“Location independence, freedom of movement, financial flexibility, and stability. That’s the baseline we’re all seeking,” says Dan Andrews from Tropicalmba, a lifestyle business podcast. For several years, along with his business partner Ian Schoen, Dan has been in the freelancing business market. They have built a community of successful freelancers and a multi-million dollar e-commerce company using specific software.
It’s not just them. A lot of people have turned into digital nomads: self-reliant and independent individuals who work remotely at home or anywhere with an Internet connection. But it’s not as easy as one would think. To succeed in this model, you must make use of some online tools and software to keep the business agile and manageable.
Some excellent software programs that can help with your business
Airtable
Airtable is a simple and user-friendly way to organize customer lists, projects, deadlines, or just ideas. This spreadsheet-slash-database will make the day-to-day organizational and sheet-based tasks easier to record, edit, and administer.
Do you want drag-and-drop files complete with attachment previews on the sheet? The software’s got your back. Other features such as configurable views for your content, link records, and integrated apps make it well worth your time. Think of it as an extensive upgrade from Excel or Google Sheets.
As for sorting data, it has three themes to choose from: everyday life, event planning, and real estate. Within those themes are various templates, such as user studies, book catalogs, growth experiments, advertising campaigns, applicant trackers, and so on.
Collaboration is also a key component of Airtable, allowing various people to work on the same database. The software is accessible to anyone with apps for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Airtable also has a web version.
Zapier
The simplest of jobs can sometimes eat a chunk of your time. This includes sending emails about the latest sales, posting content to social media websites, and so on. With the help of Zapier, users can connect two or more apps to automate repetitive tasks. The software helps users create integrations without the need for a developer. With the “zap” — an automatic workflow consisting of a trigger and one or more actions — tasks such as filling a Google Sheet and sending an email at the same time is possible. Let Zapier do the menial and boring tasks while you focus on the more important matters.
Slack
Slack, on the surface, is like a messaging app. But there’s a reason why it’s popular among businesses. That’s because it is far more robust than your typical messaging app. It has a lot of functionalities for streamlining projects along with app integration and allows collaboration with multiple users. This is accomplished through the channels where clients or team members can join, leave messages, drop attachments, and add tools such as Google Drive and Zoom. Think of it as a faster, more responsive, and more inclusive replacement to emails.
There’s also a configurable Slack API that allows users to design the app for their unique business needs. An example would be creating a Slack app that posts reminders every day at the same time. But let your imagination run wild and customize the Slack API beyond automated messaging by integrating with other apps.
Mint
Sometimes, people get so overwhelmed with the business that they lose track of their income. Finance is the lifeblood of every business, and Mint is created to help users manage their finances.
From account balances and bills to accounts receivable, the software keeps everything manageable in one place. It automatically updates information. So when a user takes a loan from his or her financial institution, the software will update the information in the account.
But it’s not just a place to check finance information. The software has tracking features for spending and alerts you if you spend too much. There’s also the portfolio tracker pointing you to investment opportunities.
There are a lot of cool software programs that you can use to grow your business. Why not give some of them a try?
