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Pros and cons which should be considered before hiring a freelancer

Dragana Drobnjak — Sun, 12 Mar 2023 15:29:14 +0000

Numerous companies worldwide are seeking the best working force that can transform their businesses in countless amazing ways. The fact is that freelancing has been on the rise, more than ever. Younger generations, or better said working people, don’t want to attend their regular 9 to 5 jobs anymore and are switching to freelancing, with the purpose to make a career from their hobbies and talents.

Yet, this is not only beneficial for freelance individuals, but also for businesses all around the globe, especially online ones. Hiring a freelancer that can live anywhere on this planet opens a completely new opportunity to get work done by various professionals you wouldn’t be able to find in your local city or even country.

We have made a list that will clearly tell you all the pros and cons of hiring a freelancer. Be sure that you consider this before starting a hiring process:

Pros of hiring a freelancer

Freelancers usually cost less than hiring a regular full-time worker for a certain position or a project. There’s no doubt that freelancers are most of the time much cheaper than regular workers you would hire for your company or business. And no, we are not talking about salaries only, but also about the fact that the freelancer takes care of everything else on their own. There’s no need to spend extra money on health insurance, for example, as well as on desk space and other company perks.
Besides the lower price, there are also fewer financial risks. The point is that you hire and pay a freelance worker once you have tasks for them. Therefore, they won’t be your regular costs every month. Once you have a certain project to be completed, you find a freelancer or contact the one you have hired before. There’s no need to pay an entire salary on a monthly basis because almost all freelancing contracts are either hourly or project-to-project based. Freelancers can work from home, they have their own gear which you shouldn’t worry about, and companies don’t need to pay them for traveling to work, and food. Literally, you just pay for what is done – a project or a task and that’s it.
Hiring freelancers is really easier than ever. We can thank that to different freelancing platforms that will make the entire hiring process much shorter and easier. Just imagine how much time would you spend trying to find suitable professionals for your business in real time. Let’s say that you are searching for an expert developer. What do you do? You create a job offer and post it to different freelancing platforms, like UpWork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.com, for example. Once you’ve done that the freelancers will apply for that job position by themselves. You’ll be able to quickly see their entire portfolio and choose a suitable candidate for an open job position. Besides that, you can also invite freelancers to apply for your open job position, which definitely higher the chances that you’ll find a very professional remote worker you like. You can also choose freelancers according to their experience, usually starting from beginner, going through intermediate levels, and finally expert experience and knowledge.
Flexibility to upsize or downsize the team at any needed moment. We have already explained above that you don’t need to hire a freelancer for a full-time position. You can actually have many freelancers in your team, which will work when needed. This means that you can, from now on, upsize or downsize the team at any needed moment. This is especially important when your workflow changes.
Quality of workers, especially developers. It’s good to know that freelancers, especially freelance developers, are considered to be experts in their fields. Just imagine how huge their competition is – the entire world is a competitor, isn’t it? Purpose to succeed in that crowded freelancing market, freelancers and remote workers need to learn something new all the time. We have already explained the importance of constant learning for freelancers.

Okay, now that we have named the top 5 reasons why you should think about hiring a freelancer for your company or a business, let’s take a look at the main cons of this idea:

Cons of hiring a freelancer

Problem with supervision. Once you create a contract and the job is done, you’ll have to pay for the needed service. Yet, how can you know if the freelancer has truly spent those 15 billed hours working hard, or if they have completed your assignment in an hour, and then spent the rest of the working time doing something else? Maybe this is not a con of hiring a freelancer – you should actually think this way. If you are successful with the job done, why worry about how much time the freelancer has actually spent on some project? Okay, you may say that it is not fine to bill 15 hours if someone has worked a few hours on that task. If this bothers you, maybe it’s best to set a fixed-price project and not worry about how much time the freelancer has spent on it.
Unpredictable quality of work. We have already said that freelancers have too many competitors, which means that they truly need to work hard to stand out from the crowd. Yes, that makes an expert in many online fields, but what happens when you hire a freelancer and don’t get the quality of work you expected? This usually happens with freelancers who have just started working on freelancing platforms and who maybe don’t have a portfolio to show, or cannot prove their skills and knowledge. The best advice would be to create a test project before hiring a freelancer, but keep in mind that the test task should also be a paid one. It doesn’t have to be anything long, yet freelancing platforms don’t allow working for free.
Training a freelancer may be challenging. It’s true that training a freelancer can be challenging. It’s not the same as with a full-time employee. They aren’t around all the time and it happens that a remote worker can miss some important details for your business.
Lower investment. Let’s say that the freelancer will probably have lower investments in your company. Why? Because they probably know that they have met you now, and are working with you on certain projects, but don’t have proof that they will work for your company for a long period of time. This means that you can expect lower investments in the company as well. Yet, this doesn’t need to be the rule. Every freelancer, and also every company and business, is different. It’s up to you to find a proper candidate and to set your own rules and expectations together.

