Thursday, November 26, 2009

freelancer's toolset : The essential toolset for freelancers which help to make their freelance career easier.

There are more than 100 tools which helps freelance career easier. I have already give you some famous tools before. Here is the list of around 90 tools. I think it will help you to perform well while freelancing and it will help you to get some web freelance jobs. Here I am classifying the tools into different categories which will help you to realize the purpose of the tools more easily.

Organization - organize your work-

If you’re busy with lots of client work, it’s easy for things to get out of hand. Don’t let your work get away from you; organize information and projects with these tools.

backpackit.com : Get your projects organized by using Backpack. Create to-do lists, notes, files, images and a calendar with reminders that can be sent via email or to your mobile device.
centraldesktop.com: Collaborate, communicate and share files with clients and co-workers using Central Desktop.
Viapoint: Viapoint makes it easy for freelancers to store emails and files by client or project.
Stikkit: Use Stikkit’s “little yellow notes that think” to keep in touch, plan and collaborate with clients and coworkers.
Webnote: Webnote users can take notes using a web browser, then save and return to the notes on any computer. This is especially helpful if you’re working on-site with a client and have to use a computer other than your own.
Netvibes: Spend less time searching and more time working by customizing your browser’s start page with email, feeds, messaging, job boards and much, much more.

Calendars & To-Do Lists

Client meetings, important events and a never-ending list of things to do can wear you down if you can’t make them manageable. Use these handy calendars and to-do lists to keep your schedule from taking over your business.


Remember The Milk: Remember The Milk reminds you to take care of important tasks, so you’ll never forget when a project is due.
CalendarHub: Use CalendarHub’s web-based calendar to keep track of deadlines and set goals for your business.
Google Calendar: Google Calendar is a web based tool that allows users to organize their schedule, so you’ll always know exactly what you need to be working on.
Planzo: Planzo’s online calendar keeps freelancers connected to events and things to do. It lets you share your events just about anywhere, get a daily digest and receive text message reminders.
Spongecell: Spongecell is an online calendar made for freelancers with lots of meetings and engagements. Plan events, spread the word and allow guests to add content to your calendar.
Neptune: Neptune’s web based to do list tool helps you keep track of the things you need to take care of every day. It lets you email yourself new tasks, get an email report every morning and upload files to store with your projects.
Ta-da List: When you’re busy with lots of projects, it can be hard to keep track of what you’ve accomplished. Make web-based ta-da lists for yourself or other people, then share them and check items off as you go.

Your Money


Money is what keeps your freelance business going, but managing it can be tedious and time consuming. Sure, it’s fun to see money come in, but does anyone really like sending out invoices? Use these tools to make the process of managing your income easier and more enjoyable.

Wesabe: Use Wesabe to keep tabs on where the money in your business goes, helping you to make better financial decisions.
InstaCalc: InstaCalc is a web based calculator with lots of bells and whistles including spreadsheet capabilities, unit conversions and programming commands. It’s great for freelancers because you can send clients links to any of your calculations, put a calculator on your website or create charts and graphs from your calculations.
XE: If you’re working with an overseas client, you may need to handle foreign currencies. Use XE’s currency converter for accurate calculations with up-to-the-minute currency rates.
Dimewise: Use Dimewise’s web-based convenience to manage your business transactions wherever you are.
FreshBooks: FreshBooks offers a program for “painless billing,” so you’ll never have to spend hours sending client invoices out. Designed with service-based businesses in mind, this software provides a method to manage and send invoices, handle work orders and generate reports with ease.

Storage



Do you have too many client files clogging up your hard drive? Use these services to take a load off.
openonmy: openonmy’s website offers storage for files up to 1GB. These files are made to be accessible from any computer, so you can open them up even when on-site with a client.


