It’s an exciting time when your business begins to grow. Happy customers bring an increase in sales, which means that it’s time to expand the team and hire someone to take care of marketing so you can scale. Unfortunately, many business owners make big mistakes here as they rush to meet the new demands of their companies or get caught up in the thrill of finally taking the next step. The truth is, there is no better time to slow down and consider every option. Not only will a lousy hire stunt your business’ growth, but it can also set you so far back that it takes months to recover.

Hidden Costs

Let’s say you take the plunge and hire a Marketing Manager. The apparent cost here is the hourly or salaried pay that you’re offering. But there is a lot more that you’re investing behind the scenes. In terms of direct dollar costs, there are taxes, benefits, and any business overhead or equipment costs. As soon as you bring your new employee on, you’re investing in an opportunity until they start contributing to the bottom line of the company in some shape or form. The dollars are adding up until you can see an ROI.

Other costs often end up overlooked. These aren’t obvious financial investments, but they take away from another (more precious) resource-time. For example, hiring a new employee immediately eats into your time from the moment that you write the job description. The job posting and interview process take you away from the rest of your work, as does onboarding, training, and managing a new employee who may have many questions. It may take as few as seven days or as many as 90 to realize this employee is not a good fit for your business. If that happens, the entire time you spent testing them becomes a waste of money and a lost time.

Bringing on an employee will always come with risk, but the work still needs to be done either way. But the good news is that there is another option for the business owner who is finally ready to take marketing off their plate without taking on the risk of a new hire (or the costs of a bad one). You don’t have to make any long-term commitments, and you can find excellent quality work even if you’re working with a smaller budget. So, what’s this incredible opportunity? Hiring expert freelancers who specialize in the tasks you need done and only when you need them done.

Benefits of Hiring a Freelancer

With freelancing platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork, you can find help for nearly anything you want to take off your plate. The reviews and portfolios on seller pages allow you to make informed decisions about who you are about to hire, better than any resume or reference letter could. These freelancers work for you on a gig basis, which means you aren’t forking out for a salary and hoping for the best. It’s the best option for a savvy business owner waiting for the right time to build their team or who wants to cut down on their long-term overhead costs.

When faced with the alternative option of outsourcing, some business owners have concerns about hiring overseas or working with someone online. Can they be trusted? Will their work be quality? Will they understand your business needs? Just like hiring an employee, you risk hiring a bad freelancer if you don’t know what to look for. However, since the investment is much lower, so is the risk. Plus, if you don’t want to hire outside of your country or have other specific requirements, you can always filter down to search for precisely what you need.

What would your business look like if you had a specialist you could rely on whenever you needed them? How much time would you save if someone else handled your graphic design, web development, SEO, or social media? How many sales could you make with that time saved?

A list of expert freelancers is one of the most excellent tools a business owner can have, but it can be a little overwhelming to pop onto a freelancing platform and see hundreds of thousands of results for the job you are looking to fill. It can feel just as daunting as reading resume after resume.

Are you struggling to find the time to focus on your business’s growth? My free guide to leveraging freelancers can help you streamline your workload and free up your time. Download it now!