You’re company is re-branding. A new website. A new promotional video. A new logo. You have freelancers lined up to begin work. But what now? Do you just send them a check? First, you need to ask these 10 questions.
Hiring a freelancer can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’ve never done it before, you might not know what to look for. As a freelancer myself, I’ve worked with clients all across the spectrum. Some know exactly what they want. Others don’t know anything about my industry. Everyone however, wants to have a clear idea on the scope and cost of the project.
Not asking the right questions can lead to confusion and costly misunderstandings. A freelancer might interpret the project differently than the client or the client might expect something else for the money. The initial planning can be an extremely important time. To those of you out there that have never hired a freelancer, I’m here to help.
Here are my ten questions you should always ask freelancers (in no particular order)
How much will the project cost?
This one is pretty obvious at first. Every client I’ve worked with has asked this question upfront. Which is great. The quicker the cost of the project is brought up, the better. It helps any potential freelancer to plan for the project and weeds out any freelancer that is way out of range. Being open and honest in the beginning is crucial to trusting one another down the road. So yes, always ask upfront about the cost.
You might be thinking “This is really obvious. You can stop writing, Brian.” To which I say “this is my blog, I’ll write what I want.” Okay. Sorry for the weird metaphorical tangent.
One issue that I see with asking freelancers how much the project will cost is that some clients only look at the bottom line. They see $$$ and nothing else. After looking at the 5 bids they got, they simply go with the lowest. Then months later, they end up having to hire a new freelancer to redo the work. This is definitely more costly over time.
I know it’s hard to pay for one freelancer when someone else is willing to do it for half the rate. I remember when I first started making wedding films, I would do it for free. Then I moved up to a whomping $300. Very exciting, I know. Now my rate is much higher. There is a very significant difference from the $300 video of years ago to what I can do now.
Here’s the bottom line. Sometimes you simply don’t have the budget and you have to go with the cheap option. That’s fine. I’ve done it. When you do have the money though, I would encourage to spend the money now rather than having to spend more money later redoing the poor quality work.
You’ll be as happy as this baby when you ask all of these questions
Do you charge by the hour or by the project?
There are a lot of different ways for freelancers to charge clients. I’ve broken down a couple of different popular ways along with my preferred method.
- Paying by the hour. In my opinion, this is one of the worse ways to deal with project payment for freelancers. Although it works well for employees, it has a lot of downsides for freelancers. The biggest issue is that it depends on the client trusting the freelancer to give an accurate amount of hours worked. The other big issue is that it is essentially putting a value on a person and not what they produce. They might be a valuable high-rate person that’s been working for 10 years, but it doesn’t mean they can make the product as good as someone “less valuable”. Basically, someone’s hourly rate does not necessarily indicate the quality of their work.
- Paying a “fee” structure. This is where the freelancer has a list of services that have a fee. The client can pick which services they want. If you want a 2 minute video produced, it costs X for the video plus Y for the intro graphic plus Z for the music and so on. This method works great for a lot of people. It makes for a transparent process where both parties know exactly what everything costs. Unfortunately, it has the downfall that not all projects are the same. A graphic for one video may take way longer than another video.
- Paying a recurring amount. The client pays X every week, month, or year. This is pretty common in the website development industry where constant maintenance is needed on the website. It is also really great for the freelancer that gets the constant income. The client also doesn’t have to worry about what the next project will cost because it is set in the contract. This method only really works for a limited amount of projects though.
- Paying per project. This is my favorite method. It’s where the client and freelancer determine the scope and cost of the project before it starts. It is clear upfront what work is being done for what cost. It also rewards the freelancer for doing good work, not just putting in a lot of hours (like the hourly option). Because each project is different, this makes a more fair arrangement. The one downfall is that negotiating the scope and the cost of the project beforehand can take a long time.
What is the scope of the project?
It’s important to be clear about the scope of the project. If it’s an animation, it’s important to ask if it comes with audio too. What about voice overs? What about 3D vs 2D animation? Is it going to have character animation in it or just animation of text?
It’s impossible for me to think of all the questions that need to be asked. A good freelancer will be able to predict some of these questions and make sure you are on the same page. Each project needs to have a clearly defined scope that defines exactly what is being produced.
How does payment for the project work?
I’m not talking about the project payment method (hourly/fixed rate). Here I’m referring to when the project payment will be made. Is it due a week after the project is finished? A month? Is half of the total cost due beforehand? Will the freelancer send an invoice when it’s done?
For bigger projects, I prefer to have some type of investment from the client before work starts (usually 50% of the total cost). Then at the end, the rest of the money is given when the project is finished. For smaller projects, I personally don’t care as much. As long as it is clear from the beginning than all is good in my book!
Do you have a contract?
Always ask freelancers for a contract/agreement. It doesn’t have to be anything special. Just something that says the scope, cost, and timeline of the project. Oh and a couple of signatures are always a good thing too. Getting something on paper is crucial.
Don’t be these guys. Make sure to get a contract
What’s the timeline for the project?
I’ve already talked a little about this one, but I need to get to 10 questions like I promised. So to reiterate- ask about a timeline! When will the project be completed? When is the payment due? I’ve also had some bigger projects where we have established milestones. Like a certain part of the project is due half way along. This is great for projects that could take months.
Have you done any work similar to this before?
Just because a freelancer has never done a specific type of project before doesn’t mean they would be a bad fit. BUT it is really comforting to know that they have done something similar before. I’ve been asked on occasion to show a sample of my work that was similar to the project. I showed it to the client, and I could feel their sense of comfort. They were no longer uneasy about hiring me.
Who has rights to the finished work?
Make sure that you have the full rights to the finished work. In very very rare situations, a freelancer may try to limit a client’s rights to the work. The client might not be able to show a video on TV or might not be able to print out a certain number of publications. This is so rare of a problem that it’s usually not a big deal. Just something to quickly mention.
While you’re asking about rights, you could also ask about the rights of music used in a video. Make sure freelancers are using copyright free music in the video, so it doesn’t get flagged down by Youtube or any other service.
Are there any extra fees?
I personally do not believe in adding extra fees to projects after the fact. Some freelancers feel differently. To me, it feels dishonest and unethical. If you’re confused about what I’m talking about, I’m referring to when a freelancer will tact on extra fees for services that should have been included. For instance, if I establish that I will be shipping the client the final product, then that shipping cost should be included in the predetermined amount. Not added on after the fact without the client’s knowledge.
I only listed 9 questions. Anyone notice? If you did, pat yourself on the back. Sorry for the little white lie of saying there were 10 questions. Also, here’s a fun meme. Poor Mario can’t jump high enough.