How Freelancers Can Help Grow Your Online Business

According to statistics on Thimble as of 2020, freelancers account for 36% of the global workforce. Whether you're running a small or large business, hiring freelancers should be a top consideration. With the help of freelance workers, you can streamline your business processes and grow your revenue faster without hiring full-time employees. That's because working with freelance content teams and digital marketers helps cut operational costs and improve your online presence. You also enjoy fast deliverables, high-quality work, and access to specialized talent. 

Since freelance workers work via the internet, you can find an expert to cater to your business needs from anywhere in the world. This means you're not limited to work with professionals in your region only.

If you're still unsure about the great opportunities independent contractors can bring to the table, read on to understand how freelancers can help grow your online business. 

1. Improves in-house expertise

As a small business, hiring a large team of professionals can be impossible due to financial constraints. The most experienced candidate in each field might be out of reach. As a result, you might end up with an in-house team that may have limited skill sets to help you meet your business goals. 

Given a strong team is vital for business growth and success, companies that lack hiring power are now outsourcing tasks to freelance workers to enhance in-house expertise. You can also leverage freelancers to build a team with different skill sets and experience handling various functions like accounting, marketing, and IT. 

Moreover, independent contractors have expertise in a variety of positions within their industry. So, they don't need extensive training or supervision to get started. They only need to learn about the essential processes of the project at hand. Nonetheless, you must provide a well-detailed timeline, so your independent contractor can complete tasks within set deadlines.

2. Brings Flexibility 

The beauty of working with freelancers is that they are available for hire 24/7. This means you can use different services offered by freelancers to help resolve emergencies when needed. 

For instance, let's say your website becomes slow on Friday evening. If you choose to wait for your in-house staff to fix the problem, you'll likely lose a lot of revenue during the weekend. But if you outsource a freelancer, they'll be able to fix the problem because they have a flexible schedule. 

Unlike full-time employees, independent contractors work irregular hours to remain competitive. For example, they can work late at night to monitor your social media channels and respond to comments to keep your target audience engaged, thereby boosting your online presence. 

3. Increases your efficiency

Hiring and onboarding a new employee is daunting and time-consuming. In most cases, companies spend months interviewing, running background checks, and completing necessary paperwork. 

This means spending a considerable amount of time and money before an employee hits your desired productivity level. Not to mention, it can be inconvenient working with a new worker when urgent tasks come up. 

When dealing with freelancers, you don't need to worry about the hiring process. Independent contractors have less paperwork to fill out, and background checks aren't necessary. 

These aspects allow freelancers to start work immediately. That way, your company can meet its business needs faster while sticking to a budget. In situations where rapid business growth is required, freelance workers also ensure entrepreneurs don't scale upwards beyond their financial capabilities. 

While the process of hiring freelancers is straightforward, getting the most out of them can be tricky. You'll need to vet them carefully to ensure they meet your business needs. Some of the key factors to consider when vetting potential freelance workers include years of experience, work hours, how they communicate, and current client relationships. Understanding how freelancers work and their relationships with past clients is critical. You'll be in a better position to pick a competent service provider. In addition to having experience, make sure your independent contractor communicates effectively and delivers quality work on time. 

4. Promotes diversity and offers new perspectives

Diversity in the workplace is vital, as it enhances the flow of ideas and often results in better business solutions. And there's no better way to improve diversity in your organization than hiring freelancers. Because freelancers come from different regions, education and cultural backgrounds, and work disciplines, they create opportunities for diversification in business. Generally speaking, hiring contract workers allows you to harness a large pool of talent, inventiveness, and ingenuity from minority groups. For example, let's say you hire people of color to offer freelance services. You'll be encouraging and protecting racial diversity. You'll also provide room for this marginalized group to handle projects where their unique lived experiences can bring in new perspectives. 

A fresh perspective offered by an outsider can be an effective solution to business-related problems. It could also help you understand your customers' needs in a different way and identify techniques to enhance customer support. Hiring working mothers, women, and individuals with disabilities are other excellent ways freelancing promotes diversity in the workplace. Outsourcing work to people with disabilities, for instance, is a perfect move to create a workspace that values everyone's opinion and work regardless of their physical abilities. 

5. Reduces overhead

Many startups and small businesses operate with limited resources, including office space, furniture, and equipment. This makes hiring internal teams and maintaining high profits a challenging prospect. To reduce overhead expenses, consider leveraging freelance workers for your business needs. Most contract workers work remotely, meaning they don't need to use your office or company-supplied equipment. 

Additionally, freelancers offer affordable services because they work at a fraction of the cost full-time employees charge. Typically, when you hire in-house teams, you need to provide employee benefits and regular training. Independent contractors charge hourly rates, or per project, so you don't have to worry about paying salary every month and other additional overhead costs. 

6. Delivers high-quality work fast 

Freelancers deliver high-quality work quickly because they possess many skills and have a high level of experience taking on various tasks. 

Also, check past work portfolios of potential freelancers before hiring to get a clear picture of how they handle projects. You can also search for independent contractors based on their commitment to delivering quality work. 

Since independent contractors always compete to get projects, you can rest assured that your ideal candidate will provide faster deliverables with your company's needs in mind. By providing quality services, freelancers aim to build and maintain a good reputation in the marketplace. That way, they can expand their work portfolio and increase the chances of getting hired or referrals from clients like you. 

7. Freelancers work with short-term deadlines

In addition to delivering stellar projects, meeting deadlines is another top consideration for freelancers looking to stay authentic in the market. That's why many companies leverage the work of independent contractors to meet tight deadlines. 

It's worth noting that good time management is one of the many skills freelance workers possess. Plus, freelancers always have a flexible schedule that enables them to take on tasks even at the last minute. So, whether you're looking for a freelance programmer or digital marketer to complete a project with a short deadline, you can be sure they'll complete your work on time.

Freelancers step in whenever a short-term project comes up or when a company needs someone to fill a position for an absence in the team. 

8. Allows access to the global market

When hiring in-house workers, companies are restricted to recruiting professionals within the area in which their venture is located. Opening the opportunity to work with freelancers allows businesses to tap into a larger talent pool. Ideally, business owners can hire independent contractors from anywhere in the world. Note that there are several benefits of accessing the global freelance market. These include finding and hiring knowledgeable freelancers and identifying specific talent, qualifications, and skills to grow your business. Not to mention you can hire freelancers at low rates without sacrificing on quality. Though it might seem odd to outsource work to freelancers in regions with low labor costs, it can be beneficial to get your small business off the ground. 

9. Frees up in-house staff

Freeing up in-house employees isn't the first benefit you might think of when hiring a freelancer. However, working with an independent contractor can free up your core team so they can take on more productive tasks. 

In a typical office or company set-up, employees focus on completing every aspect of business functions, from inventory to accounting and marketing. By outsourcing various business functions to freelance workers, you can break this unproductive work pattern. 

For example, let's say your company has tons of digital marketing tasks like writing blog posts and email newsletters. Delegating these tasks to a freelance writer helps free up your in-house staff. As a result, they can focus on handling core projects that enhance the growth and success of your business. 

Conclusion 

Hiring freelance workers has become popular in recent years, and for good reasons. Freelancers help companies of all sizes cut operational expenses while providing quality services. They also guarantee fast deliverables, flexibility, efficiency and promote diversity in any business structure. Whether you're looking for a digital marketing team, accountant, and IT service provider, the freelance market allows you to tap into specialized talent. And the best part is that you don't have to invest in costly office equipment and furniture because freelancers work remotely.  

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