As entrepreneurs, marketing directors, hr or product managers, we're all aware that the freelancing scene is continuously growing. Freelancers or independent contractors are those highly skilled and experienced professionals who deliver high-quality work from the comfort of their own home, office, nearby cafe, or coworking space.
Sounds pretty nice, doesn't it? But you might ask yourself: when does hiring a freelancer actually make sense? When does it benefit you, your business, or the company you work for, getting in touch with an independent contractor who's not your regular full- or part-time employee? Well, here are some situations that indicate you might need a reliable freelancer today.
Too many tasks to get done
When you have a bunch of tasks and no time to get all of them done, a freelancer can be of great help. Think about it: you have several projects, tight deadlines, but you and your team can't get everything ready in a timely manner.
Challenging, right? This can be easily solved by hiring a remote professional who has the knowledge and skills to work on the tasks. Choose someone trustworthy, experienced, tell them about your company, give them clear instructions, and set a due date. Problem solved!
You don't have the skills and/or expertise to get some projects done
Here's a very common situation: you have the time to work on the projects, but you lack the required knowledge and/or expertise. Hiring a full-time employee just for a few tasks simply doesn't make sense, especially financially and is it worth it to give up some of your company?
Not to mention that you only need someone here and there, so you don't want to pay an entire salary for 5 hours of work per week. Worry not, freelancers are here to save you. That's exactly what these remote experts do: fill in the needs of companies who need people with certain skills to work on project-based tasks from time to time.
You're looking to budget-friendly solutions without compromising quality
Whenever you want to reduce costs, one of the first things that might come to your mind is quality. You definitely don't want a job poorly done, do you? By hiring a freelancer you can ensure that cutting costs and maintaining a great quality go hand in hand.
Independent contractors are awesome if you're looking to get more for your tight budget. They often have a significantly lower overhead cost than a regular employee (no taxes, no benefits, no PTO), which allows them to deliver top-notch work for less money.
You only pay them for the services you actually need, and only when you need them. Freelance platforms like Giggrabbers, Guru, and Toptal allow you compare the cost and quality of work amongst very good freelancers, so you’ll always have something to compare and contrast.
Another thing worth being mentioned is that a lot of talented professionals switch from being employees to becoming freelancers. This gives them the chance to collaborate with several companies and they're not location independent. And, as we're talking about highly skilled individuals here, the quality of their work will be flawless. Their results directly reflect on them and ensure them more job and project offers.
When you have a tight deadline
Having to get a task or entire project done in a jiffy is not something easy to handle. In this situation, it makes perfect sense to hire a freelancer. They are usually willing to do rush jobs in order to get everything ready on time. In addition, by working with a remote independent contractor, you have peace of mind that you're the flagship client.
This means that, after talking about the project and its deadline, you'll enjoy the top-priority treatment you need. Plus, your questions will get answered quickly and all the edits will be implemented in a timely manner.
When you need flexibility
As we mentioned earlier, freelancers will work when and how you need them to. There are no contractual obligations involved, so they will work as little or much as you require. This is also amazing both when you want continuous progress updates and when you're only looking for quick notifications as soon as the task is completed.
When you want to keep the communication direct and simple
If you're all about directly communicating with the people in charge of the projects, you might want to skip marketing agencies. Most often than not, the person you'll be in touch with will be the account manager, not the marketer, designer, copywriter, and so on. Instead, go for a freelancer.
This way, the entire process is efficient and really easy; you communicate directly with him or her, thus saving a lot of money, time, and frustration. Not to mention that you'll have way more control over the materials and the overall objectives.
These are just some common situations when hiring a freelancer makes sense. The awesome thing is that, nowadays, finding a freelance expert is really easy and simple. Try places like Giggrabbers, Guru, or Toptal. You can choose among numerous professionals that have the experience and knowledge you need. The only thing that you have to do is explain the instructions clearly and answer any task-related questions they might have. Best of luck!
If freelancers have helped you in any of the ways listed above, or you have your own experiences, share them below!