The number of freelance workers in all sectors, especially the creative sector, is constantly increasing. According to UpWork's 2018 report, 56.7 million people work freelance in the United States. While this figure is increasing every year, 61% of these people choose this working model depending on their preferences.
So, what is the status of the agencies while the world of those who prefer this new model of work is expanding?
Although agencies continue to be preferred in more traditional and broad-spectrum projects such as television advertising and marketing campaigns, they seem to have begun to give some of their market shares away to freelancers in areas such as design, online marketing, and content writing. In fact, many agencies prefer collaborating with freelancers specialized in their fields to create original works for low budgets.
However, when it comes to making a choice between agencies and freelancers, the job gets harder because both sides have unique advantages and disadvantages.
How big and comprehensive is my project?
When does my job need to be completed?
When you find the answers to these questions, it will be much easier to decide. Let's consider the questions and possible answers together.
Freelancers aim to increase their values and take part in more/higher and creative projects. That's why you can work with a freelancer to get full points for your small or middle-sized projects because freelancers give great importance to be the best in their fields. However, to make sure that you get the right information from the freelancer you have contacted, you can ask for their portfolio.
On the other hand, if your project is too large for a person to handle, it will be the right decision for you to work with an agency because, in agencies, teams work together to achieve results that meet different needs. For example, you cannot ask a freelancer to design both presentation design and write your content, and also to run your social media work. But agencies can offer you this opportunity.
Working with a freelancer will often be more economical than working with an agency because agencies have to spend money not only on the work done but also the other expenses of the employees and the office. Freelance workers usually set a price according to their competencies and experiences.
Some of the freelance workers may choose to organize themselves according to their clients' schedule. If your job is very urgent, the freelancer will start working at a great pace and the completion of the project may be more likely than an agency that has many clients. In particular, we cannot say that it is a good idea to start working with a new agency for a single job because legal procedures and contracting processes can take longer than you expect.
On the other hand, when you work with a freelancer, you only depend on it. You may experience unexpected cancellations or delays because you cannot easily transfer your project to someone else in case of a health problem.
So far we can say that there is almost equality between freelancers and agencies because they both have advantages that are hard to give up and have disadvantages that cannot be risked. However, the options are not limited to freelancers and agencies. Independent freelance networks, which combine the advantages of both sides, can be the right decision for many projects.
So what do these networks offer you?
Freelance networks, like an agency, listen to your project and determine the need. They collaborate with their own freelancer networks to complete the work you need so that they can complete the different parts of the project with the collaboration of other freelancers.
Moreover, as with the agencies, they can facilitate budget and payment over a single invoice or contract. Freelance networks may have a higher chance of working with experts in a single field. As we have already mentioned, agencies also prefer to work with freelancers when they need expertise.
Freelancers carry out the projects of different companies in different sectors. Thus, they can make a difference in your industry with the experience they have gained in developing different perspectives.
The portfolio of agencies may include the work of good employees that they hire in certain periods. However, there is no guarantee that these people will be responsible for your project. Freelancers guarantee a better job by offering a more personal portfolio. You can be sure that a designer whose previous works seem nice to you has the capacity to offer the same quality for you.
We suggest you not to determine the people or agencies you will work with without setting the boundaries of the work to be done. Each designer and each agency develop in different areas. You can contact several successful agencies or freelancers at the same time. But when it comes to design, you can't expect a successful graphic designer to design a presentation for the same success. You have to go for the most appropriate option for you.