Need advice and opinion on hiring subcontractors

[sharwerth]

I am currently working with a consultant to create a healthier business and part of that entails bringing in more clients. I am fortunate to have a lot of retainer, repeat work - I act as the designer for my current companies. I need to subcontract some work to retain the business I have while I find the clients to bring me to the next level. Has anyone searched specifically for junior design/production freelancers or worked with some? I am thinking I should stay away from student/intern work. Did you just work with one person or several? For production and lower level work, do you work by project or hourly pricing? I created a job description with my business coach for this (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24975235/hdc-job-description.html?goback=.gde_761567_member_132267696). Any thoughts, input, triumph/horror stories, advice is appreciated.

[Graphix]

As a freelance employee myself, I may be able to shed some light on the situation.

There are tons of freelancers out there and finding the right one may take a bit of time. Both college students and graduates have the ability to produce great work, it's just a matter of how much you are willing to pay.

Many freelancers are between entry level positions and having a ton of experience, so many are just looking for projects to help boost their portfolio. You will need to pay more for graduates, but many still have reasonable rates.

I would also stay away from hourly pricing as it can be difficult to track progress of freelancers. Pay by project.

Good luck!