If your business or a project has grown substantially, you might need additional help. Sometimes hiring full-time employees is not the right way to go because of the higher costs involved. On the other hand, you might need help for a single project, and you can’t hire someone full-time only to fire them the next month.

In these kinds of situations, the best way to go is to hire freelancers who can help you with your current project. The word “freelancer” no longer has a negative ring to it, and many successful professionals work this way.

A lot of freelancers can do an amazing interior design job, but you need to find the right ones and avoid beginners. However, hiring a freelance 3D interior designer for the first time can be difficult. We’ve decided to make a list of tips that can help you do this even if you have no experience.

Search for potential freelancers online

The best place to start looking for freelancers is online. Luckily for you, freelancers are gathered on several large freelance platforms, and you won’t have to search randomly. Instead go to websites like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.

You can also check out the Envato Studio freelance platform, as they gather designers, developers, and other creative types. Each of these platforms has its own system that allows you to post the jobs you are offering and wait for freelancers to submit their proposals.

They also allow you to search their database of freelancers. You can filter their skills, experience, and ratings to find the best possible candidates. When you post a job, you will literally be able to choose from dozens of different employees.

Check out their portfolios

One of the biggest issues when looking for freelance interior designers online is to check how credible (good) they actually are. Many people promise wonders, but not all of them will be able to deliver what they promised. All 3D interior designers have portfolios you simply have to go through.

Their portfolio will tell you everything you need to know. For example, if you find a potential team on any freelance platform, you can ask them for their portfolio site. If they don’t have a portfolio site, chances are they either have a social media or Behance profile where they display their work.

If you want, you can take a completely different approach. Instead of finding a freelance team first and going through their portfolio, you can visit Behance or Coroflot and browse various interior designs until you find something you like.

Use LinkedIn

LinkedIn might not be the best place for finding individual freelancers, but it can be really useful for finding freelancing teams. Your current LinkedIn network could have a lot of capable interior designers, and you might not even know it.

If you are connected with a lot of colleagues, you can post an update and ask them to give you some referrals. On the other hand, LinkedIn is one of the rare platforms with effective classifieds where you can post a job offer.

Furthermore, you can also use LinkedIn to do a thorough search for different professionals with the desired skills. It has great vetting features, allowing you to learn about potential candidates and how professional they are.

Establish a solid interview process

The interview process is very important for finding reliable workers that won’t damage your business from within. Just because you are hiring someone remotely, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t interview, and learn more about them.

It gives you the opportunity to see whether the whole team is prepared to do the job with the standards you’ve set. Furthermore, interior design projects aren’t that simple, and you need to have a thorough conversation about your ideas, execution, potential expansions, and so on.

If you have to, talk to the whole team. However, it’s generally a good sign to see that they have a leader of their own who manages everyone else. After all, you can’t constantly keep in touch with several different people during the project.

See if you are on the same page

On paper, a freelance team might be great, with an amazing portfolio, references, credentials, and so on. However, you still need to have a conversation with them about your ideas and tell them about your project.

Communication is essential for any kind of project, and especially when it comes to creative work like interior design. Ideas need to be clearly defined and understood. Share your thoughts and ask for suggestions to learn more about each other’s preferences.

They need to know what you expect from them, but at the same time, you need to know what they expect from you. When working with remote employees, communication is crucial because you can’t meet up every day to discuss smaller details and adjust things.

Don’t try to save as much money as possible

One of the biggest reasons why people turn to freelancers is because their services usually cost less. The problem is that a lot of employers are looking to hire remotely get too greedy and offer really small budgets. Even though you can find freelancers that will do the job for a small amount, the question is: “How well will they do it?”

Don’t let price be the sole criteria for choosing a team. You don’t want to end up with a terrible project that you won’t be able to use. You will just end up wasting money, time, and energy. It’s best to consider price as the least important factor.

Simply put, when comparing different teams look at their experience, portfolio, credentials, and in the end, their prices. If you pay a bit more, chances are you will get a much better product that could potentially get you more revenue.

Follow-up on references

A lot of freelancers will offer references from their past clients. If they don’t, make sure you ask for them. Naturally, you will want them to have references because there are a lot of people trying to fake their experience online. The important thing is to make sure that you follow-up on those references.

A lot of people get their hopes up just from seeing several references, and they don’t think that it’s necessary to check them. This is a big mistake. You have to learn what their previous employers have to say about them, their style of work, and ultimately, try to learn how satisfied they were with the end result.

If they tell you about their weaknesses, bring those up during the interview, and try to learn what they have done since to improve. Naturally, if you can’t reach their references or you get negative feedback, look for another team.

‍

Make sure to follow the tips we discussed today. They will give your hiring process a good structure and act as a safety net that will reduce the chances of hiring an incompetent team. In the end, remember to deliver your vision clearly and discuss all the details to make sure everyone is on the same page.