Hello adventurers!
Today’s post is going to be something a little different, and for a very simple reason: It’s winter. And I’m not very good at winter.
I love things that come with winter. I love snow and sweaters and hot chocolate and twinkle lights everywhere around the city.
But the combination of cold and dark tend to make me turn into what my husband (affectionately?) calls the Grumpy Winter Hermit. (Am I the only one this happens to?)\
When I’m in Grumpy Winter Hermit mode I am, unsurprisingly, grumpy. I complain about everything. And this is exacerbated by the fact that I work at home, and don’t have to leave the house, so I don’t leave the house because it’s cold out, and then I’m alone and grumpier… It’s a vicious circle.
So, in an attempt to be cheerful in spite of the cold, I’m going to share a few things that I’m currently loving for my freelance business and that I think you will love and appreciate too.
Is it weird to love accounting software? Because I do. Seriously, this program is amazing.
When I first started freelancing, I tried using several free accounting apps, but they just didn’t have all the features I needed, and some of them did not make me feel professional.
FreshBooks has a really sleek, easy-to-navigate interface, all the reporting features you need, and very professional looking invoices. I feel like it puts an excellent face on my business when I use it, and it’s been incredibly useful every time quarterly taxes roll around. It’s definitely worth the $19,95 per month.
If you need accounting software for your biz, try FreshBooks here — you can give it a go for 30 days for free!*
If you do any sort of writing in your business, and especially if writing is your business, you should be reading The Write Life.
Remember how I said I was simplifying things and cutting down on my weekly reading? The Write Life is one of the websites I still read all the time. They’ve got great information on everything from blogging and guest posting to producing ebooks and pitching agents.
Right now, they’re even running an awesome contest to give writers $250 towards professional headshots! If you’ve got a blog, a book, or any other kind of writing platform, don’t miss your chance to enter* — a great headshot can make such a difference in how you and your work are perceived!
Not the letter of the Greek alphabet. Omega is the WordPress theme I use, and I’m feeling lots of warm fuzzies towards it right now.
You may have noticed that I’ve been redoing my site layout. (And you may have also noticed that it’s still a work in progress, whoops.) While I’ve used a web designer in the past, I also like to try to do small tweaks and changes myself. This has occasionally caused one or two late night temper tantrums, since everything I know about editing websites I’ve learned from Google.
But editing this theme has been incredibly easy to figure out and easy to play around with, and I can’t say enough good things about the support over at Themehall. Many, many stars.
What about you?
Are there any particular gems you for your freelance adventure?
Or have you settled firmly into Grumpy Winter Hermit mode too?
*All opinions are my own and none of these companies know I’m writing this. However, if you use these links I may get a few perks. If you don’t like me and don’t want me to get a free month or whatever, you can always get there through Google instead. I promise I won’t be upset.
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