My experience on freelance on Upwork
I first encountered Upwork (then oDesk) in 2011, when my brother sent a link to them on Skype. I was just starting to work on the Russian stock exchanges, and I thought - why not try it on foreign ones too. But then it all ended in nothing. The results were weak, and, disappointed in freelancing as such, I gave up.
I returned to Upwork only two years later, when I learned that there are those who are seriously involved in freelancing and live well on this. This time I decided to focus only on foreign customers, since, according to the first experience, their budgets were larger, and they also valued their own time and my time. So I ended up back at Upwork.
Where I am now
Since then, he has spent more than a hundred negotiations on Upwork, has collaborated with many customers. Now I can easily sell my services for $ 45 - $ 50 / hour. Last time customer searches took less than a week. Communicated with three customers at the same time. Two new ones who came to me themselves, and one client with whom we had once collaborated.
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Starting point at the beginning of the journey
What is now is very different from what it was when I first started working on Upwork. Initially, I had to work in conditions where potential clients, if they made contact, ended up with the same words “we found another performer”. I had an empty portfolio, great experience as a software developer and little experience in web development. And since I wanted to focus on web development, there was essentially nothing to show potential customers. I also didn’t have conversational English experience. I could read and write more or less in English, but not talk.
First customers
When there is no reputation on the stock exchange, the first thing that comes to mind is to get some positive feedback to begin with. For this, small fixed-payment tasks are best suited. What I started with. It turned out to be quite simple. I wrote letters to several clients who needed to solve small problems in the region of 5-10 dollars, and received two tasks. As I later understood, only developers from India and Pakistan claim for such tasks, and customers already have strong beliefs about the low quality of their work. Therefore, when someone else appears among them, he automatically attracts attention to himself. In the end, I completed those tasks and received the first positive feedback.
Search for the first hourly order
There are no problems with finding small orders for a fixed payment, but to live on such orders is to harm health. Of course, this is the simplest way to get positive feedback from customers when there is no reputation on the exchange. However, for serious results, you need to look for long-term hourly contracts.
My search for the first hourly order looked like this:
The low responsiveness of the letters and the lack of progress were already rather annoying. It was necessary to change something. I could be confident in my abilities to perform the task at the highest level, but if you look at yourself from a client’s point of view, then there is not a single evidence of these great abilities. What can be offered to the client so that he still gave a chance? Let me try to ask in letters to send me a small test task for an hour. On the one hand, this will allow the client to verify for free my ability to cope with this. On the other hand, it does not oblige the client to anything. Tactical technique worked perfectly. A few such letters sent me a test task. I fulfilled it, and on the same day I received the first hourly contract for Upwork.
English communication
It so happened that for all the time I did not have to communicate within the framework of freelancing in English (I mean voice communication). I even got the impression that this is a paradise for the deaf and dumb. All the discussion of the problems I have by correspondence. In teamwork, participants discuss everything on Skype - hippchat. Now my spoken English has become much better, I can hold a discussion with my voice, but all the same, when I write to the client out of habit, that I prefer correspondence, this does not cause him any confusion. In addition, it is very convenient when, following the results of negotiations, there is a history of discussion of the project, tasks and other issues. If I or the client forget something that was agreed before, a search through the history of correspondence helps out.
Time Zones
I have been living in Southeast Asia for a long time, so I work seamlessly with clients from Australia and Europe. With Australia, the difference in time zones is quite small, and I communicate with European customers in the afternoon when they have morning. Problems arise only with customers residing in the United States. It is very difficult to work with them when the time difference is twelve hours.
Side projects
In order to maintain my professional growth, I always learn something new. But I cannot get to thoroughly study the theory without immediately applying it to practice. Therefore, from time to time I take breaks between clients to create experimental side projects. With the help of such projects, I manage to learn something new and improve my portfolio. I find the idea of ​​a product that would be interesting, depended on something that I had not yet encountered, and would have been useful to others. So I have a natural need to immerse myself in theory to solve the problem. During this time I have made several popular open source applications and libraries. Clients like the results of experiments - this has a positive effect on the decision to cooperate with me. Once, they even sent me an offer to drop my freelancing in the mail and move to Facebook headquarters in California.
Niche search
When I started working, I was engaged in everything that a web developer could do. He made websites, applications in a variety of languages, on any technology. The man-orchestra, who promised to solve any problem, just let me know. When I had experience in various aspects of web development, I was able to get to know myself better, to understand what I like to do the most. As a result, I began to narrow the focus, focusing on what I like to do, and exclude what I like less. A narrower specialization began to attract customers in my profile. So I began to receive the most interesting projects for myself.
If I started working on freelancing right from the start, would I immediately focus on something? No, I did not. I would also repeat such a transition from broad to narrow. Otherwise, I would not have been able to find my niche, and I would have to do now not my business, without having any growth.
Customer Growing Up
In these more than two years of freelancing on Upwork, I managed to build wonderful relationships with many clients from different parts of the world. Many have become regular customers, who from time to time handle new projects. This network of contacts with clients, which I was able to increase during this time, allows me to no longer worry about the fact that overnight I can remain without orders. Recently I took a short break at Upwork, and upon my return I sent a short message to my former clients that I was back in business. During the first day I was sent several answers with suggestions.
To summarize, I want to appeal to anyone who thinks about working on a foreign exchange, but is afraid of something or doubts - do not be afraid and have no doubt! I really hope that this article will help you decide to take the first steps on Upwork, find your niche and walk confidently towards success.
