Why Hiring a Freelancer Saves Money by Candice Adams

every time the economy slumps, layoffs abound, and businesses & budgets can only pay for what they need as it comes, the opportunity for freelance work increases. i’ve watched it happen twice in my own career, and i think adams outlines a common scenario that many businesses go through when they can’t afford to keep the staff designers they have, or the bigger studio they used to hire. unfortunately, i’ve seen too many of them turn to far less-experienced in-house employees, asking them to take on 2 or 3 different job responsibilities, framed as an opportunity to grow. this panic response leaves the all-important job of marketing in a down economy in the hands of an inexperienced and likely overloaded employee at a critical time of transition.

rather than consolidate everything in-house, consider strategic consolidations that make the most appropriate use of employees, while outsourcing special-attention projects to experts in the field on an as-needed basis. indie professionals cut out salary & benefits packages, freeing up your budget to pay for their expertise and final deliverables at a much lower cost than keeping someone with half the experience or less on staff.

this is a timely article for me, since the creative freelancer conference is next week in san diego!