With the rise of the freelance economy, the traditional model of hiring long-term employees has been disrupted. While some might argue that in house employees can have their benefits, these do not stack up compared to making intense use of freelancers. Freelancers are an underutilized resource and come with significant advantages.
#1 – Less Red Tape
One of the benefits of using freelancers is that you can hire them for short-term contracts. This means that you don’t have to go through all the hassle of interviewing a potential employee. Sites such as UpWork showcases the skills of freelancers who will have a long list of reviews and will be given a rating score by the platform. You can filter for the quality of a freelancer and pay exactly what you want to get the job done. Using freelancers is a very easy and safe process, with the typical payment escrow system in place. There is no need to take care of employee insurance, payroll, insurance, or legal issues. The freelancing platform takes care of it all and you are not the employer of the freelancers.
#2 – Find The Exact Skills You Need
When you hire a permanent employee, you are hiring one person with a generic skill set. But an online business often changes and needs different tasks completed. For example, you can find a freelance writer with experience in writing about search engine optimization or short term loans. Or a software developer that specializes in WordPress. You simply hire them for the job that they are proven to be effective at. They do the job, and both parties go their separate ways upon completion.
#3 – Far More Cost Effective
For a number of reasons, using freelancers is more cost effective. The money you pay is going to get you exactly what you want. If not, mediation services are provided for issues in dispute and negative feedback is a serious consequence for freelancers who do not complete the task as specified in the initial contract. Because you are only hiring the freelancers for a one-time project, you do not have to take care of additional expenses. You also don’t have to hire them for a whole year with a fixed wage, regardless of the income of your business. Another benefit is that the freelancer can work on the project while you sleep, as they are located in different time zones across the world. All in all, freelancers are simply a cheaper and more efficient way of getting business projects completed.