Small Business Blog

This is the third article in a series that provides tips for working with freelancers and independent contractors. Our topic of discussion today is defining scope and setting reasonable expectations. When you take steps to clarify expectations before the project begins, you are far more likely to be satisfied with the project outcome.

You have a project to complete, and you’ve decided to find a freelancer to do it. Maybe you’ve collected a few phone numbers and you’re ready to start interviewing your prospects. Don’t do it until you are prepared! Before you pick up the phone, you must take the time to clarify the scope of your project and define your own expectations. The success of your project depends on it. Here are a few reasons why: 

• When you interview your prospects, you need to communicate exactly what you expect from them. If you don’t have the project scope and your expectations written down, you may communicate something slightly different to each prospective freelancer. This means the price quotes you collect may not be directly comparable.

• You don’t want to be shocked and surprised by the quotes you receive from freelancers. This tends to happen when you haven’t thoroughly analyzed the scope of the project. Your uncertainty leads you to magnify the scope, even as you are discussing it with prospective freelancers. You might hear yourself saying something like, “You know, it’d be really great if you could also…” This type of uncertainty gets expensive, because you could end up paying for more than you actually need.

• If you can clearly express what you need to the freelancer at the beginning, the freelancer is more likely to deliver what you want.

Identifying scope

To define the scope of your project, start by making a list of the project objectives. Then write down everything and anything that may be necessary to complete the project. Say, for example, that you want your Web site redesigned. You need to identify how the new site will be improved from your old site. You will also need to consider how you want the new site to function: as a lead generator, as a brochure, as a branding piece? To create this new site, the freelancer will need, at a minimum, artwork and copy. If you can have this information organized and ready to hand over to your freelancer, the process will go much more smoothly.

Alternatively, if you do not provide the freelancer with the necessary inputs upfront, you should expect the editing process to be lengthier. In this case, don’t feel discouraged if the first draft of your site (or press release or ad copy, etc.) isn’t exactly perfect. Once you provide some specific feedback, an experienced freelancer can then go back and make adjustments until the desired outcome is achieved.

Contract considerations

Once you select your freelancer, the two of you need to hammer out the details of your relationship. Before money changes hands, you and your freelancer need to agree on several items, including:

• The project fee and the billing schedule
• The number of revisions included in the project fee
• The timeline and specific deliverables of the project
• The ownership of the work
• Whether or not either party can cancel the agreement and, if so, how

Your freelancer should be proactive about discussing these items, but it will help the conversation if you’ve already considered these factors. Also, all of these items should be documented in a signed agreement. Typically, the freelancer would draft the agreement and present it to you for approval. When you are reviewing the agreement, look closely at the project scope. Make sure it specifically includes all the services you expect. Back to our Web site example, the project scope should define who will install the site, who will write the copy, who will upload the products into your online store, etc. You don’t want to be caught offguard by unexpected charges for services that are essential to the completion of the project. (Please note that this is not legal advice; you may need to consult with a qualified professional before signing any kind of contract.)

So the two rules here are: hammer out the expectations and details upfront, and recognize that the freelancer needs inputs from you (in the form of feedback and/or specific items to complete the project) to be successful.