Freelancing is a wonderful way of life. You work when you want to, on your own terms, on the projects that interest you the most. Despite many freelancers enjoying this lifestyle, though, plenty go through periods with little work. In these slack periods, technology can help you find better work and optimize the money you earn from each job. In this short article, we’ll look at the four most important ways in which you can use technology to get the work you need to stay afloat in your quieter periods.
Jobs Sites
There are jobs sites for freelancers just as there are jobs sites for those who are searching for a full-time position. Online you can find some of the most popular versions of the “gig work” websites, where there are thousands of postings every day asking for someone with your specific skills. This even extends to people who do shipping work. Fill your truck to capacity by searching for extra loads, posted by thousands of Shiply’s customers, in order to make every journey you take that bit more profitable. The more you use these websites the more you’ll become used to securing more work as soon as it’s posted.
Professional Social Media
Social media is often associated with friendships and frivolous posts. But there are other social media sites that are built to facilitate professional connections. Chief among them is LinkedIn – the perfect website to share your skills, your work and your interests. It’s here that you’ll be able to add people you’ve worked for before to your network. You’ll be able to message them any time to ask if they have other jobs for you, or you can share posts with your work and your availability. Even more than full-time workers, the likes of LinkedIn are perfect for freelancers.
Software
Whether you’re a professional designer or a freelance writer, there’s always a software product out there which you could download to make your life easier. Some help to manage your finances, including automated invoices and a tax balance sheet to make sure you’re always putting aside cash for your annual tax payments. Others are specific to your skills and your work, such as the Adobe suite of programs that tend to be used by digital creatives. Leverage this powerful technology to cut out the admin and to streamline your work.
Conference Calling
Many workers online are required to communicate with their clients or contacts via the phone. Conference calling software, such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, is absolutely perfect as a middle-ground between a face-to-face meeting and a phone call. You get to share your video which helps you build rapport with clients. You can also share documents, slideshows and anything else via the software, so that you can show off your work, share ideas for the work you might be about to perform or give presentations about your vision. Such software is vital in 2022 for freelancers.
There you have it: four ways that you can leverage technology in order to make your life as a freelancer easier.