Working with freelancers is a great way for businesses to get the work they need completed without having a lot of overhead. Especially if you don’t have enough work to hire someone full-time, freelancers can give you quality products when you need them and keep you from having to create projects just for the sake of giving them work.
While these are definite perks, it can be hard working with someone that you’re unfamiliar with in a professional or personal setting. To help negotiate these waters, here are three tips for getting what you want when working with freelancers without sacrificing your reputation or relationship.
Align Your Expectations
You have your own expectations when you give a freelancer a project, and, in return, they have expectations as well. While some of these expectations revolve around the quality of work you want completed, what the majority of this really comes down to is price.
According to Anita Campbell, a contributor to SmallBizTrends.com, aligning your budgeting expectations on both sides can alleviate a lot of potential problems with your projects. Do your best to find a freelancer who can give you the quality of work you want for the price you have to pay. If you can’t seem to make this work, you may need to consider upping your budget in order to get the quality of work you require.
Clearly Define Each Project
Although someone may have been working as a freelancer in your industry for years, this doesn’t mean they can read your mind about what you want or how you want it. For this reason, clearly defining the scope of your project is going to be pivotal to having a successful relationship with freelancers. The editors of AllBusiness.com suggest being very clear about items like guidelines, scope, timetables and more. Getting these details hammered out before the freelancer begins working on your project can be the difference between getting an amazing finished product and having to revise on your own when your freelancer has failed to deliver.
Plan As Far In Advance As Possible
The chances of a freelancer working only for you are very slim. Knowing this, Nataly Kelly, a contributor to HubSpot.com, recommends planning with your beloved freelancers as far in advance as you can to ensure they have enough time to complete your project and that you’re able to get on their schedule in time for you to use the final product they give you. If you use one freelancer very frequently, you may even want to approach them about keeping them on retainer to ensure they’re available for the work you need.
If you’ve only had negative experiences with freelancers in the past, consider using the tips mentioned above to revise the way you do business with these service providers and get the outcome you desire.
Originally posted on September 16, 2016 @ 11:14 pm