bad and the ugly
You probably would be having the right skills in becoming a freelancer or a digital nomad but do you know how to sell your skills for a job? This post will give you a better idea of whether you are a suitable freelancer for growing entrepreneurs.
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For an entrepreneur hiring a freelancer and building a business may look like a piece of cake, but when it actually calls for an action, it requires dedication, planning and hard work to keep a business running smoothly.
Managing freelancers and saving projects from losing is also quite tough. As an entrepreneur, you should always build a business which can grow with or without you. In today’s world, the startups are embracing freelancers increasingly and they are realizing the need of hiring freelancers for their projects. But, still, many businesses are not prepared to hire them for their team because when it comes to freelancing there are some good, bad and ugly things about it.
To make sure that a freelance project runs smoothly, an entrepreneur needs to look at all the good, bad and ugly sides of it.
Take a glance at the how hiring a freelancer will bring a difference to your business.
THE GOOD
Meet budget - In a report by bureau of labor statistics, it was estimated that hiring a full-time employee could cost around 30% more than hiring a freelancer. In Intuit 2020 reports, it was estimated that by 2020, more than 40% of the American workforce or 60 million people will be independent workers. The freelancer usually sells its skills and the pricing for a project is calculated on the effort that is being made on the projects. It would be quite comfortable for you to meet the budget requirements of your business.
Flexibility according to projects- Hiring independent workers, that is freelancers, will bring greater flexibility than full-time employees. This means that the entrepreneurs can hire them for specific projects, when they need them for that particular time period. If you have no projects, you can let go the workers and there would not be any stress of any related legal contracts which you abide by. This will save your time and money and bring productivity right away.
No involvement of lawsuits - The full-time lawyers are exposed to certain terms of employment, while mostly freelancers are not covered by wage and hour laws, the right to form a union or any laws related to lawsuits.
The BAD
We all have heard of the famous quote, “two sides of the same coin”. Every situation we consider has two sides or perspectives. Likewise, for entrepreneurs hiring freelancers can also be like a nightmare because of several reasons. Let’s see what are some of the worst nightmares:
Low-quality work - The main purpose behind hiring freelancers is to provide a better quality of work other than you are able to provide. You would expect to get the the highest quality work that will benefit your business when you are paying the best amount for it. But it is like a nightmare to expect the best quality of work from freelancers. The solution to avoid this is to be clear with your communication, and set your expectations upfront, hire multiple people, create milestones with the help of some project management software and review their work before you hire them.
Collaboration - Another fear of assigning projects to freelancers that many entrepreneurs may have is of keeping pace with ongoing work. Collaboration is one important pillar of teamwork to sustain productive teams. When you have a global team whose rhythm is not a 9 to 5 melody they are working in different time zones and regions of the world, there is a need of collaboration. The growing entrepreneurs can find effective ways of collaborating with their freelancers working remotely by using softwares like ProofHub, an online project management software, and collaboration tool. Always stay in full control over your tasks and manage your projects well.
The UGLY
However, there are a few things about hiring freelancers that an entrepreneur may miss. Nobody talks about the ugly truths of it. To work with a freelancer, one important part of having successful projects is developing the TRUST. You need to trust them to do the job well and deliver it on time before deadlines. Trust is a thing that is required from both sides. A freelancer should also be able to trust you to pay them on time and treat them with respect. It can be a little scary to trust a freelancer initially. Hiring a freelancer to work on your piles of tasks and projects can be a big money and time saver.
Good luck to you if you are just starting it out. It would be easy and perfect when you handle the things well and prepare yourself to be a good leader to inspire your team. Create a good relationship with your freelancers, they will surely exceed your expectations.
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About Author
Vartika Kashyap is the Marketing Manager at ProofHub — a project management software for your growing business needs. She is a seasoned marketing professional who is an expert in digital marketing and entrepreneurship. She’s been featured among LinkedIn’s Top Voices for the year 2016, and is also a contributor for The Next Web, Huffington Post & Your Story. She is also a top writer in Leadership & Productivity on Medium. Connect with Vartika on LinkedIn, Medium and Twitter.
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