🖊 This article was last updated on November 19, 2019
Introduction
- Effective communication
- Pre-vetted freelancers
- Fast hiring process
- A team that understands my concerns and has streamlined hiring processes
These are some of the reasons why I’ve ditched Fiverr and Upwork and exclusively hire remote freelancers through FreeeUp.
FreeeUp is a freelancing platform that connects over 4,000 businesses to the “top 1%” of remote workers.
The company was founded by Nathan Hirsch (FreeeUp’s chief executive officer) and Connor Gillivan (FreeeUp’s chief marketing officer) in 2015. Prior to this, Nathan and Connor ran an eCommerce business, where they faced much of the same problems entrepreneurs like us go through as well:
Instead of focusing on growing their business, they found themselves spending hours interviewing freelancers and dealing with turnover and disappearing workers.
So they built FreeeUp to make the process of finding and hiring the right freelancers easier, simpler, faster, and more efficient.
In this article, I go into more detail about FreeeUp, how it is different from other platforms, and why I will continue using FreeeUp exclusively to find freelancers for my business (both short-term and long-term).
FreeeUp offers Habitgrowth visitors an exclusive $25 credit for their first freelance project(s).
Save time, money, and become a raving fan in the process. Just like me!
1. FreeeUp accepts only the “top 1%” of freelancers.
You may have come across freelancers in other platforms claiming to be an expert at a certain skill. But once you hire them, you realize they cannot deliver their promise. Or perhaps their initial outputs are stellar, but they disappear in the middle of a project.
Frustrating, isn’t it?
With FreeeUp, I am assured that freelancers on their platform have already been screened carefully. This increases my chances of finding and training a professional freelancer who has the right skill set and work attitude.
How exactly does FreeeUp select the top 1% remote workers?
Freelancers who want to join FreeeUp need to pass a thorough multi-step application process. They need to submit their CV/resume, typing test result, and Internet speed test. They also need to pass an interview and an exam.
FreeeUp knows that it isn’t enough to find skilled freelancers. They also give a high premium on freelancers’ work ethic and communication skills. They take all these factors into account before allowing a freelancer to be part of the network.
Every week, thousands of freelancers sign up to become a part of their network. But for every 100 freelancers that apply, only one is admitted on their platform.
2. The support staff are extremely helpful and only an email or a Skype call away if there’s an issue.
FreeeUp assures its clients: “We’re hands on. There’s always someone to talk to.” And in my experience, they’ve been true to their word.
Having easy access to a support team will help you get more things done in less time. FreeeUp’s quick hiring process also allows you to onboard a freelancer as soon as possible and get your projects rolling.
I’ve dealt with Fiverr’s and Upwork’s support in the past and I’m glad that with FreeeUp, I have access to a team I can count on.
3. FreeeUp’s process is a huge timesaver.
whenever I need a project done, these are the steps I go trough:
- I write down what or who I need, the project’s description and duration, my preferred schedules and rates, and any other information about my ideal candidate and the project deliverables. I also let FreeeUp know how many candidates I want to interview and/or choose from.
- Then I let FreeeUp’s team cherry-pick the right freelancers for me. This step normally takes up to one business day.
- I wait for the pre-vetted freelancer(s) to contact me via email within one business day.
- We either discuss the details of the project via email or, depending on the project, schedule a short interview via Skype.
- I decide who to hire for my project.
I’ve included an extensive step-by-step walkthrough on how to hire your first freelancer on the FreeeUp platform at the end of this article.
The walkthrough also shows you how to get a $25 discount on your first freelancer.
It’s quick and easy. While FreeeUp looks for strong candidates for me, I stay focused on growing my business.
Because of FreeeUp’s pre-vetting system, I no longer need to spend hours screening applicants for every job I post, and reading profiles, resumes, and portfolios. Instead, I just focus on evaluating the candidates FreeeUp has picked for me.
But what if after doing an interview with a candidate, you still want to meet other freelancers?
FreeeUp’s got you covered. Just inform them and they will look for another suitable candidate for you. You can also ask them to refer two or three candidates from the get-go, so you can choose the best fit right out of the gate.
I understand that some entrepreneurs aren’t comfortable with delegating part of the recruitment process to another company, but personally, I love it.
Instead of doing the preliminary screening and interviewing ourselves, we can delegate this stage to a marketplace like FreeeUp. Instead of choosing from a ton of applicants and processing loads of information, we only have to interview one to three highly qualified freelancers, and then make a decision.
