How to start a career with Upwork and be a freelancer

I know some people wonder why I left my career as a Freelancer with Upwork and why I am no longer interested in freelancing…

It is not the case!

I am actually still considering a career with freelancing in the future and I am not closing my doors to it, I guess it just a matter of time and the right opportunities especially that lawschool is still my priority at this point of time.

So the reason why I wrote this blog because I had friends asking me how to start a career in freelancing, and would like to know what are the pros and cons before they would decide to leave their office jobs.

So  I would like to share with you guys how I started and the tips that earned me some clients.

So what made me decide to be a freelancer?

I remember I just want to work at home and the pressure of working in BPO industry was taking it’s toll on my health especially that I was also a full-time lawstudent at that time, and I heard that it pays well.

So I did my research, Honestly I am very lucky enough that just after a week I earned some clients.

Although I also earned clients outside Upwork but I opted just to Blog about Upwork because this is the most popular and the largest freelancing platform.

I heard horror stories that some took weeks and months before they got  their first client. I guess Lord knew that I was desperate as I need to pay the bills and I can’t be jobless even for a day!

So what does Freelancing means?

To simplify

A freelancer or freelance worker is a term commonly used for a person who is self-employed and is not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term.

BUT that is not the case all the time! Some of my friends are working for their clients for along time, prolly over 5 years now.

Some of them are even earning a  whoooooooping 50K Philippines pesos per month!

Yes! You heard it right! 50k Philippine pesos!

Sounds crazy! But actually it’s not! You can earn that amount and not need to leave the country just to go overseas, it’s possible to earn that amount by just working infront of your PC while wearing your pajamas, in the comforts of your own home and bed.

So the photo above shows that I had two pc screens because I was working with 2 clients at that time. So I needed an extra PC. That’s a typical working day as a freelancer, as you can see in the photo, it was taken inside my room and my room light was actually dim.

So my freelancing career started with Elance.. I worked for a client who owns a company as his Recruiter Assistant and I report directly to a Project Manager based in the Philippines, we were tasked to recruit top talent for well funded start-ups or influential Silicon Valley companies.

Previously the most popular freelancing plaforms were Odesk and Elance, then eventually these two companies merged, Elance bought Odesk and that’s why Elance retained their name.

Then eventually Upwork bought Elance, up to this date Upwork is still the most popular and the most trusted freelancing platform.

Still confused? Let me simplify it

So Upwork is like a “market place”  for clients  who needs someone (a freelancer) to work for them.

So if you are a tech savvy and uses facebook all the time, if you noticed that Facebook just launched their own “marketplace” wherein sellers can post any product they like to sell online and can look for buyers.

So just like Upwork, it is still a “marketplace” wherein clients can hire freelancers, and in return Upwork takes out 10% of what you earn, unlike Facebook they don’t charge you anything for selling your product in the marketplace.

Anyway, if you are still confused and want to know more details about Upwork. I leave it to you as an assignment to check their website and get as much details that you need:

www.upwork.com

Anyway so lets start!

If you wish to start a career with it and don’t know how!

Please I am begging you to start creating a Portfolio or a Profile!

And of course you will have to Sign Up first! I know that the beginning is always the hardest but nothing would happen if you will not take the first step.

Then create a your profile or portfolio

Here’s mine:

So please keep these things in your mind:

1. Hourly Rate:

Please take note that Upwork takes out 10% fee from your payout. So in choosing an hourly rate you have to reconsider it.

I had mine set at $4.44 so that 44cents would already cover the 10 percent Upwork fees. Oops I am sorry Upwork had increased it to 20 percent

2. Sell yourself

You have to sell yourself in your portfolio, give an overview of your career and skills that you developed over the years, your expertise. If you had worked in the customer service industry and then worked in the sales and marketing then you have to write it down. Write down the companies that you worked with, your roles and responsibilities, plus what do you think are your contributions that made you an asset to the organisation. It could be that you helped the organisation improved their customer satisfactory rate, you had increased your company’s revenue, completed a project with minimal resources and the list goes on..

3. Keep on submitting proposals

But please be mindful, read what are the qualifications that the client is looking for, if you’re confident that you have those qualifications then hit “Submit Proposal”

When you submit a proposal try to personalise the message and start it by sending the client an overview of your skills and how you can help the client.

Submitting proposals to client is only limited, you can’t send hundreds of proposals all at the same time, once you join Upwork they would give you a certain number of “Connects” which translates that whenever you will submit a proposal to a client they would deduct it from your “Connects”

4. Prepare for a client interview

So after the client had check on the proposals that were submitted to them, If they think you are qualified they would set you UP for a client interview. This would usually happen via Skype

5. Once you are hired you need to set-up a payment method, so that your client can already deposit their payouts to your account.

