Organized freelance. Part 2. Artists
When creating a web studio, agency, etc. performers are your main resource and tool. Their level of professionalism and responsibility - the main factors affecting your earnings and the quality of work.
When you look for employees, remember that you hire a co-owner rather than an employee. Their level of competence in any matters should be a cut above yours. Otherwise, you hire a problem that you have to solve yourself and at the same time it will be very difficult to grow.
When selecting performers, you need to understand how much money you are willing to spend on a specialist. Among the heaps of offers you will find some more or less adequate. If you see that this is the person you need, but the price does not suit you very much, try to reach an agreement. Imagine your benefits and try to work together, even if your order goes to zero. Because with the following orders you will get much more by raising your bar. By the way, on my first orders the designer received about 50% of the total budget. That is, at first I earned less than my designer.
')
As I said earlier, we work piecework. Half of the payment at the beginning and the second half at the end of the work. But pay the first half, when a person is really into the project, in the technical task, so that later there are no controversial issues. The second half is strictly at the end, so that the person does not relax before the finish.
There is often a reasonable question, and if he takes half and leaves? It happens and this, but in order that this did not happen, the employee needs to make it clear that you have a stream of orders, that you have everything strictly with payment, what will work - there will be money. When a person understands this, he has the motivation to do qualitatively, to pressure complex projects and not to retreat halfway.
In order to close the question finally, we need insurance, i.e. additional performers who will be ready to take on the project. Therefore, I propose to make a list in Excel, where there will be contacts of freelancers, divided by profession, price and creation time. During the first month of work I had 30 contacts, really high-quality and potential employees. I think you should make no less a list, and specifically allocate time for the selection of performers.
You can search for artists on freelance portals, specialized forums, through Google in a pinch. You can find it on social networks; freelancers often come to us personally with good portfolios looking for work. There are actually a lot of opportunities. The main thing is not to catch hold of the first available, and, sifting out the total mass, to find adequate workers.
To motivate workers, of course, you need money. If the project is delayed and turned out to be an order of magnitude more difficult than planned, make it a small surcharge, even if it is a trifle, but it will be a sign that you understand the situation.
Just as in ordinary companies, allocate bonuses, it helps to keep a friendly attitude. Celebrate the anniversary of the company, it helps to rally the team into a single team.
Well, as I wrote earlier, a steady stream of customers with an adequate fee is the best motivation for a freelancer.
As for hiring managers, first of all you need to understand that in the early stages no manager can cope better than you, you have to form a team, create a studio reputation among clients, you will know all the possibilities and, if necessary, take a risk, take an order for services, which were not previously provided. It is more pleasant for the client to communicate with the person, the professional, and not with the half-robot, which has scripts for all questions and objections. Another question is when you can not cope, you will need to hire managers.
There is a classic triangle of managers (taken from here , can be found in more detail)
Sales. Sales Manager. Responsible for the sale of projects on incoming requests - the first contact, preparation and presentation of proposals and estimates, the conclusion of the contract. Sometimes, he also develops “cold” contacts — that is, he searches for clients on his own (or through channels such as large RAs, system integrators, etc.).
PM Project manager. Responsible for the production of the project, controls the time-price-quality. Manages the project team in the framework of the production of the project, solves production issues with representatives of the customer.
Account. Account Manager. Carries out customer service, develops strategic relations with the client, responds to complaints, tries to make it comfortable and easy for the client during the entire life cycle of the client. As a rule, motivated to sell projects and services to existing customers. In many ways, the role of the account is intermediate between PM and Sales.
It is worth noting that we are talking here about roles. The specific scheme of the organization of the “triangle” may involve combining several roles in one manager.
Each of the managers has their own interests and motivation. Also, different modes of operation, as I described earlier, if divided into two types, then at PM work is just in the “creator” mode.
Initially, you will combine all these roles. Then you can choose exactly what you want to do.
Better at the moment, I think Sales & Account + PM.
And here you can choose: either continue to accept applications and lead customers, or engage in exactly the product. Personally, I like working with the team and the product, so I try to pass all questions on clients to the manager.
Payment is also made by the piece, depending on the project budget (which is usually coordinated with both me and the team members). Perhaps there is a sense of moving to a salary or a time wage, but at the moment our manager’s motivation does not fade.
Answers to some comments on the previous article:
- Several people work from the very beginning, I was lucky, I have a lot of experience working with performers, so I found no problems for whom I don’t have to blush. It happens, of course, and we break deadlines. But I usually speak to the customer for a day or two longer than the promise of one of the freelancers. Often saves from unnecessary questions.
We are working on regular landing pages. We are more a marketing agency than a web studio. We carry out market analysis, create landing pages, sometimes corporate sites, online stores. Next is the promotion. Well, some related services.
Regarding tools. There are great services and programs. Everyone, I think, can pick their own.
- It all depends on time costs and level of professionalism.
For example, the designer will spend on the development of 5 days, his share of the project will be 7 thousand rubles (approximate figure). The coder can do his job for the night, respectively, and he will receive an order of magnitude less. These people have different workloads. Designer in force to perform 3-4 projects per month. The coder is many times more. Therefore, it makes sense to keep more designers.
- The situation is possible and even frequent. It is solved simply - we are looking for additional designers. In this and the beauty of our scheme of work, we do not depend on specific people, there will always be more performers.
There were also questions about how these recommendations have been tested and how effective they are. We have been working for a little less than a year and, of course, it is not appropriate to talk about great achievements. This is my personal experience and it's up to you to use these tips or not.
Link to the first part
When you look for employees, remember that you hire a co-owner rather than an employee. Their level of competence in any matters should be a cut above yours. Otherwise, you hire a problem that you have to solve yourself and at the same time it will be very difficult to grow.
