As your business grows over time you’ll probably want to work with freelancers or virtual assistants to help you deal with everything.
My favourite place to get freelancers is Upwork.com.
In fact, I’m hiring new people right now for some new positions in my company. I like to work with contractors rather than employees, since it’s a leaner and more flexible way to work with other people.
However, some people are concerned about security and safety. So in today’s post I’ll address these concerns and offer solutions.
The fear you have of working with freelancers likely has nothing to do with any real risk. It’s more likely that it’s scary because it’s out of your comfort zone. It’s something new that you haven’t done before. And there’s always some fear and resistance when starting something.
That being said, there’s still a few things you can do to make your freelance hiring experience more comfortable, safe and secure.
Here are some of them:
1) Never give access to your PayPal, bank or credit card information
I think that’s kind of self-explanatory.
Don’t let anyone else but you manage and access your financial accounts, because only you should have access to those. Don’t give your PayPal logins to anyone else, not even your friends or family.
There’s just too many crazy stories of business partners, family members and friends running away with someone else’s money.
2) Create a new password for any accounts
If you provide your freelancers with any login information to any profile, create a new password only for this freelancer.
Never use a password that you also use on other accounts or websites.
For example, if you give your freelancer access to Facebook or LinkedIn to manager your social media accounts, create a new password. Don’t just send them your old logins that you use on a hundred other sites. Never give anyone access to your passwords.
3) Never give access to your backup email address
For any accounts you use, make sure you have a backup email address linked to the account. And make sure you’re the only person who has access to that email account. If your freelancer tries to lock you out of your account or changes the password, you can simply request a new password to the email associated with the account.
Then you can login, change the password and lock out your freelancer. Even if your freelancer tried to change the email address, usually that requires you to confirm with your old email account.
Protect that original email associated to your online profiles and accounts and make sure you’re the only one who can access it.
4) Do interviews and carefully select your freelancers
Don’t just blindly hire the first person who applies for your job. Ask them questions, get a feeling for them and set up a Skype interview or Google Hangout where you speak to them face-to-face.
You’ll quickly get a feeling for the person.
And your intuition will also serve as a warning system. If something seems fishy, or if you don’t get a good feeling, don’t hire the person.
Interview plenty of people and then pick the person that makes the best impression and seems the most professional and trustworthy. Then give them a test period to see how the actual work will be.
If you’re happy with the work and the relationship you’ve established after one month, consider hiring the person for a long-term project.
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