How do you recruit at low cost?

Depends on what kind and level of talents you need to get access to. In my experience, most jobs in SME can be covered through your immediate network of contacts (friends of friends). However, if you need someone with specific skills or very high level candidate I suggest direct search in LinkedIn for people with specific backgrounds (anyway, thats exactly what headhunters do:) also depends on the business itself and the job turnover rate associated with it. If the rate is high across the industry perhaps it makes sense to hire a recruitment agency. In this case some job functions might be easier to outsource. I mean, as founders we sometimes stick to one particular solution (like job ads) and not even consider different angles. Changing your perspective might be the key:)

Hiring freelancers and creating multi-tasking jobs are the way to go.

Honestly, I've tried paid Linkedin ads with poor and disappointing results. You can run your ads for free on Indeed and have more albeit less qualified candidates. Also, create a job board on your site and post a sponsored ad on social networks

Companies use outsourcing to cut labor costs, including salaries for its personnel, overhead, equipment, and technology. Outsourcing your work can help your business save 60 percent of overhead costs​. This is the reason most of the startups outsource their work to freelancers or other organizations. Outsourcing projects to a third-party service provider allows us to better manage the costs of internal processes and also allows internal teams to put more focus on the core areas of their business. This way, they function better as a team. Read more - https://nuvento.com/blog/why-it-...