There are many reasons you might choose to hire a freelancer, not least of which is the fact that whatever you need done, you just can’t do for yourself. Freelancers are an excellent way for you to get work done on a one-time or regular basis, whether you need graphics, web design, content, or just to have someone to tweet and post to Facebook for you.

But when you do hire a freelancer, there are a few things you need to know – a variety of dos and don’ts, if you will – that will make both of your lives much easier. I see these things written about a lot from the freelancer’s perspective, but not often from the other side of the fence, so I hope this will help people.

The reason this is so important for you to understand and implement is simple: it is good for your business, too. It will help you build solid, respectful relationships with vendors that will result in good work now, as well as good work in the future, if and when you need something else done. Knowing you’ve formed a good relationship with a good worker and will therefore have someone dependable to turn to when you need him or her is great peace of mind. And once you have that good relationship, then you’ll also likely find that you now have people willing to work harder for you, work your stuff in on short notice, cut you a package deal on a larger order, and refer you to someone else of quality if you need something outside of the first freelancer’s particular bailiwick. Makes sense, right? Everyone wins!

So, to kick this off, please watch the video below. It demonstrates some of the most common things freelancers hear out of clients, only in “real world” situations, such as the video store or a restaurant. It’s funny ‘cos it’s true, and because it also shows how ridiculous some of the stuff a client might try to pull actually is. And if you’re taken aback by any of the behavior demonstrated by the “clients” in the video, rest assured that this is stereotypical behavior that freelancers have to put up with all the time. For proof, just click through to the actual video page and read some of the comments.

The thing to take away from that video is that if you wouldn’t say it to a store clerk, a waiter, your hairdresser, the cable guy, or anyone else you would pay for a service, then don’t say it to a freelancer, either. That freelance graphic designer is trying to make a living just like everyone else – just like you, in fact – and if you want good work to help your business and be successful, you must also be a good client.

So how do you go about being a good client? Glad you asked! It starts even before the hiring process, when you drill the following into your head:

Always remember that you get what you pay for. Do you want excellent work? Then be willing to pay a reasonable rate for it. I touched on this briefly in last Friday’s post, but it bears repeating and closer examination. Do not expect to hire a good freelancer that does good work for peanuts. It’s absolutely fine to negotiate rates, and it’s absolutely fine to want to get the most bang for your buck, but it’s not fine to expect a professional to do professional work for non-professional pay. If you can’t afford that professional’s rates, even after negotiating, then either find out what you can get for what you can afford, or just don’t hire them. Find someone else. The someone else may be less experienced, and the work less good, but that’s life. If you’re a world class chef with 20 years in the biz, you’d be insulted if your restaurant wanted to pay you what they’d pay a cook at the Waffle House, no? Same idea.

So figure out what work you need done, and then figure out your budget. It may turn out that you can’t afford to have all of it done right away, and while that’s frustrating, it’s not the end of the world. Do what you can, when you can, and make sure it’s done well. It’ll pay off in the long-run, I promise.

A good freelancer is no different from someone doing the same job full time as an actual employee of a company somewhere – they’re just their own company, and probably not doing that work from a cubicle. And in that way, they’re again no different from you – you either already are or are aspiring to be your own boss, with your own business, doing something you love, right? Treat them the way you’d want to be treated, and you can’t go wrong.

Stay tuned, because I’ll be back on Wednesday with some tips on the actual hiring process, like where to find good freelancers, how to tell if they’re good or not, how to make sure you’re hiring the right freelancer for the job in question, and how to get started off on the right foot once you’ve hired them.