Conclusion

Overall, we believe that hiring a freelancer for your company truly has more pros than cons. Of course, that depends on the freelancer you hire, but when you take a look at our list, it’s easy to realize that freelancers cost you less, don’t bring new financial risks to the company, can bring you the talent you would dream about before, and make your team’s size flexible whenever needed.

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5 Golden Rules for Managing Customer Expectations as a Freelancer

Stanislava Tsvetanova — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 14:50:00 +0000

When as a freelancer you are at the dawn of your career, sometimes there is the temptation to agree with every request of the client. Maybe it has been a hard-to-find client and you are just starting your business with little experience, so you want to make the client happy. However, saying “yes” might not always be a good strategy.

On the other hand, setting clear boundaries and establishing reasonable expectations will be a solid foundation for a long-lasting relationship with your client. Wisely managing clients’ expectations is an excellent freelance self-care tip to add to your routine as it will alleviate the stress out of your life and make working with clients more pleasurable! And remember, as a freelancer, you always have the option to exceed your customer’s expectations and amaze them with the results!

This article will examine how to efficiently manage and exceed client`s expectations as a freelancer and make your relationship with your clients happy and balanced.

1. Educate your freelance clients

A client that hires you for a specific task has the reasonable expectation that he has found an expert! You should know your thing. If he could do this on his own, he would never reach for your help! You have positioned yourself as an expert in your field. So, you know that clients are often not acquainted that much with your industry and its subtleties – you need to educate them on the essential details relevant to your project.

Thus, they will gain insight into the process and the expected outcome and the timetable that is set ahead of the two of you. Have an onboarding session where you explain clearly what processes the project involves. As an expert in your field, you do not allow the client to dictate the pace or the tempo of this dance, but you skillfully take the lead – towards your common goal. Gently, yet firmly, staying positive and clear all the time.

You won’t seem bossy. On the contrary, you will establish respect towards your persona and educate him about what they can expect, which will build a strong client relationship in the long run.

How to educate your client:

Have an onboarding session where you explain all the details
Get clear about the process and the deadlines
Let him know the results that can be expected
Affirm your position as an expert in your field

2. Agree on the communication channel and timing

Some clients can be very anxious about the progress of the project. Especially if they are investing much and they are expecting fast results. However, you should make it clear in advance what your working schedule is and when and how they will be getting updates.

It is not ok to make yourself available at any part of the day, and any day of the week. Have an honest look at your agenda and your other projects and commitments and schedule the intervals during which you will either give updates or be available for a call or a short meeting.

Make clear to your client which communication channel to use, especially if you have several options. They can either send you an email, a chat message, or a call. Having only one main communication channel for the project will avoid losing information and time, which will increase your effectiveness and reduce stress.

Establish the communication parameters:

Get clear on the communication channel: call, chat, or email
Let the client know when you can be giving updates on the project

3. Over-communicate, never assume!

Another expectation of customers is based on communication. The clients communicate their needs and concerns to you, asking for a specific service or freelance product. It is vital that clients and freelancers have excellent communication. This will define well what the final outcome of the collaboration will look like. Sometimes such communication fails to take place, and clients and freelancers proceed to work based on assumptions. Well, this is a recipe for disaster!

First of all, communicate the terms and conditions of your job. It is good to put them in written and signed by both parties. This can avoid huge misunderstandings in the future. Make sure they include the expected payment for your job and the payment method. It is good to be clear about the deadline too!

You also need to communicate with your client about the process of the project and after the completion of each stage, if there are such. In this way, the client has an idea of what is going on, and if there are adjustments to the route, it will be less time-consuming to have to tackle a single stage, than the whole project!

In a nutshell: It is better to over-communicate with a client, rather than assume what he wants or what you think is best for him. This will save you a lot of time and effort in having to make changes and adjustments to your work later on.

