Freelancers are the right answer for defined, finite work. A dedicated person is the right answer for work that keeps coming back. Most companies that end up frustrated with freelancers are not using bad freelancers. They are using the right tool for the wrong kind of work.
When freelancers win
- One-off projects. A logo, a landing page, a data migration. There is a clear scope, a clear finish, and no reason to employ anyone.
- A skill you need once. A niche animation style, a specialist audit, an unusual integration.
- Testing whether the work is worth doing. Before you commit to a content function, three posts from a freelancer will tell you whether anyone reads them.
If your need fits one of these, use a marketplace and do not let anyone talk you out of it.
What changes when the work keeps coming
The trouble starts when the same designer works for you every week, the same writer every month, the same developer every sprint. At that point you are running an employment relationship through a model built for transactions, and four things change.
Context does not carry over. A freelancer with several clients starts each session by remembering where they left off with you. A person who works only for you starts where they stopped yesterday.
Your files live next to someone else’s. A freelancer works on their own machine, alongside other clients’ work. A dedicated person in a satellite office works on a company laptop, with access set up from day one and recovered at the end.
Every vendor is its own island. The writer has never spoken to the designer. Three people means three contracts, three invoices and three ways of working, with you as the only connection between them.
Continuity depends on someone else’s priorities. When a freelancer takes a bigger client, the gap is yours to fill.
What a dedicated person looks like instead
In a satellite office, the person:
- works only for you
- sits in a premium SoTalented Satellite Office in India
- is employed by us, with payroll, compliance and equipment handled
- joins your tools, your channels and your standups
Several people in your satellite office sit in the same office and work as one team, on one invoice.
| Role | Mid level, per month, all-inclusive |
|---|---|
| Content writer | $1,500 to $2,200 |
| Graphic designer | $1,800 to $2,500 |
| Frontend developer | $2,500 to $3,800 |
Every seat comes with $0 until you hire, no lock-in, and 30 days notice to scale down.
How to tell which you have
Ask three questions about the work:
- Will it still be there in three months?
- Does doing it well depend on knowing your product, brand or customers?
- Would losing the person who does it hurt next week?
If you answer yes to two or more, you have ongoing work. It deserves a person who is dedicated to it.
See the scenario in turn three freelancers into one team, compare the models on /compare, or talk to us.