With lockdown demonstrating the value of remote work, we can expect to see even more Kiwis ditching the traditional 9-5 for the freelancer lifestyle. If you’re a freelancer yourself, you will know that with the awesome flexibility and autonomy you have over your own schedule comes the juggling of multiple clients and tasks at one time. It is because of this that it is important to have the right tools to ensure you are maximising your efficiency and staying on top of your game. To help with this we have put together a list of five Kiwi-made tech tools to make your life as a freelancer easier.
Financial Admin
Juggling multiple tasks, inconsistent cash flows, and receiving payments from clients late can make financial admin a nightmare and major source of stress for some freelancers. Hnry is specifically designed to help with all of this.
Hnry is an all-in-one service that takes care of all the financial admin for contractors, freelancers and the self-employed - allowing you to focus on getting the job done, rather than worrying about tax and compliance. Hnry provides a pay-as-you-go service, handling Invoicing, Expenses, Payments, Taxes and filings. As New Zealand's fastest-growing accountant and tax agency, Hnry helps thousands of individuals to focus on doing what they do best, without having to worry about the burden of financial admin.
Finding Work
One of the biggest challenges freelancers face is the inconsistency of work. One month you may be bombarded with clients and the next struggling to get by. Unicorn Factory and The Freelance Village are useful tools to help with finding work, especially during those periods where work is harder to come by.
Unicorn Factory, used by over 800 Kiwi businesses, is a platform that connects Kiwi freelancers with businesses to help them reach their goals. The Freelance Village was created by freelancers with the aim of making communication and connection between those who “need” and “do” much more simple. Both platforms offer a range of freelancer types and it's easy to register!
Lead Generation
When you’re having to juggle multiple clients at a time and be responsible for
all areas of business it is vital that you are efficient with your time. When your time is precious it is easy to miss leads due to not having the time to go through your mountain of voicemails. Vxt makes sure you never miss out on a new customer.
Vxt helps you manage your missed calls by converting your voicemail to text, forwarding them to email, detecting urgent messages and more. Vxt gives you the opportunity to respond to customers faster. Instead of having to listen to multiple voicemails you can check your Vxt app to see all your messages neatly converted into easy to organise text messages. By doing so you are able to establish which messages require urgent attention like a new customer offering work, and get back to them before they choose to go elsewhere.
Online Presence
Websites are vital for acquiring new work and can also help to build a reputation of trust, but without a background in tech or marketing building a website can seem like a really difficult task. Rocketspark is an awesome platform founded by four Waikato locals with the mission of making it easier and more affordable for businesses to have a beautiful and effective website. Rocketspark is easy to use and offers multiple services so that you can specialise your site to your specific needs.
Wellbeing
Wellbeing is important for everyone to monitor but even more so for freelancers. In the 2019 Small Business Wellbeing Report 39% of business owners said their work had negatively affected their wellbeing. Working long hours, lack of security and inconsistency of work means that freelancers are more susceptible to having their well being negatively affected by their work than most.
Melon is a digital platform that provides health plans and systems to provide personalised care. It was created with the mission of connecting and empowering people to reclaim their health and wellbeing. Melon is an awesome platform to help freelancers monitor and look after their wellbeing. Remember, if you’re looking after yourself, you’re more likely to be on top of your game.
The global crisis has seen people all over the world turn their spending inward, to support local businesses and people. But without a brick & mortar storefront, it can be a lot harder to identify where the software products we use every day come from. That's why we made this list of awesome locally built tools, to help you buy local.
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