Better to over-communicate than to assume:

Communicate with the clients every doubt or uncertainty you have
Never assume what the clients would like, better ask them!
Communicate timely any delays or unforeseen events

4. Build trust As a Freelancer

Another reasonable customer expectation can be summarized by the term: Trust. In short, the client is sharing with you part of his life or business and has the rightful expectation that you use this for the purpose of your mutual collaboration only.

Otherwise, the results might be catastrophic, both for your freelancing career or for the client’s business. So, make it clear from the beginning by showing willingness to sign an NDA or Nondisclosure agreement, and sticking to it faithfully. Never compromise on this part. Make sure your computer and other devices you use for your projects are secure and protected.

You want to make trust a priority in the relationship with your clients. It has many facets. One discussed above is about keeping the data privacy and never misuse their data or information in any way. Another one is working on the project in an honest and diligent way. You can also build trust by abiding by the terms and conditions on which you agreed and let the client know right away if you cannot meet a deadline or a requirement due to an unforeseen circumstance.

These principles will build you a good reputation as a trustworthy person and freelancer.

Ways to build trust as a freelancer:

Never misuse clients’ information in any way
Stick to the terms of your contract and communicate immediately if something stops you from abiding by any point.
Work on the project diligently thinking of the clients` well-being and that of their business.

5. Do not over-commit, over-deliver!

Caught into the enthusiasm of closing a new client, some freelancers tend to promise more than they can deliver. Be realistic with your capacities as a freelancer, your speed of work, and the process that the project involves. Set a reasonable time frame that is larger than what you usually can handle. This way you have some extra margin of time for unforeseen circumstances.

Be conscious of where your limits lie. What lies beyond could damage the quality of the job you do. Think: it is better to surprise your customer by finishing your work earlier and with a better outcome than to rush the job, get stressed, and be late with the deadline.

Explain this to your clients frankly and present your schedule and your plan of the process. It is almost sure they will appreciate your honesty, and they would prefer to keep the quality over the speed.

Do not over-commit:

Give yourself more than enough time for the project
Allow time for unforeseen events
Clearly explain your process and time management schedule
Make the client see that rushing the project will affect the quality

Over-deliver: Exceed your Customers expectations!

As a freelancer, you reduce stress by setting reasonable boundaries and expectations. However, if you have the chance, never miss an opportunity to “Wow” your clients. Here is how you can do that:

Be a good listener – listen to each and every tiny element of their requirements and try to get really deep into their needs and the needs of their clients. It will help you to provide an excellent service!
Deliver before time – after you have given yourself enough time to complete the project, you can delight your clients by delivering before the deadline. This is one of the things that really make a good impression!
Add value to your work with a “bonus” – if you surprise them by walking an extra mile for the project, this will make your collaboration memorable and set the foundation for future projects together.

“Wow” you clients as you over-deliver:

Be an excellent listener!
Understand clients` needs and personalize your job to them!
Deliver before the deadline, whenever possible.
Award your clients an unexpected bonus by walking the extra mile!

As a freelancer, working with multiple clients at a time, single-handedly, can be a real challenge. But by learning the essential and vital skill of managing clients’ expectations firmly and wisely, you can have a happier working life and relationships, and eventually, you even learn how to create “Wow” moments for your clients!

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Three things based on which an employer hires a freelancer

Stanislava Tsvetanova — Sun, 22 Aug 2021 10:38:10 +0000

When clients are sourcing talents for their projects in the online pools of freelancers, there are many factors that come into play. However, experience has shown that 3 criteria are never overlooked. They always play an important role in the formation of the decision of an employer before he decides to hire a freelancer. Let’s examine them one by one and thus we can enter a little bit into the client’s mindset. This is very helpful if you are starting your career as a freelancer, or you want to improve your acquisition of new clients.

