How This Mom of 3 Makes Money On Upwork
Being successful on Upwork can seem tough.
Competition with hundreds of established freelances from around the world and sometimes less than decent rates are often cited as the most deterring factors against the freelancing platform.
But, while the social media is buzzing with a word (or many words) of caution, each year over $1 billion of work contracts are executed through Upwork and hundreds of freelancers make their living through the platform.
When we share our remote jobs opportunities, we always stay on the side of possibility and creativity.
We believe in seizing the opportunities and learning from others who do it well.
Instead of worrying about the competition on Upwork, we look for those who keep scoring frequent or lucrative contracts.
Instead of getting frustrated with a changing algorithm on Instagram, we are inspired by talented visual creators running high engagement accounts.
So when Heather joined our remote and travel community and shared how she successfully began freelancing and making money on Upwork, we couldn’t wait to get the inside scoop.
The opportunity is everywhere.
Here is how Heather seized it.
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Heather, tell us about how you began freelancing?
I started freelancing after my father became ill and needed around the clock care, necessitating my not working.
I have 3 children ages 20 months to 12 years and I decided to take my circumstances and carve out a new life.
The decision to start working from home took me MANY places! I didn’t fall into a common pitfall and join a lot of Direct Selling, MLM, companies.
I chose one, Younique, because I loved the make-up but knew it would not get me the income that I really needed since I just wasn’t super passionate about it.
This led me to a friend who worked with a travel agency and I decided to dip my toes into that industry, since I love to travel.
But travel is also commission only. That led me to freelancing.
I have used Freelancer.com, FlexJobs, VOT, and many others…and then I found Upwork. I’ve found several freelance projects on Upwork.com.
Two have turned into long term assignments.
It’s free to join and there are options for USA and worldwide.
What type of services do you offer on Upwork?
Within UpWork I have found several projects, short and long term.
I specialize in several things; data entry, project management, and general administration. Those three specialties have opened so many more doors to me!
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If you don’t mind us asking, how is the pay? How much do you charge?
Sometimes the pay is less than I would like but, as with any agency, you can’t just hope on and tell them your awesome and have them believe it.
You have to put in the time on some less than desirable projects. I feel very strongly about encouraging this lifestyle but also that others need to be realistic and enter it with open eyes.
I usually bid 16-20 USD for data entry and administrative task. That being said, I didn’t start at that rate. To build a reputation I had to take lower paying jobs here and there.
It’s hard to get regular clients that will pay well until they know what you can do, BUT once you have positive reviews and ratings you can bet that there will be high paying opportunities.
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What would be your advice for those wanting to start freelancing through Upwork?
1. Read the requirements before you bid – some require 100 hours worked on Upwork – and when a client requests that they won’t even see your proposal if you apply without that requirement.
2. ONLY apply for payment verified clients – the reason for this is that Upwork had a system in place to catch scammers – verifying their payment methods – it’s a huge sign that they are real people looking for help.
3. Build your reputation: Until you build your hours worked and good reviews you’ll not get the higher paying long term projects. You might stumble into one but it’s really important that you take a couple assignments that aren’t what your looking for to simply build yourself and reputation.
4. Keywords! Like stated above – read the posting because what you’re looking for may be hidden under administrative or data entry instead of web content.
5. Cover letter – get to the point and don’t be overly wordy. The client will have sometimes thousands to read so showcase your skills and introduce yourself in as few as words possible. Spell and grammar check are also important.
To connect with Heather, check out her profile on Upwork and facebook.
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