Xdrive: Xdrive offers 5GB of online storage. Use their service to share files with your clients and coworkers.
YouSendIt: Have you ever had to clean out your inbox just so you’d have room to send out an email? YouSendIt puts and end to that trouble by sending files up to 2GB to your clients.
Flickr: Save space on your hard drive by uploading your photos to Flickr. It’s a great way to store, share and organize photos for your business.
Box: Create an online file-sharing location for you and your clients on Box.
MediaTemple: Keep your important client files safe on MediaTemple’s servers. They offer innovative hosting solutions for all kinds of websites.
DivShare: Use DivShare’s file hosting service to email files to clients or store them in a folder for shared access later.


Project Management & Productivity

Do you wonder where all of your time goes? Do your clients want frequent status updates? Keep tabs on your time and projects with these tools.

Harvest: Harvest offers web-based time tracking software with simplicity. Track your progress and inform your clients using Harvest’s reports.
Side Job Track: Side Job Track, designed with freelancers in mind, provides software that lets you track and manage project information. Features include job tracking, invoicing and reporting.
Basecamp: Basecamp offers a way to improve project communication. Use it to keep your teammates and clients informed about what’s going on with your projects.
ConceptShare: ConceptShare provides online design collaboration. Invite clients and coworkers to view your design and make comments on your work.
ProjectStat.us: Instead of fielding constant calls about the status of a project, let your customers view the status of their project online with ProjectStat.us.

Writing & Design Tools


Being creative can get expensive. Purchasing icons, stock photos, book publishing and the like can add up fast and eat into your profit margin. Check out these free and inexpensive tools designed to make the lives of freelance writers and designers cheaper and easier.


Writeboard: Have you ever had a client or coworker revise a document and end up wiping out your work? Use Writeboard to share and collaborate while saving separate versions each step of the way.
Lulu: Lulu gives fledgling writers an easy way to get published. Each product is printed as it’s ordered, so you don’t have to build an expensive inventory.
MailBuild: Built for web designers, MailBuild allows users to set up a template for client email campaigns.
MyFonts: Do you want to see how fonts will look on your design before committing to a purchase? MyFonts provides a source for trying out and buying new fonts.
IconBuffet: Find and trade stock icons for your web designs on IconBuffet.
stock.xchng: Add photos to your writing or web design at low or no cost. stock.xchng provides tons of stock photos, many of them royalty-free.
Google Docs & Spreadsheets: Don’t bother spending hard-earned money for the latest version of MS Word. Create, upload, share and edit word and spreadsheet documents online using Google Docs & Spreadsheets.
MorgueFile: MorgueFile’s high resolution photos are has-beens in the stock photography world, but that doesn’t mean they won’t do a great job spicing up your work.

Security & Privacy

Don’t let your work get stolen or compromised. Can you imagine how your business would suffer if you lost files due to a virus? Or worse, if the financial information of your clients got exposed to spyware? These services help you stay safe and secure.


SpamSieve: Fighting spam takes time away from your business and opens your system up to intruders. Use SpamSieve to keep spam out of your Mac email client.
Escrow: Don’t get burned by clients that make fraudulent payments. Use Escrow to protect yourself and your clients from payment fraud.
Cloudmark Desktop: Cloudmark protects your Outlook inbox from spam, phishing and viruses, so you’ll never have to worry about compromising business files when reading your email.
PayPal: Give your clients a way to pay without sharing their financial information by using PayPal.
Moneybookers: Open your business to the worldwide market safely. Use Moneybookers for secure worldwide payment and acceptance.
Spamato: Keep your business email secure by using Spamato with Outlook, Thunderbird or Mozilla Mail.
Spybot Search & Destroy: Make sure your confidential client information is safe from prying eyes by scanning for spyware with Spybot Search & Destroy.
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition: Protect your business files with a good antivirus program. AVG Anti-Virus offers a free solution for protecting your computer from viruses.

Mobility & Contact

When running a business, it’s essential that you’re able to keep in contact with clients, vendors, coworkers and other important acquaintances. Use these tools to communicate with ease.
 