I returned to Upwork only two years later, when I learned that there are those who are seriously involved in freelancing and live well on this. This time I decided to focus only on foreign customers, since, according to the first experience, their budgets were larger, and they also valued their own time and my time. So I ended up back at Upwork.
Where I am now
Since then, he has spent more than a hundred negotiations on Upwork, has collaborated with many customers. Now I can easily sell my services for $ 45 - $ 50 / hour. Last time customer searches took less than a week. Communicated with three customers at the same time. Two new ones who came to me themselves, and one client with whom we had once collaborated.
')
Starting point at the beginning of the journey
What is now is very different from what it was when I first started working on Upwork. Initially, I had to work in conditions where potential clients, if they made contact, ended up with the same words “we found another performer”. I had an empty portfolio, great experience as a software developer and little experience in web development. And since I wanted to focus on web development, there was essentially nothing to show potential customers. I also didn’t have conversational English experience. I could read and write more or less in English, but not talk.
First customers
When there is no reputation on the stock exchange, the first thing that comes to mind is to get some positive feedback to begin with. For this, small fixed-payment tasks are best suited. What I started with. It turned out to be quite simple. I wrote letters to several clients who needed to solve small problems in the region of 5-10 dollars, and received two tasks. As I later understood, only developers from India and Pakistan claim for such tasks, and customers already have strong beliefs about the low quality of their work. Therefore, when someone else appears among them, he automatically attracts attention to himself. In the end, I completed those tasks and received the first positive feedback.
Search for the first hourly order
There are no problems with finding small orders for a fixed payment, but to live on such orders is to harm health. Of course, this is the simplest way to get positive feedback from customers when there is no reputation on the exchange. However, for serious results, you need to look for long-term hourly contracts.
My search for the first hourly order looked like this:
- monotonous viewing of tasks filtered by keywords;
- sending letters to those customers with whose tasks I was sure to cope;
- then either silence or reply-letter- “thanks, we chose another performer”.
The low responsiveness of the letters and the lack of progress were already rather annoying. It was necessary to change something. I could be confident in my abilities to perform the task at the highest level, but if you look at yourself from a client’s point of view, then there is not a single evidence of these great abilities. What can be offered to the client so that he still gave a chance? Let me try to ask in letters to send me a small test task for an hour. On the one hand, this will allow the client to verify for free my ability to cope with this. On the other hand, it does not oblige the client to anything. Tactical technique worked perfectly. A few such letters sent me a test task. I fulfilled it, and on the same day I received the first hourly contract for Upwork.
English communication
It so happened that for all the time I did not have to communicate within the framework of freelancing in English (I mean voice communication). I even got the impression that this is a paradise for the deaf and dumb. All the discussion of the problems I have by correspondence. In teamwork, participants discuss everything on Skype - hippchat. Now my spoken English has become much better, I can hold a discussion with my voice, but all the same, when I write to the client out of habit, that I prefer correspondence, this does not cause him any confusion. In addition, it is very convenient when, following the results of negotiations, there is a history of discussion of the project, tasks and other issues. If I or the client forget something that was agreed before, a search through the history of correspondence helps out.
Time Zones
I have been living in Southeast Asia for a long time, so I work seamlessly with clients from Australia and Europe. With Australia, the difference in time zones is quite small, and I communicate with European customers in the afternoon when they have morning. Problems arise only with customers residing in the United States. It is very difficult to work with them when the time difference is twelve hours.
Side projects
In order to maintain my professional growth, I always learn something new. But I cannot get to thoroughly study the theory without immediately applying it to practice. Therefore, from time to time I take breaks between clients to create experimental side projects. With the help of such projects, I manage to learn something new and improve my portfolio. I find the idea of ​​a product that would be interesting, depended on something that I had not yet encountered, and would have been useful to others. So I have a natural need to immerse myself in theory to solve the problem. During this time I have made several popular open source applications and libraries. Clients like the results of experiments - this has a positive effect on the decision to cooperate with me. Once, they even sent me an offer to drop my freelancing in the mail and move to Facebook headquarters in California.
Niche search
When I started working, I was engaged in everything that a web developer could do. He made websites, applications in a variety of languages, on any technology. The man-orchestra, who promised to solve any problem, just let me know. When I had experience in various aspects of web development, I was able to get to know myself better, to understand what I like to do the most. As a result, I began to narrow the focus, focusing on what I like to do, and exclude what I like less. A narrower specialization began to attract customers in my profile. So I began to receive the most interesting projects for myself.
If I started working on freelancing right from the start, would I immediately focus on something? No, I did not. I would also repeat such a transition from broad to narrow. Otherwise, I would not have been able to find my niche, and I would have to do now not my business, without having any growth.
Customer Growing Up
In these more than two years of freelancing on Upwork, I managed to build wonderful relationships with many clients from different parts of the world. Many have become regular customers, who from time to time handle new projects. This network of contacts with clients, which I was able to increase during this time, allows me to no longer worry about the fact that overnight I can remain without orders. Recently I took a short break at Upwork, and upon my return I sent a short message to my former clients that I was back in business. During the first day I was sent several answers with suggestions.
To summarize, I want to appeal to anyone who thinks about working on a foreign exchange, but is afraid of something or doubts - do not be afraid and have no doubt! I really hope that this article will help you decide to take the first steps on Upwork, find your niche and walk confidently towards success.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/294296/
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