Hiring Creative Employees vs. Large Agencies vs. Small Firms and Freelance Workers

Which is best for your small business?

Welcome to 2021. We live in a different world now. A pandemic swept through life as we knew it, and the tragedy of this past year is not lost on me. More important to this piece, it has also been a year that will forever change the ways in which we do business. I will never forget when CoVid 19 first started taking its toll. I was working for a large corporation at the time, and seemingly out of nowhere employees were being sent home to work remotely. I had to set up a workspace in my 240 square foot studio apartment and try not to lose my mind in isolation… A productive remote working environment is a post for another time. Anyways, in the middle of the storm there was a light. Social media, as it does, pointed out something incredible….. 

This tweet and other memes surrounding the idea of how inefficient we were before being forced to make do went viral. The traditional workspace is dead. We are learning the power of electronic communication, yes (haven’t decided if that’s a good or bad thing yet). But we also have learned of the liberation and advantages of the world of “freelancing”.

Employers were forced to make difficult cuts and decisions regarding employees and what is and is not essential to business. More and more employers, especially small businesses, have made the switch to using freelance workers and small agencies instead of the commitments of traditional employees.

Traditional employment is time consuming, and expensive. Especially  for creative work such as graphic design, copywriting, and/or branding. This is true for a number of reasons. First of all think of the recruitment process, and the amount of time and energy associated with finding a good fit for your team. After endless hours of sorting through resumes, portfolios, and interviewing you now have a new employee. New employees require paperwork, yes, but also paychecks, benefits, long term commitment, and liability. Gross. Once again, we’re in the future, and branding and copywriting is not a full time job to begin with and surely undeserving of the headache. 

Having someone in house doing brand, design, copywriting, and marketing work doesn’t make sense for your small business. If you want to generate results that appeal to the consumer, to the outside eye, why would you have someone inside your company walls trying to imitate that? A small agency or a freelance graphic designer, copywriter, and/or marketer offer a fresh set of eyes and insight into your business that is unobtainable from the inside. 

Hiring freelance creatives allows you and your team to focus on what you’re good at and allows us to do what we’re good at with a lower cost and better results. It is frankly the only move that makes sense for your small business. However that line get’s a little blurry when deciding who to contract that work out too. There are a lot of marketing agencies out there and even more freelancers. So, how do you choose who to work with?

First and foremost, as a small business owner you want to work with an entity that understands what it means to be a small business. There’s a high probability that you don’t remember the last time you paid yourself, or you work other jobs on the side to make ends meet, or you have an incredibly supportive partner that’s been footing the bill for quite some time now. You don’t have the cash flow (yet) to dump thousands of dollars into a marketing campaign nor the faith to let some big business run free with something you’ve sacrificed it all to create. Bottom line, the big agency is out. They’ll take a big check, you won’t hear from them for weeks, their vision becomes your vision, and you lose your voice and authenticity. You need someone that is as committed to growing your brand as you are. Someone who understands the importance of low overhead and tangible results. Think small agency, or a freelance individual. 

Now when I say small agency, I am absolutely shamelessly plugging my own company, Columbus Creative Copy, as well as similar companies (depending on your location and industry). By similar companies, I mean less than 5 employees, and a team dedicated to your growth.  As I mentioned earlier, the freelance writer and designer offers a fresh eye and a fresh perspective. It allows you, the small business owner, wearer of many hats, to focus on what you’re good at and trust in what they’re good at. Working with a freelance team such as ours also allows you to have a stress free line of communication. You know who to reach out to in regards to your upcoming newsletter because you’ve met them, and talked through your vision. You know the status of your project because you’re consistently being updated, your business is crucial to our business and we will make sure you know that. We know and live the entrepreneurial lifestyle, we’re flexible, we’re shamelessly devoted to what we do, we know how to create and grow a recognizable brand, and lastly we know how to write and how to design, it’s what we do for a living. 

I hinted to something that is incredibly significant in deciding who to work with just a bit earlier… You want to choose a branding team, or freelance individual, that has experience or an understanding of your industry. For example, if you work in a highly specialized field like medical technology, or a highly regulated field like insurance, you want to make sure that you have a designer and/or a copywriter that understands the intricacies of your work and the spaces in which you conduct business. Otherwise you may as well be dumping money into a paper shredder because you’re not going to be able to use any of the materials they produce. Also, think about your target market, gauge whether or not you think this particular agency or individual has the experience necessary to appeal to this demographic. 

For more information on Columbus Creative Copy and how our freelance graphic design, copywriting, and brand services can help grow your business, reach out, let’s schedule a time to chat.