Campfire: Campfire is a web-based chat tool that’s ideal for online meetings with clients or coworkers.
Meebo: Don’t miss out on a client just because you don’t use the same instant messaging tool. Get access to every major messaging service on Meebo’s website without having to download anything.
FaxZERO: Online communication is popular, but sometimes you just have to send a fax. But who wants to invest in a fax machine and phone line for something that happens only on a rare occasion? Instead, use FaxZERO to send a fax anywhere in the US or Canada for free.
eBuddy: Don’t miss out on important messages while you’re away from your base of operations. Log on to eBuddy to sign on to online messengers using your mobile device.
K7: FaxZERO lets you send out a fax for free online, but what if a client wants to fax something to you? Enlist the help of K7, a service that assigns users a phone number that accepts fax and voicemail messages, which are then sent to your email.
GoToMeeting: Use GoToMeeting to keep in touch with clients and coworkers via online meetings.
LogMeIn: Don’t let your business suffer because you can’t take your computer on the road. Use LogMeIn to get access to your computer’s desktop anywhere.

Marketing & Networking


You provide a great service and offer awesome rates, so why isn’t the world knocking down your door with business? Perhaps it’s because they have no idea you exist. Get your name out there and find new clients with these tools.


LinkedIn: LinkedIn offers online networking at its best. Find opportunities and contacts based on your work and the people you already know.
askCHARITY: Take advantage of askCHARITY’s database of key media contacts to get the word out about your business.
Craigslist: Craigslist is an invaluable tool for any freelancer. Find clients, sell your work, buy supplies, network and more using Craigslist.
Coroflot: Use Coroflot to post an online portfolio and find design jobs.
ProfessionalOnTheWeb: ProfessionalOnTheWeb hosts a directory of portfolios. Make sure yours is there when clients search for help.
Elance: Use Elance to get connected with clients that need your services on a project.
37signals Gig Board: Use the 37signals Gig Board to find freelance jobs in programming, design and more.
WebProJobs: Find full-time and freelance web professional jobs on WebProJobs.
Job Pile: Job Pile aggregates popular freelance job boards, so you can spend time working instead of searching.
YouTube: Use YouTube’s viral video to get the word out about your creativity.
CafePress: CafePress offers on-demand printing for promotional items as well as a place to sell your design.
Spot Runner: Use Spot Runner to build a TV advertising campaign.

Business & Legal

Paperwork isn’t always fun, but it is necessary. Forms and agreements can provide legal protection and help you avoid disputes down the road. Check out these tools that help you protect yourself and spend less time on the boring stuff.

MyNewCompany: Get legal and tax protection for your freelance business by making things official. Use MyNewCompany to incorporate or form an LLC online.
Help Me Work: Get the stability of corporate life while still working as an independent consultant. Help Me Work takes care of taxes, client billing, paychecks, benefits, retirement plans and more.
Designers Toolbox: Get set up with all the legal forms your design business may need with Designers Toolbox.
Creative Commons: Use Creative Commons to specify how much or how little legal restrictions you want your work to carry.
AIGA: Protect your business with AIGA’s standard form of agreement for design services.
Nolo: If you’ve got a legal question about your business, head to Nolo. Experts there offer legal advice for independent contractors and consultants.
Creative Public: Head to Creative Public for forms, contracts, pricing guides and more for your design business.

Client Contact & Feedback


Your clients are what keep you in business, so it’s important to check in with them and make sure they’re satisfied. Use these programs to keep in touch with your clients and find out what they have to say about your work.

Breeze: Send out email campaigns to your clients with Breeze’s easy tool.
Wufoo: Use Woofoo to make forms, surveys and invitations for your customers with ease.
Relenta CRM: Keep track of customer relationships using email, contact, document and activity management with Relenta.
Highrise: Don’t lose track of your customers: keep in touch with Highrise’s online contact management system.
ScratchnScribble: Use ScratchnScribble’s service to have handwritten or printed greeting cards sent to your clients.

