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I’ve been freelance for 20 years, as of 2024. Quite the milestone.
It’s worked well for me, but also been hard. I’ve also worked in different capacities (contract, project, in-house, independent).
One struggle the whole way through it has been the issue of how to gauge your value. It’s mostly always been based on how much time, or perceived effort you have put in.
If you hire freelancers, or any kind of solo service provider, I think it's equally important to consider the value we bring, beyond just the effort.
In other words, you should look for better ways to evaluate the impact of hiring freelance professionals, as a business.
After all, you’re not just hiring me, you’re hiring my 30 years of experience.
This short blog post by Seth Godin popped into my inbox today, where he challenges readers to think about the return on investment too, when hiring freelancers.
"Not everything can or should be evaluated on a return on effort basis"
I’m so glad someone of his standing has said this. His blog reaches millions.
In short, he suggests that value shouldn't solely be based on the time and effort put in – the input and output.
Instead, maybe it should be looked at in terms of how much value is generated from their work.
I would love to see if we can slowly move the focus from effort-based costing to a more psychic approach – one that not only considers the reward for the freelancer, but the reward for the hirer.
It could benefit both sides.
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