What Equipment Do Freelancers Need?
Freelancing is a growing trend in today’s ever-more connected world. Especially prevalent amongst those in the younger generation searching for new lifestyles around which to build their talents, their careers and their financial stability, it’s a method of earning money that doesn’t require you to head into an office every weekday from 9 until 5. You may well be surprised how little you need to get your freelance career up and running – but there are some absolutely essential items – and some role-specific ones – which you’ll need to secure before you start accepting jobs. They’re enlarged upon in the points below.
photo/ Tran Mau Tri Tam
Computing Power
The hub of your freelancing operation is your computer or, more likely, your laptop. It’s through this that you compile and create your work, accept jobs, correspond with clients, and manage your workload. It’s absolutely imperative that you’ve found and maintained a laptop you can trust to be your workhorse companion wherever you are – and that it can handle all of the use you’re going to be asking of it.
It’s due to the centrality of your laptop in freelance roles that you should choose it wisely. You can find laptops using Choosist, where they’re compared by value, specifications and other variables. Different freelance roles require different investments, but in general, you’re looking for something durable and reliable, with the portability you need and the battery power that’ll keep you up and running for hours at a time.
Accounting
Whether you choose to do your accounting online, through software or in a physical ledger book is up to you, but another important aspect to a freelancer’s life that they best get on top of before they get busy with multiple orders at once is the accounting side. You’re going to have to check your balance sheets, attribute costs, and eventually present your earnings to the tax man for evaluation. Failing to do so can result in heavy financial penalties.
So, whether you download an Excel spreadsheet template and work through that, or you buy an accounting book that you fill in and keep on your desk after each completed job, it’s important that you keep up to date with your accounting. Many freelancers choose to order their invoices and receipts in a physical folder as well as digitally – this provides a back-up as well as a copy you can physically inspect to check against your finances.
Charge and Connectivity
Freelancers frequently work on the move and find themselves in situations that require constant charge on their laptops and smartphones. That’s as well as any other electronic equipment they might ordinarily use, such as dictaphones, microphones, or cameras.
So, what you’re going to need are those pieces of equipment that help you stay connected and charged throughout your travels. A portable charging unit, for example, will save you from frantic rushes to find chargers in the months to come.
The above really is all you’ll need to begin your career as a freelancer – so pick up the equipment, sign off on your first projects, and get earning from the comfort of your own laptop.
Author: Carol Trehearn
