I have been using Upwork for about two years and I wanted to explain how Upwork works. Also, I wanted to talk about what Upwork is for people who have never heard of it before. Basically, it is a service that allows you as a freelance to apply for remote jobs. These jobs can be anything from writing to social media management, to programing. If there is something that takes time to do on a computer there is someone looking to pay you to do it for them. At the end of this article if you are looking for more side hustles check out our list of blog posts HERE.
What is Upwork
Upwork is a website with the goal of matching freelancers to people who need their services. The site offers an online platform for freelancers to find work, as well as access resources and tutorials on how to improve their skillset. It also allows employers to post jobs they are not able to find qualified candidates for through traditional means.
Upwork’s mission statement is “to empower people around the world with economic opportunity.” They believe that people should be able to pursue their passions by providing them with opportunities that will allow them financial security.
The company was founded in 1999 by Elance-oDesk, Inc., which merged into Upwork in 2015. As of March 2018, there were over 20 million registered users on the site from all over the world. [1] [2]
The company is based in Mountain View, California and has been dubbed “Hire-oDesk” or simply “ODesk.”
Upwork offers both a freelancer and employer service. Each requires a subscription to use. If you are an employer, you can hire without a membership but payment will be delayed until after the work is completed. If you are a freelancer you can accept jobs without paying for membership however these jobs will not show up on your public profile. The freelancer account type costs $10 per month while the employer account type comes with multiple price options depending on how many employers want access to the platform at once.
Is Upwork legit
Before you type your information into a website you have never heard of it is good to validate if it is legitimate. So, I will tell you in no uncertain terms yes Upwork is legit. If you are a freelancer looking to make money on the side or if you are looking to free up your time by contracting out work, Upwork is for you. It’s a very simple process once you sign up and learn how Upwork works. Type in a term in the search bar and the site will show you jobs posted around that keyword. For example, if you type in “blog” you will see all the jobs for people looking to hire blog writers. If you want to filter down the work, it is showing you there are many filter options to help you out. One that I recommend is payment verified. This means the person looking to hire you has established a payment source for the money and it is available to pay you for your work.
How do I Start Work on Upwork
Upwork makes it very easy to get started. Once you sign up and create an account there a checklist called “Getting Started Checklist” This checklist will walk you through setting up your profile which will list all of your skills and certifications. In the end this will be your Upwork resume.
When you are applying for Freelance work this resume along with your ratings and reviews will be the place people decide if you are worth hiring. So make sure you put forth the time to get this profile set up and 100% complete prior to applying for work. If not you will be wasting your connections.
Is Upwork good for beginners
The good thing about the platform is it is great for beginners and it’s easy to understand how Upwork works. Once you start looking around you will see people post jobs for all skill levels. Expert to beginner, all levels are in demand. It took me about 3 weeks to find my first job on Upwork, but I had no idea what I was doing. I learned that you need three things to find work on Upwork and I will list them in the next section.
How do beginners get work on Upwork
Step one is you need to complete your profile 100%. Make sure you put as much details as you can. This will be your billboard to separate yourself from the other thousand people looking for freelance work. Make sure you take your time here and put detailed information related to the work you are trying to get. Don’t put a ton of information on how great you are at art and then search only for writing jobs.
Step two is to take the time to write an individualized proposal when you apply for work. When people are hiring, they can quickly see who has a generic proposal from the ones who are targeted to their job. They are looking for you to cover their request. If you put, I will do the work for ____ amount, it doesn’t make them feel to sure that you will cover all the request they made.
Step three is you need a review, or you won’t get work. There are so many people putting in for the same jobs as you its very hard to win one if you profile has no social proof. There are a few ways I have seen people get this first review. Some are more legitimate than others. Your goal is to get a high rating and keep it high. Once you have achieved these three steps and understand how Upwork works you will be able to create a new stream of income for your side hustle.
How Can I get work without any Ratings on Upwork
When you apply for work realize that you have no rating on your profile so you will have to stand out to get the job. The way I do this is find easy work that you can do in a few hours. Then I apply for them with the lowest price Upwork will let me, which is $5.00. In the proposal tell the person you are offering to do the work at the lowest price Upwork will allow. You have the skills to perform the work they require (go into details on what you will be doing based on their job offer). Be open with them that right now you need a good review more than the full price for the job. After a short time, you will land one or more jobs. Once complete you will have the social proof you need to make a good side hustle. Breaking through the pile of people applying for these jobs is a major key to how Upwork works.
