What exactly is a freelancer? A freelancer or freelance worker is a term commonly used for a person who is self-employed and is not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance workers are sometimes represented by a company or a temporary agency that resells freelance labor to clients; others work independently or use professional associations or websites to get work. The term “independent contractor” is also used sometimes.

In the 21st century, the age of globalization, digital marketing is probably the biggest business strategy. And it is digital marketing that makes freelancers so important. Freelancing includes various types of work but the most notable are probably content writing, website designing, graphics designing, photography, and blogging, out of many. Now the question is why should you hire a freelancer to do your project? Or why ‘not’ to hire a freelancer to do your project?

There are many creative agencies out there who do the same work as freelancers do, so why not hire them? To find the answers to these questions, we are going to follow a very old methodology called a Pros vs Cons list.

Pros of Freelancers: Why you should hire them

• Time Saving: Freelancers work alone, most of them work from home. So they don’t have to wait for someone else or they do not have any particular work hours. Sometimes some of them will complete your project within 2 days by working all night. This is a very important point in their favor.
• Cheaper: As mentioned earlier, freelancers work mostly alone and from home. So they do not have to pay for their staff, or office building or anything else that comes with a company, hence they will do the project at a much cheaper rate than any agency would. If funding is your main concern for your project, you definitely should hire a freelancer.
• Specialty: Freelancers have been doing the same work from different perspectives based on their client’s needs. One only becomes a freelancer when he’s good at a certain field. That means they are sort of a specialist in what they do, so your project should work out just fine in the hands of a freelancer.
• Flexibility: Since they work alone , they can easily be flexible to the client’s needs such as demands, timetable, budget, etc.

Cons of Freelancers: Why you shouldn’t hire them

• Limitations: The very thing that makes freelancers unique and speaks for them is the very thing that speaks against them. Freelancers work alone so no matter how talented they are in their own field it is possible that they have little knowledge in another field, thus making the limitation when a project requires multiple skills.
• Limitations (Again): Once again, maybe their work is good and they are flexible but there is no backup option when sudden interruptions like timezone difference or illnesses come along. They will be caught up in that, not being able to finish the project.
• Strangers on the other side: Let’s face it, we hardly ever get to meet the freelancer who is doing our project. In business, every businessman thinks twice before doing business with a stranger; the same theory applies here. We have never met them, we do not know how reliable they are.
• Long-term support: Sometimes, the projects are big and complicated and require long-term work/support. It is hard to make that kind of a contract with freelancers. Most of the freelancers are looking for a small/quick contract where they walk away after finishing the job. In jobs like website designing, it can be difficult to maintain a long-term support contract with a freelancer.

Like everything and everyone else, freelancers have their pros and cons. All of which are logical and understandable. In the end, the decision is up to you if you want to hire a freelancer or not. But the truth is, the right decision depends on the type of the project rather than the contractor.