Risks of freelancers

Advancements in technology have simplified business operations, allowing businesses to connect with freelancers and offshore labor more easily. While these services can offer cost-effective solutions, especially for critical areas like marketing and web development, they also come with significant risks that can undermine business growth and damage your brand's reputation.

Many businesses, particularly startups, seek more affordable alternatives to local talent by turning to platforms like Airtasker and Freelancer. Marketing and web design are often the first areas where businesses attempt to reduce costs. However, these functions are critical to shaping your brand’s identity, engaging customers, and driving sales. While freelancers may seem like a flexible, cost-effective solution, this approach carries notable drawbacks.

In this article, we will examine the risks and limitations of relying on freelancers for essential business functions and why this may not be the best strategy for long-term success.

Commitment

Freelancers are often hired on a per-project basis, which limits their long-term commitment to your business. Unlike full-time employees or agencies, freelancers typically juggle multiple projects, leading to several challenges.

Availability

Freelancers often work with multiple clients simultaneously, leading to fluctuating availability. This can result in missed deadlines and inconsistent communication if they prioritize other projects over yours.

Handoffs

If a freelancer becomes unavailable due to personal commitments or burnout, handing off the project to another freelancer can introduce continuity issues. The new freelancer may struggle to understand the nuances of the project, leading to potential delays.

Expertise

While freelancers may possess strong skills in specific areas, their expertise is often limited. Comprehensive marketing and web design require proficiency across multiple disciplines, and freelancers may not always offer the broad skill set necessary for a fully integrated approach.

Skill levels

Marketing and web design are multidisciplinary fields that demand expertise in SEO, content strategy, UI/UX design, branding, and analytics. While a freelancer may excel in one or two areas, they may lack the broader knowledge needed to execute a cohesive strategy.

Collaboration

Effective marketing and web design projects benefit from collaboration among professionals with diverse skill sets. Freelancers often work alone, limiting the creative input and innovative solutions that can arise from a team-based approach.

Experience

Rubix Studios was once an active participant in the freelance community, offering services on platforms like Freelancer and Airtasker to assist businesses in need. However, over time, it became evident that these platforms were increasingly flooded with offshore labor. This resulted in projects becoming less rewarding and often exceeded industry standards, making this approach unsustainable.

Quality

At its peak, Rubix Studios maintained a 5-star portfolio with over 450 reviews on these platforms. However, many of these reviews stemmed from addressing issues caused by other freelancers, or assisting clients who had paid for services and received little to no output. As more freelancers entered the market, the quality of work diminished, and the rewards per project decreased, as the majority of freelancers were often located offshore.

Many of these reviews were for fixing poor deliverables from other freelancers or assisting clients who had paid a freelancer and received nothing in return.

Focus

In response to these challenges, Rubix Studios decided to cease operations on freelance platforms like Airtasker. This decision allowed us to refocus on our clients, manage growth more effectively, and provide the expertise needed to help their businesses thrive. Our experience underscores the unpredictability of relying on freelance platforms, where work quality can vary significantly, leaving businesses like ours to fix the issues others created.

Scalability

Freelancers may be effective for small, one-off projects, but they often struggle with larger, more complex tasks. As your business grows and your needs evolve, freelancers may find it difficult to handle the increased workload, leading to delays and bottlenecks.

Capacity

Freelancers often operate solo, which limits their capacity to manage multiple tasks or large-scale projects. As your business expands, a freelancer may struggle to meet growing demands, potentially causing delays and disrupting project timelines.

Scaling

When your marketing campaign or web design needs require rapid scaling, freelancers may lack the resources or capacity to expand with your business. This can hinder growth and force you to seek additional resources, potentially disrupting the momentum of ongoing projects.

Communication

Effective communication is essential for project success, but it can become a significant challenge when working with freelancers. Freelancers often work remotely, which can introduce barriers that affect project timelines and outcomes.

Time zones

Freelancers often work in different time zones, creating communication barriers. These differences can lead to delayed responses, misalignment of project details, and challenges in scheduling meetings or real-time collaborations.

