I’m sure every freelancer with a year or more under their belt can tell a horror story about how they’ve lost files, contacts or other important documents because they weren’t careful enough to back things up and make sure there was a security system in place for their business – myself included.

So in today’s article I want to discuss the many ways you can back up your freelance life – and why you should. We’ll be covering offline back ups, online back ups and back ups that are a mixture of technology and a bit of good old fashioned business sense. One of the main reasons I am writing this article is because of a recent issue I had, and a restless, sleepless night that followed, which caused me to jump into high gear and get things set up for myself and my business.

The peace of mind that comes with it is priceless, I assure you.

First, lets look at some offline backups

The first thing I want to discuss is the one item that caused me so much headache and worry – offline back ups of your files. You know, those important files like Photoshop designs for your clients, contracts, stock images you’ve spent months (or years) compiling, brushes, fonts and so on.

So, how can you back your files up and ensure that you’re safe, regardless of what happens?

External hard drives

Yes, I said drives with an S attached to the end of it. I recommend getting two, and here’s why. The first one you get can be the one you back up your files on every night. This one will be your main source of back up and will be somewhere close to your desk (I have mine sitting on my desk next to my speakers).

The second hard drive will be the one that you back up to weekly or even monthly if you want to, but you’re going to keep this one in a special place – inside of a fire proof safe. This way, if for some horrible reason your house catches on fire, you’re files are still safe. They’ve got water proof & fire proof safes you can purchase at places like Wal-Mart for pretty cheap (under $100) which is what I’d recommend doing.

As for the type of hard drive you need, this is the one I just bought recently (I still have to get my safe and second hard drive) – a WD My Book Essential 500GB – (no affiliate link). It’s awesome, easy to set up and use and is small, so it doesn’t clutter my work area at all. Of course, you’ll want to look around and see which one will be best for you, but I’ve heard a lot of positive reviews about this one.

Paper documents and filing cabinets

I’ve had a 2 section filing cabinet in my office for around a year now, and it’s been a junk drawer for the entire time. Last week, I emptied it out, bought the hanging folders with tabs for naming them and sectioned off 10-15 folders. By doing this, I’m able to save any sketches I create for client website designs, save documents and files that I’ve had to sign and also keep track of bills and other various items that come in paper format.

I also bought my filing cabinet from Wal-Mart (I’m from the country, what do you expect – we love this place) for about $40.00 and it’s been a great investment. You can get your filing cabinet from anywhere – IKEA, Office Max, or any stores in your local area. They’re inexpensive, but are great for keeping copies of all of your documents.

More back ups outside of your house

Do you have a friend or family member that you can trust? Why not get more back ups of your files (hard drives, paper documents, ect) and take them over to their house for safe keeping. You never can be too safe these days. If you don’t really want to entrust your friends or family with the files, you can always buy a storage container or a safe deposit box at a bank.

So where are all the online backups?

Now that you’ve (hopefully) taken care of the offline back ups, it’s time to look into backing things up online. Why do both? You can never be too safe, that’s why. You’ll be mad at yourself forever when your computer crashes and you lose 6-12 months worth of work and downloads. Trust me, it is not fun. Backing files up online can actually be pretty easy and there’s a couple ways you can do it.

Backup services

If you’re looking for a company that has an app for your computer that backs up the files for you automatically, this is the solution you’ll like the most. There are free solutions out there that can back up up to 2gb of files for you as well as paid options with much higher space. A couple of great companies to check out are found below.

• iDrive – 2GB for free / 150GB for $4.95 per month
• Spideroak – 2GB for free / $100+ GB for $10.00 per month

The beauty of these types of back up systems is that they have automatic back ups, so you’re able to set it for a time when you’re not on the computer (3-4am) and it will back up your files for you.

