Picture this: You’re a freelancer hitting your stride when suddenly a dream client approaches with a project that’s twice the size of anything you’ve handled before. Your palms get sweaty. Your mind races. The opportunity could transform your business, but there’s one problem—you can’t deliver it alone.
This is the classic freelancer’s dilemma that Britt Avery brought to our attention: Should you hire help first and risk the overhead costs, or tell the client you can handle it and then scramble to build a team?
The answer might surprise you.
Key Takeaways from this Episode:
- Build a tested roster of freelancers on smaller projects before taking on major clients, rather than hiring employees or scrambling for untested help
- When working with new team members, protect yourself with padded timelines, extra budget, detailed creative briefs, and multiple small deadlines
- Transition gradually from freelancer to agency owner by becoming the client liaison while your subcontractors handle specialized work
The Hidden Third Option: Build Your Bench First
Austin Church from the Freelance Cake community offers a contrarian take: “I would tell Britt to do neither.” Instead of the risky hire-first-or-promise-first approach, he suggests building what he calls a “roster of freelancers”—essentially creating your own network of trusted subcontractors before you need them.
The key is testing these relationships on smaller, lower-stakes projects. When a copywriter applies to work with you, don’t save them for that big corporate rebrand. Instead, have them write copy for your own website or a smaller client project where mistakes won’t sink your reputation.
Think of it as dating before marriage. You wouldn’t propose to someone on the first date, so why would you stake your biggest client relationship on an untested freelancer?
The Lean Agency Approach
This strategy transforms you from a solo freelancer into what Austin calls a “lean or micro agency.” You’re not hiring full-time employees with benefits and overhead. Instead, you’re cultivating a network of specialists who know your processes, understand your quality standards, and have proven they can deliver.
This approach offers several advantages. First, you maintain flexibility—if one freelancer doesn’t work out, you can easily find another without the legal complications of firing an employee. Second, you only pay for work when you have it, keeping your overhead minimal. Third, you can access specialized skills that might be too expensive to hire full-time.
When You Have to Take the Risk Anyway
But let’s be realistic. Sometimes you’ll encounter that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you simply can’t pass up, even if it means working with untested team members. Austin acknowledges this: “Let’s be realistic and say, sometimes we’re going to do it anyway.”
When you find yourself in this position, damage control becomes crucial. Here’s how to protect your downside:
Pad your timelines aggressively. The more unknowns in your project, the more buffer time you need. If your subcontractor flames out, you’ll need time to find a replacement and potentially redo work.
Build extra budget into your quote. Your profit margin becomes your insurance policy. If you need to hire a second freelancer to fix the first one’s mistakes, you’ll have the resources to do it without losing money.
Create detailed creative briefs. Don’t assume you’re speaking the same language. What you consider a “simple animation” might be completely different from what your contractor envisions. Get everything in writing, down to the smallest detail.
Break big deadlines into smaller ones. Instead of one final deadline, create four to five checkpoint deadlines. If someone can’t deliver something small in three days, why would you trust them with something big in three weeks? This early warning system helps you catch problems before they become disasters.
Keep buffer time between your subcontractor’s deadline and your client’s deadline. Never give your subcontractor the same deadline you promised your client. Build in time for revisions, corrections, and potential do-overs.
The Psychology of Making the Transition
Taking on bigger projects isn’t just about logistics—it’s about psychology. You’re transitioning from being the person who does the work to being the person who manages the work getting done. This shift can be uncomfortable, but it’s essential for growth.
Your role evolves from freelancer to agency owner, even if it’s on a small scale. Your primary responsibility becomes managing client relationships and ensuring quality delivery, rather than doing every task yourself. This transition requires developing new skills in project management, communication, and team coordination.
Building Trust Through Transparency
Throughout this process, maintaining client trust remains paramount. You don’t need to reveal every behind-the-scenes detail, but you should never promise something you can’t deliver. If you’re working with new team members, build extra checkpoints into your timeline to ensure everything stays on track.
Remember, when you sell that first project to a client, you’re really selling the fourth project too. Your reputation depends on consistent delivery, so protect it fiercely. It’s better to underpromise and overdeliver than to make commitments you can’t keep.
The Long-Term Vision
This approach sets you up for sustainable growth. Instead of constantly scrambling to find help when opportunities arise, you’ll have a reliable network of specialists ready to support bigger and better projects. Over time, some of these freelancers might even become full-time team members as your business grows.
The freelancers who consistently deliver great work from your processes become natural candidates for more permanent positions. You’ll know their work quality, their reliability, and their ability to work within your systems—making hiring decisions much less risky.
Taking on projects beyond your solo capacity doesn’t have to be a leap of faith. With proper planning, careful vetting, and smart risk management, you can confidently grow your freelance practice into something bigger. The key is building your team before you desperately need them, testing relationships on smaller projects, and always protecting your reputation above all else.
Start building your roster today. Your future self—and your dream clients—will thank you for it.
