Who We Are
What does Four Seasons of Food do?
We are a freelancer agency helping food businesses around the world connect with talented and industry experienced independent contractors, while taking the weight of project management off your shoulders.
Who will you be working with?
You will be allocated a Project Manager who will be your key point of contact. From there, we will advise which freelancers we believe would be best suited to the tasks you require help with (providing portfolios if suitable), their hourly rate, and if agreed, they will be brought onto your project. This team will undergo a brand on-boarding, so that you can be certain any task you throw our way will be completed by someone familiar with how your company works.
Where are we located?
While our business is based in the USA, our Founder completes contracts all over the world (17 countries in 2019!)
Our core team are based in Europe, Australia, Asia and North America – so you can be sure there’s a member of our team available almost 24/7. Even if your project manager is based in London, if you need an on-site photographer in say, Singapore, we’ll have someone in your region.
Working with Clients
What sort of businesses do we work with?
Many of the businesses we work with are owner-operated, small to medium size food businesses who operate under massive budget restrictions. We offer them the ability to grow in ways reserved for larger companies, by offering an on-call highly experienced workforce that can deliver projects usually only possible with a large, expensive employee-base.
Do we only work with food businesses?
No! Web development, marketing, social media management, photography: these are skills required by many industries, and it’s easy for us to adapt.
We’ve got health-focused marketing coordinators who we’ve placed with yoga studios, we’ve put our designers on brand identity packages for beauty companies. Let us know what you need and we’d be happy to extend our affordable f&b focused rates to you.
What role do we play in your team?
The Founder and core team manage client accounts and projects, develop concept and prepare briefs, bring together ever-changing freelance teams to deliver on small to medium sized projects, edit, strategize, and make sure our freelancers get your work done within the budget you allocate.
Why do small businesses love us?
Our clients usually work with us because they need help to grow their projects successfully in-house, and they don’t have the budget to outsource.
We are very mindful about what we charge, and how we charge it. We would prefer to charge clients a rate they can afford, support their business and build a long-lasting relationship, than for our freelancers to make a lot of money, once-off.
We believe this is beneficial to all, as it results in sustained growth for the business and a good supply of work for our freelancers. Our team are driven by bolstering and supporting our clients to do what it is they are best at – making delicious food and drink.
Do you have to contract us for a minimum amount of hours?
Not at all. You can contract us for 7 minutes one month, and 45 hours the next. You’ll only pay for what you use.
Keeping Your Business your business
When you sign with us, our contract provides an NDA clause which protects any confidential or business-specific information you share with Four Seasons of Food and our contractors. All of our team have signed contracts which lock them into the same non disclosure terms for any work with you.
Billing
How are charges accrued?
Our team logs on and off projects using time tracking software that accrues by the second. At the end of the calendar month, the total number is rounded up, or down, to the closest 15 minute increment. You really won’t pay for a second more than you use.
What happens if a project goes over the time estimate?
To ensure our clients get the best value and that our freelancers work in the most efficient way possible, each deliverable is allocated an amount of time that the project manager thinks that a reasonably experienced freelancer should take. Our freelance team agree to this before starting, and if it is looking like the project is larger or smaller than anticipated – or you request excessive revisions – we will advise you at the earliest possible of any potential overtime.
On the inverse – unlike other agencies, if it takes us less time than estimated, then we only charge you for the time it took.
If a task takes longer than anticipated without a valid reason, Four Seasons of Food will absorb the additional costs rather than passing onto the client.
Are there any upfront charges?
When your contract is signed, we will invoice you for a deposit, which will be applied as full credit to your first invoice. We charge no retainers, monthly fees, access fees.
How often will you be billed?
After the first month, we invoice per calendar month on 15 day terms. Note that if you set a fixed monthly budget, this will be applied to a 4 week rolling period. As such, your calendar monthly invoice may slightly vary depending on the length of the month.
What currency can you pay in?
As a US registered business, we invoice in USD. However, you can make payments in AUD, SGD or GBP into local accounts, fee-free. Other currencies need to be wired directly to an account in one of the above four countries/currencies.