It’s an age-old quandary you face at home daily: Should you rent, or should you buy?
Does it make more sense to rent that spacious 2-bedroom apartment you’re now in, or buy a cramped condo on the “other” side of town? Is it better to lease that shiny new BMW 5-Series or buy a used Taurus outright? Should you download the new Sun Kil Moon album or borrow a friend’s CD?
It’s no different at the office. Now that your business is ramping up, should you hire a full-time programmer or find online freelance talent? It’s an interesting dilemma you’ll have to ask yourself (and your accountant). But one thing is obvious: More and more startups today are turning to freelance programmers. Here are four reasons why:
1. Faster time-to-hire
When you’re trying to get to market ASAP, every second counts. Unfortunately, hiring a full-time programmer can take weeks or months. The delay ranges from the candidate search itself and trying to schedule multiple rounds of interviews with multiple people (…zzzzzzz…), to background checks, paperwork and 2-week notices.
With online freelancers, work begin quickly — often that day if need be. Freelancers know they’re expected to jump on projects fast and they have the computer fired up. Online work marketplaces like Elance and oDesk help take care of vetting and background checks, and provide tools for quick interviewing and hiring. This includes giving you access to freelancer’s online profiles complete with portfolios, work histories, skill test results and ratings and reviews from previous clients. This makes it easy to gauge the quality of a programmer quickly.
2. Access to top talent otherwise unavailable
With thousands of freelance programmers ready, willing and able to work, it’s easy to find people with the exact skills you’re looking for. This includes professionals with hard-to-find programming skills and highly specialized skills you won’t find on every street corner.
Hiring programmers with specialized skills can make more sense than hiring one “general purpose” full-time staff programmer (and expecting him or her to learn new skills to tackle a variety of projects). As programming becomes more-and-more specialized, it’s easy to understand where focused talent comes in handy.
3. Find that perfect programmer more easily
Getting back to the time-to-market story, many startups realize that sometimes a programmer can be a bad fit skill wise, personality wise or both. When you hire someone permanently, you’re never sure what you’re getting until it’s too late.
That’s why many startups prefer to hire 2 or 3 freelance programmers for a new project, and then give each candidate a smaller task to tackle. At the end of the “trial” project you’ll have a good idea of who best fits the bill. Simply hire that freelancer and part as friends with the other two programmers.
4. Cost efficiencies
While it’s nice to have a full-time programmer sitting in that desk doe-eyed each morning you walk in (OK, maybe they don’t roll in until noon or so?), it’s also very expensive to maintain those 9-to-5ers. From the cost of physical office space to employee benefits, PTO and sick time, and on and on, workers are not cheap. With freelance programmers you pay only for the work you receive (and with reputable online marketplaces, only for work you approve).
With a world of options at your fingertips, you can also find a freelance programmer who works within your budget – while still getting the quality you need. Plus you can ramp up and ramp down at a moment’s notice, as demand changes. This includes having entire online teams of programmers working for you on a regular basis.
So, own or rent?
You decide what’s best for your own situation, but before you post that programmer job on your website, consider the alternatives. You may discover some considerable advantages from freelancers.