6 steps to mastering freelancing from anywhere

Traveling may not be in your plans, but we hope our mobile app and this guide will help get you there if it is. As an extra bonus, we wanted to give you a few tips for your national or international adventures.

1. Pack lightly

And we’re not talking about your clothes and hair products. As a business owner, you’ll be tempted to bring every work-related thing you might need with you. We’re here to tell you that you’re better off with your minimum.

If you plan to move a lot during your trip, either on foot or from city to city, you won’t want to lug all of that extra weight with you. You also run the risk of losing your equipment to damage or theft.

Maximize your freedom by keeping your tools to a laptop, tablet, or, even better, just your phone. You will have the freedom to do more without worrying about your equipment. And in a true emergency, you can almost always find a substitute to meet your needs.

2. Create a flexible itinerary

Have you ever been on a family trip that involved lengthy, in-depth discussions about what to do at the start of each day? Not planning ahead is a sure way to waste time that you can spend exploring or catching up on work.

Make the most of your time by creating a rough schedule before you leave home. This allows you to find the best deals, routes, and sights to see in each location. It also gives the structure you need to balance your work and play.

If you know you’re heading to a location with limited connectivity the next day, for example, you can prepare for it in advance to prevent issues. Or if you know you will be spending a few hours in the car, you can decide which tasks to handle during the drive.

Planning ahead ensures that you build in the time you need to manage your business while you’re out. Even with just a couple of hours each day, you can keep everything running as it should.

But take note: the key to this itinerary is flexibility. When exciting opportunities arise, give yourself the freedom to take them. As long as you have your phone in your pocket, the Hectic mobile app will keep you on top of your responsibilities.

3. Keep up with your current clients

You can do this by sending a quick email letting them know that you will be out of the office and how long you’ll be gone. It’s also a good idea to include information about the time zone you’ll be in so they understand if your communication is outside of normal working hours. You may also want to include:

• Info about internet or mobile connectivity at your destination, particularly if you expect it to affect your work
• Whether or not you are working during the trip and if you are available for new projects during that time
• Your boundaries for work (such as how quickly you will respond to communications, when you are available for phone calls, etc.)

If you plan to continue working on projects while you travel, it’s also important to assure clients that they will receive their work as expected. You can always negotiate with clients who push back, but remember that, as long as you meet your responsibilities, your clients don’t have the power to dictate your work environment.

4. Look for opportunities to grow your craft

For many freelancers, traveling creates opportunities to try or learn new things in your craft. Photographers and videographers can take stunning footage in the places they visit, content that they can then add to their portfolio or sell to clients. Others may connect with other freelancers to collaborate on a new side project.

With your Hectic mobile app, you can quickly add new contacts and start new projects from any location. Use your project management tools to monitor your pipeline and add new work where you find it. You will not only improve your future success but enrich your traveling experience as well.

5. Operate within your budget

Making money while traveling is probably a new experience. While you will hopefully have money coming in regularly, however, you also have to prepare for ebbs and flows.

Just as you would in your regular life, don’t make decisions based on the income you expect to earn. Be careful to live within your means and keep a decent amount in an emergency fund. If you suddenly need to return home or get hurt while traveling, the last thing you need is an empty bank account.

If you’ve prepared your business for seasons of slow work, you will likely be equipped to handle any changes in your pipeline. Prepare by keeping multiple projects in your future schedule at all times. When you aren’t depending on a single source of income, lost clients and delayed projects won’t devastate your financial health.

Traveling often incurs unexpected expenses, so maintaining your pipeline during your trip is even more critical. As long as you have access to your Hectic app, you can always find new ways to generate income.

6. Enjoy your free time

And once you’re there, let the rest go.

We’re giving you the tools to build something powerful while you’re on-the-go but that doesn’t mean you should use them to focus on work when you should be relaxing.

Soak up the views, experiences, and cultures around you as you live your #bosslesslife to the fullest.

You’ve more than earned it.