7 essential items from my Freelance Toolbox
Any freelance can surely look through their daily work habits and pick out a few ‘must have’ items that they could not work without and today I am going to go through the items I use and hold as essential to my day to day business. Some freelance businesses might have less essential items than I do, while others may have more. However, I believe that there are 3-4 of these that will probably be essential items/programs/apps that every freelance can say they use on a daily basis for their business.
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.
