Many business owners of thriving businesses describe their experiences with subcontractors as disappointing and frustrating. Although their thriving business could continue to blossom and grow, they choose to step back and halt their growth rather than deal with the issues of employees or subcontractors. So what is a business owner to do to ensure that their subcontracting experience is positive?

Do Your Homework
Take the time to get to know potential subcontractors. Conduct interviews and obtain references before agreeing to work with them. Never, ever be afraid to test the waters with a “test project” to ensure that the outcome is in line with the standards you have set for your business. Even more importantly, find someone that you feel comfortable being a representative of your company.

Get it in Writing
Even more important than getting a signed contract (which of course I knew that you would do), each and every project should be outlined in detail with no room for interpretation. Make sure that you provide clear and concise instructions and do it in writing. Have the subcontractor review the terms of each individual project and return an acknowledgement to you. Don’t be afraid to ask them to summarize the project in their own words to you and ask probing questions to ensure that they understand what is required of them.

Set Deadlines
When setting a deadline for your subcontractor to complete a project, be sure to allow yourself enough room to correct any errors or omissions that may be made. Many times business owners fall victim to cleaning up subcontractor “messes” at the eleventh hour. Also, don’t be afraid to check in periodically for an update as to the progress of the project and, if at any time you are concerned, let the subcontractor know and never be afraid to “pull the plug” on the project if things are not living up to your expectations.

Set Quality Controls
The most important key to a successful relationship is to set good quality controls. Although it might seem like more work for you, from time to time, ask your subcontractor to show projects to you prior to submission deadlines. If your subcontractor is dealing directly with your client, have them send you copies of the projects when they are complete and, if they are to have no direct contact with your client, make sure that the work is proofed and approved by you.

Honesty is Important
Don’t try to hide subcontractor relationships from your clients and potential clients. In many cases, potential clients will respect you even more if you can admit you can’t do it all. After all, isn’t that what they are admitting by contracting for your services?

Treat Your Subcontractors with Respect
Ensure that you always treat your subcontractors with the same respect you expect from your clients. Give them adequate deadlines and pay them within their payment terms. Once you find quality subcontractors, you will want to do everything you can to keep them.

By putting these six keys in place within your subcontracting model, I am sure that you will quickly see that subcontracting can be a wonderful opportunity to grow your business into the thriving business it is meant to be. Good luck!!

Congratulations! Your thriving business has been so successful that you can no longer keep up with the demands of your clients. You now have two choices: 1) start turning clients away or 2) start looking for subcontractors that you can honestly depend on. As small business owners, we invest ourselves into our business so how could we ever find someone that will have the same qualities and work ethics that have made our businesses so successful?

Develop a Model
Just as any successful business or product needs a working prototype, so too do you need a “prototype” of what your ideal subcontractor will look like. Start writing a wish list of the qualities you want that subcontractor to have: honesty, solid work ethics, skills, etc. If you are having problems with determining which qualities are important to you, take a different approach and start by deciding what it is you definitely do not want. For example, I don’t want someone that is lazy, turns in below par work and misses deadlines. From determining this you will know that you are looking for a subcontractor that works hard and produces quality projects on time.

Interview Your Candidate
You wouldn’t think of hiring a new employee without an interview, so why is it that many business owners don’t feel it is necessary when hiring a subcontractor? By interviewing your candidates, you have an opportunity to ask those tough questions that probe into the qualities of the candidate. Ask probing questions that are based on real-life experiences and ask the candidate to provide examples based on situations they have dealt with. Describe a situation where… Tell me about a time when… How would you handle…? These are all examples of probing questions. Another good idea is to have a trusted colleague interview your candidates on your behalf as well and offer their opinion. They don’t have as much at stake and are likely to give you some real honest opinions.

Give a Test
Don’t be afraid to test the waters by providing your new subcontractor a small task or project to see the results. Perhaps you have completed a project in the past that you know what the results should look like and the approximate time it should take to complete. Maybe a project needs to be complete for your business that you can have them tackle. Before you have them work on projects for your clients, it is good to have a solid understanding of the quality of work they are capable of providing.

Personality Clashes
Personalities are the key reason that most subcontractor/contractor relationships fail. Take a good long hard look at yourself and figure out what is going to work for you. If you are the type of person that finishes projects well ahead of deadlines, how will you work with someone that works better under pressure? If you are a morning person, can you work with a nighthawk? If you are single, can you work with a mother of young children? For many it works best to find someone with similar personalities and values and for others it works to find someone that is the polar opposite to you.

Get References
Last but not least, the most important step to finding a good subcontractor is to get lots of references and follow up with those references. Look at past projects they have completed and talk to others that have worked with them. The best indicator of future performance is past performance so it is very important to know how they have performed on similar projects, in similar situations and for other clients.

Now that you know the best approach to finding subcontractors, you can truly take your thriving business to the next level and ensure it continues to thrive. Don’t look at success with fear and trepidation. Look at it as the honor and joy it is meant to be. Good luck!!