Operating even just a small business isn’t the easiest thing to do in the world. You have to be on top of everything, from managing your enterprise’s daily finances and ensuring the viability and sustainability of your products and services, to ensuring that the needs of your customers are met and everyone in your team is bringing their A game to their daily tasks.
Indeed, making sure that all the needs of your business are met can be a real challenge, especially if your budget is tight, and at the moment, you can’t hire too many permanent employees to help you with your everyday responsibilities. It’s a good thing, therefore, that you have the option to get help from professionals who can lend you a hand only when you need it.
Freelancers are self-employed individuals who are not particularly committed to serving any specific employer. They typically work with multiple clients at any given time, with projects being given to them only as needed. This is a set up that is often favorable to both the employers and the freelancer, since the former will not be bearing the full cost of employing permanent employees, while the latter will able to choose only the projects they want to work on.
But how, you might ask, would you know if you’re ready to hire a freelancer yourself? In this short article, we’ll provide you with a list of signs that may indicate your growing need for freelancer muscle.
You now have the money to do so
Hiring a freelancer may be more affordable than hiring a full-time, permanent employee, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should get the services of one right now. If you’re having a hard time creating income for your business at the moment, then that money could be better spent somewhere else.
Working harder on your own in the meantime may be difficult, but it will be an experience that you’ll definitely treasure down the line. Besides, if you want to forge long-lasting relationships with great freelancers in the near future, you’ll first have to make sure that you can pay them fairly for all the work that they’ll do for you.
There is a consistent stream of work you need help with
You may already have existing full-time employees in your team, but if you’re still finding yourself short on help on a monthly basis, then hiring a freelancer may be the answer.
Note that while freelancers may love the freedom they have in terms of being able to work at their own pace, they will also appreciate the security of having projects on a more consistent basis. If you already have a consistent stream of work that you can volley over to a freelancer’s side of the court, then hiring one may be the perfect solution to your ever-growing workload.
You’re turning down too many leads
This is related to the second item on this list, but just to drive the point home further, consider the larger effect that declining high-value leads will have on your business, especially if your enterprise is the type that also does client servicing. Not only will this impact your profitability, it could also affect your reputation in your industry.
By channeling some of the workload to freelancers, you’ll be able to continue to close leads and to bring in the money for your business to benefit from. At the same time, you’ll be making a lot of customers happy just because you’re able to accommodate them.
You need someone with specialized skills
Maybe you need a content writer, a graphic designer, a web developer, or someone else with a special skillset. However, what if you only require their help for a one-off task, or a project that will last just a couple of months? In such cases, it won’t make sense to hire a permanent worker, but getting help from a freelancer might just be the ticket.
You need someone who can help you with repetitive or tedious tasks
Doing regular clerical, administrative, and customer care tasks is par for the course in many businesses. But while keeping on top of things is important if you’re a business owner or a top-level manager, this doesn’t necessarily mean doing all the small tasks yourself!
If you’re finding yourself constantly inundated with responsibilities like scheduling, blog posting, bookkeeping, accounting, and responding to customers, then it might be time to hire a freelance virtual assistant, accountant, or customer care representative.
Employing freelancers strategically and with appropriate consideration of the requirements of your business will allow you to better manage your enterprise’s daily operations. Make sure to watch out for the 5 signs above, which will give you a good idea about whether or not you’re ready to hire some.
