Using
Freelance Providers to Boost Your Business
by Misty
Cryer
Freelance service providers increase your
resources and manpower without increasing your personnel expenses. They
expand the skills available to your company and enable you to provide more
quality services to your clients. By decreasing time to market and
minimizing the workload on your existing staff, they increase your
efficiency and productivity, raising morale as well.
Without a doubt, being in business for
your self is extremely challenging. If you are like most business owners,
you probably feel like there are not enough hours in the day, you are
stretched way too thin, good help is hard to find - and even harder to pay
and maintain. Sound familiar?
If you own a small business, you may not
be able to afford to add staff. As a result, you and the employees you do
have are overworked. Overwork leads to burnout, turn-over, decreased
productivity and the added costs of retraining your staff.
This is one area
that freelance providers can be very helpful. You and your employees
shouldn’t have to work extended hours and endure excessive stress when you
have special projects that need to be completed on top of your day-to-day
duties. Outsourcing those projects to freelance service providers can get
the project done with greater concentration, in a quicker manner, and
without the added stress and time demands that drive you crazy, or drive
your help away. The faster a project can get completed, the shorter your
time-to-market is, which is often important to staying competitive in your
market.
Using freelance
service providers opens new doors of opportunity –
Copywriters who
possess certain qualities, like business and marketing experience, can
provide you with outstanding marketing materials such as sales letters,
website copy and advertisements.
Ghostwriters can
establish you as an expert in your field as you become the author of
industry related articles, newsletters, books or e-books. You don’t even
have to know how to write!
Business strategists
can write your business plan or marketing plan, taking the bias out of it to
ensure it is sound and provides a solid foundation from which to build your
business.
Software developers
and ghostwriters enable you to produce products for resale, such as
software, books or e-books. You don’t even have to know how to write or
program!
Freelance designers
can enhance your presentations, improve your company image, or even develop
a full-function website for you. Many
offer search engine
optimization and internet marketing services that will give your company
more exposure on the internet.
Some freelancers
even provide accounting or administrative support services which can take
some of the load off you, the business owner, and your staff without
increasing your personnel expenses. They often work by the hour or for a
flat monthly fee and you don’t have to pay payroll taxes and benefits.
Elance Online® is an
excellent place to find freelance service providers. Current categories of
expertise include: Design & Multi-Media; Web Design & Development; Software
& Technology; Sales & Marketing; Writing & Translation; Training &
Development; Legal; Administrative Support; Accounting & Finance;
Engineering & Design; and Miscellaneous (just to be sure your needs are
covered). If you are interested in buying or selling services through
Elance, click here to visit
their website.
When selecting a
freelance provider, there are a few things you should do to make sure your
project requirements can be met to your expectations.
-
When writing your project description, make sure that you are very clear
about your requirements and expectations.
-
Review the credentials of your bidders. In the Elance marketplace, they
have feedback that indicates whether or not former buyers were satisfied
with their services.
-
Don’t rely solely on the numerical rating. Read the comments left by
previous buyers.
- If
there is not sufficient feedback from which to make a decision, feel free
to ask for and check references.
-
Don’t rely solely on price when selecting a provider. Often you get what
you pay for.
-
Ask for samples of work previously completed to ensure you like the style
of the service provider.
-
Ensure that the provider you select is fluent in the language your project
will be completed in so that communication will not be difficult and the
final project will reflect good grammar.
-
Expect to pay at least 50% upfront, or to make progress payments.
- If
your project needs to be kept confidential, ask for a non-disclosure
agreement.
- If
you will retain exclusive copyrights to the product of your project, ask
for a letter releasing all rights to you.
-
Leave feedback. For a freelance system to be effective for buyers and
providers, feedback ratings are essential.
Remember, using
freelance providers can boost your business in more ways than one. For
greater details on how to use freelance providers to enhance your company,
pre-order my e-book – “Clear Cut Biz™ - Using Freelance Providers to
Boost Your Business”!
Good luck and best
wishes in all your endeavors!
Misty Cryer