Website Tools


Clients are looking for your business online. Will you be there? Check out these applications to make sure your business has an excellent online presence.

Big Cartel: Set up an online store to sell your products using Big Cartel’s service.
WordPress: Blog about your business and industry with WordPress.
Inblogit: If you’re a design professional, your blog should be attractive. Use Inblogit for blog functionality with more flexbility in design.
Icebrrg: Create web forms with Icebrrg so that your website can generate customer inquiry and feedback.
XHTMLized: If you’re too busy to build a website yourself, use XHTMLized. They take your design and turn it into a web page that is browser and search engine friendly.
XHTMLiT: XHTMLit offers freelancers another time-saving solution for converting design into HTML.
Userplane: Make your website interactive for your clients by bundling chat, messaging, video, search and live presence with Userplane.
Ning: Let your clients network with each other by creating your own Ning social network.
ExpressionEngine: Impress your customers by having a website with lots of features. Use ExpressionEngine to publish just about anything on your website.
FlashDen: Build a great-looking website that your clients will want to visit. Buy Flash, audio, video and fonts to make your website look good at FlashDen.

Printing & Packaging

When your products look good, your business does too. Presentation makes a difference, so be sure to make a good impression by using these innovative printing and packaging tools.

Jewelboxing: Impress your customers with Jewelboxing’s customized, professional-grade DVD and CD packages.
Qoop: Qoop prints everything freelancers might need: business cards, apparel, promotional items, posters and more.
Moo: Moo prints note cards and mini cards from your photos and design. These can be used for promotional materials or business cards.

Tools to Give & Take

These tools pack a double-whammy of functionality. Use them to get the resources you need or as an alternative revenue stream.

Google AdWords: Use Google AdWords to advertise your business or make money by putting AdWords on your website.
Prosper: Using Prosper’s people-to-people lending website, you can borrow money for business expenses from real people. If you have extra cash, use Prosper to earn interest by lending to others.
Text Link Ads: Generate interest in your website and attract clients with Text Link Ads or earn money by selling space for others on your site.
PayPerPost: Use PayPerPost to have a blogger write about your product or service. Alternately, you can earn money by writing about someone else’s business.
Guruza: Find answers to your business questions or earn money by giving expert advice on Guruza.

Miscellaneous

From office suites to creative stimulation, these tools have a lot to offer for freelancers. Check out these applications that cover anything and everything else you might need for your business.

Zoho: Zoho’s Office Suite includes a variety of software solutions for freelancers: a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, wiki writer, notebook, project management, CRM solution, database creator, calendar, web conferencing, email and chat.
Veetro: Veetro offers another all-in-one solution that specializes in the tools freelancers need the most. This program combines money, document, task and customer management with email marketing, reporting and blog publishing.
Work: Are you clueless about what it takes to run a business in your industry? Work offers guides that show you how.
Pandora: Get your creative juices flowing with Pandora’s fully customizable internet radio.

you can find web freelance jobs here

Monday, November 23, 2009

9 Useful Tips for Freelance Designers


1. Select an appropriate work rate that you will charge. In fact you should have more than one rate depending on the work. Being a freelancer does not mean that you have to charge less than everyone else. Take some time to select the most suitable rate that you will charge; you will need an hourly rate, and a project rate. When deciding on how much you are going to charge you should make sure that you take into account your particular niche of freelancing, the market demand, your own skills, your overheads, how much profit you expect, and how much your client will be willing to pay.

2. Make sure that you get the most from the internet. Even though the majority of freelancers are web-workers nowadays they still fail to take full advantage of the web. It is possible to really bootstrap your freelance career by promoting it through a blog or website. The web also provided plenty of free software that can help with all areas of your business such as; idea generation, managing your budget, and invoicing customers.


