10 Things Every Remote Freelancer Needs to Have

A great career is not only available to full-time employees at established companies.

People now have the option of going freelance and making even more money.

Of course, there are pros and cons to each type of work, but for an obvious reason, freelancers need to provide themselves with good quality gear to support their business.

Here are 10 things you need to keep your freelance work running smoothly.

1. Laptop

This is an absolute need for freelancers. A proper laptop is essential to keep your business up. You might have one already, yet it won’t hurt to check if it still supports all your needs as a freelancer. If not, consider getting a new laptop.

Whether old or new, your laptop needs to have the right specifications to carry your workload. For instance, you might need good RAM if you deal with heavy tasks such as graphic design or video editing.

You might also want to get a lightweight laptop, as it will help you tremendously if you move around a lot.

2. USB hub

Sometimes you need more ports than available, and your laptop doesn’t provide that much. This problem is common, especially when you have a lightweight and thin laptop. Manufacturers tend to leave out ports to keep the laptop’s thickness to a minimum. That’s why having a USB hub can be a good idea for you.

This compact device only needs to use one port to provide you with many. One USB hub can include USB A port, USB C port, micro-SD slot, HDMI port, LAN port, and many others. So, it’s quite helpful to always have it ready in your backpack. Every USB hub has a different number and kind of ports, so make sure to get one that suits your needs.

3. Power bank

As a freelancer, you are often expected to be available anytime and anywhere. Having your phone charged is important to keep your business running as you might need to communicate with customers and clients a lot. But what to do when low battery attacks in the most unexpected situations? A power bank could be your lifesaver.

Power banks are available in various capacities. Since phone batteries are generally up to 5,000mAh, you could choose one with 10,000 to 20,000mAh capacity as it would be enough to last for a few days. Also, don’t forget to pay attention to the quality—low-quality power banks might be cheaper, but they tend to break and don’t last long.

Look into ups power supply options. You may want to have a backup generator, or use some kind of renewable energy as a second option if the power fails. 

4. Portable Wi-Fi

Freelancing gigs can be done from anywhere. Hence, it heavily relies on a stable internet connection. You might love the idea of working from your favourite hipster café or a beautiful tropical beach. While all that is possible, we know the fact that not every place has a great internet connection.

Bringing portable Wi-Fi could be the solution for that. Instead of relying on the place’s Wi-Fi router or your mobile connection, portable Wi-Fi ensures that you can work smoothly. It might cost a bit high, but portable Wi-Fi is totally worth getting if you’re constantly on the move.

5. Wireless mouse

Navigation is better with a mouse than with your laptop’s trackpad. Therefore, a mouse becomes an essential part of your freelancing gears. Not just any mouse, but a wireless mouse would be the best fit. You wouldn’t want to deal with tangled wires in your backpack, right?

No matter what kind of freelancing job you do, having a mouse ready is just a convenience. It’s especially useful when you do creative work digitally. If you’re convinced to get a wireless mouse, the Logitech wireless mouse can be an excellent choice for your working needs.

6. External storage

You might do and store all your work on your laptop. However, in the most unexpected times, the device could face some problems and break down. To prevent your important data from vanishing, it’s good to have external storage ready just in case. It’s like preparing an umbrella, even on a sunny day.

You can either get a flash drive or an external hard drive. Flash drives are usually compact, and useful to store and transfer data from device to device. They also generally have smaller storage than external hard drives, which can completely substitute for your laptop’s internal storage.

7. Webcam

As a remote freelancer, you probably have to deal with online meetings. Hence, it’s important to present yourself well in front of your clients. One of the ways to do that is to get yourself a crystal-clear webcam for laptop. Yes, that built-in camera on your laptop often doesn’t suffice. Check if you’ve been appearing blurry the whole time, and if that’s the case, a high-quality webcam is a good solution.

Don’t worry about it taking up a lot of space in your bag. Additional webcams for laptops generally come in a small, portable size for you to carry anywhere. Simply clip it to the laptop screen and connect via a USB port. Voila, now your online meeting audience can see you clearly.

8. Universal adapter

When you go to a country with a different socket than yours, you wouldn’t be able to charge any of your electronic devices unless you bring a universal adapter. It functions to connect your charger with the available socket.

Keeping a universal adapter ready can also come in handy when you want to charge multiple devices at once. A universal adapter generally has several ports that you can use at the same time. Remember only to do this when you really need to since there’s a chance for an electric short circuit to happen.

9. Earphones

It’s basic common sense not to use loudspeakers in public. That’s why earphones are essential for your everyday freelancing life, especially if you work from public spaces like cafes. Simply connect them to your phone or laptop, and have your own little world separated from your surroundings.

There are many kinds of personal audio devices you can choose from. For simplicity, earphones are compact and hassle-free, especially wireless ones. On the other hand, headphones are a popular choice as well, yet they might be quite bulky to carry. So, get the device you need according to your preference and budget.

10. Backpack

Doing a freelance job could be less of a hurdle with the support of the gadgets previously mentioned above. Yet, carrying all this equipment will be a hassle if you don’t have a good quality backpack. Maybe you prefer to carry other types of bags like handbags or tote bags since backpacks could be out of your style. But really, nothing beats the support a good backpack provides.

A good backpack has a spacious room to store all your things inside, while not hurting your back when you carry them. It has good back support, with the right thickness of the straps, allowing you to use it for hours without hurting your shoulder. Backpacks generally have a lot of compartments specially made for different things, such as a laptop, books, water bottles, and many others. So, get yourself a comfortable and stylish backpack to complete your freelancing life.