6 Essential Productivity Tools for Freelancers and Small Businesses

Achieving the dream of working for yourself has never been easier. However, being your own boss does essentially mean that you really are on your own. Luckily, the Internet is filled with interesting tools that can help you boost your productivity, as well as provide relief when it comes to many aspects of running a small business. Everything from marketing to managing your finances can be done with neat tools available out there, sometimes even for free. Without further ado, before you lies a list of essential productivity tools for small businesses and freelancers.

Basecamp

It used to be quite difficult to manage a business over long distances and tools such as Basecamp are the ones responsible for the recent rise in the freelance and small business trend. This platform is a project management tool, which allows you to communicate with teams and even clients – you can store text documents, pdf documents and even music and video files here. Basecamp’s interface is user-friendly and simple, yet well-organized and has a multitude of functions. Comments and to-dos are also a key part of this unique tool.

Dropbox

If the only function that Basecamp offers and that you need is storing files, however, Dropbox is the leader on the market. It offers you to save files in the cloud and it’s ‘syncable’ with any device out there, offering compatibility with iOS, Windows, and Android-based systems. Dropbox basic is free and offers 2GB of storage space and it’s upgradeable to Dropbox Pro, which offers 1TB for a monthly payment of $10. If you need more than a terabyte, opt for the Dropbox Business plan at $15 per user per month to gain an infinite space option.

Hootsuite

This social media tool automatically schedules and posts on social media websites for you. Furthermore, this neat platform can even discover content for you, so Hootsuite is made with time-saving in mind. The main idea behind this app is rounding up all the mainstream social media to monitor – Facebook, Twitter, and even WordPress are included. HootSuite Pro plan is made with small businesses in mind and costs $9.99 on a monthly basis.

Legalzoom

When it comes to legalities, Legalzoom is arguably the leader on the market. Created by attorneys, it was created with helping small businesses and freelancers with legal and tax advice in mind. Corporate structuring and copyright protection are more than available and payment is done on a what-you-need basis. Additionally, there is an option to personally speak with an attorney, right there, on the website. Keep in mind that, the correct use of technology is what makes a successful business nowadays.

RescueTime

The world of the Internet is extremely prone to devouring your time, what with all the content available – see an interesting YouTube clip and you are off to a bad start of a workday. Time is money, and this is the reason why Rescue Time was created – by tracking and categorizing the hours you spend on the Internet, this tool gives you an in-detail report when it comes to your daily online activities. Analyze the results yourself and rid yourself of bad habits, in order to become more productive! The basic program, RescueTime Lite is free, while the Premium option costs mere $9 a month.

Writer Access

This brokerage platform allows you to hire professional freelance writers if you’re looking to expand your SEO-based business. The best thing about this app is the fact that you can use to hire quality writers that require as little as $.02 a word! Yes, that’s point-oh-two a word! Naturally, keep in mind that the more you are willing to pay, the better writers you’ll get!

Finding great tools is essential when it comes to the lonely world of freelance and small businesses. These tools can help you achieve great things with little investment and you should definitely explore the free versions, at the very least – it is cheap and it can do you the world of good!