How to Get the Most Out of Your Freelancers

Business is booming across the US.

With a strong economy and unemployment the lowest it’s been in nearly half a century, things are looking pretty good.

But there is a caveat to that good news.

Companies big and small are vying for talent in a historically tight labor pool.

Small business owners are already well aware of how fierce the competition is in the current labor market. A recent survey from the National Federation of Independent Business found that 87% of small business owners who were hiring or trying to hire in September had few or no qualified workers for their job openings. 38% of all owners said they had open positions that they couldn’t fill.

For a lot of small business owners, this means they’ve had to look elsewhere for help with certain jobs, and for many the answer to finding that help lies with freelancers.

In fact, according to LinkedIn, 70% of small businesses have hired a freelancer in the past, and 81% of those businesses plan to hire freelancers in the future.

Freelancers can provide a flexible and cost-effective solution for acquiring talent to help your business thrive.

But as a small business owner, there are a few things you should keep in mind to make the most of working with freelancers.

Find the Right Talent for Your Business

If you post information about a contract opportunity on sites like Upwork, Freelancer, or Indeed, don’t just hire the first person who responds. And definitely don’t make a decision based solely on price. Sure, it might be tempting to hire the person who offers to design your website at a fraction of the cost that others put forward, but remember the old saying of “you get what you pay for.”

Just because the person won’t be a full-time employee doesn’t mean you should forgo any sort of recruitment process. Do your due diligence before agreeing to work with them. Arrange for a meeting (via video if they are in a different location), review their portfolio (if that applies to the position), and ask for references. You could also have them complete a sample assignment to gauge if they would be a good fit for the work that you need done.

One of the benefits of working with freelancers is that they tend to have well-rounded experience. However, make sure that expertise and knowledge fit your particular needs.

Once you’ve found someone perfect to help with your business, give them a thorough outline of the project and your expectations, and agree to timelines and rates of pay upfront.

Working with a freelancer is a business deal and could have a massive impact on your business, so be sure to treat it as such.

Put it in Writing

You know that bit just mentioned above about the work, timelines, and cost? Well now put it in writing.

Whether the work is for a rewrite of a web page or a full-blown marketing campaign, put the agreement into writing.

Create a formal contract that details anything and everything about the work the freelancer will be doing. The contract should include what the tasks/responsibilities are, deadlines and targets, revisions, hours, invoicing, rates of pay, scenarios for terminating the agreement — you get the idea.

Having a solid contract that covers all the pertinent details ensures there are no surprises for both you and the freelancer that could disrupt things once work is underway.

If you think you’ll be doing more work with freelancers in the future, create a contract template that contains all the necessary generic legalize to save yourself valuable time.

Introduce Freelancers to Your Business Culture

Often, businesses don’t give enough attention to introducing freelancers to the company culture.

Think about why it’s crucial for new full-time employees to learn about the culture of your business. If they didn’t have a proper understanding, it would affect the quality of their work. The same goes for freelancers.

When you hire a freelancer, their work is a direct reflection of your business, so it’s important for them to have an understanding of the culture and story behind your business.

Whether they will be working in your office or remotely, spend some time informing them about your small business, including goals, the environment, target audiences, style, tone of voice in messaging, as well as the reason or intent for what the freelancer is working on. The more information they have, the better return you will get with the work they produce.

Communication is Key

Once you’ve hired a freelancer, don’t just declare yourself hands off and sit back to wait for the work to come rolling in.

It’s essential to keep communication open with your freelancer to make sure the job is progressing as you want it to and meeting your expectations.

Two-way communication is especially vital if you have hired someone who is working remotely. Make sure the freelancer knows that they can reach out to you with questions or concerns and the best method to go about doing so. Just be sure to respond to those questions in a timely fashion, not a week later. Ideally, arrange for a weekly meeting where you can discuss progress and give constructive feedback.

You hired this person for their expertise in a particular area, so be open to hearing suggestions they may have. Some of those ideas may not work for what you want, but some others could be useful and may even have you learning something new. Have a bit of an open mind and think of working with a freelancer as a collaboration.

Keep in mind that freelancers are small business owners and entrepreneurs just like yourself. Give them professional courtesy and communicate with them as you would want someone to interact with you and your business.

Process Payments Quickly

Raise your hand if you hate late payments. Anyone who didn’t raise their hand is a bonafide liar.

Everyone hates late payments; you do, and so does your freelancer. They’re frustrating, a source of extra stress, and a deal breaker for future collaboration.

When your freelancer submits an invoice, whether it’s on a weekly basis or at the end of a project, make sure to process the payment as soon as possible. It doesn’t matter if the invoice is for $40 or $4,000, get it paid quickly and efficiently.

While paying an invoice on time is a show of respect and courtesy for your freelancer’s work, it is also beneficial for your small business.

How, you ask?

To start, if you value the work your freelancer completed and might have additional projects for them in the future, a late payment pretty much eliminates any chance of working with that individual again. That means you’re back to square one to find a suitable freelancer.

You also don’t want to become known for late payments, which could not only limit the freelancers willing to work with you, but also damage your small business’ reputation. Never underestimate the power and speed of word of mouth.

That’s why it’s necessary to take measures to avoid any potential issues with payments. Veem can help.

Using unique multi-rail technology, Veem makes it easy and affordable to send payments anywhere and anytime.

Get started with a free account today and let Veem handle your payment needs so that you can focus your attention on growing your business.