3. Build the best network that you can. In the beginning, as well as throughout your career, it is important to have a network of people who will send referrals your way. There are many opportunities for networking both online and offline and these can help send work your way as you build up your reputation. It is important that you use every possible avenue for networking including online resources like Linkedin and Facebook.

4. Make sure that your work environment is optimal as possible. Being a freelancer doesn’t mean that you have to work alone at home. It also doesn’t mean that you need to go work in an office. Many cities are now seeing the arrival of co-working spaces. The advantages with these types of places is that they don’t need to be alone all the time, and it is also cheaper than getting an office.

5. Make sure that you put by an emergency fund. Having an emergency fund will take some of the pressure off and allow you to just concentrate on being creative. Life is not fun when you have no food on the table, and having an emergency fund will allow you to be choosier about clients.

6. Consider outsourcing your work. If you find that your freelance business is really taking off then you might that you need to turn down work. You don’t really need to do this though. What you could do is outsource the work to other reliable freelancers and manage these people remotely. Outsourcing can really be a great decision because it will allow your business to grow and it means not turning down work.

7. Make sure that you keep an eye on your progress. If you want to be really successful as a freelancer you need to be able to track not only the financial parts of your business but also your own performance and attitudes. Once you have determined how your hourly work rate relates to your speed at completing projects you will be able to able to judge your own efficiency. You need to be regularly thinking of ways to improve efficiency so that you can then increase the amount of money you make. You need to be careful though, because improving your work rate should not mean a reduction in the quality of your work.

8. Expand your freelance services. When you reach a stage where you are happy with your work efficiency you should then consider broadening your freelance services. Almost everyone will be able to offer other content as well as what they are currently providing. These could be things like podcasts, slideshows, screencasts, or diagrams. If you don’t feel up to this extra work now then you should at least make plans to offer them within a year or so.

9. Break down large projects into smaller units. Many freelancers can become a bit daunted by the idea of taking on a big project; many freelancers try to avoid these as much as possible. If you are taking on a big project then it will come with a bit more responsibility and might feel like a lot to take on. The trick is to break it all down into small jobs and tackle each job as you go along; this will make it all seem less overwhelming. If you need to you can also outsources some of the work to other appropriate freelancers.

Finally, remember that bad times come and go. The ebb and flow nature is freelancing is part of the package. To be successful you are going to need to accept this. The best way is to do the best you can, plan well, and don’t worry too much about those things that are out of your control.

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Saturday, November 14, 2009

Freelance Career For Fresh Graduates


Recession has increased the unemployment rate across the world, in this scenario one of the possible options for fresh graduates is to go freelance. In a freelance world, you do not have any boss – you will not be required to wear any uniform (or anything for that matter), you have a schedule fully customizable and you get to work at the comforts of your home if you want to.

All of these are enjoyed with a relatively satisfying salary. While some treats this as a part-time job, a fresh graduate could make this a full time gig. But just like most industries, being a freelance is difficult during recession. The good news is that freelance is still a better option for some companies.

For example, instead of hiring a full time website developer which requires full benefits and consistent salary, they can just talk a web developer, demand a deadline and monitor the progress for a quality work.

After the project is done, the relationship ends. It is certainly better financially and in terms of quality since you can always askfor more or a lot better as long as you provide the right payment.

If you are considering becoming a freelance professional, here are the three things you should consider: a niche, multiple streams of income and character.

Considering a Niche



Everyone is special in something and that something could help you earn as a freelance. There are thousands maybe millions of freelance professionals today and they are expert in something. A niche is something different about you – something that could be immediately identified as your expertise.

This expertise is rarely seen in other freelances. This should be your focus. Think of something different that you could be an expert on. It does not even matter if it is relevantfor now. Give it time and soon you’ll find a client and start a client base.

Multiple Streams of Income


One of the many reasons why many freelancers are having trouble dealing with this simple yet challenging career is that they base their work on a single stream of income. A freelancer should never do this.

