In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at project management tools and finding clients. Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com.

Question 1

I’ve been freelancing for a while now and I’ve been getting more and more into the nitty gritty of lead generation, conversion of customers, etc. the business side of things; however, there are two things that always stump me: Project Management and Customer Relation Management.

Project Management is easy for a single project but when running four/five projects in parallel, it becomes a hassle. Do you know of a good (and cheap) project management suite? I’ve been using Podio but it seems a tad bit complicated and I find Basecamp a bit dumbed down.

When it comes to CRM, I can’t find any good software for that either. I’ve been using Mingly, but that’s more for personal contacts than business, and keeping clients’ names in my head and try to remember to call them/email them is a hassle. I’ve heard good things about Zoho but the interface just kills me. Again, any suggestions?

There are a huge number of project management tools out there and, to a certain extent, it’s a question of your work flow — what tool is going to work best for you is going to depend on your personal preferences. Personally, I use Basecamp. I’ve used a whole slew of different software from spreadsheets to web apps that I had to install on my own server and configure. I like that Basecamp is easy and that I can manage a lot of what I need to do from anywhere. Most of my work revolves around writing, though, and I’ve heard some horror stories from freelancers who got in the habit of sharing video or other large files through their project management tools. Continue Reading

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post on how freelancers can tackle projects like a software developer using a trend in software development called “Agile”, which calls for compressing development projects into short pieces.

Well I found another article, this time at The 99%, that calls for the benefits of working in small time blocks. Do you put off starting a project because you are waiting for the perfect time to do so? Guess what? There is no perfect time! Putting off starting a project in this way is procrastination, plain and simple. And procrastinating is never a good idea—in my humble opinion anyway.

I recently read a story in Elle magazine where writer, Bliss Broyard (author of One Drop: My Father’s Hidden Life—A Story of Race and Family Secrets) hires a life coach who chides her on not being able to find the three hours a day Bliss wants to sit down and write. What does Bliss do instead? Clean the house, wash the dishes, mope.

“A project I’d been working on for a long time and fully expected to be favorably received was rejected. I was given a few months to ‘turn the ship around,’ but it felt as if I’d found myself in the cockpit of a 747 and had just been told that I was going to land the thing myself.” —Elle

Broyard’s life coach gave her a week to wallow in her feelings of anger, self doubt, and sadness. Come Monday, Broyard was to get back on track. But she couldn’t.

“I kept falling short on my time commitment to work; I couldn’t get any traction for restarting my project. The truth was, I was paralyzed in the face of hard work, of the chance I wouldn’t succeed.” —Elle

I’ve been there. Continue Reading

When the project is over, it really isn’t.

You might breathe a sigh of relief, but there’s still much to be done. We hear a lot about how to land clients, estimating and managing projects, but the follow-up seems to get forgotten and that’s what this is series all about.

Over the next several posts, I’ll address getting organized for your follow-up, the follow-up meeting, billing, along with some techniques for gathering referrals and testimonials. This will give you some ideas, so you don’t find yourself pulling your hair out. Continue Reading

View engaging conference lectures, interesting how to discussions, and high quality freelance advice via video here on FreelanceSwitch.

This week we look at Ditching Basecamp for Project Management With Google Doc by Freelance Jam. In this video the Freelance Jam duo cover project management workflows as they relate to client projects and thier own projects. Brian has decided to move most of his project management process over to Google Docs, while Dave is holding strong on the super simple Basecamp app. Find out how and why we each are using the systems that they are. Continue Reading

To do list task managers and full productivity software is essential to a freelancers business. The style of design your looking for in a to do list app will differ based on the size of your small business, the nature of the services you offer, and your personal preferences.

You may be a one man freelancer and prefer a stripped down, easy to use task app that syncs well in the cloud and works with your preferred devices. Or you may regularly work with a team and need some specific features to have you all working in harmony and efficiently.

While every user will have different needs in a to do list manager, there are some features that clearly add functionality, and looking at them will help you choose the best to do app for you.

