In Episode #56 Neil and Eric highlight how they go about hiring the best freelancers no matter the industry. Listen as they share websites, tools, and creative strategies for finding freelancers that are truly masters of their given craft.

Time Stamped Show Notes: 

• 00:25 – Today’s topic: The Best Services for Finding Great Freelancers
• 00:40 – Talking designers
  • 00:47 – Dribbble for designers
  • 01:18 – 99designs.com a contest driven resource
  • 01:39 – visual.ly – great for infographics
• 01:53 – upwork.com
  • 02:05 – A lot of the freelancers suck, but a lot of the people offering jobs suck too
  • 02:31 – You need to find people who’ve done EXACTLY what you’ve done
• 02:40 – Check out freelancer.com as well
• 02:50 – Toptal.com is great for engineers and developers
• 03:10 – The Code Pen is where Eric sourced his developer
• 03:14 – Don’t forget about word of mouth sourcing
• 04:32 – Consider searching LinkedIn—it’s not as unusual as it sounds
• 05:05 – angel.co Angel List means you’re plugged-in
• 05:52 – ProBlogger.net has really good writers
• 06:09 – More often than not though…this is all about YOUR hiring process—if your process isn’t good, you’ll run in circles
  • 06:22 – When you’re hiring people, be explicit, nitpick PRE-hire so you don’t have to nitpick POST-hire
• 07:15 — Remember that a friend will rarely if ever recommend a lousy freelancer because they don’t want to look bad…this of a personal recommendation as (generally) a sure thing

3 Key Points:

1. Looking for a talented freelancer? Look word of mouth FIRST.
2. Be extremely upfront and explicit in your expectations before hiring.
3. Feel free to get creative—try plundering LinkedIn for talent in your industry.

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