Tired of Hiring Freelancers and Getting Nothing Done??

by akhila27 Banned
15 replies
Are you tired of hiring freelancers and getting nothing done?

If you are thinking about outsourcing your project, this thread will be really helpful! Let's share our bad experiences!

Most Popular outsourcing websites are:
Freelancer
Odesk
Guru
Elance
rentacoder
getacoder
99designs

So let's share our experiences! Did you get anything done with these sites? Lot of people are saying that freelancers are thieves and you don't hear from them once the payments are done. So no maintenance!
#freelancers #hiring #odesk #outsourcing #tired
  • Profile picture of the author DeborahDera
    As a freelancer, I'm highly offended by the nature of this thread. There are a lot of great freelancers out there, doing tons of great work. I am one, and I hire several for a lot of team projects. The benefit of some of those sites, especially Elance, is that the money is escrowed - meaning we can't run with your money and not give you the work. Have you ever USED one of those sites - or hired a freelancer? Or were you just hoping to stir the pot to get your post count up?
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    • Profile picture of the author Lance K
      Originally Posted by DeborahDera View Post

      As a freelancer, I'm highly offended by the nature of this thread. There are a lot of great freelancers out there, doing tons of great work. I am one, and I hire several for a lot of team projects. The benefit of some of those sites, especially Elance, is that the money is escrowed - meaning we can't run with your money and not give you the work. Have you ever USED one of those sites - or hired a freelancer? Or were you just hoping to stir the pot to get your post count up?


      I almost always get good results from outsourcers. They are only as good as the direction they're given.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rose Anderson
    If those people would hire reputable freelancers and be willing to pay a higher rate they might have a different experience. Thieves come and go. Choose the writers who have been around for a while.

    Rose
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  • Profile picture of the author dsouravs
    Its your fault that you chose the bad apples... sorry for being rough but this should be the answer to this thread.
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    "Freelancers" is a sweeping generalization that makes this
    thread mute. The same as saying, "Are you tired of
    Warriors, men, women, politicians, doctors ...?"

    There is good and bad in every group.

    -Ray Edwards
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    • Profile picture of the author stallion1
      really bad to just judge everyone in a group based on the bad apples you encountered...
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  • Profile picture of the author nmcc
    It cuts both ways - I've delivered plenty of value before now and ended up not being paid!
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    • Profile picture of the author Simon Farmer
      I agree that you REALLY need to dig deep and interview and get to know your potential workers before you hire them.

      One guy I hired had 4.5 stars on Odesk, generally good feedback and I knew Trey Smith (Franks Kern's cousin) had used him before.

      THIS GUY SUCKED AND NEVER DID ANY WORK!!

      I hired the guy and he was good for about 2 weeks, but then he wet days without working, and when he did work he never seemed to do anything.

      I kept asking him what was up and he kept making excuses. I tried to motivate him by telling him I was impressed with what he had done, I tried to tell him off, I tried to tell him I had deadlines, nothing worked.

      After about 3 months I ended the contract.

      I lost $3,000 to this guy!!

      I later asked Trey what he thought of the guy and he agreed that he sucked!!
      (should have asked him first I know... but Trey did give the guy good feedback!)

      Anyway, lesson learnt.

      My advice for anyone looking to outsource is to really REALLY REALLY interview your potential workers and if they say even a single word you don't like, seem like they have an attitude, or don't listen to what you say then move on and find someone else.

      You will pay the price otherwise!

      Always remember you are the boss and not the other way round. By all means let them be creative, but don't let them tell you how it's going to be.

      Hope this helps.

      - Simon
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      • Profile picture of the author themusiccoach
        Often times the fault has been mine when the quality is poor.
        I think I expect I am hiring a mind reader.
        Instead almost everyone did what was asked.

        Sometimes I just assumed they would know when I didn't!!!

        That was my fault.
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      • Profile picture of the author CyberAlien
        Originally Posted by Simon Farmer View Post

        I later asked Trey what he thought of the guy and he agreed that he sucked!!
        (should have asked him first I know... but Trey did give the guy good feedback!)
        You really can't depend on feedback as much as you used to. I'm not saying that Trey did it, but I've had multiple freelancers that didn't finish projects and then tried to tell me that they'd refund the money immediately if I'd just leave good feedback for them.

        I've even seen an info product that recommended for freelancers to take every project they can win and then offer to refund the money when they couldn't complete as long as the person would leave good feedback - basically they'd take projects with the intent to cancel to quickly build up good feedback.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mark Pescetti
        Originally Posted by Simon Farmer View Post

        My advice for anyone looking to outsource is to really REALLY REALLY interview your potential workers and if they say even a single word you don't like, seem like they have an attitude, or don't listen to what you say then move on and find someone else.
        One person's character isn't indicative of the collective.

        But you hit the nail on the head:

        Interview the person you want to hire and grill him or her.

        By the same token...

        Open up and be genuine.

        It takes real connection to generate genuine trust.

        If the freelancer is good, he'll be able to see the brilliance behind your ideas and build on the conversation with his or her insights and experience.

        If he or she is full of sh!t...

        You should be able to pick that up pretty easily.

        Watch for this sign:

        When you call someone, is he or she just agreeing with everything you're saying?

        If so...

        They're just trying to bag the gig.

        Move on.

        While you want someone who can take instruction, you also want someone who can lead the conversation and reveal different avenues of attack and execution.

        You also want to make sure he or she values their reputation.

        It isn't just about receiving the work you're paying for...

        ...no, no, no.

        It's about getting work that makes money.

        And finding people who care about helping you generate conversions isn't always easy.

        Likewise...

        A lot of people think they can hire freelancers on the cheap.

        Not so.

        Think about it:

        If a freelancer only charges $97 to design your WSO...

        How many clients does he or she need to take on to make a good living?

        A lot.

        So they take on too many clients and end up screwing people over.

        Watch for the signs of a freelancer who doesn't get it.

        And you'll avoid disaster.

        Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    What we need to do is create a list of star providers that are proven winners. Yeah, not just on FIVERR, but also for other services. Most of these people on freelance sites at least try to do the job, but we are not sure of getting a star even with 100% feed back rating so there you go.

    99 designs is a contest site so I get a lot of good logos or icons. Sadly, you must pay extra to use more an one. Still, this is a plus for the designers who work real hard to win. Typically two or three designs are superior. Well, the others are just very average or poor.
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    • Profile picture of the author helen jones
      Banned
      How do you choose your freelancers OP? Maybe that's the problem: you're looking for the very cheap and bad ones.
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      • Profile picture of the author TheKing
        Originally Posted by helen jones View Post

        How do you choose your freelancers OP? Maybe that's the problem: you're looking for the very cheap and bad ones.
        I am with you on this, some clients come to me for header designs and when I tell them my prices , they started shouting that some people charge lesser than you and why you charging more ?

        well you can't compare a normal car with mercedes , if you wan't best then you have to pay more OR go for a cheap designer who gonna throw your visitors out of your website instead of welcoming them.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheKing
    Having a experience of both buying and selling services , I knew what exactly a buyer wants from seller.... and i think understanding of that thing make my buyers to come to me for more work.
    I never charge upfront and with better services I shield my clients with a phone support so that they can call me anytime they want.
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