If you are an inventor, a freelance product designer, or the head of a start-up who is looking to bring your next big idea to life, chances are you’re looking to surround yourself with a talented team that can help you get where you want to go.
But what’s the optimal way to approach your product’s design, production, and marketing? Who should you have on your production team to ensure success?
A freelance mechanical engineering and product design team may be the best choice. Read on to discover the main reasons to hire a freelance engineering team, plus some tips and strategies for getting started.
Hiring a Freelance Team Will Save You Money
When you hire a freelance engineer, you are not responsible for many of the costs associated with a traditional employee outside of salary. In most cases, you do not provide office space, laptops, software, or other necessary equipment for an engineer or product design team.
You are simply hiring a group of talented professionals. So, while you may see marginally higher rates than traditional employees, the lack of associated expenses still makes freelance engineers and production designers a more cost-effective hire.
You can be sure you are getting the best engineers for the best value.
Freelancers must maintain competitive rates to keep themselves and their skills marketable. And as their workflow depends on the quality of their work (most will have portfolios of completed projects available for prospective employers to view), you can hire with confidence.
The inherent competition element in a gig-based economy keeps rates fair for engineers and clients. Hiring a team of freelance mechanical engineers and
The Design and Production Processes Are Streamlined
Bringing a product to market is a process that consists of many steps, from the initial analysis to the final display and exhibition. Working with large companies or within the confines of a traditional office atmosphere can create delay and “dead time,” frustrating and
Freelance engineers are subjected to fewer distractions and, most of the time, will work on one project before moving on to the next rather than balancing multiple projects that split their attention.
A freelance team, therefore, can work on a much more efficient schedule and bring your product through the many stages of the design process in a timely fashion.
On the client’s end, even hiring and selecting qualified employees is simplified (see more on this below). This faster-paced workflow is beneficial for another reason as well
From the freelance employee’s perspective, short turnaround times on projects make it possible to evaluate whether a client is a “good fit quickly.”
If everything goes well, a single gig can become a steady workflow and a strong business relationship.
You Only Have to Hire Contractors When You Need Them
Flexibility is one of the best qualities of a freelance engineering and production design team. It makes this route an appealing one for a variety of clients.
Maybe you are part of a small start-up trying to keep costs low, or perhaps you are an individual who is only looking for professional input at one stage of the production process.
Instead of hiring employees without being able to promise a steady supply of work, you should consider working with freelance engineers and designers. This option allows you to tailor your team to fluctuations in commission volume by hiring on a project-by-project basis.
You Can Customize Your Hired Team to Suit Your Needs
Hiring a freelance engineering and production design team is a highly individualized process. As discussed above, you can modify this team based on the volume of work available.
But beyond that, you can utilize elements of a freelance team in a much less structured way than what would be possible with traditional employees. Specialists are available to provide expert skills and guidance in various disciplines.
Regardless of which stage of the design process you’re in, freelance professionals can help you. For example, engineers and designers don’t necessarily need to be involved in a personal project from beginning to end.
Need help with CAD drafting, prototyping, navigating the patent process, or creating an eye-catching marketing scheme? Freelance contractors are available and will provide your project’s professional input.
Hiring a Freelance Team Increases the Possibility of Innovation and Improvement of Your Design
Working as a freelance mechanical engineer or product designer requires a different approach than working as a standard salaried employee. To succeed, freelancers must be disciplined, independently motivated, and continually hone their skills.
Freelance engineers and designers will often take on projects covering a more comprehensive range of topics than their salaried counterparts, whose value typically lies in their ability to specialize in a particular discipline
Freelancers, therefore, are continually learning and maintaining a broad knowledge base. This experience is incredibly valuable to clients, as they can benefit from a freelance engineering and design team’s fresh and innovative perspectives.
This creativity can elevate a project to new heights and capabilities throughout the production process. Members of a freelance mechanical engineering and production design team may also be able to offer suggestions regarding ways to make your design patentable.
Additionally, most freelance employees are working in a self-created environment that allows them to maximize productivity. From kitchen tables and coffee shops to shared office space, freelancers find the areas that help them do their best work.
This enables them to bring a very different approach to tasks than a traditional office-bound employee, and can further facilitate creativity.
You Can Expect Top-Notch Communication and Transparency
Given the freeform nature of working with a freelance engineering and design team, clients may feel concerned about hiring outside contractors instead of training employees in company procedures and standards.
