On-demand workers or freelancers, such as myself, have taken the world by storm (yes, humility is one of my most inherent characteristics). Today, an increasing number of employees are exiting traditional, 9-6 jobs to take up freelancing. Don’t look at me; I believe the more, the merrier.
The global freelance industry is causing the workforce landscape to evolve rapidly. Upwork’s sixth annual “Freelancing in America” study reveals that 51% of freelancers would not go back to a traditional job despite the money offered. There’s no doubt about the freedom that comes with freelancing; it’s addictive to know you can make 10x this month and 100x the next as you continue to pull your own cart.
But, more on that some other day. Here’s why you should hire a freelancer as opposed to a full-time employee –
1. Freelancers offer a cost-effective alternate:
Imagine this, quality work and being billed just for the hours you utilize. Yes, that is the flexibility freelancing offers to all businesses. By nature, on-demand workers are a more cost-effective alternative to hiring full-time employees. As the name suggests, when you hire a freelancer, it is usually for an occasional gig. If it is a more extended arrangement, it is based on an hourly basis—still turning out to be more economical.
The flexible worker is hired, performs the task, and exits until you need them again. You’re not only paying just for the hours put in, but you also save on an additional cost of dishing out salary benefits that full-time employees avail. According to Freelancer.com, this can save you a whopping 20-30% per year.
2. Outsourcing specialized skills and expertise:
Are you looking for a versatile talent but can’t afford their hefty wage?
When you opt to choose a freelancer to help your business with a specific skill, you can access the crème de la crème of the available talent pool. For example, there are numerous freelancing websites (freelancer.com, Upwork, and so on) available where you have the opportunity to connect with flexible workers across industries. You can then bring on board professionals with experience in your niche to fulfill the role.
In the long run, you’d be saving tons of money by joining the gig economy as you pay only for the work done, attain no overhead costs, and of course, don’t offer salary benefits.
3. A new, fresh perspective:
I can vouch for this from my personal experience; when I join a team as an outsourced talent, I uncover the brand with fresh eyes and new ideas. When hiring a freelancer, you also employ the possibility of them thinking and doing things differently from your current team.
If you hire someone for a specific niche with a decent experience, they’ve probably tested and tried out various things for similar companies in the past and can help you see what works and what doesn’t. When you’re outsourcing, you’re in reality hiring an expert with several years of experience and someone who has handled similar tasks for others.
Lastly, freelancers have the added responsibility of ensuring every job is top-notch as our business runs on referrals and repeat orders (yep, that is the truth).
4. Accessibility – anytime, anywhere:
While the economic benefits of hiring a freelancer are undisputable, it does come down to hiring the best possible candidate for the job. Today, there are absolutely no limits to finding the right person for the job.
You can find and hire expertise from across the globe. Using sites like LinkedIn and other freelance marketplaces, you can browse through listings, view the skills and level of knowledge for all budgets, and understand the optimal flexibility of working hours.
Once you and the candidate are on the same page, you can pretty much get started; making this very lucrative to both parties involved and highly effective in meeting deadlines. It’s a new pair of hands, within minutes, just like that 🙂
5. No strings attached:
Who are independent contractors? They are people like me who opted for more flexible hours and the ability to work on multiple clients simultaneously. What’s more, we deliver high-quality and price-optimized work for all business requirements.
However, in the off chance that you hire a freelancer that you’re not happy with—whether it is delivering sub-par work, missing deadlines, or lack of synergy. Here’s how dealing with it is so much easier.
If you’re not satisfied with the contractor’s performance, you can terminate the agreement immediately and replace them if you wish to. More flexibility and fewer strings attached are generally much lower risks to an employer and so much easier than when a dispute agrees with a regular employee.
So is the future freelance?
There is an increasing demand for work-life balance today, and even a country like India is the second-fastest-growing freelance market globally.
The global network of freelance work is sustained by platforms and marketplaces that accumulate a pool of talent, skills, and expertise. Thousands of clients match millions of freelancers daily.
If you ask me, I am all for it. I’ve worked with companies I was a full-time employee with even after starting Chapter IV. Remote working has become a norm today given the pandemic, and I think the future is a gig-based economy. There seems to be no obstacle as distributed teams worldwide become widely accepted.
If your company is one of them, meet your next temporary or long-term freelance content writer. Contact me today.