The freelancer career and the incredible growth opportunities attached to it only became a reality thanks to technology. Prior to that, traditional jobs tethered writers, developers, and graphic designers to physical company offices. Thanks to the Internet and digital working environment, a freelancer is free to work anywhere at any time.
The tools of trade already include things like a laptop, mobile device, and, of course, a router and WiFi. However, cloud storage is a must. Not sure? Here are five reasons why you should use cloud storage as a freelancer.
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Your client asks for changes but you’re out of the office.
It never seems to fail. You’ve been sitting in front of your laptop all day without a peep from a client. Then, you decide to hit the gym, run those errands, or head to an appointment. Soon after jumping in the car and heading down the road, you hear the familiar ping on your phone that tells you a client has just reached out. Of course!
When you reach your destination, the client message reads that they need a quick change as soon as possible or right now. Sound familiar?
Rather than have instant panic or dread set in that tells you to turn the car around, cloud storage comes to the rescue. That’s because you can tap into those files from your cloud storage app, open the client file, and make the requested change all from your smartphone in a matter of minutes. You’ve saved yourself the drive back to the office or the need to put a pause on the client’s request. That means happy clients and relieved freelancers who can move on to their workout, errands, or appointment.
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Your laptop has crashed and burned.
Your tech equipment is much like your vehicle: it’s great while it works but useless when it breaks. It’s an expensive nightmare that immediately stops your productivity in its tracks. All it takes is a virus or its limited lifespan to kill that beloved laptop that contains all your work. While you can use an external backup device, the same problems can happen to it.
Instead, using cloud storage allows you to backup all those important files in a secure way where you don’t have to worry about ever losing them if equipment fails. Your life’s work will always be there when you need it.
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You are running out of room for all those files and folders.
The longer you freelance, the more files, and folders you will accumulate. While this is a good thing, it’s also challenging when your computer starts to lag when you’re close to using up its memory. Sure, there are memory expansion tools, but that doesn’t solve the increasing volume you’ll see in the coming months and years. This is especially challenging when you have a seemingly endless number of visual and video files that suck up even more space.
On the other hand, cloud storage doesn’t put limits on your freelance production. It gives you all the space you’ll ever need to scale up your freelance business and never leave you with the dilemma of what files you should delete to make room for others.
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There is a natural disaster and you have no office or power.
One of the best things about freelancing is the ability to live anywhere in the world. No matter how idyllic some spots may be, there is bound to be some type of natural hazard or potential for danger. It could be brushfires, tornados, earthquakes, or hurricanes just to name a few. The result could mean potential downtime due to the loss of power as well as damage to your home office and equipment.
Cloud storage offers a way to minimize that downtime. You can locate a co-working space or nearby library that offers access to computers and laptops. Then, you can access your cloud storage, email, and other accounts for work-related tasks, creating a temporary company address until you can return to your regular working environment. This way, you can maintain workflow, keep clients happy, and make money even in the midst of recovery from a natural disaster.
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You never work in the same place or on the same device.
As a freelancer, you are in an on-demand business for your clients, working on-demand when they request you. Therefore, your freelance business operates on the same model. You most likely operate from anywhere, switching between available devices — a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, and/or smartphone. What you use depends on whether you are home, traveling, or in a different location.
In the past, moving between locations or devices meant printing hard copies, carrying files, and emailing yourself attachments so you could keep working on assignments. This meant multiple files plus confusion because you lost track of the most current document.
Instead, storing everything in the cloud lightens the load in many ways. You carry far fewer things with you. Also, you lighten the load on your mind about which version and what files to take. Cloud storage removes that baggage and is always ready with the most current files.
Your Cloud Storage Experiences
Have you used cloud storage in your freelance business? If so, please share how it has helped.
“This is a sponsored post for Dropbox. All opinions are my own. Dropbox is not affiliated with nor endorses any other products or services mentioned.”
