Dawn | dawnconklin
Enter to win a free copy of a great scrapbook software! Free to enter and win- http://www.dawnconklin.com/2012/01/blog-contest-scrapbook-software.html
1 year ago
Dawn's Work at Home Blog
  • Seven Must-Have Apps for Freelancers

    Freelancers are their own administrative assistant, accountant, negotiator, editor and marketer. It's not easy, working for yourself, but there are resources out there to help make your freelance career a bit less hectic and a far more organized. Apps can help you to manage your time and resources wisely by aggregating many of the tools a larger organization has at its disposal into your own personal device of choice. Here are a few must-have apps for the seasoned or new freelancer.

    MyPrice

    MyPrice is one of the best applications to have on your phone if you're a freelancer. Period. The application is a great tool for estimating your hourly and project rate as a freelancer. It bases its estimations off of your experience, skills, expenses and what type of project you're working on. It also aggregates great freelancing tips and job opportunities.

    NeverLate

    NeverLate is an excellent, and free, replacement for the default iOS calendar application. The app is particularly useful to freelancers because is specializes in business meetings and events by tying into your LinkedIn, Evernote, and iOS accounts. It centralizes meeting and event information and can instantly update locations, times, relevant notes and discover who will be at a particular meeting, even if you haven't met them in person before. It also features traffic tracking, and will give you an estimate of when you need to leave a given spot to make a meeting, even if the traffic situation changes.

    Dropbox

    Dropbox is an essential cloud-based file-sharing platform for freelancers and full-timers alike. Regardless of content — videos, photos, audio, text or otherwise — Dropbox lets users share their work in a quick and easy manner. Users get two gigabytes to begin with, but photo or multimedia freelancers can find subscriptions up to 100 GB available.

    30/30

    Focus doesn't come easy, especially today. That's where 30/30 steps in. 30/30 is a simple timer application which can help keep you focused on the task at hand and to build up solid workflow. The application lets users create multiple timed lists, outline and modify the order of tasks, and just turn their phone or tablet into a productivity-focused timer.

    Mint

    Mint is a fantastic, and secure, financial tracking application, which allows users to set budgets (and budget notifications), keep track of personal and business related expenses, and get solid financial advice catered to their financial background. Mint is a part of Intuit (the folks who bring you Turbo-Tax), and is free.

    Evernote

    Evernote is the go-to note-taking application. It's versatile, easy to use, and is an incredibly well thought-out knowledge retainer. Find an article you’d like to quote, cite or use for later? Use Evernote's web clipper and you can bring that information into the corresponding folder, complete with recommended tags, and have instant access to that clip nearly anywhere in the world.

    Google

    Let's face it: if you're using the Internet for any sort of basic research, you're likely using Google. If you telecommute and collaborate with clients, you're likely going doing it through Gmail or Google Docs. And there's nothing wrong with that: Google has some excellent services to offer freelancers, from keeping track of who visits your website to video conferencing over Google Hangout. Google's calendar offering, too, is an essential application to keep track of multiple contracts and dates, and those calendars can easily be shared between G Cal and third-party applications like Sunrise. Is using Google and its products necessary in every case? No, but you ought to familiarize yourself with the Internet giant's layout because, rest assured, you'll be using one or more of their products somewhere down the line.

    John Gower is an analyst for NerdWallet, a website dedicated to helping people find the best CD rates, checking accounts, credit cards and more for their business or personal needs.
  • Top 10 Time Saving Tools for the Freelancer

    The Internet has made running your own show a lot easier. As a freelancer, you’re likely to encounter problems that, if you were the CEO of a large company, would probably be dealt with by your subordinates. However, as a one-man band, you have to deal with the nitty-gritty, as well as dedicate the time to actually running your business. Thankfully, whatever your problem, someone has already created a solution to it. Let’s take a look at the top 10 time-saving tools available to freelancers.