Accountability

Freelancers typically operate independently, which can lead to a lack of accountability. Without a formal team structure, they may be less responsive and diligent in meeting deadlines, causing frustration and potential delays in project completion.

Confidentiality

Hiring freelancers can introduce significant risks related to data security and confidentiality. Freelancers may not have the necessary security measures in place, especially when working remotely, which could compromise sensitive business information.

Data Security

Freelancers often lack the robust security systems required to safeguard sensitive business data. They may work on unsecured networks or use devices without proper protection, increasing the risk of data breaches—particularly for businesses handling sensitive customer information or proprietary data.

Information

Freelancers typically work with multiple clients, sometimes within the same industry. Without strict confidentiality agreements, there is a risk that sensitive information could be inadvertently shared with other clients, potentially compromising your competitive advantage and leading to legal complications.

Strategic

Freelancers are typically task-oriented, focusing on completing specific assignments rather than aligning their work with your broader business strategy. While they may excel in certain tasks, their approach may not align with your long-term objectives.

Short-term

Freelancers are often hired to complete specific tasks, such as designing a website or creating marketing materials. While they may perform these tasks well, they may not consider your long-term business goals, leading to missed opportunities for growth and strategic alignment.

Knowledge

Freelancers may lack the in-depth industry knowledge or market insights necessary to develop a comprehensive marketing or design strategy. This limitation can hinder the effectiveness of your campaigns and reduce your competitive edge within the industry.

Costs

While freelancers may initially seem like a cost-effective option, this perception can be misleading. Hidden costs and opportunity costs often accumulate, making the true expense of hiring a freelancer higher than anticipated.

Hidden

The initial cost of hiring a freelancer may appear lower than engaging an agency or full-time employee. However, poor-quality work may require you to hire additional professionals to fix or redo the project, leading to unanticipated costs.

Opportunity

Managing a freelancer demands significant time for tasks like communication, project oversight, and timeline coordination. This time investment can divert focus from other essential business activities, ultimately leading to lost opportunities and reduced productivity.

Freelancers

While hiring freelancers for critical tasks like marketing and web development can be risky, there are areas where they can be highly effective. These tasks are typically non-critical and do not directly impact your brand's core identity or growth strategy.

Routine

Freelancers can be a valuable resource for repetitive, time-consuming tasks like data entry. By delegating these tasks to freelancers, your in-house team can focus on more strategic initiatives that drive growth.

Support

Freelancers can assist with web development tasks such as product entry and bulk photo editing. While necessary, these tasks don't require deep industry knowledge or strategic insight, making them suitable for freelancers.

Core tasks

Freelancers can be an excellent resource for specific tasks or short-term projects, particularly when you need specialized skills or flexibility. However, the risks of hiring freelancers often outweigh the benefits for businesses seeking long-term, scalable, high-quality marketing and web design solutions.

Commitment

While freelancers can handle smaller, non-strategic tasks, core functions like marketing and web development demand deep industry knowledge and long-term commitment, which freelancers may lack. A comprehensive understanding of the market, adherence to brand guidelines, and the ability to adapt strategies as the business grows are critical for success. These aspects require:

• A solid understanding of the market and marketing nuances in different regions.
• Adherence to brand guidelines and the ability to maintain brand consistency across platforms.

Without these, freelancers may struggle to align with your long-term vision, potentially hindering growth.

Ethical AI

Freelancers may also fall short in areas such as ethical and monitored use of artificial intelligence (AI). Major search engines like Bing and Google rely on E-E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) principles, which freelancers may overlook, potentially undermining the effectiveness of your digital presence.

For critical business functions, it's essential to have a consistent approach that aligns with these principles, which in-house teams or reputable agencies are better equipped to provide.

Hiring a freelancer should be a calculated decision based on your business’s specific needs and goals. For critical business functions such as web development and marketing, relying on freelancers can introduce risks that may impede growth. Understanding these risks and exploring alternative solutions can help ensure that your business is positioned for long-term success.