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7908 Views 11 Replies Latest reply: Mar 9, 2012 11:58 AM by ridhima
Newbie
Chris Heggem
Currently Being Moderated

Feb 3, 2011 11:49 AM

Hiring Freelancers or Contractors

When you're at a point where you can't take on any more business you have to either turn away clients or expand. Not being at a place to go hire full time employees, freelancers and contractors seem more appealing.

 

What advice or insights do you all have on bringing on freelancers and contractors? Anything I should be made aware of?

Tags: hiring
  • cegurube Newbie
    cegurube
    Currently Being Moderated
    Feb 7, 2011 3:58 PM (in response to Chris Heggem)
    Re: Hiring Freelancers or Contractors

    Hi Chris,

     

    Outsourcing jobs offshore can help you expand your business and hire full-time employees who will work your hours, without spending more money.

     

    But before you start looking for contractors, consider the following:

     

    1. Is this person going to handle confidential information? If yes, then you might want to serve an NDA. (non-disclosure agreement).
    2. Paying hourly rates can cost you more. If the project will require more than 20 hours/day, then you should probably consider hiring this person full-time and paying a reduced monthly fee.
    3. Outsourcing to independent contractors won't guarantee quality results. It's easy to fake experience and credentials. I've worked with freelancers who charge very low rates, but can't deliver. I ended up spending more money and time explaining project details. I found that working with reliable outsourcing firms is better. If you're interested, I can recommend a trusted vendor that makes outsourcing a lot easier. You can email me at cecille(at)teamspan.com for details.


    Hope this helps,

     

    Cecille

    • Drachsi Apprentice
      Drachsi
      Currently Being Moderated
      Feb 23, 2011 1:40 AM (in response to cegurube)
      Hiring Freelancers or Contractors

      Agreed. I guess it depends on what you need to be done. If they are to work in your premises, you have much more control. There are resources which are only based on-line, you have the opportunity to gather lot more information, and decide if you can work together.

       

      Drachsi

      Drachsi

    • Marvin Newbie
      Marvin
      Currently Being Moderated
      Apr 30, 2011 12:16 PM (in response to cegurube)
      Hiring Freelancers or Contractors

      I would like to add to what Cecille mentioned (refer to Feb 7 post):

       

      1. "Paying hourly rates can cost you more. If  the project will require more than 20 hours/day, then you should  probably consider hiring this person full-time and paying a reduced  monthly fee." -- Yes, this is definitely right.  As a Virtual Assistant I inform would be clients of the pros & cons of paying on an hourly basis or at a fixed monthly fee.  If the project is long-term then a fixed monthly fee is the best way to go, otherwise you're better off paying your Virtual Assistant on an hourly basis.
      2. "Outsourcing to independent contractors won't  guarantee quality results. It's easy to fake experience and credentials.  I've worked with freelancers who charge very low rates, but can't  deliver. I ended up spending more money and time explaining project  details. I found that working with reliable outsourcing firms is better." I agree.  At this day & age it's very easy to fake experience & credentials.  Even the most reliable outsourcing firms can make occasional mistakes of hiring freelancers who pass themselves off as experts.  I would suggest trying out a freelancer for 2-3 days before awarding the project to them.  This way you would know if your freelancer really knows what he is doing.
  • LUCKIEST Master
    LUCKIEST
    Currently Being Moderated
    Feb 7, 2011 2:52 PM (in response to Chris Heggem)
    Hiring Freelancers or Contractors

    Running a successful business takes many things, but chief among them is competent professionals you can count on. Usually, such people are those you seek to hire on to your company so that they can provide the expertise you need on an ongoing basis. Sometimes, though, that may not be practical. Whether the expertise required is short term in nature, or if it just isn't within the business' means to hire a full time professional, a freelance contractor can provide the expertise required.

     

    There are several benefits to hiring freelance contractors. One benefit is that as a freelance contractor, the business does not have to incur the additional expense of paying for benefits or employment taxes. Another benefit is that terminating the contract of a freelancer is easier than laying off or firing an employee, so greater flexibility is provided. An additional benefit is the ability to bring in expertise for a specific project or event.

     

    Freelance contractors can be of great use to a business. However, there are instances where various regulations or laws may require a person to be counted as an employee, regardless of how the business wants to characterize the person. This happens most often if the freelance contractor works for a single client for a long period of time. In this instance, the contractor may be an employee by law.

     

    Talk to both your accountant and your lawyer. Good luck

  • Newbie
    sunsax
    Currently Being Moderated
    Feb 8, 2011 12:54 PM (in response to Chris Heggem)
    Hiring Freelancers or Contractors

    Not sure if you're looking for specific projects that need to be done, but if you are, I've become fan of CrowdSourcing. There are certain sites that are specifically good for logo design, art, creatvies and web work.

  • Newbie
    Chris Heggem
    Currently Being Moderated
    Feb 10, 2011 1:44 PM (in response to Chris Heggem)
    Hiring Freelancers or Contractors

    Thanks for all the replies. I did some research and found a helpful link on a small business blog I read. Worth reading: Hiring Freelancers and Contractors 101

  • rob Newbie
    rob
    Currently Being Moderated
    Apr 26, 2012 3:54 PM (in response to Chris Heggem)
    Re: Hiring Freelancers or Contractors

    Hi Chris,

     

    I'm not sure what route you decided to go when hiring someone to complete business services.  I wanted to give you some words from my own experience.  I think it soley depends on your business and how big it is.  If you have a small budget and you can't afford payroll for someone full time, I would suggest hiring contract workers.  This way you aren't locked into paying them a salary.  I typically have all contract workers because my business has busy seasons and really slow seasons.  I would rather hire more employees during my busy seasons and have less during my slow seasons. 

  • Kacie Parker Novice
    Kacie Parker
    Currently Being Moderated
    Jan 4, 2012 1:59 PM (in response to Chris Heggem)
    Re: Hiring Freelancers or Contractors

    In my opinion, working with an outsourcing provider is far better. They will be able to handle the workload for you for a reasonable price. I am very satisfied with the quality of work they produce, and they’ll manage their employees for you so you don’t have to worry. Our company has been working with Offsourcing Inc. for a few months now and all I can say is I am very happy. They are amazing. Offsourcing Inc is a boutique outsourcing provider specializing in web development, graphic design, administrative functions, and customer support services. I hope this info will help you or others too.

  • ridhima Newbie
    ridhima
    Currently Being Moderated
    Mar 9, 2012 11:58 AM (in response to Chris Heggem)
    Re: Hiring Freelancers or Contractors

    In my opinion

    There are several major advantages to using ICs rather than payroll employees, with financial savings topping the list.

    You will probably save money. Even though most employers pay ICs more per hour than they would pay employees to do the same work, it usually ends up costing employers more to hire employees.

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