More and more people are choosing to go freelance these days. This means that there’s opportunity for small business owners to get extra help with their ventures. Many small business owners don’t have the budget to hire out full-time office employees, so freelance help is the next best thing.
You might even be a freelancer yourself or at least a solopreneur. What better way to seek help than to find another freelancer?
But if you’ve never hired a freelancer or even an employee before you may be pondering on the best way to do it. In this post, we’ll be outlining our top tips for hiring freelance help for your business.
Work out your budget
You need to start off with a good idea of how much you can realistically pay. You may find it useful to come up with a few figures – the lowest and highest you’ll pay and your ideal rate.
This can help you focus your search on freelancers that are within your budget. There’s no point chasing after freelancers that are way out of your price range. You’ll save time in your search if you’re realistic about your budget and focused in your search.
Ask around
It’s always good practice to ask your fellow entrepreneurs and business associates if they’ve got any experience working with freelancers. The chances are that they have at some point hired someone to help with logos or content.
They might be able to recommend a freelancer that’s a good fit for your business. This will help you feel more confident about your decision to hire, as you know the person has been vouched for.
Post on a freelance job board
Popular freelance websites and job boards like ProBlogger or Clearvoice could help you target your search. It’s always best to go to job boards specifically for freelancers as that’s where they’ll usually be – as opposed to regular job websites like Indeed.
Check out their portfolios
Make sure you check out online portfolios or ask for examples of previous work completed elsewhere. If you can also find reviews and testimonials, this is even better as you’ll have the assurance that you’re making the right choice by going with them.
Pick a freelancer with a speciality
Picking a speciality or niche is common advice for freelancers looking for work. That’s because you’re more likely to pick someone who has direct experience in your industry.
For example, It’s always better to hire an experienced SEO Freelancer to help get your website rankings, rather than someone who is a Digital Marketer that has little experience with lots of things.
Please don’t ask for free work!
As a business owner you’re no doubt always looking for the best deal. However, this often goes too far when businesses deal with freelancers.
They ask freelancers for way lower prices than they’ve been quoted or even ask for work for free. You wouldn’t dream of being that bold with a supplier or a big company you work with, so please don’t do it to freelancers.
The problem is that a lot of people don’t take freelancers seriously. But they’re business owners just like you and their time is just as valuable. So, please don’t expect to be handed a photograph or a piece of content for free. Not only will you be rejected but it could get you a bad reputation in the freelance world.
You’ll get some freelancers willing to work for free, but they’re usually beginners and you need to weigh up whether getting someone inexperienced is worth it. Freelance help is an investment in your business, after all.
Have you ever hired a freelancer? What do you look for in a freelancer? Please share your thoughts below.
