When a hard-working, young professional such as yourself branches out as a freelancer, it's undoubtedly an exciting situation, but also rather daunting. That's why you need to equip your own brand-new office with at least five freelancing tools. Even if you are organised and accomplished, your talents can be enhanced by using the best tools. They'll help you accomplish multiple tasks efficiently and streamline your entire daily strategy. Your ultimate goal is to reinforce your image of reliability, deliver projects on time, and find solutions even when projects appear to be at an awkward stage. By using the best tools for freelancing, you can always exude professionalism.
1. TIME MANAGEMENT
Organising your time effectively is of paramount importance when you become a freelancer. The Cushion app is designed to help you avoid the unpredictability of being self-employed. The tool helps you see briefly when your workload is stacking at an impossible rate and days when you have nothing to do. Such fluctuations impact on your earnings and can increase stress as you try to stabilise your earnings.
Cushion helps spread the load, enabling you to work at a steady pace throughout the week. Its contribution can help you achieve a streamlined work schedule. Cushion features easy to use click and drag tools to track the time you spend on each project. It comes complete with a timer that helps maximise productivity. You can also keep track of invoice payments, which helps identify your most profitable clients.
2. ACCOUNTANCY
To succeed at freelancing, you need to keep strict control over the finances of your business. Quick Books is one of the most popular freelancer tools for small businesses. It's a tried and trusted system that's been in use for forty years. The accountancy tools are easy to use, making the administration of your new business quick and manageable. Quick Books helps you keep track of your expenditure, from overheads to paying self-assessment income tax.
One of the main advantages is Quick Books' scalability. You can alternate between different plans to suit the changing fortunes of your enterprise. Quick Books is always full of friendly advice. There are frequent offers such as complimentary tutorials. For example, you can often receive one-to-one tuition from a Quick Books' expert, helping you understand the system from the very beginning.
3. BUSINESS LAPTOP
One of the greatest freelancing tools you'll ever invest in is a business laptop. It performs to a much higher standard than a regular version, offering versatility and impressive features. As a freelancer, you need to be prepared for the variety of services your clients may request. A model such as the Dell Inspiron 5593 is a premium laptop with a powerful CORE I5-1035G1 1.00 GHZ processor. It's ideal for professional use.
A business laptop is often too expensive when you become a freelancer. However, choose a refurbished model and it could be almost 80% cheaper. When a reputable company refurbishes a laptop, every component is checked by a professional technician. Any worn part is replaced with one in perfect working order. A refurbished laptop is only ready for purchase when it functions like new. In addition, it helps protect the environment as it's given a new lease of life instead of it languishing in a landfill site.
4. NEWSLETTER SOFTWARE
Every freelancer needs to concentrate on producing newsletters. It's an effective method of reaching existing and new customers. The latest tools for freelancing are designed for compatibility with smartphones. After all, it's where up to 53% of your customers are likely to be found. With MailJet, you get an easy to use click and drag system that helps you customise a professional newsletter template from a massive gallery.
The features of MailJet include options such as using html code. Personalisation helps you produce newsletters that should bring positive results from your customers. Scalability is an important factor in choosing MailJet. The free version is ideal for up to 6,000 newsletters per month, but you can easily upgrade to multiple versions including a customised plan for when your business has achieved much greater success.
5. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Being able to supervise large projects is an effective way to extend the range of services you offer as a freelancer. Project management tools such as Teamwork provide you with all you need to construct a manageable roadmap of the entire project and a detailed timeline. You can even factor in alternative plans to account for any unforeseen calamity. The software includes Gantt charts that help simplify the most complex work schedule.
Teamwork is a valuable tool for freelancing that helps make the most of your available resources. For instance, it can track work in progress from any department, reporting when tasks have been completed. The tool can help you redirect available workers to alternative tasks that are still in hand. The software is user-friendly and easy to understand. It can even be customised to your particular style of management or requirements.
SUMMARY
When you take the decision to become a freelancer, it's crucial to equip yourself with the most useful freelancing tools. They help provide you with advantages that increase your efficiency and productivity from the beginning. The five categories listed above should cover almost every aspect you'll need when you become your own boss. To ensure your tools for freelancing are fully integrated, and performing at their best, you'll benefit from a refurbished laptop from a reputable company such as Wisetek Store. You'll be able to follow your ambitions with a clear conscience. Refurbished laptops are as good as new, saving valuable resources whilst taking care of the environment.
If you are looking for a refurbished laptop in the UK, discover the wide range of refurbished laptops at our UK Store, Wisetek Store UK.