Is it worth hiring freelancers to help with your dropshipping business?

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Dropshipping is an appealing eCommerce business model for working on your own terms. It allows you to work anywhere with WiFi, no commute times if at home, and flexible working hours. The best part for some is the opportunity to create something yourself, as the owner and operator of the business. So, what happens when your business becomes too big for one person to maintain? Or if you are lacking certain skills for an aspect of your store? This is when hiring freelancers can be useful.

What is the role of a freelancer?

Freelancers are defined as self-employed or independent workers. They specialise in a set of skills and are hired by businesses to assist with short or long term projects.

Types of freelancers and their roles:

  • Graphic designer : logo design, visual branding, advert images, photo editing, eBook design and layout, email marketing graphics
  • Virtual assistant : administration tasks, uploading or updating website information, research, customer service
  • Web designer and developer : designing and building a website
  • Copywriter : content creation for the website, adverts, email marketing, social media, eBooks, product descriptions, and blog posts
  • Video editor : creating promotional videos
  • Photographer : taking professional photos for marketing materials
  • Accountant : keeping and interpreting company financial information
  • Bookkeeper : recording and classifying business financial transactions
  • Benefits of hiring a freelancer

    Bringing freelancers onto your team allows you to share your workload while not committing to hiring contracted permanent staff. This is helpful, especially in the early stages of your dropshipping business.

    Here are the top reasons to hire a freelancer.

    Get things done quickly

    Starting and running a business takes a lot of time, even more so if dropshipping is a side-hustle and you have other work commitments. If you find yourself dedicating more hours than you can handle, taking on a freelancer will take the pressure off you.

    Hire skills you don't have

    Likewise, it's quicker to hire a graphic designer, for example, than invest time into learning how to do it yourself if you have no experience. Specialist skills that require heavy training include web development, coding, mobile app development, and SEO.

    Taking time off

    Nobody can work 365 days a year! When you need a holiday or weekend off from managing your dropshipping orders, freelancers are there to step in. If at this stage, your business is scaling faster than you can control, it's worth considering hiring a permanent member of staff. However, if you need someone quickly and at short notice, freelancers are relatively easy to hire. What's more, having a bank of freelancers that you have used before is great for the trustworthy completion of work.

    Optimise customer service

    Online shoppers expect fast and efficient customer service from websites. According to Microsoft, 95% of online buyers say that customer service is key to their brand loyalty. Having customer support available during office hours is a must but not something an eCommerce owner has time to do personally. Finding a virtual assistant to take this responsibility will give you peace of mind that your customers are being taken care of.

    Where to hire freelancers

    There are multiple freelancing platforms online to source independent professionals and agencies. The benefit of using these is that most of them use an easy invoicing and payment system. Freelancers are paid in escrow so both parties are confident in fair payment. Some platforms track freelancers if they are hired by the hour. You can also read freelancer reviews from other companies to choose the best person for the job.

    Upwork

    This is possibly the most popular website for finding and recruiting freelancers. They claim to be the "largest online talent solution" with an estimated 12-16 million registered freelancers using the site. Although it is based in the US and all freelancers are paid in US dollars, it is used by businesses and freelancers from around the world.

    Freelance services on this site:

  • Design and creative
  • Admin and customer support
  • Finance and accounting
  • Sales and marketing
  • Writing and translation
  • HR and training
  • Legal
  • IT
  • Engineering and architecture
  • Fiverr

    Fiverr works a little differently from Upwork where freelancers bid on your post. On Fiverr, freelancers advertise tasks they can complete and at what cost. As the name suggests, tasks start from $5 but can vary depending on the difficulty and time required to complete a job. Fiverr is an Israeli online platform but again, used worldwide. It is reported that it has around 5.5 million buyers and 830,000 freelancers.

    Freelance services on this site:

  • Graphics and design
  • Digital marketing
  • Writing and translation
  • Video and animation
  • Music and audio
  • Programming and tech
  • Business (eg virtual assistant, eCommerce management)
  • PeoplePerHour

    A UK-based freelancing platform, PeoplePerHour allows both freelancers and businesses worldwide to post jobs. It has approximately 2 million freelancers using the site alone. As the name suggests, freelancers are hired by the hour.

    Freelance services on this site:

  • Technology and programming
  • Writing and translation
  • Design
  • Digital marketing
  • Video, photo and image
  • Business (eg Brexit consulting, finance assistant)
  • Music and audio
  • Marketing, branding and sales
  • Social media
  • MarketerHire

    This website is focused on hiring marketing professionals. It stands out as there are no interviews with the freelancer, no job postings, and no applications. MarketerHire vets marketing freelancers so you don't have to. Businesses can request a marketing professional with a specialism such as content marketing, Amazon, or SEO. The website matches the business with a freelancer they think will be the right fit. Generally, freelancers are paid $80-160 per hour due to their expertise and experience.

    Freelancer

    One of the largest freelancing platforms, Freelancer works much like Upwork, as a bidding system. Businesses post job postings and freelancers bid with a proposal. It is an Australian company but used by companies and freelancers globally. Reportedly it has around 55 million buyers and freelancers using the website.

    Freelance services on this site:

  • Design, media and architecture (eg voice overs, YouTube video editing)
  • Websites, IT and software
  • Sales and marketing
  • Business, accounting, HR and legal
  • Product sourcing and manufacturing
  • Data entry and admin
  • Writing and content
  • Mobile phones and computing
  • Translating and languages
  • Trades and services
  • Freight, shipping and transportation
  • Telecommunications
  • Engineering and science
  • Final words

    Remote freelancers are an efficient way to hire staff for your dropshipping store, especially with the professional freelancing platforms available. Payment risks, unproductive workers, or communication issues can be quickly resolved by the hiring websites. The rates these platforms charge are affordable considering the peace of mind they bring to entrepreneurs. In summary, hiring freelancers is recommended to help grow and manage your dropshipping operations.

    Related articles:

  • A brief guide to Amazon dropshipping
  • 7 Key statistics of dropshipping profitability
  • Dropshipping vs affiliate marketing: which business model is the best?
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