Tag: payment protection

  • How to Work and Hire at the Same time as a Freelancer

    Many freelancers leave money on the table because they are not able to handle additional tasks proposed to them by their existing clients. Reason? Most of them are worried that they will fail to deliver because they lack the desired skills to do the job. Moreover, they are afraid to hire their fellow freelancers to do the job.

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    But if you think of this and look at it with an entrepreneurial mindset, nothing is impossible. Its just up to the Freelancer to negotiate good terms with the client then find a skilled freelancer providing the service to do the job.

    So how do you do this without violating the terms of your Freelance service provider ? Well first, you need to read and understand the terms of service for each site you are in. The good news is, you can hire and work at the same time using one freelancing account.

    You are free to choose the platform to hire the freelancer. With this said, here are four important things to look at when evaluating the right site to hire on.

    Business model of the Freelancing site

    Currently, there are many online freelancing sites out there. The most common ones which have been in the market for a long time are Upwork, Fiverr, Peopleperhour, Freelancer and guru. All of them share a common goal but their business models differ making each one of them stand out in their way. Almost every freelancer is enrolled in 2 or more of these sites. Take your time to analyze and evaluate a popular site that you like.

    Modes of payment

    The payment method is how you will pay the freelancer you hire. Payment methods vary from country to country. Identifying a site that accepts payments through the method that you use is very important. Also, it will take you less time to verify it.

    Payment protection

    Ensure that the site offers escrow services so that you can pay the freelancer when you are happy with the delivery. Payment protection goes beyond escrow. When you release the payment, the site holds it for up to 5 days before the freelancer can withdraw it to their bank.

    Customer service

    Their customer service needs to be good and available during working hours from Monday to Friday. This way, when you need them they will be there to help.

    With this information at your fingertips, it will be easier to negotiate for a good rate. Here are the steps to take in order to smoothly hire someone else to do the job and make a profit from it.

    NOTE: Someone you have worked for already have trust in you based on the work you delivered to them. It means that whichever price you quote to them will be acceptable. Take time to break down your budget and make it easy for them to assign you the work.

    Examine the project requirements first from the client

    See if the project needs breaking it down into portions and assigning different freelancers to complete it. Reach out to freelancers and find out their rates. Use their pricing to provide cost estimates to the client. Include your fees for managing the project which at the end will be your profit.

    Always go for the best freelancer with low price

    Focus on newbie freelancers who have the skills and are looking to build their profile. Help them by hiring. Give them feedback that will help perfect their skills. This way, you will be helping to better the freelancing community while making money at the same time.

    Ask for a down payment to facilitate the hiring

    This only works if you have a good relationship with the client who is assigning you the project. Just explain to them why you need the payment and be honest.

    Put yourself in the shoe of a client

    Don’t let the freelancer you hire have a feeling that you are a freelancer also. Be keen and demand for the best. Also thoroughly review the work they submit before sharing it with your client.

    Learn from your first hiring experience

    Perfect your hiring based on your first experience. With time, you will find that its easy to juggle between the two positions -as a freelancer and client.

    If you follow these tips, your experience hiring a fellow freelancer will be fruitful. Share any additional tips if you have in the comments are below.

    That’s all from me today.

    If you need help to create and produce professional screen-cast video tutorials for software’s and apps let me know here.

    Until next time, bye bye and take care.

    Follow me on twitter @cheptiony

  • Tips to Ensuring You get Paid For Your Blog for Services After Delivery

    If you give expert advise or opinion on your blog and readers love what you share, they will definitely seek for your expertise or refer you to other people looking for services that you offer. You will always get excited when a client contacts you and wants to hire you for your services. If you are not cautious, you will end up giving out all your services for free or at a throwaway price.

    At end, you will feel sorry for yourself for trusting someone who contacted you remotely and asked for your services of which you provided them in good faith.  

    Some remote clients are heartless and rude. Once they get hold of the service they needed; be it video or voice over, they forget about you. Some will say they didn\’t use it. This is despite you making revisions and iterations based on their request. So, how do you ensure that you get your pay after working on and completing the project with a client you met on your blog?

    Set your terms 

    Your terms should surround your PAY. Before anything else, focus on getting your pay-that\’s the reason you are working with them on the first time. Many freelancers and bloggers fear to talk about pay for the fear of loosing the client. Now, get this from me, crooked clients know this and they maximize on it. They will do everything to ensure that you don\’t ask for any pay upfront. And at the end you loose both your \’fingers and your chips.\’ Now, here is a brief on how I do it. 

    • Understand your clients requirements first – Every job is based on requirements. For example; if a client needs me to edit and produce his/her video, one of the first requirements is the footage and storyboard on how he/she wants it edited. If it\’s video creation, I will first find out what he/she will provide me with for use in creating the video. Once I have all requirements with me I will proceed now to the next stage of telling them the cost. 
    • Give them your rates –Now you have the requirements. You are an expert. It\’s time to give them your rates for the service. I usually give them my rates per minute of production. This will help them decide whether to work with me or not. If they decide to work with me, its a win.But, I don\’t get excited yet until I get paid. 
    • Set timelines –  Encourage your client that you work on timelines. And let him/her set the timeline. This will make them commit as they will be rest assured you will working on the project and delivery will be soon. This is a good place to know if he/she is serious about it or not. 
    • Introduce your mode of payment once the timeline is set – once you have the timeline set, mention that you always want to be paid an upfront of say 50-70%. Give them options to make payment. If they doubt you, advise them to use freelancing sites like Upwork.com.  They can also use escrow.com. Here both parties will be protected via the escrow payment protection system. Don\’t let them convince you to do the job first and get the whole payment later. That\’s an axe from far. Ran away fast. 
    • Decline any work/job without down payment – If the clients starts dilly dallying about paying you after you complete the project, simply say no unless they follow your terms. This is where you will get your first part of the bargain and your confidence on the project will be boosted. 
    • Do the job and ask for the final pay once he/she approves the last draft – Now, many freelancers loose their final pay because they quickly trust the prospect after receiving the first pay and end up give out everything on completing. Don\’t fall into this. Treat everything as business. Give and take. They pay you, you give them the final product. 

    Conclusion 

    With all this said, you will still be tricked into giving out everything without pay because some clients may send the pay as agreed, and when you deliver the service- they reverse the payment before it clears with your bank. At the end, they will stop replying to your messages and e-mails – and you LOOSE your pay.

    If this happens to you, don\’t let it repeat itself. Tighten you terms based on your experience. At the end, you will be smiling all the way to the bank. Moreover, your list of serious clients will be growing spontaneously. 

    And that\’s all from me today.

    Till next time; bye and take care.

    If you need professional help on video, let me know by sending me an e-mail on connect@cheptiony.com

    Follow me on twitter @cheptiony