When to Consider Hiring Freelancers for Your Small Business
When running a small business, most people look for ways to deliver exceptional experiences while maximizing revenue. As such, many small business owners turn to freelancers to help them handle their projects at a fraction of the cost of hiring full-time employees. Unlike full-time workers, freelancers are reliable independent contractors that sell their skills at a fee and usually earn money on a per-task basis.
What to Consider When Hiring A Freelancer
While outsourcing labor is a great idea, it’s important to bear in mind that all remote workers are not the same. That’s why you need to look at the availability, dependability, and cost of the potential freelancer to establish if they are the best fit for you and your project.
However, what to consider when finding the best fit may vary based on your industry. For example, if you’re looking at outsourcing legal services (read more here), you may find it necessary to look beyond the specific skills they can offer. Identify whether the potential candidate can withstand positive criticism, their work ethics, and their ability to communicate.
So, when is hiring freelancers for your small business a good idea?
You Have A Seasonal Workload
When running a startup, you may encounter seasons of high workload and others of close to none. Hiring full-time workers would mean that you will have to pay them in both seasons, which does not make economic sense. Working with freelancers can help solve the problem because freelancers are only paid for the tasks done.
Your Business Needs High-Level Expertise
One of the most significant advantages of hiring a freelancer is getting high-level expertise at a low cost. If, as a business owner, you’re hyper-focused on quality and need help with specific projects like content writing, creating a website, or getting a new system up and running, hiring a freelancer may be the best option for you.
Time-Saving
Using skilled freelancers means working with experts in their area of specialization. This means there will be less need for training which can make getting the right workforce pretty straightforward. Besides, freelancers have the added advantage of working on similar tasks for different organizations. This means that they can add creativity by seeing the problems from different angles making problem-solving less time-consuming.
You Are Looking For Personalized Service
Freelancers are usually agile, responsive, and provide personalized services to their clients. Because most freelancers view freelancing as a business, they often take time to listen, communicate and collaborate with their clients to understand what the tasks entail. With their experience working for other clients with similar needs, you’re better placed at having personalized services when working with freelancers.
You Need To Save On Office Space
Hiring full-time staff means you will need an office space and provide each employee with relevant furniture and equipment to perform their tasks. On the other hand, hiring a freelancer means eliminating the need for office space, furniture, or equipment. The reason behind this is simple. Freelancers work remotely and depend on their equipment to get the job done, significantly reducing your business’s operating costs.
You Want To Lower Your Overhead Costs
Traditional full-time employees can be expensive compared to freelancers. Besides paying their salaries, business owners are also responsible for training costs and benefits such as insurance, paid time off, and filing payroll taxes. Freelancers do not require all these benefits since they are independent contractors, which helps lower the cost of doing business. Besides, most freelancers charge industry-standard fees for tasks ensuring that you get true value for money.
Final Words
If you’re facing any of the problems highlighted above, hiring a freelancer may be the best option for you. Even though freelancers may be applicable in many ways, there could be situations where it may be impractical, particularly if you deal with sensitive customer information or intellectual property.