You can choose to get it from Paypal by creating  a paypal account or you can open an account with UnionBank because you need to enroll for their Visa electronic card. Please check it with your nearest Unionbank branch what are the requirements they need in order for you to open an account with them.

I remember it was a headache last time when I went to Unionbank because the one who assisted me gave me so much troubles just for me to open an account with them, they asked me to come back with additional requirements.

I remember they asked me to give them a print-out copy of my contract with my clients, and other additional requirements.

Once your already have a bank account and your bank details with UnionBank then you can already put those information in Upwork, you just need to wait for a few days for the bank to verify your new account information and approve it.

You can also access cool features such as “Lifefime Billings with Each Client” that will allow you to check how much you earned per client.

Just to give you a sample, I worked for few months with a client at 4.44% hourly rate if we try to convert it in Philippine pesos I am paid 233.59 php per hour only for one client,

I worked for a client in his e-commerce business, and just for that project alone I earned $3,099.86 USD, if converted in Philippine pesos I earned  163, 331.62 Philippine pesos.

 

So thats it for now guys!

I have to admit I was earning well with my freelancing career especially that I was working with few clients not only with Upwork but of course, it was real hardwork too. I had to commit myself in finishing my tasks or else I might get a bad review from a client that would affect any future opportunities with Upwork.

 

Anyway on my next blog, I will write about the Pros and the Cons in freelancing, as what they say life is not all about rainbows and daffodils, and working as a freelancer is not an exception. I know for some, it’s stressing them out just to take that leap of faith to start their freelancing career and leave their office jobs, so I will be pointing out some Pro’s and Con’s of being a freelancer.

 

I would Love to write more but I have to doze off!

 

 

Things to reconsider before turning your hobby into a business

Hey guys! This is the continuation of my previous blog, in this Blog I will be sharing tips on How to turn your hobby into a business! Although there’s a proviso or “caveat” as what they say in lawschool:

“This is based on my personal experience”

So to give you a brief background..

I think I am an entrepreneur at heart, I didn’t have any formal education about business nor had undergone a special training.  So don’t worry about that! You don’t need any formal education, you only need to be creative and your determination to even do the dirty work (Yes for me! Literally because I personally pot my Succulents)

My interest in business most especially in selling started during highschool and for that I am very proud to let you know that I earned the title as “Miss Munchkin”.  This is not a title I earned because I join a pageant but because I got popular for selling munchkins at school..

So you have ACE biscuits to blame for that!

Anyway so that was just the first few products that I sold…

I had sold products such as clothes, food, bookstands, swimwear and the long list goes on

Fast Forward to this day… I own a small business

My hobby of taking care of Succulents turned into a profitable business, I am amazed that my idea of an Event giveaway received good feedbacks although up to this day I am still evolving, trying to stay innovative, creative and I don’ want to be complacent because I know that this is a free market (people can just copy my idea) so I have to be consistent in order for me to stay in the game.

Starting a business can be easy but in order for your business to thrive you have to excite your consumers and be consistent!

So here are my tips:

1. Do Something you Enjoy or Love!

I can’t stress enough the importance of doing the things that you love! You have to be PASSIONATE with what you do because the first few months can be very exhausting and you only have your self to rely on and your vision! You have to think about your short and long term goals.

If you are not passionate with what you do, it will be very hard for you to stay motivated and to push yourself forward!

2. Do your research

I know it is very exciting  just to think about turning your hobby into a business! But wait! Timing is everything being a hobbyist for a long time doesn’t mean that you are fully ready to launch your product in the market.

So it is best for you to research first, you have to know your competitors, the market and research what are the anticipated challenges that would come in your way! The last thing you would like to happen is to leave a bad impression to your first few customers because you haven’t done your research first and can’t answer their queries properly! So research and gather as much information as you can!

3. Marketing is the lifeblood of any business.

So you have done your research and you are confident in answering those queries but how will you get clients? No matter how great is your product but you don’t know how to market it, you will never earn any sales! So you have to research and check the demographics of your target consumers and from there create a marketing strategy!

4. Auditing

This is the SERIOUS part  of having a business and to any person who wants to take their business SERIOUSLY! That’s why business  is not for everyone because Passion alone won’t work!  Even if you are still a beginner this is very important for you to track your expenses, cash flow and your revenue.