Your freelancing profile and your profile picture

Your potential clients cannot meet you in person, so the first thing they see is your freelancing profile and especially your profile picture. You have to make your profile description and portfolio as professional as possible. Also, we cannot stress enough how important the image you choose to represent you on your chosen freelancer platform is. This is the face of the person employers will choose to do business with. All of us subconsciously choose to deal with people that look friendly and professional. So, creating a good, professional, high-quality profile picture for your profile is an asset you definitely want to invest some time and effort in! There are some essential characteristics and tricks of how to create a picture that represents you well as a professional freelancer. The most important are:

Tips for a good profile picture:

Your face is the main focus
Have a friendly, smiling expression
Consider a background that is simple
Have a dignified, upright posture
Your outfit is professional and decent
You do not wear sunglasses or other distracting accessories

What to avoid in creating your profile picture

Too serious or grumpy expression
An image that is obviously cropped
Distracting or outdoor background
Full-sized body picture
Shadows or objects covering your face features

Your price ranges

Another aspect that is essential when clients are considering hiring a freelancer is the bid range. It should not be extremely high, but it should not be too low. Clients know that usually when the rate is low, the project quality will usually be poor. So they avoid freelancers with the cheapest prices. The pricing of the service you are providing should be fair in relation to you the value you are bringing to your client. You must study your industry and make good research on what other freelancers in your field are charging their clients in order to make a decent living.

If you are just starting, make a good calculation of all your expenses and the desired income per month and per year. Payoneer has a good online calculator for freelancing fees that consider the many factors you may overlook if you are at the beginning of your freelancing career. If you have limited experience, you may consider charging your clients lower rates, and you may choose to raise progressively your rates when you gain some confidence and testimonials of projects you successfully complete.

Usually, clients that have thriving businesses will prefer to pay a higher fee if they are certain that you can provide a service that can save or make them more money. This is why it is very important to create a good offer to present your skills and your value to employers.

Things to consider while establishing your price range:

What other freelancers in the same field charge for the same service
Your expenses and needs
The value you are providing to a client
The type of client you work with

Things to avoid in estimating your price range:

Setting a too low price for your service
Charging all clients with the same rate

Your freelancing offer

Writing a professional job proposal is crucial to retaining the attention of your potential client and getting the desired project. In the life of a freelancer, things work differently from the world of employees that work long term just for one company. Freelancers need to find projects and clients on a regular basis in order to obtain a consistent workload. Therefore they need to master well the art of writing a good freelancing job proposal. There are many aspects of a good proposal you would like to take into account. The main components of a good offer are:

Focus on the client and on their needs

When you start writing the proposal, make sure you carefully read the job description and that you express in your offer the greatest need of the client that you learned from this job post. What is the client looking for? What is his project and what will be your role in his project? Write in your own words what you understood is the essence or purpose of the position you apply for. Then write another few sentences stating how fulfilling this purpose will contribute to the good outcome of the client’s project. This will make a big difference in winning the jobs you desire.

Express clearly the value you can provide

Make some clear propositions explaining what will be like for the client to work with you. Focus on their experience – what will they get, in what timeframe? What will be the results they will receive and how you plan to provide them. Explain your strategy, but do not go into too many details. All these will be discussed afterward during the interview process. In your proposal, your main aim is to make a good claim, that you are confident that you can sustain afterward, and provide proof that you are qualified to do the job that is requested.

Send a sample of your work that is relevant to the project

Your qualifications as a freelancer do not come in terms of university degrees, but in terms of completed projects. A University degree in itself is not bringing value to your client. But a job done according to his requirements is! So, make sure to include in your proposal or cover letter a sample of your work that is relevant to their project. In case you are just starting your career, invest some time to create such samples that you can send to your potential clients. This way you will be able to show the results you can provide, and this is the biggest proof for successful future collaboration!

Tips for a good job offer:

Focus on the client and his needs
Carefully read the job description
Re-state his biggest needs in your own words
Describe the value you can bring to the client
Outline your plan of completing the project
Attach a relevant sample of your working style

What to avoid when you are writing your proposal:

Write only about yourself or about irrelevant details
Sending template that is not adapted to the job description
Creating expectations, you cannot fulfil
Using inappropriate tone
Spelling or grammar mistakes

The energy you invest in improving these three aspects will be well rewarded. When your freelancing profile and profile picture look professional and welcoming, your bid range is fair in relation to the value provided, and your proposals are written skilfully and persuasively, you will soon see lots of clients willing to start a collaboration with you. This way you can focus more on improving the quality of your service and upgrading your skills, and you won’t have to lose so much time chasing after new clients. So, make sure you do a good job at these three, and happy freelancing!

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Dealing with Difficult Clients in Freelancing Business

Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 13:31:21 +0000

The best way out of a difficulty is through it

Will Rogers Tweet

In my career as an independent writer, I have met some of the sweetest and most cooperative clients one can ever find. But when you are in the freelancing business and have effectively invested some energy there, it is normal that you will run over clients who are not simple to deal with.

