Virtual Outsourcing: Advice for Clients and Freelancers/Consultants

Advice on Virtual Outsourcing... For Both Clients and Freelancers

©Lydia’s Marke.ng Consul.ng | www.lydiamarke.ngconsul.ng.com | Contact: [email protected]

Want to hire a virtual freelancer or start your own freelancing career?


According to Forbes, the size of the global online work industry is expected to grow to $5B by

2018 and it’s expected that more and more corporate teams will

include virtual members.


As both a marketing freelancer and a hiring client I have

learned a few things.


Some tips based on my experience...


FOR CLIENTS


Do as much as you can to figure out exactly what you

need help with and what the scope of work will be.

1


2If you are unsure of the scope

or the exact skills needed, do some research to try

and figure them out. Set yourself up for success.


If you’ve never looked for virtual talent before,

test and learn before bogging yourself down in endless

profiles and resumes.

3


Talk to people in your network; they may know someone

that fits the bill. Also browse freelance platforms like Elance, Guru, and oDesk.

4


Consider the investment you need to make to get a good

return vs. how much it’s going to cost you.

5


Be nice to candidates; be a grownup; treat others as you want to be treated. What goes

around comes around. Keep that in mind.

6


FOR FREELANCERS


Know what you want, what you’re great at and how you can help people. Figure out

who your target client is and map your messaging, resume

and profile to that.

1


Work your network; brand and market yourself; find leads;

build relationships.

Freelance pla*orms are but one way to find projects and I don’t recommend depending on them as your sole source, par<cularly if you are just star<ng out.

2


Allow for a startup period where you may not get any

business and/or need to undercut the market temporarily to get work and a track record.

3


Be confident in your skills; stick to your guns on what

you want from your freelance career.

It’s OK to make it about you.

4


Similarly, work diligently to get projects that suit your goals (as

well as the client’s). Try and build your pipeline based also

on what you want.

5

www.lydiamarketingconsulting.com


Consider this a baseline and general food for thought.

For more context and the full narra.ve visit the complete blog post at Lydia’s Marke.ng Blog:

Advice on Virtual Outsourcing — For Both Clients and Freelancers

http://www.lydiamarketingconsulting.com/1/post/2014/01/advice-on-virtual-outsourcing-for-both-clients-and-freelancers.html


Lydia’s Marke.ng & Communica.on Consul.ng Visit www.lydiamarke.ngconsul.ng.com Contact informa.on: LYDIA VOGTNER [email protected] 415-‐672-‐1870



Virtual Outsourcing: Advice for Clients and Freelancers/Consultants

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Virtual Outsourcing: Advice for Clients and Freelancers/Consultants