In the world of business, an important part of being in charge is learning how to delegate. Simply put, one person cannot possibly do every task necessary to run a company by themselves. There is not enough time in the day nor is there enough coffee in the world to be able to do it. Because we are all mere mortals it is crucial to assign specific tasks to other individuals who have more experience, better qualifications or simply more resources (time, money etc). Often times delegating takes place within your company but on occasion it is necessary to expand to outside hires. These outside hires may take the form of hiring a new employee permanently, hiring a freelancer or even another company. There are many factors to consider when deciding what route to take. Today we will discuss the benefits of hiring a  software development company compared to a freelancer. 

Freelancer

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As you are likely well aware, freelancers are independent contractors whom you hire to complete a specific task. They will often work from home or another remote location and are likely working for multiple companies at once. Hiring one of these contractors often has significant benefits and drawbacks.

Benefits:

Flexibility

One of the major draws of hiring a freelancer is that they can work at odd hours. Most freelancers are willing to work outside of usual business hours, which means that assigning them tasks with unusual deadlines is less of an issue. They are able to pick the times that work best for them to accomplish the task that you set.

Affordability

A major reason many companies decide to utilize the services of a freelancer is affordability. By using a freelancer you are often avoiding the costs associated with hiring of a new full-time employee or an external company. Furthermore, you are only paying for exactly what you want. With a freelancer, it would be incredibly difficult for any hidden fees to find their way onto your bill without you noticing. 

Swiftness

Because a freelancer is not a full-time employee for you or any other company they rely on accomplishing many tasks quickly to support themselves. For that reason, they are motivated to do a good job and do it quickly. If they want to be hired again or be recommended to other colleagues they need to be efficient and reliable. 

Drawbacks:

After reading all of the benefits of a freelancer you might be thinking that they are the obvious choice over a software development company. However, as with anything in life, there are negatives to hiring a freelancer as well. 

Availability

As I mentioned earlier in this article most good freelancers do not sit still for long. What I mean by that is simply that they are often working on multiple projects at once. Because they are generally taking on multiple projects their schedules can become hectic and fill up quickly. The freelancer that you want to hire might not always be available when you need them.  

Dependability

To put it frankly, even though you are paying them, freelancers are not your employees. They are naturally independent people who will strive to get the job done as quickly as possible, but other events may pop up. There is no inherent accountability system which means that there is no guarantee that the project will be done and done well by your deadline. 

Confidentiality

In the tech world sometimes the uniqueness of your idea can mean the difference between your company thriving or busting. Because a freelancer is not your employee they have no inherent loyalty to your company which puts your confidentiality at risk. Although it is possible to ask them to sign non-disclosure agreements there will never be any guarantee that they won’t be working for your competitor next week.

Now that we have taken a look at the benefits and drawbacks of freelancers let’s dive into software development companies. 

Software Development Company

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As we mentioned earlier, no man is an island, meaning that a single person is not going to be able to do everything that there is to do and do it well. A software development company is a solution to this problem in that it utilizes the skills of many individuals to accomplish tasks. Just as with freelancers, this has significant benefits and drawbacks. 

Benefits:

Collective Expertise

When you utilize the skills of a company you are harnessing the skills of a number of individuals. Each of these individuals is likely an expert in their specific area. Thus when you use a company the collective expertise of each person working on your project is unmatched by any single individual.

Versatile Back-End

With a team of people working on your project, it is easier to tailor the project to your specific needs. This attention to detail will help to ensure that your tech runs smoothly in all areas.

Continuous Support

Along with designing the project to meet your specific needs companies often continue to support the projects that they work on even after they are finished. A software company will not disappear into the night like a freelancer might, thus making them more dependable. 

World-Class Product

Freelancers work quickly to get the job done. In contrast, companies work diligently to make an outstanding product. If you want detail-oriented, elegant and all-around superior work you should be using a company. 

Drawbacks:

Higher Expenses

At Jonajo we utilize nearshoring   in order to keep our prices as low as possible. Even with our attempts to keep costs as low as possible for those who we work with, more often than not, a single freelancer can offer cheaper prices than us. Simply by having more people work on a project the cost of the project will increase, there is not much that can be done about it.

Extend Time-frame

Although we at Jonajo are known for working more quickly and efficiently than most of our competitors, there is a tendency for software development companies to take longer on projects than a single freelancer.  

So what option is right for your company? Depending on your needs, the answer could be either a freelancer or a software development company. It is up to you to decide what works best in your business model. If you need a little extra help here is a side by side comparison of the two options. Best of luck!