However, hiring a freelance team will remove sources of miscommunication and inefficiency throughout the production process.
Open communication is extremely important to engineers and designers who undertake freelance projects. They understand that being on the same page as their clients encourages quality work and creates a positive environment.
A bit of advice freelance engineers frequently give when asked about success in the industry is that communication skills should be developed, refined, and continually improved.
The same goes for transparency; the design process can be complex and murky, but an excellent freelance team can simplify your experience.
You Are Hiring Professionals Dedicated to Your Ideas
According to recent studies, 97% of freelance people are satisfied with the independent work style. The high degree of control that freelancing offers and the potential for a healthy work/life balance are attractive to many college-educated engineers and CAD designers.
Many freelancers say that no amount of money would persuade them to return to a traditional working environment. Over the past five years, the freelance economy has expanded tremendously (read more on this below)
Taking on independent projects is no longer merely an option for new professionals looking to build experience. It is often a side job for seasoned engineers and designers with considerable knowledge.
So what does this mean to you?
It means that when you hire members of a freelance engineering and product design team, you’re hiring highly competent people who care about your project and are dedicated to working with you!
Your Team Guarantees Privacy and Confidentiality
Understandably, most clients are concerned with protecting sensitive design material and intellectual property. However, the logistics of keeping unpublished drafts and ideas private can quickly become complicated.
This is especially true for those working on personal projects who may not have access to proprietary software or design tools. For example, free CAD software often requires that any designs created become public domain. Even larger businesses face this issue when deciding to work with outside specialists
Hiring a freelance team through the right platform will give you access to professional-grade software, a broad range of services, and the innovative approach discussed above, all while ensuring confidentiality.
Freelance engineers and product designers must sign a legally binding non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that protects your designs, ideas, and intellectual property. As the gig-based economy expands, NDAs are rapidly becoming a gold standard for freelance contracts.
See Cad Crowd’s FAQ page for more information on our unique approach to the NDA process.
Online Platforms Make It Easy to Get Connected with Top Talent
The convenience of assembling a freelance mechanical engineering and production design team is one of its most underrated benefits. In today’s fast-paced, technologically driven workplace, you need a hiring method to keep up.
Freelance engineers and designers can almost always be located and contacted through an online platform. This provides an accessible and user-friendly interface that allows clients to find exactly what they’re looking for.
By simplifying the hiring process, you can put energy into what matters: designing, producing, and marketing your products.
As mentioned previously, freelance employees should have previous work available for prospective clients to browse through, and sourcing through an online platform enables you to locate the team that will best support your project quickly.
Hiring a freelance team puts expert advice at your fingertips and can provide both large and small businesses with a competitive edge.
The Engineering Industry Is Changing
A 2018 study from the Freelancers Union shows that over a third of Americans freelanced last year and that the freelance workforce has grown by seven percent over the past five years. This growth rate is much higher than the 2% increase in the traditional labor workforce.
The numbers don’t lie – the American economy is pursuing a freelancing model! Check out this article for a more in-depth discussion of freelance workers’ role in the modern engineering market
Tips and Strategies for Hiring a Freelance Engineering Team
1. Use a Reliable Online Platform
Remember, you’re searching for qualified, accredited professionals. You should work with a service provider with a system for vetting engineers and designers.
2. Check the Legalities
Check that your platform of choice has a clearly explained legal system that protects your intellectual property rights. Any designer who works on your project should be required to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
3. Communicate Your Ideas Clearly
Communication is important. Before pitching your idea to freelance contractors and beginning the hiring process, you should clearly know the services you require and what you expect from your employees.
This includes areas in which you require expert advice or skills, the budget you have for the project, time commitments, and availability or hours needed.
4. Be Open to Innovation
Working with a freelance team is a collaborative process that can take your project to a new level. View it as a chance to learn from professionals and improve your own work.
Check out the detailed steps of Cad Crowd’s approach to the design process.
Cad Crowd is an excellent place to begin your search. This platform can connect you with many talented engineers and CAD designers who specialize in various areas (modeling design, rendering services, architectural drafting, to name a few).
Nondisclosure agreements protect your unique ideas and offer hourly services and a time-tracking tool. If you’re interested in connecting with qualified professionals in the engineering industry and bringing your design ideas to life, see how it works, or get a quote from Cad Crowd now.