Negotiating with a freelancer about money can be quite confusing, especially if you’ve never done it before. Contract-based work is so different to working with coworkers and employees. While cost is obviously one of the most important factors of a project, it shouldn’t be the most important one, as it is highly relative.

Working with freelance contractors has its obvious risks. There are financial dangers, deadline risks and exposures that can create extreme vulnerabilities, especially in IT, where we work with data. However, hiring people who work remotely and/or contract-based can add a huge edge to your business. In many cases, experienced freelancers are simply better workers, because they are more efficient, and the financial requirements are often lower than keeping a permanent staff. Here is how to manage the risk/reward of contract work.

Hungarian IT expert Árpád Vezse started working as a developer in the 90’s and never stopped being involved with the new, emerging technologies. His career is an interesting case study running from the first real mobile telco company of the country to an IT freelancer hub. He shares his insights on the switch to remote freelancing from being a big company decisionmaker for years.