Working with freelancers has a lot of advantages for founders and CEO’s of funded startups, not least providing an affordable way to buy-in expertise on a flexible basis without committing to more fixed overheads. 

My experience on both sides of the table – hiring freelancers as Ops Director at a production agency, and working as a Virtual Operations Manager – has taught me that there are a lot of preconceived ideas about what working with a freelancer will be like.

If you are holding back from booking freelance resource here are my top 3 myth-busters about the reality of working with freelancers.

Myth 1 about working with freelancers: 

Work from home freelancers are mainly parents who’ll be distracted by their kids, so you end up paying more because they’re not focused on the job.

Myth Busted: Yes, lots of freelancers who choose to work from home do have children, some have caring responsibilities or health issues that mean a traditional 9-to-5 office-based job is difficult, and some just prefer to be their own boss.

Whatever the rationale, the reality is, freelancers are business owners with reputations and incomes to protect. They may have other demands on their time but these are usually meticulously managed. School, child-minders, carefully organised rotas and excellent time-management mean they can plan exactly when and where they work to fit around children, elderly relatives and health conditions.

It’s important to remember, that we’re not talking about the make-do-and-mend work from home forced on many employees by COVID-19, but a planned and conscious life-choice.

Since making the shift to self-employment and home-working I have found that I am much more productive than I ever was in the office. Whilst the kids are at school (or less-gainfully entertained on YouTube / Minecraft) I can achieve in 3 hours what would have taken me all day in the office. There are fewer distractions and it’s much easier to focus on the job in hand. 

Some freelancers are very strict with their working hours and will not respond to requests sent outside those times, others are more flexible and able to accommodate out of hours requests or emergencies. Many will work early mornings, late evenings or weekends as it fits with their home life better.

If having projects turned around quickly is important to you check what your freelancers standard turnaround times are, many have 48 or 72 hours as standard in order to manage their workload (extra fees apply to “rush” work). Others are able to be more flexible and will agree deadlines on a project by project basis.

Tips: 

• make sure you understand what your freelancers’ working hours and standard response times are
• if you’re on a tight budget ask them to estimate how long a project will take them or agree a fixed price
• make your deadlines explicit when briefing so that disappointment is avoided

Myth 2 about working with freelancers:

I’ll have to follow their processes and working methods, like only emailing instructions or using project management systems.

Myth Busted: There are some freelancers who will only accept written instructions, who don’t like to take unscheduled phone calls from clients and prefer you to use Asana / Trello to assign tasks. 

This helps them manage their time, workload and energy, enabling them to be focused and productive whilst working on client work (see above!) Many also find that written instructions are clearer and prevent confusion – you can always refer back to what was written.

If you find the transparency and accountability of written communications then emails and systems like Asana/Trello/Monday could work really well for you. But if organising your thoughts in writing feels is just too time-consuming or difficult for you then a phone or video call might be a better solution.

Inboxes can also be quite terrifying places; you go in to send an email and immediately get distracted. Instead many startups choose to use messenger services such as Slack, WhatsApp for internal communications, and switch between them freely, including freelancers in these channels can be an effective way of integrating them into the team.

I find a phone call is often quicker and more efficient than an email or written message; questions can be addressed, and projects contextualised. Sometimes it becomes clear during a conversation that what my client is asking me to do won’t deliver what they actually need. This is usually because they aren’t detail focused and don’t understand the mechanics or processes involved. There’s nothing worse than finding out after I’ve delivered a piece of work that it wasn’t really what was needed and then having to re-do it at additional cost to my client. 

A quick chat helps me to understand what you actually need much better than an email; but equally if written instructions aren’t clear I’ll follow up with a summary of what actions I’m going to take and my understanding of what needs to be done.

Tips: 

• it’s all about building trust and understanding, so before you start working with a new freelancer have a frank conversation about how you like to communicate
• if a freelancer can’t accommodate your preferences, seek out someone who will

Myth 3 about working with freelancers:

They’re experts and will think our systems and processes are shit and want to change them all

Myth Busted: The thing is, often shit systems aren’t actually shit, they’ve evolved pragmatically and do the job. Maybe there are better and more efficient systems, but if it’s not affecting your business and it’s not something you want to invest time or money in right now then what’s the problem?!

On the other hand, if you are embarrassed about your systems, chances are that you know they’re not fit for purpose! Sometimes an outside eye is helpful in simplifying things and an extra pair of hands to implement changes can make light work of something that feels like scaling Everest.

It comes down to personality and approach; some freelancers want to demonstrate their experience and value by suggesting improvements and insisting on best practice. This kind of ground up approach can be very useful when getting ready for growth, but as with all things managing timing, budgets and priorities is key.

Often a more flexible approach is needed and finding someone who’s happy to get on with the current priority and work with existing systems without moaning is what’s needed.  

Tips: 

• Be open to advice and feedback, but also clear about your business priorities 
• Don’t get distracted by shiny new object syndrome – a new system isn’t necessarily a better system

Hire a freelance legend, not a myth!

Some freelancers, as with employees, need a lot of direction and are very linear in their approach, others prefer a less structured and more autonomous style. When hiring freelance support for your business it’s important to consider not only what work needs to done, but also how they will need to work, and how that fits with your working practices.

The best freelancer for you will have a skill set and working methods that complement and enhance yours. Being clear about your expectations from the outset and taking the time to understand how they prefer to work will save time in the long-run. It is often worth asking for a paid trial period before committing to a longer term relationship. This will mean you end up with a legend of a freelancer rather than a mythical monster... 

If you have operational and admin work that’s getting in the way of your growth and want a freelancer who:

• is used to hectic non-linear agency environments
• is able to juggle changing priorities
• is confident communicating fluidly between email, phone, messengers
• understands that your working day isn’t 9-5pm 
• doesn’t think complicated systems are the answer to every problem

Book a call to work with me.