Even in as much that I would love to sugarcoat that as long as you have the Passion you can start a business but it is not enough, you need to anticipate all the risks and the challenges involved!

5. EXECUTION

You have all these nice ideas, dreams and plans. When you checked yourself you think you are prepared.. but all the long periods of preparation and strategizing will produce no results if you DON’T EXECUTE!

So that’s all for now! I hope you would take that leap of faith! Do you have any business ideas on your mind? but don’t know how to start..

Please feel free to leave comments and I will be happy to give you some advices 🙂

A hobby that turned into a profitable business

My hobby of taking care of Succulents have turned into a profitable business and what’s great about it, is that I really enjoy what I am doing!

So how did I start? I really didn’t know anything about Succulents at all! I was entirely clueless and didn’t know that a plant like this actually exists!

I was just browsing thru my social media account and a photo of beautiful succulents caught my attention. So I ordered it online and thought it was a such cool plant! It looked so dreamy and lovely into my eyes! So my fondness with Succulents grew in just a short period of time.

These are my first batch of my babies (Succulents) I fell in love with them

Although they look so dreamy and nice, but they need the right way of care, this is not your ordinary plant. So it was sort of a challenge at first on how to let them thrive and keep them healthy….

So my collection grewww……… I think I became very obssessed with it that I can’t stop checking them out from time to time. I was not an expert & I don’t wish to claim that I am so it was frustrating at first because I wan’t them to be healthy and whenever I noticed that something is weird with my babies, it freaks me out!

I had my casualties too because of my ignorance! Just to name a few

 

 OVERWATERING

BURNT ROOTS due to wrong use of FERTILIZER!

  WRONG USE OF POTTING SOIL

 USING POTS WITHOUT DRAINAGE HOLES

 

Glad that with my thorough and continuous research I was able to learn from my mistakes and had improve on how to take care of my Succulents, my succulents have survived, thrived and some even gave me babies…

And what was once a hobby turned into a profitable business…

ORDERS! Keep it coming pleaseee…….

 Some of the batch that I had already delivered to their new homes!

To address the need of supplying Succulents that’s the point when I decided to turn this hobby into a business, although it’s not always a walk in the park but it’s very fulfilling and rewarding whenever a customer compliments me about how happy they are with their new babies!

And to address the need to supply Succulents in any events could be a party, wedding, recognition, conference, baptism or debut and to also unleash my creativity…

 

That’s why we created…

  

 

WE CREATED DESIGNS FOR

Thank you to all my clients and those people who supported my hobby and this business.. I am always committed in providing everyone the best service and designs that we can offer!

So what is your take with my story?

Do you have a hobby that you think that you can turn into a business? So what are you waiting for? Life is too short not to do the things that we enjoy and also earn at the same time.

 

Stay tuned to my next blog…

I will be sharing my insights on how to turn your hobby into a business, a more detailed tips and steps you need to consider before starting your own business.

Please follow our page and like us on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/CarinosaSucculents/

Who is Ms Financial Planning Advocate? and what does she really do?

 

Welcome to my blog! I am very delighted that you took the time to check my blog!

I am not sure if what are your reasons why you are reading my blog, but perhaps this is a good start that I can continue to share my insights about  life in general, practicality of life, wisdom, business ideas and most important of all be your Miss Financial Planning Advocate..

I am Miss Financial Planning Advocate, I was once your typical happy go lucky girl, I partied (a lot!), I go out and I was once a believer of ” You only live once” slogan or in short “YOLO”

I was YOLOiing for quite sometime, I was a carefree soul and firm believer of what they say “Self-Indulgence at It’s Finest”

So I spent most of my time, having fun, partying, travelling, shopping and hoarding “Make-UPs”  I took  great pride of HOARDING make-ups!!so what does hoarding really means? It means that as soon as I step inside the mall I couldn’t stop the urge of buying new make-ups! Even if I had enough at home, I always feel that I need to buy all shades or else I would feel incomplete or as soon as I see a post online “promoting or selling” make-ups I couldn’t resist ordering!

Anyway, the meme below can explain how much I love make-up!

So what happened? What compelled me turn myself  from being a happy-go-lucky girl to becoming Ms. Financial Advocate Planning..

So Simple!

Even If I don’t want to, or we don’t want to.. Life has its own way of making you realize that we need to act like an adult! even if we don’t feel like it.

So this is how my journey started from being a young, care free, happy go lucky to ADULTING!

So I have to be a better version of an ADULT in each waking day of my life!

So am I doing better with Adulting now? I guess so…

I know you like to find out, how…

So….

Then stay tuned to my next blog! 🙂