I was meant to post this a couple of days ago BUT I needed to rearrange my schedule to accommodate my new clients *happy dance*. And yesterday was such a beautiful day, I simply couldn’t help myself. I decided to spend the afternoon sipping an ice cold spritz in the sun. Bliss!

Last week, I briefly skimmed through some of the pros and cons of working freelance vis-a-vis having a full time salary job. After giving it some thought, I decided to follow up  on my previous post, and this time, I will go into the possible benefits of hiring a freelancer.

Perhaps the notion of freelance in Malta is still relatively ‘new’.  At least from my experience, it seems that not everyone has fully grasped the concept yet. And to be fair, not every job can be outsourced so I get why the majority of vacancies I came across last week were mostly for full timers only. And, I also understand that businesses might prefer building their own team rather than working with ‘outsiders’. I get that. But, I am biased in this regard and happen to think that an ‘outsider’ can in fact turn out to be someone trustworthy with whom you can partner up eventually. So without further ado, here are some of the benefits that come to mind:

For starters, by affordability, I do not mean that freelancers are cheap. By all means, they should always know their worth. But given that a freelancer is her/his own boss, there are things like, for example, equipment, work space, social security, leave, sick days etc. that an employer need not worry about. As long as both parties agree on the service, budget and time frame, they’re both set!

It may also come in handy having someone to outsource your work to on a need-basis. The flow of work is not always the same; you can have a quiet summer and a super busy winter. So, I think that having someone to turn to in times of need is always a plus! And when having worked with multiple businesses over the years, freelancers are exposed to a diversity of ideas and learn work on their own initiative.  So given the fact that they are used to working solo, there is no need for constant monitoring,  training or anything of the sort.

I also think that one of the main advantages is flexibility. Freelancers do not (normally) have any set working/office hours. For instance, I do not stop working simply because it’s Sunday, a public holiday or after hours. There are no after hours! I usually go about working during the weekend like any other day. A time schedule (and actually sticking to it) is all there is to it! With the exception of yesterday, that is! But as long as the job gets done, there’s no harm in having a couple of hours to yourself and regroup, no?

Amanda x