As the owner of a small business, I don’t have all the skills my business needs and I don’t have a budget to staff up.  That’s why I use freelancers. I have used freelancers for web developments, web design and for accounting. 

But the question I always have is where can I find the best freelancers for my projects? I have successfully found freelancers by asking friends for recommendations. But I have also found the freelancers by using freelance sites where I can post my project and have freelancers bid on it.

Many of the freelancers I have used have chosen to be freelancers so they could have jobs to work from home.

To make working with freelancers be successful, here are some of things I do that helps me ensure the project will be successful.

Understand the scope of the project:  Before I work with a freelancer I make sure I understand what exactly my goal is for the project.  If I want a new logo, I outline all the important aspects of how the logo is going to be used.  Is it for a business audience?  What’s the demographic of the audience? How will the logo be used—for promotion, for customer service or correspondence for example.  I also collect examples I like to share with the freelancer.

Finally, I always ask a prospective freelancer about similar projects he or she has done and for example of their work.

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