Don’t Get Stuck in a Rut – Hire Outside the Box

A lot of business owners have an idea of what a good freelancer is before they even start to hire one – before they even look for them.  The problem with these preconceived notions is that no freelancer is going to meet exactly the qualifications a business owner is looking for.  While you can keep your notions and your ideas of what a good freelancer is, don’t be afraid to step outside the box.

When looking through freelancers and deciding which one to hire, here are few things to keep in mind and consider before choosing the one to match your project:

• Education doesn’t necessarily equal know how.  There are several very qualified freelancers with no higher education who are self-taught.  In fact, these might actually be better for your project because self-taught individuals are generally more willing to try different or unique methods then someone who is taught in a structured, college atmosphere.

• Low pricing doesn’t necessarily mean the best deal.  As you gain more experience with hiring freelancers, you find that the best bet is a normally a mix between pricing and performance.  Most freelancing sites, including YesFreelance, have ratings for freelancers that show how they have performed in the past. 

When you choose specifically on low pricing, what you generally end up getting is low quality as well as low price.  In effect, what happens is that you end up spending more money because you now have to hire someone else to make up for the low quality deliverables of the first person; you lose time and money.  Therefore, as you look through the bids, make sure that you don’t just look at price – look at everything.

• Never be afraid of the questions.  If you look over a freelancer’s resume or portfolio and you feel that there is information missing or something else that you’d like to know about, ask questions.  You’ll never know if you have the right freelancer – until it’s too late – if you don’t learn everything that you can about them. 

Hiring a freelancer can be a great thing for your company, but if you’re not careful, it can end up being the same thing as hiring a bad employee.  Pay attention to what each portfolio says and what it doesn’t, while keeping these three things in mind.  Happy hunting!

Creating a Freelance Contract

If you’re a freelancer, offering your finely tuned skills for hire, you’ll need to deal with contracts.  Some people say they aren’t that important, but contracts help to establish trust with the client, as well as give your business a professional touch.  Not only that, but people are less likely to back out of a contract than they are for a verbal agreement.

When creating a contract, you want to set the general wording in place, with areas that can be changed per client.  In addition, you want to make sure the contract has:

•  Your business logo
•  Your business address
•  Date you send out the contract
•  Client name and address
•  Project scope – The project scope covers everything you’ll be doing for the client, including the project start date and the date of completion.  If you give your clients the chance for revisions, you add the specifications here, as well (i.e. client has three days for revisions, etc)
•  Deliverables – This is an outline of how the completed work will be delivered to the client.  More simply, you are telling the client, “each piece of work will be delivered on its respective due date.  You’ll tell me if you accept/reject the delivered piece”, and then go about informing them how you would deal with an acceptance or rejection.
•  Payment terms – Do you expect payment upfront or upon delivery?  Maybe 50% deposit, then the remainder upon delivery?  However you expect the payment(s) to be made, this is where you put it, along with what the cost is.
•  Ownership of Final Product – Most freelance work is considered “work for hire”, which means the clients owns full copyrights upon payment.  Here is where you legally pass on the copyrights, or set which copyrights the clients will own upon payment.
•  Term and termination – What if you or the client want to cancel the project before it’s finished?  Here’s where you set the terms on what happens.
• Change order amendment – If the client wants to change the scope of the project halfway through, they’ll need to know how to do it and what’s involved.  Here’s where you tell them.

Remember to be detailed and precise.  Dot all your “i”s, cross all your “t”s; timeframes, payment, terms – every detail is important.  Once you get started, you may find yourself referring to the contracts to make sure that you’re sticking to it.  A contract is the freelancer’s MasterCard – don’t start work without it!

Marketing, Marketing and More Marketing

Marketing – some people look at the word like it’s a personal curse.  The fact remains however, that you must be your own marketing department as a freelancer.  Once you decide to take the big step from working for a boss and being your own, it’s time to look at the “reality of the situation”.

Competition is fierce

You’re not the first person to pack up their proverbial bags and take their act on the road.  Whatever it is you’re skilled at, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of freelancers out there – just.  like.  you.  So what is that sets you apart from the competition?  What will make you stand out from the rest?  It’s time you figured it out.

You need a web presence

Most freelancers work online, whether they also go to physical sites or not.  Because most of your contacts will probably also come from online (at least at the start), it’s best to have a website; otherwise, you’re pretty much invisible.  Now, the website isn’t really for people to find it on a search engine and hire you.  It can be a very simple site, with a page that outlines what you do and examples of your work.

Whatever you have on your website, this becomes part of your signature.  Any time you post a comment on a blog, send an email, build an account for any online site that allows a website link, add your website.

Use your contacts

Contacts aren’t necessarily people in your business.  Your contacts are everyone you know.  Let them know you’re available for work in your field and let them spread the word.

Build that blog

If you can manage a website, you can manage to write one blog a week, at least.  Let people inside; let them see what you’re interested in, or talented at.  Tell them about completed projects or that you’re available for more work.

Sell yourself

If you really want to get out there and be known as “the person to go to” in your field, you have to actually, well, get out there.  Physically.  Go to conferences related to what you do and introduce yourself around.  Shake hands, be friendly, share your expertise with those who ask, and listen to those who might know more than you. 

The marketing never stops as a freelancer.  How do you know you’ve “made it”?  When you can start paying other people to market for you.

Gunslingers of the Business World

The Internet provides great potential for businesses of all kinds, and almost everybody knows now that it is vital to have an Internet presence for their company. Okay—got that, now how to get it?  There are new hiring needs that often boggle the mind. Even once you figure out how to develop your web presence, how do you keep it? You need staffing for programmers and video software development. That’s where freelance marketing employment comes in. Then the economy kicks in and you can no longer afford to keep a full time secretary or executive assistant. Now what?

Can a Freelancer Perform Like A Company?

Yes, and many times, better. There are many benefits to hiring freelancers to do work you would otherwise have to hire an independent company to do, or hire a full or part-time employee to do. When you have projects ranging from jobs and careers in business marketing to freelance translation career fields, having one person on your staff may not fill your needs. Hiring your own employees might work, but at what cost?

Introduction to Yes Freelance

Welcome to the grand opening of Yes Freelance, your new one stop freelance website where we bring employers and freelancers of all types together in a helpful and easy to use arena. Our blog here will be a resource of information on how to use the site, full of helpful tips on what to look for in assignments, and how to judge the professionals who are making bids.