The Value of Freelancing
Freelancing is enticing for a number of reasons. As a freelancer, you are able to be your own boss, call your own shots, and determine your own schedule, workload, and the clients and projects you want to take. From a business owner’s perspective, you have the ability to hire a freelancer for a project and not have to incur the overhead of employment cost, physical location, equipment, process, and/or management. A business owner can also contract a freelancer to provide ongoing services or help with multiple projects when needed.
However it pans out for the business owner or freelancer, we believe this exchange to be invaluable, and we’ll explain why.
Benefits of Hiring a Freelancer as a Business Owner
- Hiring a freelancer diversifies and strengthens your brand and product. There’s a vast pool of talent out there, and recruiting the right person can further enhance the skills of your in-house team (even if that’s only you!).
- Freelancers are highly skilled and specialized in their area, which generally translates to greater efficiency and time on the job because they don’t need to be trained.
- Freelancers offer their strengths to fill a gap where you may be weak. As humans, we are gifted in various areas but no two people are alike and if the business owner is better at sales rather than bookkeeping, hire a bookkeeper. Doing so will keep you efficient and will prevent you from wasting time and resources.
- Working with a freelancer often creates a special relationship and can pave the way for its continuation some time in the future, whether that’s next week or next year. The prospect of working together in the future (especially after successfully doing so) can be particularly advantageous for networking opportunities and otherwise fruitful for your brand and company as a whole.
- If you’re only seeking short-term help or have a temporary project, there’s generally a no-strings-attached understanding with freelance work, and you’re not required to hire a freelancer as an employee, which offers low financial risk. Additionally, bringing on a freelancer saves your business money in the long run. While their upfront hourly costs might seem steep, you’ll save roughly 20-30% by not having to pay for the aforementioned employee benefits.
- By having a freelancer take some of the load off your plate, you may be able to focus on higher-level tasks that require your full attention, or possibly even projects you never quite have the bandwidth for.
Benefits of Working as a Freelancer
- You make your own schedule. This might be the most-talked-about perk of freelancer life, but it won’t function without discipline. Do you work best at 10 p.m. or 4 a.m.? As long as you meet your deadlines and practice great communication, the choice is yours.
- You are your own boss. Again, this takes a special kind of person. The creative liberties you have to do your work are widely enjoyed and a major perk of this work style.
- As a freelancer, you can handpick brands and businesses that you admire in some way or would like to work with and potentially provide your services to them. Of course, there’s no guarantee of a relationship, but it never hurts to ask.
- By developing meaningful relationships with those you collaborate with, you build a valuable part of your network and portfolio. Eventually, you can be referred to other brands and companies that are connected to the one you contributed to.
- Flexibility is the foundation of freelancing. This gives you openness to work another job, enjoy one of your hobbies, or even work fewer hours all because of the going rates you charge for your services.
- Relationships. Relationships. Relationships. They are the meat and potatoes of freelancing and help you secure future business.
Mutually Beneficial
These lists certainly aren’t exhaustive. Like most things in the professional sphere, every working relationship looks a bit different. But as many who have freelanced, recruited freelancers, or dabbled in both would likely agree, it’s a mutually beneficial relationship and often very meaningful exchange.
This article was written by our very own Megan Carter. Learn more about Megan here.