Why Hiring a Freelancer is the Right Choice

Businesses sometimes underestimate the value of hiring a freelancer for a job. They are under the impression because it is an agency they are hiring, that they will automatically receive the best service. By web searching for an agency to hire to design your new website, many businesses don’t consider the possibility of hiring a freelancer.  The fact that it is an agency, with office space and personnel, is not a guarantee for quality service. Traditionally speaking, this could make you feel secure. However with Internet, the world of business has changed tremendously and the traditional route is not necessarily the best route. Here are ten reasons to consider why hiring a freelancers is the right choice to make.

-1- Saving Costs

Freelancers in general, work from home. They don’t have offices and personnel that increase their overheads. The freelancer has the advantage of offering a better price for services rendered, saving you as client money.

-2- Focused on You

Agencies tend to have many clients they work with at the same time. They need to juggle their time and effort between their different clients. The tendency is to look after the bigger clients first. A freelancer tends to work on one or a few projects at a time. They are therefore totally focused on your project, irrelevant of the size of the project. For them, it’s a case of finishing the project with a satisfied client, to refer work back to them in future. In the meantime they will move on to the next project that will have their undivided attention.

-3- Availability

A freelancer’s workweek could stretch to longer than a 40 hour week. Agencies have office hours and are closed over weekends. Freelancers are more flexible to do work for you beyond normal office hours. Freelancers often have clients on the other side of the world, which forms habits of working at odd hours. Even if a freelancer sticks to a normal workweek, you know they are spending the time on your project, and not spreading the 40 hours over various projects.

-4- Direct Communication

When working with an agency, you work with different employees, depending at what stage the project is at. It can become tiresome, to repeat requirements and conversations with the next department that is now working on your project. This is probably one of the greatest benefits of working with freelancers. Your communication is directly with the freelancer from the time you hire him, until the day the project is finished and you have paid the freelancer’s bill. Freelancers are experienced in doing all the tasks of the different facets of the project, from taking the instructions, to delivering the final project. Their ability to multi-task is a great advantage to the client and easier for communication purposes.

-5- Expertise

When you hire a freelancer, you hire him for what he offers. In other words you hire the freelancer for his expertise, and you pay for his expertise. The rate the agency asks for their services includes a percentage of their running costs. You are hiring expertise, but you are paying for more than only expertise.

-6- Important Project

To freelancers the project they are working on is the most important project. To the agency the project is also important. The difference is that with the agency, as said before, there are many projects, and yours is one of them. With the freelancer, your project is the most important one. Freelancers tend to prioritize projects according to a first come first served basis, rather than according to the biggest project. Agencies tend to place more importance on project with a great monetary value.

-7- Time

Projects that  freelancers work on don’t rest in in the inbox of employees until they have time to deal with it. The freelancer has their finger on the pulse of your project, constantly, and they will keep it there until the project has been completed. Communicating directly with the freelancer, who is doing the job, often saves a lot of time, because there is no need to relay the message to the next department. A misunderstanding is sorted  sooner, because of continuous communication between you and the freelancer. Freelancers don’t have time to waste, because time is money for them, too.

-8- Networks

Often the client needs more than a web designer. When hiring an agency, the different departments are advantageous because other projects can be handled by the same agency. There is no need to shop around.  Freelancers have networks. Freelancers work together. Instead of hiring personnel and pushing up their overheads, freelancers can refer you to other freelancers that you can hire for other tasks. Often the freelancer has a wide expertise portfolio.

-9- Agencies Hire Freelancers

Agencies also hire freelancers. When agencies don’t have the resources or the time to complete a project, instead of saying no to the client, they hire freelancers to complete the task on their behalf. In other words, the freelancer did your job anyway for the price he would have charged you. However, you hired the agency and paid the agency’s fee. When freelancers don’t have the resources or the time to take on a project, they say no to the client.

-10- Right Person

Agencies are experts in their field. You hire an agency according to the expertise you need. When you hire a freelancer, you hire the perfect match for your project. The freelancer will be the expert in all aspects required for your project. The project will be finished on time and according to budget.

In conclusion, most of these ten reasons are about the difference in costs when hiring a freelancer compared to hiring the agency. Hopefully the myth of freelancers are cheap because they can’t compete with agencies, has been removed. Freelancers can offer the same job at a lower price, because of their overheads being less. Sometimes the freelancer’s expertise is better than the agency’s. Perhaps next time when you hire, you will give the freelancer the same opportunity as the agency to give you a quote. Chances are you will be pleasantly surprised.

About Out of the Office Virtual Assistance:

logo1bAt Out of the Office, we are committed to providing earth-friendly administration and offer ideas and ways to increase your productivity, decrease your workload, and work more efficiently. We nurture a successful business relationship, while continuing to grow as your business partner. We are focused on streamlining your administration, social media planning and execution, and offering creative solutions for your business success.

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