The global freelance economy is experiencing enormous growth owing to its capability of providing a flexible, convenient, not to mention financially lucrative alternative to a monotonous nine to five work routine.
The freelance industry allows people to take charge of and steer their own careers as they get to decide the nature and number of projects they undertake, their clientele, when to work and how to get paid.
The freelance market in the US alone employs over 53 million workers i.e. a staggering 34% of the total national workforce and contributes nearly 715 billion USD in earnings to the US economy.
In addition to market size; freelance work now also enjoys an elevated professional status as well as appeal with around 80% non-freelancers willing to take on freelance projects in addition to their primary jobs.
Tools That Combine Talent With Business:
The exponential growth in the freelance industry has instigated the development of a plethora of tools and applications that increase the efficiency of freelance projects.
Where for freelancers the world is their canvas, taking full advantage of available opportunities requires a disciplined approach and, hence, we see that making the leap from being a regular freelancer to a successful freelance professional requires the use of tools specifically designed to handle the tremendous legwork that is characteristic of freelance projects. This becomes more crucial since as a freelancer your entire livelihood depends on how efficiently you complete your projects.
So, let’s have a look at the absolute must-have tools for being a successful freelancer:
1. Wunderlist
First things first, get organized with Wunderlist; a cross-platform and intuitive to-do list app. The interface is minimalist yet captivating, and the usability is as seamless as writing on paper. It offers a thorough set of features that ensure that you never forget an important task.
It also has a diverse selection of mobile and desktop applications and supports collaboration between two or more people. However, it does not offer location-based reminders and the language due to date setting does not incorporate repeated deadlines.
Price: Pro Plan: $4.99 per month Business Plan: $4.99 per user/ per month
2. Wave
One thing that most freelancers struggle with is the professional management of money matters causing uncertainty as well as money wastage. Wave has been designed to cater to individual freelancers and small businesses having nine employees or less.
It provides a comprehensive set of features including bookkeeping, accounting, generation and distribution of invoices, receipt of payments via credit cards, etc. It is currently serving over 25 million users across the globe and for a good reason. It has a simple interface, is easy-to-use and is logically organized, however, it does not offer the option of conducting cash-based accounting and a holistic overview of balances.
Price: Free-of-charge.
3. Bidsketch
To be successful as a freelance professional, it is important to stand out from the crowd by giving a professional feel to proposal documents that you share with clients. Bidsketch offers branded project proposals in a matter of minutes that are based on a reusable fee, designs as well as content. These proposals are thoroughly customizable and include added features like fee suggestions and electronic signature.
Price: Freelancer Plan: $29 per month Studio Plan: $79 per month Agency Plan: $149 per month
4. Minterapp
One of the handiest tools available, Minterapp allows solo-freelancers as well as freelance businesses to efficiently track time and generate professional invoices. You can add tasks that need to be completed and designate responsibility to specific users along with hourly or departmental payment rates.
Minterapp will constantly keep track of the project progress and generate invoices based on the number of hours utilized. It is cloud-based, so it can be accessed anywhere and allows the receipt of payments through secure payment options like PayPal, Stripe, etc.
Price: Simple Plan: $9.95 per month Business Plan: $29.95 per month Enterprise Plan: $59.95 per month
5. TextExpander
Freelancers are often required to juggle multiple projects simultaneously. This usually involves the sharing of more or less similar emails with clients occupying a large amount of time. This is where TextExpander plays its role. It pre-programs brief abbreviations that automatically insert text as well as images, CSS when prompted by easy shortcuts. It also saves time by automatically correcting typing errors and inserting required forms for each project. However, its only drawback is that it offers an all-business interface.
Price: $ 1.66 per month
6. OpenOffice
For freelancers who write for a living, OpenOffice is a power packed alternative to Microsoft Office. It finds its appeal for freelancers owing to an array of features including easy export of documents such as pamphlets, e-books, guides, etc. to pdf.
Price: Free-of-charge.
