The business world has shifted so much that a team is not confined to a physical office space anymore. Your business can run with the collaboration of a talent pool based all over the globe.

A recent study reported that 53 million Americans are now working as freelancers. It makes 34 percent of America’s entire workforce.

Benefits of hiring freelancers:

Specialized

Often, the reason behind choosing freelancers is to have a person who is qualified in a certain skill.

Cost reduction

When you are paying a freelancer only for the work they put in, measured by hours, it greatly reduces the cost. Freelancers charge fewer overheads compared to a creative agency. That’s one of the major reasons to hire a freelance graphic designer.

Keep in mind that you get what you pay for in this case since this agreement is made before work begins. This method is beneficial for both the employer and freelancer.

Flexible

A good thing about working with freelance graphic designers is that you don’t have to worry about the logistics. These people are specialized professionals who fix their hours of work according to your needs. Design agencies, on the other hand, run on official work hours. You may feel like you are badgering an agency rep for assistance at an ungodly hour.

Freelancers will be up for duty at a time of your choice, providing flexibility in work. By 2020, more than 40 percentof America’s workforce will switch to independent work. It means that 10 million people will work independently for more than half of their usual income.

Drawbacks of hiring a design agency:

Cost

This is a great distinguisher between design agencies and freelance graphic designers. A freelancer will be up to the task while sitting miles away from you, but often, an agency needs to be near where you run a business.

Some agencies make this easy by arranging Google Hangouts and Skype sessions, but mostly it is the location factor that becomes a hurdle when choosing an agency. Everything depends on your project and your needs, and you may choose to compromise on location.

Location

First and foremost, design agency costs are a way too high when you are looking to complete a single project only. Working with an agency compared to a freelancer is expensive.

Verdict

The choice depends on your business project and its requirements. A business owner has four options when he or she needs to get work done:

1. Hire experts to work in-house
2. Hire a freelancer or a team of specialized freelancers
3. Hire a reputed agency
4. Do it yourself

The fourth option is off the list because it is not humanly possible for a business owner to do everything by themselves. As for the rest of the options, your business project is the real marker of the kind of service you should acquire.

Whether you decide to choose a freelancer or an agency, make sure that you know who you’re hiring.