Your own hosting account

If you’ve got a good host and you’ve got a lot of extra space, this solution could be great for you. A simple way to back up your files here is to create a folder with a random name (something like 534dfdf56sdfg would work, as you can easily find it in your cpanel or ftp, but don’t need to link anyone to it or remember the exact name). Once you’ve created it, start uploading your folders if important items, just like you would if you were transferring them to an external hard drive or online storage service like we talked about above.

How do YOU back up your freelance life?

Now I turn it over to you, my kick ass readers (and 1,005 subscribers – we hit this milestone today – THANK YOU!) to see what you do in order to back up your freelance life. I know I can learn some things from you, so drop a comment and let me know what special ways you back up your freelance life.

How to completely back up your freelance life is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)

Job boards.

Job boards can be your bread and butter for freelance work, providing you with enough work to cover your next 2-3 months worth of expenses. They can allow you to get your foot in the door inside of actual businesses who are looking for work to be done, and they will allow you to spend the extra time you’re not spending trying to find work, doing the actual work. The freelance job boards can be a wonderful addition to your daily routines.

However, you have to remember that not all job boards are created equal. Some job boards will not have new leads posted every day. Some of them will allow bidding and some will be a sea of bottom feeding fish that only want to find someone to work for minimum wage. This is not where you want to end up and it’s definitely nowhere that I’d tell you to go.

You’re in luck though because I’ve narrowed it down to 10 active freelance job boards that will actually be of a benefit to check out. They’re all powerful for their own reasons, which are listed below the names and images, and any one of them would be a perfect place to visit on a daily basis, but I’d strongly suggest viewing them on all as much as possible – after all, too much work is never a bad thing (there’s a topic I will probably cover in an upcoming article).

Freelance Switch

The freelance switch job board is at the top of the list for a couple of reasons. Besides the fact that it’s run by one of the best freelance websites out today, it attracts the perfect types of clients for those of us who want to make a living out of freelancing and work with professional individuals and companies. They also allow companies to post jobs for free, but in order for you to submit your information to them, you are required to subscribe for $7.00 per month.

The main reason this is the perfect solution (in my opinion) for job boards is that it allows a ton of jobs to be posted (5-10 daily) by not charging them to post the job, and the $7.00 per month weeds out a lot of the offshore, $5.00 p/hour companies that plague places like eLance and other job bidding sites. The best part is that for $7.00 per month, you have the possibility to land thousands of dollars worth of jobs – I remember when I first signed up, I landed a $500 deal in the first week and knew that it was worth it ($7.00 investment = $493 profit). It’s definitely where you should be spending a few minutes per day if you’re serious about finding work.

Authentic Jobs

The Authentic Jobs website is one that you’ve likely seen listed in sidebars and footers across various sites, and for good reason – the Authentic Jobs website is one that should be on your “must do” list for the the day. It’s been a resource for freelancers to find jobs since 2005 and has attracted companies such as Apple, MSNBC, Comcast, Facebook, ESPN and more. You can easily change the view between, Interaction Design, Graphic Design, Development, Mobile and Management as well as freelance and full time positions. You can also search based on the type of job you’re looking for or the location in which you’re looking to be hired.

WordPress Jobs

For those of us who are wordpress workers (myself included), the wordpress job board is a great place to visit. It focuses solely on, you guessed it – wordpress work, so if you’re after some new WP gigs, you’re headed to the right place. The site breaks itself down into a few categories (design, development, blogging, maintenance, ect) so it’s easy to see which jobs will interest you the most.

The one drawback to this job board is that, at times, it does have some low paying gigs, but if you look out for the buzz-kill words, like – it should be quick, this is an easy job, I could have done it myself but I don’t have the time, ect. you’ll be able to avoid spending time dealing with someone via email who is just looking to take advantage of you.

37 Signals Gig Board

Besides being one of the biggest and brightest companies online for web based software, 37 signals also offers up a killer job board resource. It’s filled with around 100 or so jobs at any given time and features job listings from some of the biggest companies around the world – Apple, The New York Times, American Express and more. Breaking itself down into categories (design, development, misc, customer service/support and business exec/jobs) it allows you to easily find the type of job you’re looking for.

