My Favorite Freelance Tools
These are the exact tools I use each day to stay energized, organized, and in love with freelancing. I hope they help you reach your hungriest money goals—or at least add a little joy to your life!
FYI—there are affiliate links on this page, but I only recommend products I’ve used and swear by. 🤗
✨Building Your Website✨
Squarespace
If you need to build a website and have zero design experience (like me), I HIGHLY recommend Squarespace. I use it for all my websites and it makes it so easy to get started.
Big Cat Creative Squarespace Templates
Need a beautiful website template to pair with your Squarespace site (and hit the ground running even faster)? My fave template shop is Big Cat Creative. I’m using the Ava Grande template for this site and… isn’t she perdy? 🥲
✨Managing your Business Finances✨
Business Checking Account
Hands down, BlueVine Business Checking is my favorite business checking account. It’s free to open, has no monthly fees, and earns up to 1.5% APY (which is crazy high for a checking account).
You can also create sub-accounts for things like taxes, emergency funds, and more, which makes keeping your money organized really easy!
YNAB Budgeting App
I’ve been using YNAB since December 2016—first for my personal finances, and then for my business. Over the years, it’s helped me pay off $18k of student loan debt in 10 months, build a six-month emergency fund, invest over $100k, set aside money for taxes, and more.
You can try it free for 34-days, no credit card required.
✨Creating Your Business Structure✨
LLC Formation
If you’re just starting out as a freelancer, there’s a good chance you can register your business as an LLC and call it a day.
The filing process varies by state and can be quite tedious, so I recommend taking the easy way out and letting Incfile do it for you.
S-Corp Formation
The general rule of thumb is that if you make at least $80k a year, you could save on taxes by filing as an S-Corp. But I’ll be honest, it requires A LOT of monthly paperwork.
Luckily, Collective is a company that specializes in S-Corp formation for solopreneurs. And they’re honestly the best at it.
I’ve personally been using Collective for 3+ years and love that they handle everything for me—monthly bookkeeping, calculating my estimated tax payments, filing my tax returns, answering my tax questions, and more.
Plus, you can write the monthly fee off as a business expense!
✨Marketing Your Freelance Business✨
Flodesk
Aesthetically pleasing emails? Yes, please! Your email list is your #1 asset as a small business owner. Create emails that wow with my fave email marketing system—Flodesk. Try it free for 30 days, no credit card required.
✨The Best Online Courses I’ve Ever Taken In My Life✨
I’ll be the first to admit that I would NOT have found success as a freelancer without the help of some online courses. These are the ones that played a vital role in helping me get my freelance business off the ground.
Write Your Way To Freedom
When people ask me how I got into freelancing, I always have one answer: Write Your Way To Freedom.
This course has done more for my career than both my bachelor’s degree and MBA combined.
It’s what taught me how to be a copywriter. It’s what helped me build a successful business. It’s what made me realize I could have more freedom and more money... that it wasn’t an either/or situation.
If you’re interested in copywriting and are in a position to afford this course, I HIGHLY recommend investing in it. It’s, hands-down, the best thing I‘ve ever done for my career.
Master Your Mindset
Let me tell you… when I first started freelancing, I quickly realized just how many self-limiting beliefs were holding me back from building a career I loved.
I didn’t think I was deserving of earning more $ than my parents.
I believed I had to work tooth and nail for every penny I earned… that work shouldn’t come easy.
I was afraid to dream big.
But then I took Master Your Mindset, and it all just clicked. This course is like a four-part therapy session for the soul. If you’re ready to learn the tools needed to unlock your dreams, I recommend it.
Uplevel With Asana
About 2 years into my freelance career, I started feeling like my online systems were a jumbled mess. I could never find files, I had ideas spewed across a million sticky notes, journals, and Google Docs. I felt like a hot mess. So I bought Uplevel With Asana to help me finally organize my business + gain some clarity.
✨My Computer Set-Up✨
Desktop + Keyboard
90% of the time, I work from my desktop because I like having two monitors. I use an Acer Aspire desktop with a Das Mechanical Keyboard with Cherry MX Brown Switches (it’s deliciously clicky).
Noise-Canceling Headphones
I live in a busy area where barking dogs and car horns are sure to distract me throughout my day. Luckily, I’m able to shut out the world with my Sony WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones.
Laptop
When I’m not at my desktop, I’m usually working from a coffee shop (or in an airport) with my Dell XPS 15. She’s a pricey girl, but still much cheaper than a Mac with comparable specs. Maybe one day I’ll hop on that Apple train.
✨Cozy Vibe Things That Fuel My Soul + Keep Me Going✨
Cometeer Coffee
Wanna grab a Starbucks and think, “Wow, the coffee I make at home is way better than this!” Well, try Cometeer.
I’ll be honest… I tried Cometeer after seeing a YouTube ad for it. I had low hopes and thought it’d be a gimmick.
But fast forward one year, and I still drink this coffee every day. And yeah, it really is better than my fave coffee shop latte.
Handmade Coffee Mug
If you’re a lover of warm cozy beverages, I highly recommend pairing said lovely beverage with the cutest dang coffee mug you’ve ever seen.
Enter: S.T. Cao Ceramics.
Stephanie Cao is my fave potter, and she hand-makes her items right here in Seattle, WA.
Her pieces are beautiful works of art that are sure to spark a little joy in your day as you build your freelancing career.
Shop her store or sign up for her email list to see when her next restock will drop.
Cozy Candle From P.F. Candle Co.
Okay… is there anything cozier than a warm candle burning on your desk, wafting sweet scents into your nose holes as you plow through your to-do list? I think not.
My all-time fave candles are from P.F. Candle Co. They’re vegan, cruelty-free, and actually carry a scent (unlike other all-natural candles I’ve bought in the past).
My fave scents are Teakwood & Tabacco, Amber & Moss, and Ojai Lavender for those times when I need a sense of calm.
✨My Fave Non-Fiction Books For Finance, Business, and Self-Growth✨
Atomic Habits by James Clear
The One Thing by Gary Keller
We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
We Should Get Together: The Secret To Cultivating Better Friendships by Kat Vellos
✨My Fave Fiction Books To Read For Fun✨
Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
This Time Tomorrow by Emily Straub
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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