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This is part 3 of the interview with Nathan Hirsch of FreeeUp who is sharing some fantastic information about outsourcing. In the last episode, we talked about the general principals of outsourcing, which he is incredibly experienced at.
How FreeeUp Compares to Other Outsourcing Platforms
There are 2 things that are unique about FreeeUp. Firstly, it’s not a job board. They get hundreds of applicants every week and take the time to pre-vett them so only the top 1% get accepted and added to their network. Then FreeeUp makes them available to you as a client whenever you need them. There’s no monthly fee, there’s no signup fee. You sign up as a client whenever you need a worker. You simply have to log into your account, click the ‘request a worker’ button and explain exactly what you need. Then FreeeUp fulfills that request pretty quickly, usually within hours but sometimes within minutes. You get to then speak to the worker and decide if you want to work with them or not, and if not you can request a different worker.
The other cool thing about FreeeUp is that they are very hands-on and make sure you have a good experience. Besides having great customer service, they have a lot of content to help you as a business owner, including the FreeeUp blog, online hiring mastermind groups, and a 20-person team available to help you and guide you along the way.
Benefits of FreeeUp
FreeeUp is also like insurance against turnover for your business. As a business owner, turnover of workers is so frustrating. If any of the FreeeUp workers quit for any reason, they cover all retraining costs. They will get you a new worker right away and make sure you never take a step backward for HR reasons. That solves the problem that every business owner hates which is their worker leaving halfway through the project, leaving you hanging. FreeeUp has a talented team and vett people for not only their skill and communication but also their attitude. Nathan says, “We’re not perfect but when something does happen, we fix it.”
Getting Started on FreeeUp
The first step to getting started on FreeeUp is to sign up as a client, which takes 5 minutes. There is a questionnaire and e-signature saying that you won’t try to steal the workers and you will actually pay for their work, and then a payment method on file so the automatic payments can get set up. FreeeUp’s billing period is Wednesday to Tuesday, and they charge you automatically every Thursday. Once you have an account you never have to set that up again. The payment side of things is automated.
Anytime you need a worker, ‘click request a worker’ and answer the questions about what you are looking for, including U.S. vs. non-U.S. workers, pricing considerations, and schedule restrictions. Within a few hours, you will get an email detailing the worker selected for you. You will be introduced to that worker. You can also meet with them in a 10-15 minute conversation if you want. If for whatever reason, it’s not the right fit, you have a red flag or you just want a second option, you can request another worker and they’ll send you someone else. Or, to get started you just click “hire”.
The HR Support Your Business Needs
A lot of FreeeUp’s clients have chosen to work with FreeeUp because they don’t want to spend the time on the hiring. It’s a simple process and FreeeUp values simplicity. A lot of people don’t actually know how to interview well. Often, there is no correlation between how well a candidate did in an interview compared with how satisfied the employer is with that person’s work down the line. The best way to judge a potential hire is by the results they give, and FreeeUp has already vetted them for results.
In addition to that, FreeeUp posts a lot of content on how to interview people, what red flags to look for and other information you need in order to hire the person that is the best fit for your business. If you’re happy and the worker is happy, then FreeeUp is happy.
Once you click the hire button, you’re good to go. The rest is you setting up training, going over expectations, setting up a schedule and any project information with the worker. They will give you an estimate for a number of hours they think a project will take. Then unless you approve that estimate they won’t start on the work. The worker will never discuss rates with you, they will only discuss hours, as the rates are a contract between you and FreeeUp.
Simplifying Rates and Client Estimates
Unlike places like UpWork, where you have the option to pay by the hour or pay by project and break the project into milestones, FreeeUp only offers hourly workers. The thinking behind that way of structuring things is because a lot of people go in with fixed price, trying to pay less that what it would be per hour. However, Nathan believes that is backward. The best approach is if you’re paying per project you should be paying more than the hourly rate.
Also, it’s simpler and faster to set client-worker relationships upon a per-hour pricing schedule. A lot of people come to FreeeUp is because they need help with hiring and often that’s because they don’t know how to define a scope and that causes problems with the fixed price of projects over time. So by using the hourly rate only, everything is much simpler for you the buyer, for the worker and for FreeeUp.
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Taking a Leap of Faith When Outsourcing
If hiring for something that’s a process or a system, you need to know it very well. Nathan won’t hire somebody for process unless he, himself, knows the project. If you’re hiring for something outside of your expertise, he advises that you need to take a leap of faith. Hire somebody with a good track record, get another expert or somebody more knowledgeable than you in that area to check on it, and then put them in a position to succeed.
That’s why it’s great to have a mentor or consultant. If you don’t know whether something is going well or not, hire somebody for a second opinion. You don’t need to know everything that you’re hiring for. You do need to have an open mind when hiring people to do something that you can’t personally train them on from scratch. After all, if you’re ignorant and you know that you don’t know something, that’s something you need outsourcing for.
The Skills of FreeeUp Workers
Amazon PPC is a big thing FreeeUp clients have wins with using their service. They have a lot of top-notch PPC experts that can go it. They will lower the cost and generate sales at a high level. A lot of times, they cost a lot less than agencies. Sometimes, those agencies are actually labeling FreeeUp workers so that’s something to be aware of too.
FreeeUp also has people who are really good at getting FBA reimbursements. You’ll hire them to go through your store to get you a lot of refunds. Many people also have their entire website built by FreeeUp workers, they create infographics or clickfunnels and build software. There are so many opportunities.
Tailor-Made Recruiting
If you have something very specific to your business that we would never recruit for otherwise, we can recruit for free of charge. You are under no obligation to hire them, but if you like it you can hire them through the network. A lot of our clients who have very particular businesses have used that service and found very good workers because we do have a large HR team. They have a process we have been using for years so that you can focus on your business instead of HR. HR is a difficult art. FreeeUp has 8 years of experience and effective people so there’s no point as a business owner in reinventing the wheel.
Special Deal for Listeners
If you go to FreeeUp.com you can book an appointment with Nathan. If you mention the podcast you will get $1 per hour off your first worker forever!
Also check out Nathan’s book Free UP Your Business: 50 Secrets to bootstrapping million dollar companies
More Information
You can find out more about FreeeUp here: https://freeeup.com/how-it-works/
Or check out Nathan’s book here: https://freeeup.com/free-up-your-business/
Get $1/hour off your first life, on your first hire by going to amazingfba.com/freeeup
Watch Comparing Freeeup to Other Outsourcing Platforms Part 3 of 4
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