There comes a time in every freelancer’s career when he or she is faced with a choice: scale back your number of clients and focus only on the best two or three, or scale up. Scaling up is scary for obvious reasons. What if you make promises you can’t keep? What if you wind up glued to your computer screen for 60 hours a week, with no time to enjoy the income you’re earning?
Freelancing doesn’t have to be a constant battle between poverty and abundance, lack of work and being overworked. Even if you don’t aspire to be the CEO of your own massive operation one day, imagine how delegating some of your tasks could benefit you now.
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For writer Jennifer L.W. Fink, hiring a transcriptionist was a lifesaver. For me, hiring a content-development assistant has bought me precious hours I’ve used for finding new clients in my areas of interest (and nurturing existing client relationships).
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how it works, imagine the possibilities. A subcontractor could be a…
- Transcriptionist
- Administrative assistant
- Proofreader
- Graphic designer
- Writer
- PR professional
- Digital marketer
Of course, there are many more options. The kind of subcontractor you might hire depends on several things, and the rates vary widely. For example, a transcriptionist may charge from $1 to $3 per recorded minute; a personal assistant could cost as little as $3 an hour; and a bookkeeper could charge from $30 to $50 an hour. Let’s take a look at some next steps.
Figure out what you do best and where you could use some help.
Although many freelancers wear multiple hats and enjoy the diversity of doing it all, nobody is equally great at every task. There’s a chance you got into freelancing because you’re passionate about writing or marketing or public relations or event planning. In my case, I’ve come to realize I’m at my best when I’m doing sales, consulting and specific types of writing. The other aspects of my business (proofreading, editing and research) are now handled by my subcontractor.
Fink freed up hours of her time by hiring a transcriptionist. She recalls that it used to take her an hour and a half to transcribe a 30-minute interview. “By the time the interviewing and transcribing was done, I still hadn’t written the article,” she says. Once she hired a transcriptionist, she started pitching more assignments and finishing her work faster. She also observed that having someone else transcribe the article would allow her to be more present during her interviews and less focused on furiously jotting down notes.
A virtual assistant also helps Fink schedule her social media posts. Fink still creates and finds her own content, but instead of spending hours every week scheduling posts, her assistant does this. She reports being more productive than ever, and it’s because of these two people.
Consider how a partnership could help grow your business.
Solo PR Pro founder Kellye Crane says that working with subcontractors can be a powerful strategy for a growing brand. Even though her company has the word “solo” in it, it’s a misnomer: “Everyone works with other vendors and subcontractors. [Subcontractors] can be key to taking your business to the next level and making sure you can handle interesting, wide-ranging projects and go to much larger clients.”
Crane adds the important point that subcontractors aren’t always doing administrative tasks. “You can work with someone who is almost your partner, but the actual structure of the relationship is that of a subcontractor,” she says, referencing a 15-year PR colleague who sometimes subcontracts to her, and vice versa. “It depends on who has the primary client relationship. We each have different strengths, so we’re able to bring each other in on various projects and opportunities.”
It’s not just the added time you get from doling out tasks that helps you get more done. Often, having access to someone with a different skill set than yours can score you new types of clients. Explains Crane: “You can say [to your client], ‘I’m going to pull an expert who has the contacts in your specific industry,’ and ‘I’m going to bring in a writer who writes what you need.’ You can be flexible in the assembly of your team. It can compete with, or even be more successful, than a brick-and-mortar agency.”
Find the right subcontractor for your needs.
Of course, there are legal implications to hiring a subcontractor. After you’ve spread the word (via Facebook, LinkedIn or Craigslist) and someone has expressed interest, it’s time to shift your mentality from solo flyer to copilot. It’s a good idea to hire a lawyer to write, or at least look over, the contract you create for your new partner. That way, it’ll be clear to both parties you’re not in an employer/employee relationship (which has its own set of legal and tax requirements).
It’s also important to consider whether or not your clients need to know about your subcontractors. This depends largely on the type of work your assistant or partner is doing. For instance, if you have a transcriptionist, you probably don’t need to tell the editors of the mags you’re writing for. However, if you’re a writer working with another writer to develop an eLearning course, your client should probably know you’re not the only one on the project.
Don’t forget to put safeguards in place when testing the waters with a subcontractor. Start small by offering just one project (regardless of the person’s availability or willingness to contribute). It’s also smart to hire your first subcontractor from within your existing social or professional network. Working with someone you know and trust will offset the potential stress of putting together your first contract and shifting over to more of a management role. They’ll likely be more forgiving, too, if you make mistakes along the way.
Finally, allow yourself time to check your subcontractor’s work. Even if you’ve hired someone you’ve known for years, your name is still on the work, and anything that deviates from your style could potentially alter your brand image. Remember, the ultimate goal should be to enhance your brand or grow your business. Working with the right subcontractor can enable you to do more than you could have ever done on your own.
