Aug 20 2008
Let me start this article with one key thought: I do not think all freelancers are created equal. I used to be one (some folks still think I am) and I've worked with freelancers that I wish I could clone. With that said, let's continue...
Alex Stubbs is a freelance designer and developer. And judging by his portfolio, he's a pretty good one. His arguments for hiring a freelancer are, to some extent, a stretch. As I mentioned, I used to be a freelancer (i.e., it was just me doing all the work for clients). So I can certainly understand his point of view and the reasoning behind his arguments. Unfortunately, (or fortunately for him I guess), not all freelancers are as willing to bend over for their clients as he is. In fact, most of them aren't. I lost count a long time ago of the number of times clients have come to 420 Design with stories about disappointment with the solo designer or solo developer they hired for their project... not to mention my own experiences hiring freelance developers.
Alex says that freelancers have hunger and big design firms don't. I think that's an over-simplification of things. I'm willing to bet that the big design firms do have hunger; it's just hunger for a different audience. They have those big name clients for a reason - that's their target market, not the little guy. I'm not saying that big name clients won't hire the solo designer. Dan Cederholm is a perfect example of that happening. But I really think that's rare. Additionally, I've never met anyone in this industry who didn't have to try to gain references from clients.
It seems that Alex's main argument is that freelancers (or maybe him in particular) are willing to work past normal business hours, over the weekend, until wee hours of the night and bigger design firms aren't. But here's the thing, I've never met a designer who didn't do that at some point in her career. For any of us who have worked in this industry for any length of time, we've had to pull the all-nighter to meet that nasty deadline. This isn't unique to freelancers.
On that same note, I have to wonder if Alex has a life:
> When was the last time you called a design firm at 2 in the morning trying to get that issue resolved?
Business hours exist for a reason. Several, I'm sure. Even as a freelancer though, you have to have boundaries, otherwise the work is bound to deteriorate from working oddball hours, bending over more than backwards for clients, or worse, burnout will creep up. Then what happens to that freelancer's clients?
> Freelancers are individuals… much like mom and pop stores on the corner with loyal customers and better quality products. They take care of their customers, they are understanding, and always eager to please.
Sorry, but freelancers aren't unique to this either. In fact, I don't know of a single company who doesn't strive for good customer service. Sure, sometimes things just don't gel well between companies and customers, but that's as much chemistry and luck as it is anything else. The point is that just because a big design firm is well, big, it doesn't mean that their goal isn't to please their clients.
Are there advantages to hiring a freelancer over a big design firm? Absolutely! Lower overhead means lower costs to you, for starters. Plus, you do get personal attention from the person doing the work, rather than from an account manager. Alex asks, "What if i told you that freelancers are almost always a better choice then those top design firms?" Well I ask, what happens when your freelancer gets really sick? Or when you need something the freelancer can't do? Design projects are as unique as the people asking for them. They range from small to gigantic. Even if we focus on the small to medium-sized projects, freelancers are not always the better choice. Unfortunately there are just some projects that a freelancer will not have the resources to handle no matter how talented or capable.
Instead, what if I told you that you have an option between the freelancer and the big design firm? Yep, there is a middle ground. Perhaps that middle ground - the small design studio - that's the better choice.