25 Online Resources For Freelancers and Small Businesses

Last week I revealed to you how my best friend and I started a side business doing internet marketing for small businesses and one reason for our success was that we found clients before we set up the business. Now that we have some clients, we need to look a little more legit, so we started shopping around for some online resources to help us get more organized as a business. Doing freelance work and/or starting a side business is one of the best ways to earn extra money to help you pay off debt, save for retirement, save for kid’s college, or save up for a large purchase. You should focus on seeking out clients first, and then set up business processes. When that time comes, here are 25 online resources to check out when setting up your business.

General Office Applications

Google Apps: You can get Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs integrated into your domain for FREE. I use DreamHost for my web hosting, and they have a feature that automatically installs Google Apps onto your domain, so I can manage my Presence Media mail while maintaining an email address that looks like soandso@presencemediagroup.com. This is essential, because you can collaborate on a calendar and documents with partners and/or employees.

Open Office: A solid alternative to Microsoft Office and iWork. It’s open source software, so it’s constantly in development, being tweaked, and modified to suit user’s needs.

RightSignature: We use this one too. You can upload contracts, invoices, or estimates and get them electronically signed by clients, rather than playing the faxing game. Get this, there’s an iPhone app that allows clients to sign your iPhone using their finger! How sweet is that?

Invoicing, and Bookkeeping

Freshbooks: We chose Freshbooks for all of our invoicing needs. Freshbooks as a great API that allows it to hook up with other services for seamless integration. You can also create estimates in Freshbooks, which was a huge feature for us.

Zoho Invoices: It lets you send 5 invoices for free, but after that you’ll need to pay for the service. Zoho has an entire suite of small business applications, but everything is a-la-carte, so their services can quickly add up.

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