    1. QuickBooks. This is the most popular bookkeeping software in the world, and is used by over 4.5 million companies. Accounting is one the most time-consuming, yet vital aspects of business management. However, bookkeeping software can turn a time-expensive process into an automated process that virtually looks after itself. There’s no need for any accounting experience and the software will merge with practically any platform. Check out Intuit UK for more details.

    2. LogMeIn . This is perfect for freelancers who spend a lot of time doing onsite work for their clients, but occasionally need to use their computers. LogMeIn is an app that allows you to log into your home computer through a browser and control it remotely. You may have encountered versions of this when seeking technical support online. You don’t have to be in your home to get hold of that important document; using this service, you can get hold of it wherever you happen to be.

    3. SwitchRates. A lot of time can be wasted on trying to work out just how much you ought to charge for your services. SwitchRates is an online conversion calculator that does it all for you. It works out the annual cost of running your business, your personal costs, how many hours you can charge for and how much profit you’d like to make, before coming up with an hourly rate. A great tool for freelancers who are striking out for the first time and haven’t yet decided their worth.

    4. GoToMeeting. In the early days of business, travel can cost and the time could be better spent elsewhere. You have to pay for this service but, compared to the financial and hourly cost of train travel or flights, it practically pays for itself. Essentially, this software allows you to organize online conference calls with the minimum of fuss.

    5. Google Documents. Unlike Microsoft Word and Excel, this software is free and does the job with equal finesse. You can access and view spreadsheets and documents using Google’s service and even convert them back into Excel and Word, if those are the platforms your clients are using.

    6. Lino It. Time is often lost through the process of sticking post-its to computer screens or work surfaces. In an untidy office, these things run as much risk of getting lost as anything else. However, if you like the scatty approach, then why not do it online? Lino It gives you a virtual cork board and sticky notes that will never fall off or accidentally get hovered up.

    7. Todoist. The most successful businesses run on lists. Todoist allows you to make that list online and will even send you reminders about important events and dates. You can use it as broadly or as specifically as you want, even to the point where you can create an hour by hour schedule, complete with notifications and alerts.

    8. Toggl. This piece of software is like a virtual egg-timer that will tell you how much you communicate with each of your clients. It will record the length of phone calls and the frequency of emails, so you can manage your time that much better.

    9. MindMeister. Brainstorming doesn’t have to come to a halt, even if your soundboarding partner is miles away. MindMeister creates online maps of ideas and how they link together, however tangentially. Brilliant for those ideas you might want to revisit at a later date.

    10. BaseCamp. This is a project management tool that breaks all the constituent parts and participants in a project down into categories and columns. Using this you can get an instant snapshot of who’s supposed to be doing what and by when. Project management can be extremely time-sensitive, so make the most of the time you have.

    Special thanks to JonJon Yeung, a freelance writer, for writing this informative guest post for us.
  • Work at Home Customer Service Agent Position Now Hiring
    Pleio GoodStart is looking for customer service agents who are looking to work at home.  They provide a complimentary service to help people manage their medications better by getting them on a routine.

    This is a contract position and agents will get paid per calls made averaging up to $16-$18 an hour.  This is a work at home position, no commute to the office.  It is a legitimate contract position with guaranteed work making call center calls, it is not based on sales.

    Some of the requirements to begin working at home with Pleio:

    Must be 18 years or older
    US citizens only please as this is a service in the US
    Must be able to speak English
    You need to be willing to put in at least 16 hours of work at week
    The position requires a land line phone and an Internet connection with a speed of DSL or Cable or higher
    Once you complete your training and are already making calls, there will be a background check done which will cost $20

    This is perfect for people who care about helping others and are looking to work at home while improving the lives of others.

    For more information and to apply: http://www.goodstartu.info

    I am not an affiliate so there is no compensation for anybody applying to work here.  I am just sharing a great opportunity with a legitimate company.
View all articles by dawnconklin

sign in

Username
Password
Remember Me


New to IM faceplate? join free!

Lost Password? click here