Remember that you can have a job right now but could be completely out the next day. For that reason, you need to have different sources of income. For example, you could be a freelance web developer while writing tips on web development online.

Time Management


The most challenging part on being a freelance is on how to build clients. But the secret in gathering clients is all about character. You need to show to your clients who you are and how you can do a project. Everyone values deadline and if you are consistent in this field, you will surely have happy and returning clients. It is always important that you value time above everything else since you cannot control your time easily. You can easily procrastinate in this career and end up losing a lot of clients.

If you are considering freelance work, take note of the things above. It’s simple to  understand, difficult to execute but could lead to financial stability even at the comforts of your home.

Popular Freelance Websites



* RentACoder.com
* GetAFreelancer.com
* Scriptlance.com
* Elance.com

fore read more about web freelance jobs sites
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Friday, November 13, 2009

Make Freelance Career More Easier Using These 33 Free Online Tools

Here are 33 online tools that can help you to perform well while freelancing

1. www.sxc.hu : Free stock photography for your blog, site or any other use that you might have for images.Whether you just want to browse our huge image gallery or want to share your own photos with others, this is the site for you!

2. Wridea.com : Wridea is a web service first to avoid ideas being forgotten, then to organize and improve those ideas by giving you the opportunity to share your ideas with friends and necessary tools to improve your ideas by yourself and individually.

3. Slideshare.com : Upload and share your PowerPoint presentations, Word documents and Adobe PDF Portfolios on SlideShare.

4. Toodledo.com : An easy to use, online to-do list. Get organized, stay motivated, and be more productive.


5. Mint.com : Create your anonymous Mint account, then add your bank, credit card, home loan and investment accounts. This set up takes only five minutes – and that’s all the data entry Mint ever asks of you.

6. eFax.com :Efax help you to Send and receive faxes by email.

7. Box : Share files online with your clients and friends using this simple tool. You will get 1gb of free storage space

8. ReadBag.com : A bookmarking service that lets you save links that you can read later in your browser, email, phone and even in an offline mode.Readbag is a nifty tool to store links you find, but want to read later.
in your browser, phone, e-mail, feed reader, via API or even an offline mode.

9. Relenta.com : Relenta is designed so that once you log into the system, it takes no more than one click to perform any of your routine daily tasks (such as read/write/search for emails, schedule calendar events, assign tasks to co-workers, create/edit to-do lists, etc).


10. YouSendIt.com : Allows you to send files and folder that are upto 2GB without clogging your or your client’s inbox.

11. WordFast.com : Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value TM tool on the market, Wordfast is pleased to bring you the Wordfast

12. FaxZero.com : Lets you send free faxes to US and Canada.

13. Copyright.com : Find everything you need to know about US copyright.

14. RSS2PDF.com : Turn your RSS feeds into PDFs and read them even when you are offline.

15. CentralDesktop.com : Connect Your People, Collaborate Faster. Central Desktop's Social Technology Platform provides a complete SaaS solution for businesses to collaborate, manage projects and connect their people.

16. FlightStats.com : Get up-to-date information on your flight so you can let your clients know about delays and know when exactly they are arriving if you have to pick them up.

17. SiteKreator.com : Helps you create sites instantly. SiteKreator is an award-winning web application for designing, maintaining and hosting impressive customer-ready web sites.

18. InstaCalc.com : A web based calculator that includes spreadsheet capabilities, unit conversions and programming commands.

19. BlinkSale.com : Lets you send invoices online, recurring templates and keep track of your invoices and purchases.

20. skim-app.sourceforge.net : Helps you take notes directly on a PDF file as you read.

21. Icebrrg.com : Lets you easily build online embeddable forms.

22. ConceptShare.com : ConceptShare is a web-based design collaboration tool engineered for the unique needs of creative professionals whose final product is visual – design, application interface, graphics, advertisements, branding, video animation, etc.Allows you to invite clients to take a look at your design work and get real time feedback while you work on the project.

