F is for Freelancing

F is for Freelancing

Posted on 07. Aug, 2009 by Laurika in A-Z Collaboration, Features

Freelancers tended to live a life of solitude. You and your computer. Alone. No one else around. But those days are gone. Today’s freelancer has the Internet and social media which allow them to find and collaborate with other freelancers as well as taking on projects from around the world.

There really has never been a better time to be a freelancer.  Take a look at these sites and feel free to post any others that you may use in the comments below.

FreelanceSwitch http://freelanceswitch.com/

Jobs and Resources - FreelanceSwitch

This site is great for collaboration. It includes just about everything a freelancer needs: Discussion forums, job boards, resources that include an hourly rate calculator, as well as a blog with tips and tricks.

Webworkerdaily http://webworkerdaily.com/

WebWorkerDaily

This blog gives some great advice to anyone working online. Topics include:

Twitter http://twitter.com/

Twitter

The list won’t be complete unless I mention Twitter, which can be an overwhelming tool, but if you use it right, it can be great for networking.

Business Link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/

Business support, information and advice Business Link

If you are a freelancer in the UK you can get some free business advice and support here.

LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/

Relationships Matter

I find LinkedIn a really useful place to get business contacts. You can also join groups and associations in your interest area which opens a whole new door for collaboration and networking opportunities.

Fuel your creativity http://www.fuelyourcreativity.com/

Fuel Your Creativity

This site is for those days where you really need some creative inspiration. It has stories on how other people stay creative as well as tools that can help you. The topics under the freelance tips link http://www.fuelyourcreativity.com/category/freelance/ are most useful.

Zen Habits http://zenhabits.net/

Zen Habits

You can dwell here when things get too crazy. It has handy tips on how to make your life simpler.

StumbleUpon http://www.stumbleupon.com/

StumbleUpon- Personalized Recommendations to Help You Discover the Best of the Web

I’ve added this site purely for the entertainment factor. It can keep you occupied for a couple of hours while you’re procrastinating. This site allows people to list interesting websites that they’ve, well, stumbled upon.

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2 Responses to “F is for Freelancing”

  1. Ben Godfrey

    20. Aug, 2009

    Freelancing is equal parts awesome and awful. I keep coming back to it though, because the freedom can’t be beaten.

    I would add the really useful FreeAgent to your list of apps. I’ve been doing my own invoicing, tax calculation etc, for years. FreeAgent is the first app that does all this well enough for me to part with my hard-earned cash to pay for it. It’s really simple and also relatively complete, it handles almost everything. Honourable mention for Javelin CRM for integrating with FreeAgent as well, providing the missing feature: a sales pipeline.

  2. Laurika

    20. Aug, 2009

    I absolutely agree with you about the awful and awesome statement. The awesomeness always outweighs the awfulness for me though so I won’t give it up for anything.

    I had a quick look at FreeAgent. I think I’ll sign up for a month and check it out. It looks pretty useful, especially for someone like me who hates anything related to managing a small business. It will be most useful to have everything in one place.

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