From full time gigs to free and paid internships, you can find just about anything listed here, and from companies who know and understand what it’s like to be hard working freelancer that doesn’t want to get hung out to dry and taken advantage of (if there’s one thing you realize while reading this article, I hope it is that – you don’t deserve to be taken advantage of because you’re just starting out as a freelancer. You get what pay you want, and ask for, and if they don’t like it, they won’t hire you – and that’s a good thing, I promise).

Krop

The Krop website features a live search box where you type in what you’re looking for and it shows up on the screen, which is a feature that I’ve liked since I first came across it. If you can’t see any results for what you’re looking for, it’s ok, just come back the next day and try again because this site is always flooded with awesome work to be grabbed. Another thing that I really like about the Krop website is that it has a creative database built right into their site so you can showcase your portfolio and resume right on the site – what better way than to get the attention of the company you’re writing about their job board listing than to actually have a resume page on the Krop website? It’s genius.

Smashing Jobs

I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that everyone has heard of Smashing Magazine, and for those who haven’t, it’s a website that features killer resources and articles for designers and developers. As the site grew and the fan base became more than just a small cult following (they’re at over 100K subscribers) they ventured into the job board market – and they’ve done an awesome job. The job board always has great listings for freelancers to check out and as the site itself isn’t as large as some of the others here (imagine that even being possible, with over 100K subscribers) there is a great chance that you’ll be able to land multiple jobs from it.

Coroflot

Similar to Krop, Coroflot allows you to set up a profile right on their website and also interact with the job board and it’s listings. The listings themselves are from some great companies and are constantly being updated with fresh leads. This job board actually breaks things down into over 10 categories which makes finding a job you’re interested in that much easier.

Problogger Jobs

For the writers who view the Guerrilla Freelancing website, this job board is for you. Darren Rowse is an industry leader for blogging and anyone involved with the web (yes, I said it – he’s THAT big) and when he put together the Problogger Job Board, he really did something wonderful for writers out there. This job board has a constant flow of new jobs and can easily be a resource where you can find 10-20 writing gigs per month. Turning those customers into repeat clients can mean the difference between months of steady work and a constant need to find new jobs – but the beauty of it is that with the majority of the clients you’ll find here, they’re looking (either openly, or just in their own minds) for someone reliable that they can funnel work to. Take a second and go be that person they’re looking for.

Fresh Web Jobs

Doesn’t the title say it all? If you’re looking for fresh web jobs, this is a site definitely worth checking out. I’ve personally landed a few gigs from here and each of the clients have been awesome. The site is set up so you can easily find what you’re looking for and easily contact the original poster. What more can you ask for? It’s definitely one job board that I’d subscribe to in order to keep up with the new listings because you’re sure to find a gem in there from time to time.

All Dev Jobs

I love the All Dev Jobs website because it’s built for designers, by designers (and developers of course). It’s owned and ran by Lift, which is a company that is ran by some of the coolest people to ever be found online and people who understand what freelancers needs are and what they want out of an awesome job board – and they provide it.

What do you think?

Are you finding some value in these job boards or do you have one in particular that you visit most often? Let’s chat about it in the comments section.

10 active freelance job boards for you to find work is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)

Adobe Photoshop CS4

This is #1 on my list because without it, I would be lost when designing websites and images for blog posts (like the one used in this post), advertisements, ect. I’ve been a user of photoshop since the original CS release in 2003. It’s been a program that I’ve familiarized myself with and can honestly say that without it, I wouldn’t know where to turn (GIMP and other open source alternatives are available, but after using a program for 6 years, you become accustomed to it’s interface and use).

Notepad++

In the past I have been very vocal about coding in the regular notpad program that comes with your computers. I believe that when you’re coding, you shouldn’t use any programs that pre-build codes for you or try to tell you what codes are needed next. With Notepad++ it gives me the ability to hand code all of my work but it also colors the coding so it’s easier to see what’s what and makes editing files much easier. There are other programs that could replace Notepad++ but again, I’ve been using it for so long now that it’s become an essential part of my day.

