Frustrated with working at a traditional job, Natalie Zfat, 31, reached the point one evening when she knew things had to change. She had an interesting staff writing position at a luxury fashion brand but she was tired of feeling chained to her desk after days filled with long meetings.
“I have this memory of leaving the office around 8:30 or 9 p.m. I had done all of my work for the day,” she says. Walking past a particular row of desks, she recalls, “everyone gave me dirty looks.”
Zfat had soon offered to leave her job and to work for the company as a social media consultant – and found her boss willing. With that first client lined up, she soon had a viable business. Five years later, she is still running it, managing a varied workload that includes providing content to a variety of well-known brands, speaking at events and creating videos and other content posted on her social channels.
Zfat has grown her business by relying on a freelance team that includes a graphic designer, a videographer, a photographer and a video editor. Equally important in a business like hers is looking for ways to automate tasks. A new report by the freelance platform WorkMarket, based in New York City, has found that 70% of business leaders are spending 10-40% of their day on mundane tasks that are not core to their primary objectives. In a freelance business, where you may not have access to much administrative help, you may be spending even more time than they are on routine work. That’s probably costing you money. “Time, when you’re a freelancer, is one of your most valuable assets,” Zfat says.
Looking to automate routine work in your freelance business? Here are some strategies to consider.
Look for apps that multitask. It can take time to master a new app unless it’s ultra-simple. The time you invest will be better spent if the apps you use can help you with many areas of the business.
One of Zfat’s favorite tools is the app IFTTT, short for If This, Then That. This Internet-based service lets you automate tasks by creating simple statements that trigger an action if a particular event occurs.
“You can use it to extremes,” says Zfat. “For me, it’s to auto-publish content. A blog post goes up, and it automatically shares that post to my social channels.”
Micro-manage yourself. In WorkMarket’s survey, 74% of respondents believe that at least parts of their job could be automated; 53% of workers believe they could save 2 hours a day by automating tasks. The report was developed in partnership with KRC Research, a global research consultancy, and Arun Sundararajan, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business who is the author of the book The Sharing Economy.
Take stock of how you’re spending your time on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Are there routine tasks that you could be using software to do? Using invoicing software is one area where many freelancers can save time, once they get set up. Otherwise, it’s easy to log many hours entering manual invoices into Excel spreadsheets.
Another time-saver is finding an app to track your mileage. One popular one I’ve been testing is Everlance. It automatically tracks your mileage from your smartphone every time you start driving. I’ve been very surprised by how many trips I would have otherwise missed recording. I also like the fact that you can export your data into a spreadsheet for your accountant’s use.
Don’t worry if you’re not using AI yet. Artificial intelligence is fascinating and gets a lot of buzz, but only 13% of WorkMarket’s respondents reported using AI technology, compared to 41% who are using workforce automation technology. For most freelancers, simple automation can go a long way. If you haven’t found a software that lets your contacts book meetings on your public calendar, it’s worth giving one a try. Among the providers offering this type of software are Appointlet, Calendly and ScheduleOnce. I sometimes have to schedule up to eight calls a day for my own business. As a result, I’ve found I save hours every week by using ScheduleOnce. Like any busy freelancer, I know there are plenty of other ways I can better spend my time.
Source: https://www.forbes.com
Theresa Todman, Managing Partner/CEO of B&M Financial Management Services, LLC . Theresa works with small business owners and entrepreneurs to assist them with financial management and creating organized systems and procedures. She specializes in bookkeeping, accounting, QuickBooks solutions, small business tax issues and consulting.
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