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Freelance Web Designer’s toolbox: Managing your business
Posted on Monday, April 20th, 2009 under designer tools, freelance by Dustin Brewer.There are a lot of tools out there for the freelancer that can help you to run your business more smoothly and excel at not only get the projects completed but also managing your projects. I have compiled a list of all of the tools I currently use to keep my freelance web design business running smoothly as well as a few alternatives that may better suit others.
Networking
The number one tool you can use a freelancer is networking. Which is more of a skill into itself than anything. There are a few ways you can maximize this.
Online Social Networking
LinkedIn – As a social network for professionals this one is tops. You can connect with various professionals in your industry or in industries you might specialize in. There are also a multitude of groups available, such as the freelancer’s network. Connect with me.
Plaxo – This service is very similar to LinkedIn, some people prefer it and so it is always good to make sure you have a solid presence on both. Link to me.
Twitter – Getting a twitter account and interacting with other like-minded professionals should be a mandatory step for anyone. I probably generate more work from Twitter than anywhere else. Not to mention the interactivity you can have with local web designers or even well-known designers around the world. Follow me.
Offline Networking
Upcoming – Finding events where you can network with other professionals offline is important, it can help to build relationships you might have already started online.
Meetup.com – Another great site to find local meetups that may appeal to your interests.
Project Management
Ensuring that your projects are running smoothly and you aren’t overlooking any portion of a project is one of the hardest tasks a freelance web designer has. Not to mention keeping all of the project information in one centralized location can help to keep everything better organized.
Basecamp – This is the most used project management system, it allows you to set milestones, schedule meetings, create a to-do list and even communicate with your clients or others that you sub-contract work for. The system isn’t limited to freelancers, most design agencies I know about use Basecamp. It is a paid system, but well worth the costs.
Project2Manage – This system is a free alternative to Basecamp and doesn’t offer quite as many features as Basecamp but allows you schedule milestones and to-dos easily.
FreelanceSuite – This suite of software is great for those that want to run their project management locally or on their own web server. It also has costs associated with it but unlike Basecamp it is a one-time fee to license the software.
Invoicing
Maintaining your invoices is another big portion of a freelancers business management problems that can cause some chaos if not properly attended to. There was a time when I would open up indesign and “create” a unique invoice everytime for every client. Which was a pain, as you can only imagine.
FreshBooks – One of the most popular solutions for freelancers and agencies. The system allows you to track time, manage the basic aspects of your sent, paid and outstanding invoices. It is also a great way to keep track of it all at tax time.
InvoiceMore – A new solution developed by Vance Lucas, another Oklahoma developer. This system excels at re-occurring invoices by automating them for you. It also manages your basic invoices similarly to how FreshBooks works. A very simple and easy to use system, right now it only lacks time tracking. hint hint.
Harvest – Another great invoicing system that allows you to track time, sent invoices, outstanding and the whole bit. My only complain with their system is that although it looks great it feels a little cumbersome to navigate.
Backups
Having your files backed up is another item that a lot of designers may overlook but wish they would have when something happens. You can always use a local hard drive for backing up important documents and files but it is easy to forget. There are several options that automate the process for you ensuring that you have everything backed up regularly.
Mozy – I have used this service for years and I love it. It is simple and unobtrussive to use. It works on Mac and PC and works in the background. You can get 2GB free or upgrade for $5/mo to unlimited. You tell it what files or folders you want backed up and it will automatically backup your data at a preset time.
Carbonite – A similar solution to Mozy, doesn’t offer a free solutions beyond their 15 day trial but is competitively priced. Works on PC and Intel-based Macs.
Finding work
There are a multitude of places to find work online through job boards and many other avenues, such as through social networking on sites like Twitter or LinkedIn. Even Facebook can generate some client work.
FreelanceSwitch Job Board – This service passes on the cost to the freelancer instead of the client. You pay $7/mo for an account and have access to whatever projects are available including design, development, writing and more.
Smashing Jobs – Usually a fantastic resource for finding clients looking for qualified and experienced freelance web designers to work with.
Guru – Not the best solutions for the accomplished designer but you can occasionally find projects that may fit your skill level. A lot of the clients on job boards are looking for the cheapest solution available and much of that goes to India or Pakistan where the cost of living is much lower.
Contact Management
Keeping your contacts in order can be a challenege. Such as remembering when you last contacted a client or something you may need to follow up with for a client can be tricky. Sticky notes everywhere is definitely a poor solutions when there is a multitude of online solutions.
Highrise – This service, made by 37signals, is a great solution to managing your contacts. It will allow you to store all of your clients and keep track of when you last communicated with them as well as when you should follow up with them.
ZoHo CRM – This service is great alternative to Highrise for managing your contacts as well, I think that Highrise does it a little more intuitively though.
Productivity Assurance
Keeping on task as a freelance web designer is definitely a chore. It is so easy to get distracted by feeds, twitter or IM. There are several applications for shutting down all of these services for a specified amount of time to ensure that you can stay on task. They’ll only work for your computer though, so you will have to come up with another solution for your phone and TV.
SelfControl – A great app that will disable your ability to visit certain predefined sites for a specified amount of time. Such as blocking your access to Twitter, Facebook and other services while still allowing you to work online. OSX only.
StopDistractions – A very similar app for Windows users that will disable access to certain sites.
I’m sure there are lots of other solutions to all of these problems that you may know of or use, but these are the products I use or would recommend using based on experience. Definitely share your product combos in the comments.
Whats Next?
13 Responses to “Freelance Web Designer’s toolbox: Managing your business”
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About Dustin Brewer
Dustin Brewer is a freelance web designer based out of Oklahoma City, OK passionate about web standards, and beautiful web design. Dustin Brewer has been in the web design industry for over 8 years through freelance and professional experience. If you are interested in hiring Dustin Brewer please visit the web design services page to find out more information. You can also checkout the web design portfolio.
Hi Dustin, thanks for including Harvest in your roundup. We’d love to hear any ideas or suggestions that would make navigating Harvest easier for you, so please feel free to get in touch. Michael @Harvest
[...] Freelance Web Designer’s Toolbox [...]
I think the most important tool is Google Apps. I use gmail calendar and docs all the time.
Thanks for the link! I like your blog a lot. Very useful information.
-Paul (StopDistractions)
http://www.StopDistractions.com
This is an interesting article. Thanks for sharing.
[...] Comments About the Author: Dustin Brewer is a web designer located in Oklahoma City, OK specializing in aesthetics in design, web standards, accessibility and usability. He also enjoys helping others to discover CSS and web design best practices through his web site, dustin brewer, a web design news site. [...]
[...] Freelance Web Designer’s toolbox [...]
Really great article Dustin. Central to most freelancer’s lives, especially in a recession like this where the cost of such tools varies as does the features.
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[...] will do in addition to actual work that directly leads to income. Fortunately there are a lot of tools that help freelance web designers manage their business. For most freelance web designers we typically focus on a specific skill set, such as design and [...]
HourDoc is another tool for Time Tracking. http://www.HourDoc.com is right treatment for time tracking of virtual assistants, has to be an easy-to-administer and affordable solution for Freelancers. They offer free application to Freelancers/companies less than 50 Users. You must Try it!
[...] will do in addition to actual work that directly leads to income. Fortunately there are a lot of tools that help freelance web designers manage their business. For most freelance web designers we typically focus on a specific skill set, such as design and [...]
[...] Comments [...]