Advantages/Disadvantages of being/hiring a freelancer – Mediavuk – the media consultants

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Advantages/Disadvantages of being/hiring a freelancer

Jelena Petkovic by Jelena Petkovic February 27, 2018

One of the best ways today to earn money online is freelancing. Work is based on skills, knowledge, and experience of a freelancer.

Definition of a freelancer:

Freelancer is a self-employed worker, who is not long-term linked to one employer and can simultaneously work for more than one. Depending interests and knowledge, the freelancer takes projects for a particular company and is committed to delivering them within the deadline. As soon as his job is done, he gets paid for his work and seeks new project.

In this text, focus will be on advantages and disadvantages for both involved sides (employer and freelancer).

Advantages 

You can afford it!

The first thing you think about, either you want to become or hire a freelancer, is affordability. Working from home means, besides other advantages, that it doesn’t have to meet extra costs. In most cases, freelancers cover health care, insurance and other costs of their own. When you have to make a clear-cut about costs in a company, think about workers whose workplace depends on where their tools are!

Flexibility

The fact is that freelancers „feel“ very comfortable about their working hours. Setting hours is what they appreciate the most in their jobs. Mostly they decide how and when will they finish work. Sure, this is a huge benefit for a freelancer but it’s also a benefit for one who wants to hire one. Your freelancer can do a bunch of stuff so you don’t have to do during your regular working hours- he/she might answer on Facebook’s fan questions, check up and answer on e-mails etc.

For example, if you send an assignment list to a freelancer on Friday, expect that it will be done by Monday morning! Freelancers are motivated to do the job quickly and do their best. Their efficiency in getting things done speaks for them, that’s why the immediacy is so important.

Freedom for all! (ok, not literally :)…)

Hiring specialized freelancer because of the limited resources of the company is the common thing employers do. You have all the freedom you need if you have to split work onto several freelancers. It is very convenient to work with someone on a need basis.

Upgrade and invest in real things

Every company has to take care of the employees in many ways. One of them is constantly training and upgrading their knowledge. You know this is the biggest hassles for employers, right? The great thing about hiring freelancer is that they work on their own, they are responsible for developing skills. This doesn’t mean you don’t have to set up the working parameters, but you don’ have to train them at all.

Your future lays in your experience!

Working with a wide range of employers in a different location, different things and under different conditions gain a lot of experience to one freelancer, do you agree? Take an advantage of that and hire one to catch some of that vast experience.

Think globally- work globally!

In order of cost-saving, one of the options for hiring freelancer is to outsource. It means you can search for a suitable freelance worker on the international labor market. Depending on what task has to be done and when you can adjust search options and by choosing people from different time zones operations can be „on“ 24 hours.

Disadvantages of Freelancing

Freelancing can be challenging for both sides (employer and freelancer). When there are advantages, expect some disadvantages too. I’ll list some that occur for a worker and for employer equally:

  • For making steady workers it can take a while. On the other hand, freelancers should have the patience for building a steady clientele. Can take time to build a steady clientele.
  • Either you are a freelancer or you need one, learn to manage several projects at once so everyone can be satisfied. Lack of organization in work can be a problem for meeting deadlines. Managing multiple clients and projects can be a challenge.
  • Be aware of the fact that every freelancer experience ebb and flow in their work. Irregularity in freelancing is very often. In addition to this, prepare a plan of work so you can do the job on time.
  • At the start, pay may be way below your expectation as a freelancer. Employers shouldn't underestimate good work done by freelancers. Standing on the different side of the bridge at the start both employer and freelance will meet in the middle and share their benefits. If you think you can get more, be patient- pay will grow as well as your knowledge, experience, and skills.

Generally speaking, employers are in better position today. Flexibility in business environment let companies avoid full- time contracts and search for freelance talents. For workers, benefits lay, in fact, they can increase security in finding different revenue streams.

We’ve seen in this text that good things often are followed by bad things. So, employers worry about lack of loyalty and it happens when you don’t have labor hired in the traditional way with contracts and other stuff.

Flexibility is inversely proportional to loyalty.
Jelena Petkovic
Hello, my name is Jelena Petković. I'm a master of political science, copywriter and consultant. Writing and reading are the ways to free energy and grow capabilities for loads of things I do.