I Want to Hire a Freelancer (Really?!)

This is what prospective clients tell me. Not too often but nonetheless regularly. The project matches the company’s expertise perfectly. Closely relevant cases in the portfolio. The budget seems sufficient to get going. However, when I start a conversation with the prospect, I hear that they are looking for an individual developer only, not a company.

Hiring someone who works independently may be a great idea in a number of cases. But when I ask the would-be client about the reason for his choice, I keep getting the same type of responses. And while they all certainly have a point, I feel like there are still a lot of common misconceptions on the whole freelancers vs. companies hiring matter.

Note: This story addresses hiring developers but this also applies to designers, testers, DevOps engineers, and most other IT professionals. Maybe to lots of other domains too, such as marketing, cold calling, home renovation — I don’t have first-hand experience working in these spaces so can’t share my insight into them with you.

Individual freelancers are cheaper than companies. Some of them are. And some of them are not. There is no secret that the best engineers are in high demand so many employers are willing to pay the same rates to seasoned overseas professionals as they pay domestically. Once such an engagement is over, will the developer consider working on new projects for a lower wage? You know the answer. So it comes down to entry-level or mediocre individual developers being available at low cost while established professionals have comparable and higher rates than companies.

Direct communication is better than having a middleman. In some cases, it definitely is. However, are you ready to pay the engineer for chatting rather than coding? Developers typically cost more than any other specialist involved in a software development project. At the same time, project managers have lower rates. They are specially trained to tackle all sorts of issues that may emerge during the project, including communication-related ones. Quite a few developers — let’s call it what it is — are nerdy types who prefer computers to humans. This is where a PM can step in and help communicate important information to both of the parties while the engineer could focus on what he does the best, i.e. coding.

Company can place an immature employee on the project. Sure, unfair companies can do it as well as try to trick you in a number of different ways. By contrast, no reputable company will ever do that as after all, the clients are paying it for the corporate brand it has invested in for years. Essentially, you needn’t care about who will be assigned to the job too much as long as you trust the company and the choices it makes for the project to succeed. Besides, the situations when an independent developer subcontracts his job to a friend or just someone random he has found on the web are not unheard of too. So, it does not matter who you hire — just make sure they are trustworthy.

Have any of you heard these arguments from your prospective customer? I am wondering how you have handled objections like that. Or are you a client who hires developers? Then please go ahead and tell me what you think by posting a response below.

Follow me on LinkedIn. In my next story, I’ll tell you what I love about freelance developers.