We know how difficult it can be maintaining your own freelance business, but with some of the helpful tools that we have listed below, we hope to give you the instruments to ensure your success!
Time Keeping
One of the key issues faced when freelancing is managing your time.
Whether you freelance to subsidise your day job, or to fit around a hectic life schedule, time management is a vital aspect of your business.
Poor time management leads to unnecessary, easily avoidable stress.
Time Management Tools that we recommend:
- Monday.com – a fantastic platform for giving you a great idea of your progress through your tasks, time-lining your jobs in order of priority to keep you on track.
- Wrike.com – this service gives the added benefit of e-mail clear up, as well as strategic planning, enabling you to manage your resources to their maximum effectiveness.
Project Management
Keeping track of projects is vital to your freelancing career and will help you manage your workload.
A good project management tool should be quick to learn, easy to update and affordable for any new freelancer.
Project Management Tools we recommend are:
- Asana – a very easy to use project management tool which incorporates a range of boards and views to help suit any workflow.
- Trello – super-easy kanban style boards which can be used to store all kinds of information for your jobs.
Communication
Without good communication and a constant narrative between client and professional, freelance work isn’t possible.
Great communication can be the difference between a successful, positive freelance experience and frustration.
A clear message provides an unambiguous direction, so everyone gets what they want.
Communication Tools that we recommend:
- Skype – the original in easy video chatting, Skype is full of helpful tools such as recording sessions with your client, collaboration within teams up to 25 people and screen sharing, vital in some professions.
- Google Hangouts – integrating many of the features you can find on Skype, Google Hangouts ace is that you can implement your Google Calendar and Gmail account, keeping everything in one easily accessible place.
Money Management
Starting your own freelance business may seem unnerving, particularly considering the money management skills you may think you need to balance your books.
Fortunately, through the use of some of the apps mentioned below, you don’t need an Accounting degree before you start.
Money Management Tools that we recommend:
- Quickbooks – a tool that is used across small businesses and contractors, but can also be used by freelancers to make sure everything is accounted for.
- Freshbooks – our favourite aspect of this tool is that you can easily track the time that you have devoted to a project, certifying you are fairly compensated for your hard work.
We hope that through the use of these tools and applications you find it easy to control the above-mentioned important factors in managing your freelance business.
