The process of becoming a digital nomad varies from being deceptively simple to almost overwhelmingly impossible. However, since you’ve made the decision to become a digital nomad, you ought to be prepared to appreciate the paralyzing intricacy fully and urge to complete tasks before you. This isn’t limited to learning new skills, changing careers and relocating.
Digital nomads enjoy working whenever they want and how they want. However, at times, work may be overwhelming albeit the tight deadlines. Besides, the fun part of traveling may exceedingly take more time. This is where outsourcing comes in.
To other digital nomads, outsourcing is beneficial for them in that they can increase their efficiency and capacity, they can access new better skills, and they become flexible to match their ever-changing travel conditions. If you fall in this fold, check out the following best outsourcing practices and secrets digital nomads employ to get satisfactory work.
Clearly defined scope and schedule of the project
To many, this might seem very obvious, but for any successful outsourced project, there should be a clear statement of how the project should be accomplished. Before hiring someone, clearly, define the project requirements beforehand. For service providers to provide something valuable, they need accurate and complete information with a realistic proposal.
As a digital nomad, you should be specific about what should be delivered or expect the vendor to submit. Give out as much info as possible to make it easy for the vendors to work on your project. You should be clear on the schedule requirements as they can have a significant impact on the total project cost.
Cautiously Evaluate the Service Provider
You shouldn’t employ the services of any other vendor you come across. Evaluate the service provider like you are hiring a full-time employee. Don’t be afraid to ask in-depth questions, ask for samples and any other thing that can guide you into finding the most appropriate freelancer.
Similar to the process of hiring a full-time employee, this should be a heavily subjective experience. Check the freelancer’s references, request for feedback from their previous clients, and check their profile and portfolio. Engage the freelancer in a dialog and voice any concerns about the freelancer’s capability. Don’t hire and hope for the best. For ideas, look at these interview questions for social media managers.
Prefer a Specific Experience Fit
As a digital nomad, you are well aware that your work is of immense importance. This is why you should go for a freelancer with specific experience with the project currently underway. This is especially true when you need to outsource complex and technical projects.
For instance, if you need someone to develop an app for iPhone, ensure that you hire an app developer who has completed previous commercial projects for other customers. This is also true for other projects.
It is overly tempting to make a hire based on price. However, you shouldn’t choose one based on this. Experienced nomads who have outsourced recommend that highest priced and lowest priced bidders should be avoided. Vendors who offer a balance between good value and quality results provide the most successful projects.
Check Samples and Portfolios
You should also check the samples and portfolio of prospective vendors. Make sure that their work has the quality and style similar to your expectations. If you have already evaluated the freelancer’s references, portfolio, and previous experience but still unsure of his/her capabilities, you can request them to do some samples.
A freelancer who really wants some job will take this up quickly and deliver a rough concept of what they can do. When asking for a sample, don’t insist that the vendor does a complete job. Ask them to provide a mock-up that illustrates how they would have done the job. For sure, no professional can work for free.
Tie Payments to Project Milestones
Payments or rewards is what motivates someone to work on your project. Just like you should be clear with your project scope, you should also define the work plan for your outsourced work. Have scheduled checkpoints at which you will review the progress of the work and pay as agreed.
Most outsourcing platforms allow freelancers to submit and ask for payment when an agreed stage is reached. For most IT and software development projects, guides advice paying up to 20 or 30 percent of the total amount upfront and other payments in subsequent milestones. Regardless, you can agree on a better payment deal with your preferred vendor.
Negotiate ownership of the work
For any outsourced project, ensure that you agree upfront on who owns the resultant product and any important components of the project. Ensure that your freelancer understands how you intend to use the project and that they agree to work on it as a ghost.
Once the vendor submits his/her work, the client should review the work soonest possible and give feedback. Feedback is necessarily important as it will guide the vendor on how to handle subsequent tasks with more ease. If you find the freelancer way below your requirements, it is only fair if you disclose your thoughts and thank the person for availing self. However, you will have to start the hiring process afresh.
As a digital nomad, encourage your employee to make use of the various freelancing tools to provide quality work. Canva for photo editing, Grammarly for grammar check, Buffer and Evernote are just but a few tools they should be accustomed to.
Conclusion
Working as a digital nomad is fun and exciting but challenging at the same time. It is fun and exciting as you can work while traveling and experiencing what you want in life but challenging, as you will be depending on a secondary person to earn a living. Most digital nomads engage in blogging, writing, graphic design, podcasting, copywriting, video editing and programming among others.
When it comes to outsourcing, nomads rely on online platforms to find the best skill set for their needs. Websites such as Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr and PeoplePerHour are just, but a few of the platforms that experienced vendors can be found. Once on the platform, observe the outsourcing practices mentioned above to get guaranteed quality work.