When selecting performers, you need to understand how much money you are willing to spend on a specialist. Among the heaps of offers you will find some more or less adequate. If you see that this is the person you need, but the price does not suit you very much, try to reach an agreement. Imagine your benefits and try to work together, even if your order goes to zero. Because with the following orders you will get much more by raising your bar. By the way, on my first orders the designer received about 50% of the total budget. That is, at first I earned less than my designer.
')
As I said earlier, we work piecework. Half of the payment at the beginning and the second half at the end of the work. But pay the first half, when a person is really into the project, in the technical task, so that later there are no controversial issues. The second half is strictly at the end, so that the person does not relax before the finish.
There is often a reasonable question, and if he takes half and leaves? It happens and this, but in order that this did not happen, the employee needs to make it clear that you have a stream of orders, that you have everything strictly with payment, what will work - there will be money. When a person understands this, he has the motivation to do qualitatively, to pressure complex projects and not to retreat halfway.
In order to close the question finally, we need insurance, i.e. additional performers who will be ready to take on the project. Therefore, I propose to make a list in Excel, where there will be contacts of freelancers, divided by profession, price and creation time. During the first month of work I had 30 contacts, really high-quality and potential employees. I think you should make no less a list, and specifically allocate time for the selection of performers.
You can search for artists on freelance portals, specialized forums, through Google in a pinch. You can find it on social networks; freelancers often come to us personally with good portfolios looking for work. There are actually a lot of opportunities. The main thing is not to catch hold of the first available, and, sifting out the total mass, to find adequate workers.
To motivate workers, of course, you need money. If the project is delayed and turned out to be an order of magnitude more difficult than planned, make it a small surcharge, even if it is a trifle, but it will be a sign that you understand the situation.
Just as in ordinary companies, allocate bonuses, it helps to keep a friendly attitude. Celebrate the anniversary of the company, it helps to rally the team into a single team.
Well, as I wrote earlier, a steady stream of customers with an adequate fee is the best motivation for a freelancer.
As for hiring managers, first of all you need to understand that in the early stages no manager can cope better than you, you have to form a team, create a studio reputation among clients, you will know all the possibilities and, if necessary, take a risk, take an order for services, which were not previously provided. It is more pleasant for the client to communicate with the person, the professional, and not with the half-robot, which has scripts for all questions and objections. Another question is when you can not cope, you will need to hire managers.
There is a classic triangle of managers (taken from here , can be found in more detail)
Sales. Sales Manager. Responsible for the sale of projects on incoming requests - the first contact, preparation and presentation of proposals and estimates, the conclusion of the contract. Sometimes, he also develops “cold” contacts — that is, he searches for clients on his own (or through channels such as large RAs, system integrators, etc.).
PM Project manager. Responsible for the production of the project, controls the time-price-quality. Manages the project team in the framework of the production of the project, solves production issues with representatives of the customer.
Account. Account Manager. Carries out customer service, develops strategic relations with the client, responds to complaints, tries to make it comfortable and easy for the client during the entire life cycle of the client. As a rule, motivated to sell projects and services to existing customers. In many ways, the role of the account is intermediate between PM and Sales.
It is worth noting that we are talking here about roles. The specific scheme of the organization of the “triangle” may involve combining several roles in one manager.
Each of the managers has their own interests and motivation. Also, different modes of operation, as I described earlier, if divided into two types, then at PM work is just in the “creator” mode.
Initially, you will combine all these roles. Then you can choose exactly what you want to do.
Better at the moment, I think Sales & Account + PM.
And here you can choose: either continue to accept applications and lead customers, or engage in exactly the product. Personally, I like working with the team and the product, so I try to pass all questions on clients to the manager.
Payment is also made by the piece, depending on the project budget (which is usually coordinated with both me and the team members). Perhaps there is a sense of moving to a salary or a time wage, but at the moment our manager’s motivation does not fade.
Answers to some comments on the previous article:
How do you choose how long you work with them (or they work with you), how often do jambs. And it is also interesting what projects you are working on, what you write on, what tools you use. thank
- Several people work from the very beginning, I was lucky, I have a lot of experience working with performers, so I found no problems for whom I don’t have to blush. It happens, of course, and we break deadlines. But I usually speak to the customer for a day or two longer than the promise of one of the freelancers. Often saves from unnecessary questions.
We are working on regular landing pages. We are more a marketing agency than a web studio. We carry out market analysis, create landing pages, sometimes corporate sites, online stores. Next is the promotion. Well, some related services.
Regarding tools. There are great services and programs. Everyone, I think, can pick their own.
- how do you distribute the payment that came from the client: the designer, layout designer, programmer, PM get equally or according to some algorithm?
- It all depends on time costs and level of professionalism.
For example, the designer will spend on the development of 5 days, his share of the project will be 7 thousand rubles (approximate figure). The coder can do his job for the night, respectively, and he will receive an order of magnitude less. These people have different workloads. Designer in force to perform 3-4 projects per month. The coder is many times more. Therefore, it makes sense to keep more designers.
- what if you took the project, the programmer and coder are ready to work, and the designers are busy with their projects? This is not from the article, but from your comment it follows that such a situation is possible.
- The situation is possible and even frequent. It is solved simply - we are looking for additional designers. In this and the beauty of our scheme of work, we do not depend on specific people, there will always be more performers.
There were also questions about how these recommendations have been tested and how effective they are. We have been working for a little less than a year and, of course, it is not appropriate to talk about great achievements. This is my personal experience and it's up to you to use these tips or not.
Link to the first part
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/222373/
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