How to Set Up a Collaboration Between Freelancers

When you give precedence to remote work over a traditional office, you begin to position yourself as a freelancer. Self-employment is the essence of freelancing. As you become a more successful freelancer, such as a designer or a copywriter, you’ll eventually have a need to outsource more projects to other freelancers.

The freelance world is isolated from collaborative office work and it seems that there’s nowhere to delegate an overabundance of projects. However, there is!

Teaming up with other freelancers helps you establish valuable relationships, find channels for mutual assistance, and free up time for yourself. There’s no need to take on every project client’s send, but before you decline a project, consider giving it to another freelancer who needs it more than you. We’ve gathered places where you can find freelancers for collaboration, as well as some advice on how to do that most effectively.

Why Freelancers Should Collaborate

Because together you can do a lot more than you can alone. According to a research of Freelancers Union, this is a common practice for the freelance community. 81% of freelancers refer work to each other, 52% of freelancers do paid work for other freelancers or team up on projects, and 37% of freelancers barter services with each other.

Collaboration with other freelancers improves the quality of a project. This is because everyone brings his unique skill and thereby the result becomes more versatile. Initially, it is worth checking how much the freelancer you found matches your skill level. You can give him/her a small task to check the quality of work and how much you are on the same page.

Another important reason for collaboration between freelancers is the desire not to work alone. Freelancers do not want to be alone because of their remote work and instead try to establish collaborations, hire IT freelancers, and even organize joint events in the future.

Collaboration prevails over the competition. When working on a freelance project, a designer will benefit from outsourcing web design services they don’t have time for or otherwise can’t handle themselves. The client also wins, getting a variety of expertise in his project. The designer wins, stabilizing his schedule, and the freelancer getting the extra work wins when he or she wasn’t able to find work on their own.

How and Where to Find Freelancers for Collaboration

Freelancing is more popular than ever and has become a necessity to maintain a certain type of lifestyle. Many freelancers wonder where they can find other talented remote workers to collaborate with on their projects.

Big Three: Upwork, Fiverr and Toptal

The most popular freelance search resources bring together businesses and freelancers. Many are looking for work on these resources, and some may find partners for collaboration in the same place. The ratings feature on these websites simplifies the selection process among a large number of specialist options.

Freelance Communities

In freelance communities, experts are looking for projects, and also share tips that match their experience. Such communities include Online Geniuses and The Freelance Institute for freelancers in the USA and Leapers for freelancers from the UK and Europe. Such communities can also be found on Facebook, you just need to search it with keywords and focus on the most popular pages. In such groups, members publish information about themselves and you can often find the developer or designer you need. Such small communities are often filled with interesting people who crave collaboration.

Networking at Tech Events

Depending on what kind of freelancer you’re looking for, attend tech events. WordPress developers, for example, can be found at WordCamp. Java specialists hang out at JCon, whereas Python developers network at PyCon. There are tons of different dedicated events – you probably should know about it.

Ways for Effective Collaboration with Other Freelancers

The best way to make an acquaintance, which will turn into a collaborative relationship, is to address the freelancer you’ve chosen directly and start a conversation in the right tone.

An Appropriate Way of Reaching Out

We recommend that you always contact the freelancer with whom you want to collaborate via email or text them directly (depending on the social etiquette where you live). It’s better to refrain from cold calls, as you may appear unprofessional. It’s usually not difficult to contact a freelancer because they also want to earn money and most likely they will answer your request for a job offer.

Come Prepared

It’s best to contact a freelancer right away with a full-fledged idea of how you would like to collaborate, briefly describing the details and features of the project. Try using something like this: “I have a collaboration idea to offer you, so it’d be great to know more about what you’re focusing on right now to see if there are opportunities for us to support one another through the collaboration.” After a positive reply, you can address with details of the collaboration.

Address with Easiness

The most effective way to convince a freelancer to agree to collaborate is to explain the ways the relationship will benefit them. Put yourself in their shoes and imagine what about your offer could be the most interesting for them and focus on the benefits.

Define the Terms

Once you’ve agreed to collaborate on a project, it’s time to set the timeline and pricing expectations. It’s preferable to discuss in advance in what terms the tasks are carried out to avoid misunderstandings. Also, a little advice: have a termination or contingency plan in case the freelancer fails to complete the project. That way, you have time to finish it on your own.

Maintain Equality

Do not get fooled by the affordable low prices of a freelancer. A low rate might be appealing, but that might also reflect the quality and professionalism of that freelancer. Also, if you want a level playing field, it is important to maintain quality in this partnership. Be honest and voice any details that may seem important to your colleague or the success of the project. This will help ensure a healthy partnership.

Conclusion

Collaborations between freelancers help the community become more open, create the basis for high-quality networking, and encourage mutual assistance. Now that you have the necessary tools to help you find freelancers, you can maintain contact with them to establish a relationship that benefits both parties.

Last updated on July 8th, 2020