We all know that running a small business is no walk in the park. It’s a constant juggle between managing operations, serving clients, and keeping up with the competition. The rise of the gig economy and the availability of remote freelancers have made it easier for us to get a helping hand.
This is a good sign that you have a growth brain – the perfect mindset when growing your business. But here’s the twist: going directly to freelancers instead of getting virtual assistant services from outsourcing agencies might be costing you more than you bargained for. And this is why for this post, we’ll dig deep into the hidden costs of hiring freelancers directly, and why agency-sourced freelancers could be a smarter, long-term investment for you.
Time Investment: The Search and Struggle
Let’s face it: finding the right freelancer takes time. When you go on a solo journey of hiring freelancers directly, you’ll often underestimate the hours you’ll spend sifting through their resumes, scheduling interviews, and negotiating terms. And that’s just the beginning!
Once you’ve hired someone, you’ll be responsible for managing their work, providing feedback, and keeping an eye on deadlines. All this extra time spent on freelancer management eats into your precious business activities and reduces your overall productivity.
Quality Control Rollercoaster
When you bypass agencies and hire virtual assistants directly, maintaining consistent quality becomes a real challenge. Without the oversight and quality control mechanisms of an agency, it’s tough to ensure that the work they produce meets your expectations. You might end up requesting endless revisions, dealing with rework, and experiencing frustrating delays. These setbacks can throw off project timelines and budgets, leaving you feeling stressed and overwhelmed.
Jack of All Trades vs. Expertise
Freelancers hired directly are often generalists with a wide range of skills, but they might lack the specialisation and industry-specific expertise that agencies can offer. Think about it: agencies have teams of experts with specialised skills in areas like lead generation, accounting, customer service, and digital marketing. When you work with an agency, you tap into their collective knowledge and experience tailored to your industry. It’s like having a team of experts working exclusively for you!
Limited Availability and Reliability
Picture this: you rely on a freelancer directly, and suddenly they become scarce or unreliable. Maybe they take on too many projects at once or face personal issues that hinder their availability. The result? Missed deadlines, compromised project outcomes, and unhappy clients. Agencies, on the other hand, have the resources to ensure there’s always someone available to handle the work. They provide a safety net, ensuring continuity even if one team member is unavailable.
Security and Confidentiality Nightmares
As business owners, you deal with sensitive information that needs to be safeguarded at all costs. But when you hire freelancers directly, the risk of data breaches and confidentiality breaches skyrockets. Unlike agencies, individual freelancers might not have the same level of security protocols in place. This puts your business at risk of data theft, privacy breaches, and even legal trouble. You definitely won’t need that kind of headache in your business, do you?
Before you dive headfirst into hiring freelancers directly, it’s essential to consider the hidden costs involved. The time investment, quality control struggles, lack of specialisation, availability issues, and security concerns can all lead to higher expenses and compromised outcomes. Choosing agency-sourced freelancers provides a more reliable, specialised, and secure solution that can keep your business healthy in the long run.
How much time and money are we talking about here? If you want to get an idea how much time and money you are spending by doing low-value admin tasks, take a business health check with our Cost Calculator here and find out how you can turn your business upside down!