Many people in the WordPress world are WordPress freelancers: graphic designers, marketers, developers. In fact, we have many of them as our partners at the White Label Agency. Outsourcing sometimes has the reputation of being something that’s only for bigger companies. Today I want to talk about why it’s actually a really sensible choice for freelancers, too. I’ll also explain why agencies are a better fit than other freelancers for freelancers looking to delegate, even if it sounds a little counterintuitive.
Why should WordPress freelancers outsource?
When you freelance, you are effectively running your own small business. The great benefit is that you have total control. The more challenging part is that you’re also responsible for a lot of tasks that might not be your core strength.
You create the most value – for yourself and others – when you use as much of your time as possible on your core strength. If graphic design is your key skill and you’ve also picked up development so you can build the websites for the client, you might get by just fine – but you’re losing on the opportunity cost of putting more billing hours to graphic design and getting someone who might be faster and more skilled than you to do the development.
So far, I have not really said anything ground-breaking. Of course, in theory, it would be more efficient to focus all your time on your key skills. But it’s easier said than done. How do you implement it?
Don’t hire another WordPress freelancer
There are some common pitfalls of attempting to outsource when you yourself are a freelancer. Particularly if you hire another WordPress freelancer to delegate your tasks to.
Here are some of the issues that might make a dent in your efficiency gains if you follow that plan:
01 Training and documenting processes
When you bring another person into your projects, you have to thoroughly teach them how you want things done. This may involve time talking on the phone or in person to explain things. It could also require time spent writing text that documents your expectations and processes. You have to do this each time you bring a new person on board.
02 Communicating and coordinating with numerous participants
When you are responsible for everything, it doesn’t matter when you do your work. But when you have to coordinate with other people, you not only have to take the time to talk to them, but you also have to make sure you are available at the same times they are.
03 Project managing
You need to spend time monitoring that the delegated work is going according to plan, and it’s being done correctly. This is an important task since you don’t want to get to the end of a project only to find out there was a misunderstanding about something. It also takes more time than many expect, since you don’t think about doing it when working by yourself.
04 Swapping between freelancers based on availability
If you as a freelancer are outsourcing to other freelancers, you will be dependent on when they can make time for you. This might mean you need to have more than one contact on hand, and switch between them based on availability. This factor can magnify all the points discussed above, as it becomes one more moving part in the process.
After all this, it might sound like outsourcing is a lost cause if you are a one-person operation. Is it just more trouble than it’s worth?
Hire a WordPress agency instead
I mentioned at the beginning that we have quite a few WordPress freelancers who hire us for our services providing development. Working with an agency like ours gives you the benefits of outsourcing, and at the same time, it pretty much solves the problems I just discussed.
Here’s how:
- A dedicated account manager learns your preferences and provides one point of communication.When you outsource to an agency, multiple people will be involved. But you only need to talk to one: your dedicated account manager. They will coordinate on your behalf with the other participants. They will also keep track of your preferred working processes, so you only have to communicate that once.
- Project management is included.You hand over the necessary materials, and then someone at the agency makes sure it gets done and with high quality. You get other things done while you wait for delivery.
- Bigger capacity, without changing a thing on your end.Since agencies have a whole team of people that can work on your project, you don’t have to worry about planning for backups like you do when relying on other freelancers. It’s built in. And from your end, it’s always exactly the same process.
If you can build routine and reliability into your outsourcing process, it will work for you. While it might sound funny that I’m telling WordPress freelancers not to hire other WordPress freelancers, hiring an agency instead will make your life easier in concrete ways.
That means less stress, more time on what you’re good at, and a more profitable business all around.
Are you a WordPress freelancer looking to outsource? Give it a try – contact us today for a quote!
