To find talent, Schumacher uses everything from Craigslist to portfolio listings, industry sites like CommArts and word-of-mouth. But to effectively work with freelancers, it's important to know why they work the way they do. Who are these people, these workplace plug-ins who expand your capabilities? Can they solve global warming, the struggling economy and world hunger as well as code for Facebook? Unlikely. They have trouble enough getting dressed in the morning.

Ben Guerrette, an independent Flash developer, jokes that the reason he works freelance is so that he can work in the nude. That aside, he used to work for agencies full-time, but found that he actually got more work done once he became his own boss.

"I've always enjoyed the social aspect of the workplace, but sometimes it can be a hindrance to productivity," Guerrette says. He and many other freelancers are finding that not only are they more productive but their quality of life goes up. No commuting, no 9-to-5 schedule, more time with family, time off when they need it and a broader variety of work than if they'd stayed with their old agencies.

But even though Guerrette works without pants, he's in heavy demand. That's partially because this sort of freelance work demands a particular type of personality. "I've always been one to take the reins on projects and just run with an idea," Guerrette says. His employers expect him to take an idea on paper and effectively produce it, without looking over his shoulder and acting as babysitter. In every business, a premium has always been put on this sort of self-driven personality. But as freelancers, it's a necessity because, as Young puts it, "These people are really going to deliver because their reputation is at stake, and it's a big deal if they screw something up."

Why bother?
But isn't this just a fancy way of talking about outsourcing? Not quite, Young claims. This isn't just about saving money – to get the job done right you still need to work with people you know and trust and  understand the personality of the work you are trying to create. Plus, Young says, "if you talk about benefits, the reason we're doing it isn't because we don't want to spend extra on office space or health insurance or whatever else. It's because quite often the best people are these folks who are out there working in this freelance environment."

Yet, budgets can benefit, too. "What we've found is that it's a lot easier to manage projects and budgets when you're able to piece things together like a movie," Young says. That makes sense: You hire someone for a project for a set fee and that makes one line on a budget. Seems like it's a lot easier than having someone on payroll, right? 

But there are definitely stumbling blocks to relying on a virtual talent network. The most talented people aren't always available. There's a chance you might miss a mistake in a freelancer's work that you might have caught earlier if they worked in-house. And you definitely miss out on the camaraderie that comes through working together all in the same office, a loss felt on both sides.

"I definitely miss the daily contact with office colleagues," says Claire Chen-Carter, a freelance art director. "It can also be a challenge to stay current since you're not surrounded by folks pointing out the latest, greatest new thing they saw."

As for Young, his main concern is a creative one: "That's the only thing that I miss, that whiteboard moment. There are times when it would be a lot faster and lot less frustrating to get everyone into a room and whiteboard [a concept]." 

The changing face of business
It's important to remember, however, that most agency work is still being done in-house. As Schumacher puts it, freelancers only account for a small percentage of what is actually being done at his company. And within that percent of what freelancers can do, there are limits on what a freelancer should do. "The one thing I would never farm out is project management," Young says. "You do need a core group of people that are driving things through, seeing the project from beginning to end, that are understanding clients."

And shouldn't that be our focus, after all: getting the job done for the client? A good virtual network can effectively free your team from the minutiae of production and let them concentrate on what is most important to the client, the idea and the concept. Finding the balance between your core team of employees and a network of talent can take a while, but it might just open up your business in ways you never imagined.