Gmail for Business

I have been a slave to email for a long time now and from all of the different options I’ve come across, Gmail seems to be the very best. With the task lists, labels and other various features it gives you, gmail is perfect for my productivity and keeping up with everything I have to do. The Gmail for Business was set up for businesses to utilize gmail with their business email addresses. So for instance, when someone emails me at my blog design company email address, I can check it with gmails interface. It’s a great item in my toolbox and one I LOVE!

Filezilla

I’ve used a lot of different FTP programs in the past few years but one that I feel really comfortable with is Filezilla. It’s got a great interface and is perfect for what I need. I’ve uploaded millions of files over the years and filezilla is the program that does the majority of that for me. It’s free and high quality – what more could you ask for?

Paypal

Payments are made to me through paypal on a daily basis. With everything from article writing for other blogs, to the blog designs I create for my freelance design business, paypal is the hub of all of those payments. I also use it to purchase items online and offline – online items such as domains from Namecheap and Hosting from Hostgator, and offline like clothes, food, ect (I have the papal debit card). There are a lot of people who don’t like paypal for payments, but I have yet to explore other options, so for now, it’s the only payment option I accept.

Invoice Machine

Not all of my clients require invoices from me but when they do, Invoice Machine is the program I use to send them their invoices. It’s got an awesome interface and gives you three free invoices per month – more than enough to make enough money to upgrade to the $12 per month plan which allows you to send 30 invoices. The invoices are clean and can feature your company logo as well as integrate with paypal and basecamp. It’s a must have for me.

Moleskine Notebook(s)

There are a lot of different apps online that allow you to track time, track to do items and mind map, but I found that there’s nothing better than a couple moleskine notebooks for those things. I’ve got a small moleskine notebook that I keep track of my start/stop time for every project and then a larger notebook that I keep for to do lists, drawings, article ideas and other various thoughts (even the occasional grocery list). They’re relatively low cost and can be looked back on forever. Plus, to me there is nothing like the feeling of paper and pencils/pens – it’s old school and it works.

Whats in your toolbox?

Now it’s time to turn the attention to all of you wonderful people – whats in your toolbox? Similar items to mine or do you handle things a bit differently? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section.

7 essential items from my Freelance Toolbox is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)

Introducing: Guerrilla Theme – a free wordpress theme is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)

Knowledge is power right? If thats true, I’m going to be pretty damn strong by the time I’m done  How about you? Do you want to be mentally strong, business savvy and successful at running your own business/blog/websites? If you do, you need to read these books.

Download them all now or bookmark this post and come back later to get whatever you don’t have time to download now. If you’d like to share these with your friends, please shoot them a link to my post. I’d greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

20 hand picked free business related eBooks

1. Rockstar Personal Branding (requires e-mail sign up)
2. Getting Real
3. Flipping the Funnel
4. Not by the Hour
5. Trust Economies
6. The Bootstrappers Bible
7. 50 Guerrilla Marketing Tactics You SHOULD be using
8. Killer Flagship Content (requires rss subscribe to download)
9. Personal Branding for the Business Professional
10. Blog Bash: 30 days 30 expert bloggers
11. The Art of the Start
12. Lets Talk: Social media for small businesses
13. Fish where the fish are
14. How to start a business blog
15. Unleashing the ideavirus
16. Viral marketing with blogs
17. Make Money Online
18. How to develop money making niche sites with wordpress
19. The new rules of PR
20. Grabbing Market Share: Marketing in a recession

And even more business releated eBooks

1. 20 free eBooks about Social Media
2. 30 essential PDF documents every designer should download
3. 15 free social media white papers
4. Top 10 free ebooks for bloggers
5. 20 best websites to download free ebooks
6. 30 Free ebooks to learn everything you need to know about personal finance

145 MUST READ free business related e-books is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)