A good part of our working class today is working as a consultant, freelancer, or ever-fabulously dubbed, self-employed. Whatever name you give them, they are on their own and need all the gadgets possible to make work as easy as possible. In a company network, you are given out the standard IT policies and procedures along with the boring technology protocols. Being on your own, or in a small company, you have the freedom to choose whatever gadgets you want.
Here are the dream gadgets that every freelancer / consultant should own:
- iPhone – This is just a no-brainer. Voice calls, emails, texts and Internet are the standard iPhone services, but the apps will make your world around you a piece of cake. Need directions getting to your meeting? Quick real-time stock info? Sign and scan an agreement on the fly? Out of the office and need to grab a file on your computer? Quick accounting info? They’re all available via the iPhone apps. Just a tremendous mobile productive center in your pocket.
- Freetalk + Skype – Make video conference calls on Skype. Better yet, get a business phone number and hook up the Freetalk home phone adapter to your router. Then, you can make phone calls from your regular phone domestically or internationally for much cheaper than a regular phone line. Plus, you can use the same business phone number from your iPhone or cell phone so that you are always available and professional. You can track and organize all your phone numbers and contacts from Skype calls into your Outlook or other contact software.
- Seagate 1TB External hard drive – Sounds boring, but it’s better to be boring and safe in backing up your files instead of paying for the exorbitant cost of data recovery. I like this specific external drive since its speed is 3.0 USB which is 10x faster than typical 2.0 USB drives. Use this external drive to back up your files and have easy access to them when needed.
- LogMeIn Free – Having access to your home office computer from anywhere is huge. As a freelancer, you may need to access your computer any instant. Set up this free remote access so you’re always in touch.
- DropBox – You’ll be able to share your files with customers. You can also access your files from your iPhone or outside the home office. It’s free if you just need it for a few gigs.
That’s it. If you’re a consultant or freelancers, this tech support tool chest will serve you well as your run around.