Dealing with clients positively is a matter of patience and great understanding. It takes time to get hold of the right tactic, but once you unlock it, your business will grow much faster than you expected.

Who Are the Difficult Clients?

The first step that I took for dealing with difficult clients was identifying them. It was difficult to rule them out before starting the work, but here are some features that I found common in most difficult clients I have dealt with so far.

10 Ways of Effectively Dealing with Difficult Clients

1. Communicate more than often

Lack of communication is the foundation of a professional hazard. And especially if you are a freelancer, there is a fair chance that you will face some clients who are not responsive. Keep communicating even if you don’t get responded to. The messages can be kept for future reference.

Drop a message or request for a call whenever you need to, discuss anything that you think important, even if it is not something big. Also, if you are doing a long-term project, keep your client updated about the progress. This way you can avoid any blame later.

2. Keep probing for details

In my experience of dealing with difficult clients, I have noticed that most of them are not clear about the work. They might give you some vague idea or topics that are not well thought-out and expect the work to be done perfectly. Emphasize on extracting details from the client. Keep questioning until you are satisfied and make it clear that the work cannot be started until both the parties have a clear idea of the deliverable. Set realistic goals beforehand to avoid confusion later.

3. Keep a record of the conversations

It is a primary requisite for a strong freelancing business. Keep the record of all the messages and conversations that you have had so far with the client. Do not delete any file or document that were exchanged between both the parties. In the unlikely event of a legal dispute, these pieces of evidence will have your back.

4. Don’t compromise on payment

Some clients may have an inclination towards getting the best work done but at the lowest price. Moreover, if you are a newcomer, you need to watch out for clients who are always in the mood for bargaining. They might give you reasons like you have not done much work earlier, or you don’t have a particular success rate, etc…

Before setting up your profile in the freelancing platform, make an extensive market research on what other freelancers with your skills and experience charge from clients. Once you have decided on your rates, do not alter it for clients excluding exceptions.

5. Clarify early

If you are not content with the way your business is running and are worried that your client isn’t getting the best out of you, address them about it as early as possible. Serenely clarify why an issue is keeping you from doing your best work or from meeting due dates – and how it will affect the outcomes for – alternatively, propose a superior method for working.

In the event that your client declines to tune in to your perspective and the venture closes formally, you will still have proof that you endeavoured to resolve the issues early.

6. Learn to say “no”

In the unforeseen event where it becomes too troublesome to meet the client’s expectations – or so disagreeable, that you simply would prefer not to meet them, the best strategy would be to send a short, well-mannered email clarifying that it is best you walk away. If required, explain your purpose behind doing as such, and offer your support till someone else is hired for the job.

7. Listen actively

Listen effectively, don’t just hear – active listening is one of the biggest strengths of a freelancer. Tune in to what the customer is truly saying. Figure out how to find some hidden meaning. When you listen with all your focus, you can comprehend the issue well. Try not to rush to solutions. Focus on exploring and brainstorming ideas with the client through active communication. Not only will it safeguard you, but it will also help in building a good working relationship and earn your client’s trust.

8. Be confident

As I mentioned earlier, it is not always possible to identify difficult clients beforehand. But as long as you are dedicated to your work and put in your best, you will always find a way to deal with a difficult client. Make sure –

You are doing your research well
You are communicating with the client often
You are meeting deadlines
You are quality-conscious
You know you have done it well.

If you have done your part well, there is no need to worry. Even if the client turns out to be uncooperative, there is no way that you will get in a hassle.

9. File a dispute when needed

This is an extension of the above point. If you face a situation where the client disagrees to clear your dues, or raises a dispute that is unfair, go ahead and escalate this to the authorities. Once the legal team gets into investigating the matter, they will go through all the previous conversations and files history, and when it will be discovered that you have done your part well, the matter will automatically come in your favor. But noteworthy to mention here is that you are sure.

10. Utilize your past experiences

“Experience is the teacher of all things”. If you have ever dealt with a difficult client, you will know how the problems start. Assess your clients to see if there is anything that is common with people you worked with earlier. Trust your gut feeling, it works for me all the time. Make a mental note of the attributes that you think makes a client easy to work with, and focus on evaluating them accordingly.

What is your opinion?

If you have any remarks or might want to share your own experience of dealing with a difficult client as a freelancer, please share with us. We would love to hear from you.

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