4. FreeeUp facilitates effective communication between entrepreneurs and remote workers.
One of the reasons why I love working with FreeeUp so much is that it facilitates the connection between entrepreneurs. Services like Fiverr actively try to minimize effective communication between “buyer” and “seller” by forcing everything to go through their own platform to protect their revenue (see my screenshot below). This can make coordination difficult, especially if you need to discuss project details with your team.
FreeeUp does the exact opposite. They encourage clients and freelancers to contact each other via Skype, email, or any other means of communication outside of their own platform. We can conduct interviews and project meetings through calls. This makes coordinating, brainstorming, and discussing plans and projects so much easier.
5. Time tracking and billing are built into FreeeUp’s system. Just like in UpWork, freelancers clock in when they start working on their tasks, and clock out when they stop.
FreeeUp also facilitates billing and payment. You only need to check freelancers’ weekly billed hours in your FreeeUp account, and set your payment method.
Right now, FreeeUp has no screenshot software, but there are plans to roll it out within the next year. If you really want to get photos of your freelancers’ screens, FreeeUp recommends using tools like TimeDoctor.
If you don’t want to use a screenshot tool but are worried that the billed hours may exceed your budget, you can ask freelancers during the application stage how much time it will take them to complete a project. You can agree on this from the get-go so you know the work gets done AND you stay within your budget.
As an extra safeguard, FreeeUp allows you to set an hourly limit in the platform as well. I’ve never used it myself, because I only work with freelancers I trust and have a good connection with, but it’s good to know the feature is available if I would need it.
6. FreeeUp has a no-turnover guarantee.
According to FreeeUp, their freelancers rarely quit a project. But in case someone does, FreeeUp will look for another freelancer and shoulder the replacement costs.
This is another way FreeeUp shows it understands their clients’ situation. They know that when a worker leaves, we will have to spend time hiring and onboarding a new worker. This will mean additional costs for us, more workload for remaining workers, and delays in project completion.
By finding a replacement fast and assuming related costs, FreeeUp cushions the impact of worker turnover on their clients’ businesses.
How to hire your first freelancer on the FreeeUp platform
As promised, I’ll show you step for step how you can create an account on the FreeeUp platform and hire a freelancer for your first project.
Go to https://freeeup.com/kristofm/ and click the purple button which says Create an Account And Redeem $25 Discount.
You’ll be redirected to the Client Signup page, which looks like the screenshot below. Enter your information and the coupon code KristofM25 in the How did you hear about FreeeUp section to receive a $25 discount on your first hire.
Don’t forget to enter the coupon code KristofM25 to get your $25 discount 😉
After you click Create Account, you’ll see a confirmation page that asks to confirm your email address
Open up your email client, open the email from [email protected] titled FreeeUp | Activate Your Account (check your SPAM folder if it somehow didn’t make it to your inbox) and click the Activate Your Account button.
When you click the link, you’ll see Nathan’s smile confirming that your email address is confirmed.
Click on the Dashboard menu link in the top left and you’ll see the screen below. Click on the purple Request A Freelancer button to hire your first freelancer.
In the next screen, you’ll be able to describe the project or job you’re hiring for, as well as:
- Your preferred hourly rate (ranging from $5 to $75), or a fixed price
- Your preference for where the freelancer is located (international or countries like the United States where English is the official language)
- The type of project you’re hiring for (one-off project, short-term, medium-term, or long-term)
- If the freelancer needs to have availability on weekends
- If the freelancer needs to be able to have audio and video calls with you, your customers, or your clients (I recommend you answer yes)
- How quickly you need to hire a freelancer for this project
- How you would like the freelancer to reach out to you: email only or via email and Skype
I created a short video to show you how it looks like:
Now the FreeeUp team does it’s magic! Once you’ve submitted your request, the FreeeUp team will look for freelancers that fit your description. Once they found a freelancer that’s able to do your project, you’ll receive a confirmation via email (typically within one business day) with the freelancer’s contact details. You can now reach out to the freelancer directly (via email or Skype), or wait for the freelancer to introduce himself/herself!
Conclusion
As entrepreneurs, our main reasons for outsourcing is to free up our time and scale our businesses. To do this, we need to delegate some of our tasks to capable hands.
One task we can delegate is recruiting and shortlisting remote workers. Business owners have the option not to reinvent the wheel, because marketplaces like FreeeUp have already designed systems that can help us hire better and faster.
So if you find yourself sifting through applications and agonizing over who to pick, afraid of making a hiring mistake, ask yourself if this is really the best use of your time. What tasks would you be able to accomplish if you delegate the pre-vetting process and come in only during the final interview and selection?
FreeeUp offers Habitgrowth visitors an exclusive $25 credit for their first freelance project(s).
Save time, money, and become a raving fan in the process. Just like me!
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