Photo by jeremybarwick
What is a Location Independent Freelance Lifestyle? I would say that, for some, location refers to where the money is; others will understand it to be where they hang their mouse at night.
Either way, freedom is the fuel that fires the freelancer’s soul and location independence is the tinder.
Knocking Down Doors
Photo by recursion_see_recursion
I call myself the Digital Tinker. Historically, tinkers went from town to town, fixing small items before moving on. Talk about a nomadic lifestyle!
My entrepreneurial spirit is suited to location independence. I’ve always been involved in sales, from SA8 soap, to term insurance; from legal plans to real estate; from radio advertising to website development. Each of these endeavors had one common thread: I had to go to the prospects. So, I am comfortable going “on-site”.
However, as a life-style, I’m still growing into it.
Knocking Down Windows
Photo by jglsongs
It all began the day my computer died. My son rebuilt a desktop computer from spare parts, but I didn’t like being disconnected from the software and data that define my freelance work. I began researching portable applications.
There is a wealth of open source and commercial software that perform tasks at least as well as my desktop versions. I also discovered that quite a few of the desktop applications could be used in a portable environment.
Encouraged by these two facts, I began to transfer everything onto an 8GB (gigabyte) USB key. Next, I backed up the key onto a portable USB hard drive. Finally, I installed the portable version of RoboForm onto the key, which contained all the passwords to websites I visit.
Once the crucial files were set up, I simply treated my replacement computer as a public machine. It turned out to be good practice, as I began to spend a lot of time doing client research at the library.
Knocking Down Walls
Photo by robinfensom
One casualty of the nascent mobile movement was my ODesk account. Similar to sites like Elance, Rent-A-Coder and Guru, ODesk brings buyers and sellers together for the purpose of exchanging digital services for money. Unlike my account at Guru.com, ODesk requires desktop monitoring software. I cheerfully gave that up, as I don’t like being monitored, anyway!
For too many years, I relied on creaky versions of Microsoft® Office. Prospective clients usually had newer versions. I struggled to adapt to new gadgets, such as the accursed ribbon and new file formats. Eventually, I managed to become more productive.
Email and file backup took the hardest hit. These things are like toothbrushes: I can’t use yours and new ones take some getting used to. In fact, just this past week (with Sharon’s help!), I completed the transition from desktop email to Google Apps. Gmail will require a whole new outlook on email (sorry, I couldn’t resist.)
Backup is like a religion to me. I’m still searching for enlightenment in this new nomadic age.
Opportunity Knocks
Photo by Ben Zvan
I use what I call the Three Ps to build my freelance business:
- Profile
- Portfolio
- Promote
I have profiles scattered on so many websites I need a profile of my profiles! Thankfully, Google does that.
My Google Profile
A portfolio shouldn’t be a dry list of completed projects. I try to keep readers engaged, even if they couldn’t care less about the actual project.
My Engaging Portfolio
Promotion is a daily, natural part of networking. I use FaceBook, Twitter, forums and blogs to discuss business and personal topics. I only follow one rule: no blatant advertising. However, if you ask …
By doing the little things, I’ve been able to establish credibility, remain visible and build momentum.
Don’t Knock It ‘Til You Try It
The location independent lifestyle may have recently sprung up on me, but the mindset and infrastructure have been in place for years. I’ve already talked about the mindset on my main blog. The infrastructure is simply the human and computer networks upon which I rely. At least once a month, the human network feeds me a referral. The computer networks make it possible for me to act on them.
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May 16th, 2009 at 11:39 am
You always have such a refreshing take on any topic, Mitch. I am increasingly using online solutions for my data, though I must admit to finding MS Word hard to replace (yes, I know about Open Office and Google Docs, but they just aren’t the same). I put my email online years ago, and have a desktop backup service which puts my crucial documents in the cloud. I do have a nagging doubt about whether I should put all my eggs in the Google basket, but so far it hasn’t proved to be a problem. Nice entry to the writing project.
May 16th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Thank you Sharon. Except for email, all of my documents are created offline and uploaded. It takes a bit more work (okay, a LOT more work) but I’ve flown by the seat of my pants before and the landing gear - well, let’s just say I believe in acronyms!
Open Office is rather a disappointment. On the laptop, I don’t need it; in the library, it never loads! I plan to make more use of Google Docs: one of my clients uses it, so I need to get up to speed.
One thing about MS Word: over the years, I have added text automation that puts HTML tags in my writing as I go along. Word actually gets in my way.
What I do now is compose in EditPad Lite, spell-check in Word and paste the semi-polished draft into WordPress. Then I add all my links and preview-edit-paste until it looks presentable.
Cheers,
Mitch
May 17th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Hi Mitch - I really like the name “Digital Tinker”! Interesting to read about your experiences & welcome to the “age of Google”
We’ve used Google Apps and Docs for a while now and it keeps getting better and better. There are some very nifty bits of functionality (e.g. Forms) which make doing business online without needing to know a line of code so much easier & accessible to anyone.
Sharon - I’m with you on the nagging doubts…I don’t like to put all my eggs in one (Google) basket so still have backup copies of the most important things both offline and online.
May 17th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Hi Lea, thanks for reading! I discovered that Google Calendar is quite intuitive. I’ll be diving into the others very soon. In addition, I just recently created a FreshBooks account. More online goodness.
Cheers,
Mitch
May 26th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Hi Mitch! Wow, you have a quite complex view on the location independent lifestyle! i’ve never thought of most of these aspects, all though I probably use a lot of the apps and services you mention. But you are right, they also contribute to our sense of independence and freedom. I have to also agree with you on the Open Office bit. If I have to choose, I’ll go for Google docs as replacement for Word. But in terms of possibilities, they both still some more work to get where Words is…Hope they do very soon and I can move completely.
May 26th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Hi Alina, I’m glad you stopped by!
I hope my view will crystallize as I add more Independence to the mix
Microsoft Office is still a key ingredient, I just dread the update-itis that afflicts Redmond, WA.
Cheers,
Mitch
May 28th, 2009 at 2:08 am
Great look at the tech side of LIP freelancing! And I love your 3 P’s thanks Mitchell!
May 28th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Hi Cody, thanks for stopping by. I really enjoyed reading your article highlighting the fun side of LIP freelancing! Shades of Tim Ferriss!
Sharon drilled the three P’s into my head over the years
Cheers,
Mitch
June 1st, 2009 at 3:45 am
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