23. GoToMeeting.com : Setup online meetings with clients and colleagues using this popular meeting tool

24. Wufoo.com : Another tool to help you build forms.

25. Escrow : Use this service to protect yourself and clients when the stakes are high. Its a feature for protecting client and provider from each other.

26. XE.com : Most freelancers work with international clients and a currency converter is a must to determine the payment. This tool takes care of giving you up-to-date information on currency rates.

27. ProjectStat.us : This tool allows your clients to view the status of a project using a token.

28. CreativeCommons.org : This site provides free tools that lets freelancers easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry.

29. ProofHQ.com : Lets you annotate a variety of document types – PDFs, PSDs, JPGs, Word, Powerpoint – and webpages.

30. ProposalKit.com : An online tool that helps freelancers with proposal and contract management.

31. SlimTimer.com : An online timer that helps you track time spent on a particular project and bill your clients accordingly.

32. SpotRunner.com : Use this website if you are planning to build a TV advertising campaign.

33. MonkeyOn.com : Create a monkey for each task you want to delegate to someone else. We'll send that person email reminders about the task, and email you a reminder when the deadline for the task has expired.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Getting started as a FREELANCER. (freelance career)


Getting Started in Freelancing

Getting started as a freelancer is an endeavor which is both very exciting and highly overwhelming. As you first get started, you think about all of the wonderful things that come from freelancing including being able to do work that you love, having the freedom of setting your own schedule and strengthening the sense of control that you feel over your own life. But as the realities of freelancing start to set in, you might begin to see that there’s a lot of hard work and a number of downsides to starting up a freelance career. Keep in mind that all of life is a series of pros and cons that balance each other out and getting started as a freelancer is no different. If this is the work that you want to do, you’ll have to deal with the downsides to get the upside in order.


Getting started as a freelancer may not be all fun and games, but it is thrilling and you’ll be able to ride the wave of this thrill initially to get the boost that your freelance business needs to get off of the ground. When you are first getting started as a freelancer, you should take as much advantage of this energy boost as possible to take care of some of the tedious (but important) tasks that will carry you through your freelance career as it begins to become something which is more routine. These tasks include things like filing your employment paperwork, learning about freelance taxes, getting your website set up and identifying your business goals. No, these things aren’t fun, but they’re critical to getting started as a freelancer so you might as well get them done early while you’re still excited about your new career.

The main thing that makes getting started as a freelancer difficult once that initial excitement begins to wear off is that most people don’t really know where to start with growing their freelance business. You have to be able to get and keep work, manage a changing schedule, deal with the legalities of working for yourself and still get the ob done. Being informed and organized are the two things that will be crucial to getting started on the right foot as a freelancer. Arming yourself with information about freelance work, general PR, marketing and business strategies and the details of your specific industry will help you to figure out everything that you need to be doing as you get started in freelancing. And keeping this information organized will help curb the feeling of being overwhelmed that may come when you start any big, new endeavor.


The other thing to keep in mind is that, even though you might be working alone, your freelance career doesn’t have to be something which you do by yourself without any help. Look at your support system - spouses, parents, mentors - and know that it’s okay to rely on them to be there for you emotionally when the hassles of getting started as a freelancer begin to get to you. Also consider creating a more work-focused support group to help you get through problems specific to freelancing - a group for freelancers or a network of people working in your field can be a great resource when you’re getting started as a freelancer. After all, you may be starting something that’s new to you but you aren’t re-inventing the wheel so you might as well get advice from those who have done it before you.

Getting started as a freelancer can be difficult. There are problems and hassles and times of stress. But freelancing can be one of the most rewarding ways of working that are out there. If it’s what’s right for you, you’ll be able to find that balance between the not-so-easy details of getting started in the business and the joys that come from the work once you’ve started to get more established.