How To Successfully Collaborate With Other Freelancers: A Beginner’s Guide
Posted April 7, 2009 in Business, How-To 21 Comments »
As you continue to freelance, you may come to a point where it just makes sense to collaborate with another freelance professional.
It may happen because a project that you are offered requires skills that you don’t have. It may happen because you desire creative input from another freelancer that you respect. Or, it may happen because your work schedule has gotten so busy that you need to share some of the workload in order to grow and expand.
Whatever the reason, collaboration can be a great experience for a freelancer — with a lot of significant benefits. Or, it can be a real nightmare when each collaborator gets hung up in details like:
- Who is responsible for what?
- Who gets the credit?
- How will the pay is to be divided?
The key to collaborative success is in the preparation. You should follow some basic guidelines when you collaborate to avoid problems. Here are a few suggestions:
- Be selective about who you collaborate with. When picking a collaborator, look at integrity as well as ability. Ask yourself if this person is reliable and honest. Remember that your name will likely be linked together with this person in the mind of the client.
- Be clear about the division of responsibilities. When collaborating, define who is responsible for each specific task. There’s nothing worse than coming to the end of a project and discovering that each party in the collaboration performed exactly the same tasks and ignored exactly the same tasks.
- Be certain about the money. If you collaborate, the money question is sure to come up. Determine the answer to this question in advance and put it in writing. If possible, make use of a contract that designates how each collaborator will be paid.
- Be specific about who receives the credit. If the project will allow the freelancers to receive credit for the work or if it is a portfolio project, discuss how the credit will be distributed. The collaborators may agree that one of them receives most of the credit, or they may opt to be acknowledged equally for their work.
- Be flexible. An important aspect of working with another person is flexibility. If your project timeline allows it, accommodate your collaborator’s schedule as well as your own. For example, one of you may be a night person and the other a morning person. Meetings in the afternoon might be a compromise.
- Be honest with your collaborator and with yourself. When working with another person, particularly a person who you admire, there can be a tendency to try and impress that person. Don’t let this tendency affect your project. If you need help, ask for it.
- Be open to suggestions. One of the beauties of collaborating is that you get the benefit of feedback from another professional. When you receive that feedback, be gracious (even if you don’t agree). If you have to, suggest a compromise position.
Last, but not least, don’t forget to use some of the many excellent online workspaces that allow more than one individual to access a project.
Share Your Thoughts
Have you taken part in a collaborative project as a freelancer? If so, what successes did you experience and what obstacles did you face?
Do you have any tips for freelancers who are looking to start collaborating?
Image by extranoise
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 19 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts
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21 Comments
CathyWebSavvyPR
April 7th, 2009 at 10:50 amThese are very useful tips. I have been to work with other freelancers and consultants, forming a virtual PR/Social Media agency, and getting these questions out of the way at the beginning can definitely help avoid problems and keep things working smoothly over the life of any collaboration.
The use of online spaces like Google docs & Google apps, or Wikispaces for online collaboration is a great idea. I’m sure there are others as well.
Laura Spencer
April 7th, 2009 at 11:09 amHi Cathy!
I’m glad that you enjoyed the article. Thanks for sharing your experiences. (You’re right about online apps – they’re great!)
Colin Wright
April 7th, 2009 at 11:16 amVery good advice. I’ve recently been taking on more projects that require more than one person because 1) the money is better and 2) the work is more interesting. I find that so long as you have someone who is designated to keep things organized (in my case, I usually take this role), the work progresses fairly smoothly, as there is someone there to take responsibility for the difficult decisions, which is where most group efforts tend to falter.
Laura Spencer
April 7th, 2009 at 11:34 amGreat tip Collin!
There definitely has to be a plan of attack so that the work gets done.
HART (1-800-HART)
April 7th, 2009 at 1:06 pmGood tips that can also be applied to general consultants and sub-contract work .. besides the freelancing gigs!
Lauren
April 7th, 2009 at 1:36 pmAs a copywriter, I collaborate with designers (graphic & web) on a fairly regular basis. One of them is a good friend of mine, so I wholeheartedly agree that getting the money thing clearly nailed down at the outset is absolutely imperative. I think it has saved me a lot of stress and heartache.
Brad Shorr
April 7th, 2009 at 2:24 pmHi Laura, These are really great tips. One thing I like to do is establish which collaborator will be the lead in terms of project coordination and dealing with the client. I think it’s important for the client to know who the ultimate “go-to” person is.
hdbbstephen on Twitter
April 7th, 2009 at 2:53 pmGood advice, being honest about your own capabilities really helps keep things fair and uncomplicated. And Colin is spot-on with the “leader” comment. Someone has to lead, especially if you are working with a group of freelancers on a big project.
I am working with a group of very talented individuals right now on a big endeavor, and without tracking and maintaining accountability it would never get anywhere!
Doreen Howell
April 7th, 2009 at 3:04 pmLaura, nice summary. #1 is critical to success. I’ve been collaborating for 12 years now and value the relationships I have. I know i can trust any of the folks I outsource to completely. One additional item I would add to your list is to have one primary contact for the client. Funnel work through the “account manager” so there is one individual who always has his/her pulse on the work flow and can be the point person for the client throughout the project.
Emily
April 7th, 2009 at 5:14 pmThanks for bringing this up! I’m beginning to anticipate the need to incorporate other freelancers into my online program. It sounds so easy and then, as I begin to dig, gets so complicated.;-)
The key is probably good communication and collaborating with people with whom you feel comfortable. \
How do you deal with outsourcing and the (fuzzy) employee/independent contractor definitions?
myDevWares
April 7th, 2009 at 5:21 pmYou might have included a list of collaboration software with this post…could’ve been much more useful. I personally use Project Pier, but I’ve heard of other good ones as well…
Laura Spencer
April 7th, 2009 at 8:02 pmGreat comments!
I love the way that this community pitches in with their own personal experiences.
Nikhil
April 8th, 2009 at 3:52 amGreat Advice Laura!
As a freelancer everyone have to collaborate with the other now or later.
I like to work with my local friend who has command over web & coding (as I am designer). When it comes to work we like to discuss it personally, we both work on the same time. The conclusion is that great Team Building is important while collaborating as it makes to grow your business & strengthen your relationships.
Solomon
April 8th, 2009 at 3:00 pmGreat tips to collaborate! ‘…working with another person, particularly a person who you admire, there can be a tendency to try and impress that person.’ This tip has set me thinking. ’cause I get overwhelmed when a respected professional whose work I like, gives me some work, I tend to neglect the contract part and do it. Ultimately, I lose out some money and it hurts me.
This part is very tricky for someone who is new to freelancing. Never to start work without getting a written assurance (sign a contract, if needed).
Thanks for the great tips Laura!
Solomon
Paul
April 9th, 2009 at 8:50 amThanks for the good advice.
Johnny
April 10th, 2009 at 12:37 pmOne problem I sometimes have with collaboration is that the other person usually underestimates their scope of the project and/or hasn’t thought out their part fully. Translation: more work has to be done and someone has to do it. It really helps to know the other collaborator’s part fully and discuss it with them, then document it all almost like a project agreement. It’s a little extra work on your part but can save you time in the end.
Vivienne Quek
April 11th, 2009 at 10:03 pmTo me, #1 matters most.
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