When I did this exact step at the end of the job I received a tip from the employer. They felt I did such a good job I deserved the money and the rating. They also hired me for more work after this job was complete. I am not saying this will happen to you but if you do the work they required you will likely get the rating you need.
How do you make money on Upwork?
It’s a very simple process to make money on Upwork. You search through the available jobs and apply. To apply it cost you connects which can be purchased for a low price. The key here is that you never want to promise more than you can deliver. Always under promise and over perform the work. Once you receive the job and complete the work, there is a section to say work complete. After that is clicked the employer has a week to release the money to you. For 99% of the work I have done, payment was within 24 hours. If you are being paid by milestones, then the client has the opportunity to create a new milestone for you or close out the work. Be careful if the client wants to talk about money outside of Upwork. I usually try to keep my clients work offers and payments in Upwork until we at least get through one job. After that if you trust them to pay you feel free to work outside of the system to try and save a few bucks on the fees. If you rather stay safe and know you are getting paid then pay the small fees Upwork charges and stay in the system for all future work with the clients.
Can you actually make money on Upwork
Although it is not a get rich quick scheme, you can actually make money on Upwork. The amount you will make depends on your own skill set and what you are willing to work on. Personally, I have done social media management, logos, data gathering, website updates, and other random online types of work. It doesn’t take long to learn how Upwork works so you can be making money fast.
There is a lot of competition on Upwork so you will need to put in a fair amount of applications. In general, I have found that if I apply for jobs daily I will end up gaining a new client every week or so. This is with me being very selective over the type of work I am doing. If on the other hand I open up and apply for more random types of busy work I have gotten multiple clients per week.
What I found with Upwork is that a large number of my new clients go from a one time gigs to long term gigs. Currently, I have 5 clients which I gained as a one month social media management job, and now have had for over a year each. I have also learned that when I want the extra work I have been able to get a full plate of clients. Looking at the past twelve months of withdrawals it shows that I receive a monthly deposit from Upwork for between 500 and 1,000. This is not including the clients who have changed to more long term contracts.
Upwork Fees
Upwork’s fees are on a sliding scale. This scale is a very important part of how Upwork works. For the first $500 you bill a client you will pay a 20% fee or $100. This may seem high but what would it have cost you to find that same client through google ads or some other form of marketing trying to find clients? When you are between $500.01 and $10,000 you will be charged 10%. Once you get past $10,000 the fee drops to 5%. I always tell people to remember that without this system you wouldn’t have made any money and would not have had the client. So, understand the fees and ensure that you set up your price point so that you make the amount per hour you are going for and still pay the fee.
Is it Worth Working on Upwork
There are many benefits to working on Upwork. The most obvious is the flexibility of your schedule, which allows you to work when you have the most energy and need the money. You can also choose what type of project or client you want to work with, which provides more freedom in your career path. This site also has a quality control system that weeds out bad clients, so it’s less likely that you’ll get stuck taking jobs from people who don’t pay well or offer poor working conditions. Finally, there are many skilled professionals willing to do freelance work on this site for lower rates than they would charge an employer due to overhead costs being eliminated. So in general it is well worth working on Upwork if you are looking for freelance work. It also does not take very long to learn how Upwork works and to start making money.
Conclusion
If you are just stepping into the freelance world or trying to increase clients Upwork is a good place to start. If you set up a 100% complete profile listing all of our skills and proficiencies, then start applying for every job you can handle. You will find that there is enough work out there to fill your spare time.
You can use Upwork to create an agency as well. If you have a few freelancers that you work with you can form a team. In the agency, you all can apply for work together and share the profits. It is a great tool to use when you are trying to get your own team off the ground and running.
The Fees on Upwork sometimes feel steep but considering that they provided the clients and helped to match you up it isn’t that bad. Also as you work longer and for more money with each client the fees start to go down.
I hope this post has helped you understand how Upwork works and if you have any questions please leave them below and I will update the post. I am sure someone else has the same question.
