The Relationship that Matters: Freelance vs. Outsourcing

Not all businesses are created equal. There are those who already have a competitive advantage from the beginning. Still, some figure out things along the way. The goal, however, is to level the playing field and be able to compete.

For businesses, tiny ones, who lack access to massive resources, it is important to find a way to be in the race and win it despite the odds. This is where freelancing and outsourcing come in. These are two different but related concepts that will be helpful in any business looking into building a team who can deliver great results at an economical cost.

Outsourcing is the process of enlisting the help of someone, oftentimes a third-party vendor, to do the job for you. According to Investopedia, these services supplement your company’s operation or augment it to improve it further.

The services you can outsource vary on your requirements. Some commonly outsourced roles include customer service representatives, technical support teams, sales staff, payroll managers, and many more.

This model is strategic for companies who want to boost their profit margins, as outsourcing g provides excellent results and is cost-efficient. Considering how global the market has become in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, anyone can now access the workforce that is not readily available domestically.

On the other hand, freelancing is defined as an independent profession wherein an enterprising individual earns money on a per-project basis, usually for a short-term contract. A freelancer is not an employee of a specific firm and can take on jobs from different organizations, businesses, and brands.

Freelancers fulfill their duties and responsibilities stated in their service agreements and are paid per hour or project. They have the liberty, however, of choosing who to work for and the workload they can accommodate for a specific amount of time.

Some of the services freelancers offer include consulting, copywriting, editing, marketing, video production and editing, journalism, language translations, and proofreading.

Freelancers are hired as long as clients need their services. This means that they are usually contracted for temporary work. Some businesses find it strategic to hire freelancers because, most of the time, they can dedicate more time to the client as they work remotely, oftentimes on a work-from-home setup.

This is also advantageous for companies because they only pay for a particular job within a specific timeframe, which means that no unnecessary resources are expanded compared to hiring in-house employees.

Whether it’s freelancing or outsourcing, the key difference is scaling up. Outsourcing is a business model that can augment the need of huge companies, while freelancing involves only one individual; whichever your business requirement is, research is important.

For a business to thrive, making sound decisions based on research and facts is crucial. That’s what matters more than anything.