Depending on the type of small business you have or want to have, chances are you’ll be in over your head if you try taking ln all work yourself.
Almost every entrepreneur needs some help along the way. The thing is, if your startup is still in the works, then hiring full-time employees may be out of your budget.
Don’t worry. If that’s the case, there are plenty of ways to bring a helping hand on board without having to break the bank.
If you’re in the market of hiring workers on an “as-needed basis”, freelancers are the way to go.
That’s why I’ve listed some simple tips for finding and hiring this kind of affordable assistance.
Whether your business calls for a graphic design project or exclusive content for a webpage, there’s an eager freelancer on the other end ready to get the job done.
The only problem is that not all freelance work is created equal…
Two freelancers charging the same rate might deliver an end result that significantly differs in quality.
So, how exactly do you weed out the not-so-professional ones and ensure you’re hiring an ideal candidate for your business needs.
Step 1: identify what you need.
The purpose of freelancing is to either outsource projects that are out of your league or pass tasks to someone else so you can free up your schedule to work on more important things.
But before you pull the trigger, you need to determine what skills you are looking for in a new hire. Feel free to jot down certain attributes you’re interested in and set off on the prowl.
Another thing to consider is how much you’re willing to pay. Remember, the quality of freelance work is not the same across the board.
Usually the price tag will reflect this, but it’s not always a clean-cut differentiation.
That said, a good way to get a feel for the grade of work that could be coming your way is to assign potential employees paid test projects prior to scheduling legitimate tasks.
If you’re happy with the finished product it’s probably a green light for welcoming them to the team.
Freelance job boards, such as ProBlogger and the Craigslist Gigs section, are great platforms to get in touch with these short-term employees.
As a rule of thumb, avoid websites like Monster and Indeed unless your goal is to build a full-time staff.
Simply specify a summary of the workload and expectations plus however many hours a week or month the endeavor will take to complete.
Afterwards, you can sit back and watch the applications roll in.
From here on out it’s a matter of sifting through those applicants that are either on or above par.
It may be frustrating at times trying to identify the perfect worker for your business needs, but talented freelancers are out there and more than willing to do the work.
It’s just a matter of putting in the time to look for them. Either way, the payoff of having a portion of your workload taken off your hands is well worth it in the end.
