I showed up at the rehearsal with my guitar and rig. My rig consists of my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, my Line6 PODxt, and my Shure58 Beta microphone. My guitar is a 1997 Les Paul Studio. My purpose in being here is to audition to play with a band in need of a temporary guitar player who was in an accident. I am a hired gun.

As I set up and we get ready to play, one of the band members looks at me and asks “dude why doesn’t your guitar have strings?”

Could you imagine if that really happened? Do you think I would get many gigs if I did that?

The fact is you may be guilty of this with your web business. Let’s take the freelance entrepreneur as an example. He may have some knowhow and some ambition but does he have the tools to do the best job possible?

Yes the tools for the Freelancer and his gigs are as important as all the things I mentioned above for a guitar player trying to get some jobs with a band.

Now there are many tools out there. So part of your job is knowing what tools you need. Then it is a matter of getting them and using them properly.

Naturally there is quite a diversity in freelancing so obviously the list of tools is not an exact science and yet there is a general direction in which to head. Just like a keyboard player would not bring exactly the same items as a guitar player. And yet the principle is the same. And as you can see we are breaking it down into a couple parts to cover the basic concept.

So let us throw out a few examples. Let’s say you are a freelance web designer or developer. What’s in your toolbox?

Most likely you are armed with some education and experience. You undoubtedly have created or use a publishing platform. You perhaps are versed in computer language and coding. For example you could have the use of HTML down. You would benefit from any number of software items as well.

You could also make wise use of a variety of plug ins and add ons. Things like macro media flash players for example. This would include graphic tools and applications. You should have a variety of colors and fonts to choose from and use.

Have you ever heard of web design tools like “Fireworks”, “Dream Weaver”, “Adobe Photoshop”, “Panic Coda”, or “Firebug”? Do you know and use “Accessibility tools”? Do you know and use “color tools” and “Cascading Style Sheet tools”? How about “Validating tools” or “Informational Architectural tools”?

How about tools related to linking? What about the use of any of a number of miscellaneous tools that could be classified outside of the categories above. Like an SEO Analysis tool for example?

What if you are a just a freelance artist? Things like Photoshop, or any number of graphic tools would be a must. Good scanning ability would be just the beginning for you. And of course you have many direct illustrating tools available. Yes you can draw on a device that immediately displays your art work on your screen. You thus can skip the scanning phase if you can master the art utensil directly connected to your desk top.

Illustration and art is often linked with skills like animation and other high end graphics. All of which has a market rich with software and accessories to do your thing. Do you have those tools if you perform such services and skills?

Of course we can include freelance jobs like photography, video, and audio specialists in the mix also. These jobs also have some awesome tools at your ready. Along with tools like Photoshop and other magnificent photo programs you have a amazing editing tools for pictures, video, and audio. And so on.

If you are a game designer, a straight up video, or audio producer there is a software “buffet” out there. In a related area this is great news for musicians and recording engineers trying to freelance their skills in the recording business. Just look up a program called Pro Tools. Many if not most professional studios are equipped with this software and the additional tools that go with it.

The intriguing thing in the freelance world is, another valuable tool is one another. Yes often times freelancers are profited and benefited by one another.

Take for example our first example of a web designer. It is not uncommon for a web designer to seek out the assistance of illustrators or photographers. Or perhaps they need some music or video they want to add. You get how this works now? .

As we pointed out this is just part of the freelance world. We can revisit this some more in a future discussion. On the meantime get busy!

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