I was thinking of starting a writing business where I would hire writers and edit thier work taking a cut, but from my experience, I find it easier to write everything myself so when someone places an order, they can be assured of the quality of the work they will get. I have hired in the past but have greatly cut down on the amount I hire due to the fact that quality was not always up to par and it was just more convinient to write all my work myself. I do hire one writer who offers a great service, but only use him when I simply cannot get a piece done in the timeframe given and only use him for ~5% of all the articles I produce.
Like others said it is possible to find people from offshore who can produce quality work, in terms of grammar and English, but it is much easier and reliable to use someone who naturally speaks and writes the language. No offense to anyone overseas, but I have taken eight years of German grammar and language courses and I would still not be confident enough in my work to ever consider writing for money in that language. In the same sense, I don't know how much English classes given overseas can help someone write quality work as a freelancer.
I have to say that logically it would seem that going with a domestic, established company rather than an individual freelance writer makes more long term sense. The reason I say this is that with an established company you now have access to all that company's resources and talent. As a designer I understand that not everyone is going to like my style nor will I be able to satisfy every customer’s requirements. But by having a team behind me together we can handle a far larger variety of requirements. Not to mention that being a single freelancer and not having colleagues right beside you to bounce ideas off can stifle the creative juices and hinder ideas. Perhaps I’m wrong and this just applies to designers and not writers but it’s just a thought.
Eh, it really isn't the same for writing. Bouncing ideas is something you need when coming up with a business plan or ways to meet a budget, things I know being a business student myself. I have never had a problem coming up with things to write about. And besides, if I need help I do have AIM, e-mail, and MSN at my disposal (like most freelance writers). Writing just takes good English, a clear understanding of the topic at hand, good researching skills, and a creative mind. I would recommend you try out both methods and see which you like better for yourself. As most of us are freelance writers we are pretty biased, as are those who own their own writing companies. Try out one or two articles and see which you like better. Of course, if you just feel that a writing company is better for your needs then there is no reason not to use them.
I kind of stand in the middle. I like to have a few writers who specialize in different fields, while at the same time, can be assured of the quality of the work, which can vary in a company with a boss and lost of employees. At my writing compnay, its a team of just a couple of writers that are at an equal level and work to get jobs in areas where they specialize and pass on other work to people who specialize there. I have found this to be far more sucessful than when I hired writers in terms of profits and money made. You get more jobs and higher pating jobs. Just my 2 cents
The problem is a lot of the big companies on the internet allow anyone and everyone to sign up as a writer, and then the work is just farmed out to different writers. It's important to find a company that actually screens the writers, along with providing editing and proofreading of the individual writers' work.