7. Dropbox
Dropbox is perfect for syncing files to a web platform and sorting them project-wise so that you don’t need to go back and forth searching for documents. It offers real-time online document collaboration and provides that invaluable access to files you deleted by mistake. Its cost is the only matter of concern as it may be too much for some. The solution is perfect for freelancers managing a small team of their own and small businesses.
Price: $9.99 per month
8. MindMeister
MindMeister is a mind-mapping tool ideal for creative projects. It allows individuals as well as teams to present their thoughts in a visual manner and share them with team members for a more collaborative thought process. What sets MindMeister apart from free mind mapping tools is that it utilizes a mere web browser to function.
However, it is not equipped with a user manual making is ambiguous for new users and does not allow specification of link types. MindMeister can also be used as a simple project management tool as users can convert ideas into tasks that can be coupled with a deadline, an assignee, and a priority level. As the project progresses, the status of the task can be easily monitored.
Price: Personal Plan: $6 per month Professional Plan: $10 per month Business Plan: $15 per month
9. Evernote
Creativity is the bread and butter of freelance professionals and can trigger anytime during the day. In such an instance, Evernote acts as a platform for quickly jotting down ideas, capturing images, media files, etc. and instantly securing them on to a web-based platform so that they may easily be retrieved from any location.
The free version restricts users to function using only two devises, whereas, the mid-tier plan lacks prominent features and the professional plan may be too expensive for individual freelancers.
Price: Basic Plan: Free Plus Plan: 34.99 per year Premium Plan: 69.99 per year
10. Hootsuite
The freelance industry is a growing and highly competitive one where the number of projects acquired is directly proportional to the visibility you enjoy in front of your clientele. And where better to market your abilities and present your portfolio than via social media platforms that are by far the most efficient marketing channels of our age.
Hootsuite is the most widely used social media management tool that is currently serving over 10 million users worldwide and offers a single easy-to-use dashboard capable of simultaneously monitoring social media campaigns across multiple networks.
Price: Basic Plan: Free Pro Plan: $8.99 per month Business Plan: Customized rates
11. Slack
The freelance market expands your reach to the farthest corners of the world, enabling freelancers to work with team members as well as clients from across the globe. To provide an easy and reliable communication media, Slack offers an innovative group messaging app that enables users to create dedicated spaces via which freelancers can communicate with international teams as well as clients.
Though it lacks useful features like calendars, task management, and collaborative provisions, it is among the most popular communication apps owning to its usability and rules of sharing files as well as engaging in group discussions.
Price: Basic Plan: Free Standard Plan: $8 per month Plus Plan: $15 per month
12. Mozy
Freelancers deal with multiple clients and projects and hence need to work on multiple documents at a time. One thing they can absolutely not afford is to lose a document as it would lead to wastage of useful hours of hard work.
Mozy is a comprehensive cloud-based backup solution suited for individuals as well as businesses. It allows freelancers to work on multiple devices and all the information is automatically backed up on a cloud. It is a little on the expensive side and lacks file sharing options.
Price: Monthly Plan: Starts from $13 per month 1 Year Plan: Starts from $158 per year 2 Year Plan: Starts from $293 per year
13. Adobe Sign
A simple but essential requirement of freelancers is Adobe Sign that allows them to electronically sign and share documents with clients without having to do the conventional print-sign-scan exercise. Owing to speedy functionality, Adobe Sign increases the efficiency of the signature process up to 80%.
Price: Individual Package: $9.99 per month Business Package: Starts at $30 per month Enterprise Package: Customized rates
14. Dashlane
Last but most certainly not the least, managing multiple application and logins can be tricky and require time to recall your password every time you have to use an application can be both exhausting as well as time-consuming. Dashline offers password management, e-wallet, and auto-refill functionalities, so the only password you have to remember is the master password used to access Dashline. However, default password generation provision should be made more secure.
Price: Basic Package: Free Premium Package: $39.99 per year
Start Like A Pro!
Many people begin freelancing with little or no technological support only to later retrace their steps and re-invent their work process by using tools. Since there are plenty of high-quality applications that are free-of-charge, it is advisable that freelancers start their enterprise by making use of these useful tools that will increase their efficiency and professionalism, paving the way for success.
