It's taken me years to figure out which ones are the best tech tools to use, how to connect them, and why to use them - here are some of the most important parts of freelance productivity system, and WHEN in your freelance journey you should start using them: (note: these are pieces of OUR ACTUAL TECH STACK. Some links are affiliate links that help support the community - others I've included just because they're awesome and THEY'LL HELP YOU MAKE MONEY even if we make $0 promoting them!) WHEN YOU WIN PROJECT #1: Email Yourname@gmail.com is fine to start, but the moment you win your first job, you're a business - so you better be getting your own domain and setting up email. 1A. Domain For getting your domain & configuring it, I suggest Cloudflare. There are tons of places to get a domain online, but Cloudflare offers wholesale pricing without a markup. It's cheap, and it's awesome. Cloudflare doesn't add markups because they want you to use their other premium services as you grow - you won't need those yet. This gets you your "yourbusiness.com" where you can build your website eventually - next you get your "yourname@email.com" email address. 1B. Gmail Gmail is super-easy to use, the most "connected" for making your work streamlined, and it's SECURE... but the MOST important thing about Gmail in my opinion is that it is EASY TO SET UP. I've tried setting up email on other services, and it is a DISASTER. For professional email (and the rest of the Google Workspace stack, including GOOGLE CALENDAR + GOOGLE DRIVE) it's $6/month in USA. Showing that you're a PROFESSIONAL to clients for $6 / month - and having cloud storage and having your fully-integrated calendar included? WORTH IT. WHEN YOU WIN PROJECT #2: Calendar Booking This story has happened to basically everyone: "I sent in a proposal, and the potential client responded overnight asking when we could do a meeting. But when I sent them messages in the morning, I didn't hear back. I sent a few follow-ups over the next two days to organize a meeting, but still no response. I sent a last follow-up the next week, and they told me they already went with someone else. 😭