How a to do list task manager implements these features has a big impact on it’s user base. Here are some of the most prevalent and useful features to consider in reviewing task based productivity software:

Continue Reading

Usually two words “freelancer” and “time” go together. Freelancers can’t juggle multiple tasks simultaneously and that’s why we need to allocate time carefully. Time is an essential source of freelancer financial success.

There are lots of web apps that help track time and create reports. If you use one of the tools on a daily basis, you can turn your work into a structured schedule, get more spare time for fun, and improve your productivity. Here’s is an overview of 10 top free apps for time management for freelancers. Continue Reading

At the end of last year, a fellow freelancer and I were discussing how 2011 panned out for each of us.

“It was overall successful, but when I reviewed where my income came from, I realized I’d become too focused on just one market,” she told me. “I need to spread myself out.”

The beginning of a new year is always a good time to take stock of your business, and plan your direction for the coming year.  Some freelancers work toward building up a name for themselves within a niche; others intentionally avoid focusing too much in one area.

Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of each approach. Continue Reading

Chrome Web Store

Google has recently launched Chrome Web Store – a dedicated marketplace with various applications for the browser. The marketplace idea is simple: install an app once and you will always have it at your fingertips on Chrome’s start screen. So you can save time and use your favorite tool immediately.

As Chrome is in vogue among freelancers, the new Web Store collection is worth checking out. There are many entertainments tools, online games, utilities and productivity solutions. The last category of getting things done apps deserves freelancers’ attention. Chrome has free web applications like to-do lists, calendars, note takers to help you work faster, easier and more efficient. Let’s browse the top 10 productivity leaders in Chrome’s Web Store. Continue Reading

Every freelancer out there has a bag of tricks they wouldn’t want to do work without—whether it’s their computer, useful software, or their favorite radio station. Find out what sorts of things help FreelanceSwitch.com contributors during their workday.

Perhaps their advice will inspire you to try something new, or reaffirm that what you currently use is the best in the biz.

Hardware

My Apple Kit

I regularly use a MacBook Air, iMac, iPad, and iPhone for work. I love the style and function of OSX and iOS, and the quality of these tools is just amazing.

I can enjoy a huge screen at home for digging into some in-depth work, and take the super lightweight MacBook Air on the road. My iPhone never leaves my side, and I’m constantly amazed at how much work I can get done on such a tiny device. –David Appleyard

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Successful freelancers know that time is money. Efficient task and time management are the key factors for freelancers. One freelancer may simultaneously lead several projects, need to communicate with a dozen of clients, and have numerous deadlines to hit. To turn freelance chaos into prioritized work order, there are many project management tools in the getting things done software market.

However, most project management tools are expensive or don’t meet freelance needs. Let’s face the truth: the majority of freelancers are budget-limited, work in small teams with multiple clients located worldwide, or are scattered all over the country. Thus, freelancers want cheap, ideally free, highly customizable project management solutions for efficient team-working.

Let me introduce 10 free, open source project management products that are likely to fit your freelance requirements:

1. Collabtive

Collabtive

Collabtive is a web-based open source project management suite. A quick look inside shows that Collabtive has all the basic features: milestones, task management, time tracking, calendar. Moreover, you can import Basecamp projects and get RSS updates. Laconic, clean interface can be enriched by paid plugins provided by the vendor.

Continue Reading

Hi. I’m Shane. I tweet about my misadventures running (with some pretty smart people) a 100% freelance driven agency at @justlikeair. Working with freelancers offers an interesting conundrum. In a polygamous environment, a genuinely free market, how do you build loyalty? Why would a great freelancer choose my urgent project over someone else’s? How do we stay attractive after the 3rd date (project)? What about after dating (without getting married) for 3 years? After all, the best freelancers get to pick from a wide pool of suitors.

Check out the slides from the entire talk. The article below elaborates on section 4. Continue Reading

One of the things that comes along with the freelance life, especially early in the game,  is a “feast or famine” cycle, both in terms of revenue, and in terms of time. Sometimes you are scrambling to keep up with your work, pulling all-nighters to keep several projects on track. Two weeks later you have little to keep you busy.

Can a “Swiss Cheese” method of scheduling your project scheduling can help you manage your time and get you off the feast and famine roller coster? Continue Reading