vintage ruler (photo by mightyohm)
Here are some of the tools that you will need when establishing your freelance work:
1. Computer – this is (almost) absolutely necessary, unless what you do is all hand work and you then submit your deliverables yourself or via post or courier. But that was the business model of yesterday!
If you can’t afford to buy yourself a computer, try going to rental shops first while saving your freelance earnings.
2. Software – next to your machine, this is the next thing you need. Fortunately, there are tons of free and open source software available nowadays, so you can just download the ones that you need. I will list and discuss a number of free design programs in succeeding posts.
3. Email + Instant Messenger – keeps you connected to your clients, and you can send digital files online.
4. Skype – is free VOIP, or free phone online. You can call people in any part of the world for free, provided they have an internet connection and have dowloaded Skype to their machine. You can also pay and get some credit, and that means you can also receive your calls without having to be online or attached to your computer.
5. Mobile phone – sometimes a phone call is still the best to clear things up with your client. You can also send a text message.
Do you know of any other tools that may help freelance designers?