Freelancer

[8ff02bfa]

Hello my fellow freelancers I just wanted to introduce myself I am very excited to start a career out of freelancing! Is there any advice anyone can give me to help me get started with freelancing this is my first time. I was referred by Angel Castillo I did a free webinar with him on Thursday the 29th of December. I took notes during the webinar so I chose Customer Support due to me having most of my experience in life in Customer Services. So again I am just looking for any advice anyone can give me to get me started!

[the-right-writer]

Brooke, You need to start at the beginning. Read and follow the Terms of Service and then read this from Wes. 

Then you need to read, listen to, watch, and pay attention to everything Upwork has on how to be a freelancer and stay safe. The biggest mistake people make is going outside of Upwork before a contract is in place. You can't talk/message/email/ buy or sell/exchange money/etc. before an Upwork contract is in place. Learn about fixed price and hourly tracked hours.

New freelancers are a target for the scammers. Your profile is non-existent, and needs a lot of work. You have to look professional and like you are savvy, even if you are not. The scammers are always trying new scams, so you must protect yourself because no one, including Upwork, will do it for you.

Read: this. Then this.

More https://community.upwork.com/t5/Learning-Paths/ct-p/LearningPaths

You can get coaching https://community.upwork.com/t5/Learning-Paths/ct-p/LearningPaths

and a ton of courses https://community.upwork.com/t5/Courses/tkb-p/Courses

After you have gone through every course, you can talk with a coach, and there is even more information. I don't expect you to read and focus on every single word, but knowledge is power. Power to direct your self, your career, and your future online. If you don't start out with a solid foundation and follow the rules, you will be scammed and likely never find a real job.

It's simple: follow the rules, work your tail off, have an excellent profile and portfolio, send excellent proposals, and be prepared to spend a lot of connects and send a lot of proposals before getting hired. Freelancing is not easy, but many freelancers are successful. Most freelancers are not and never land a job. However, most of the ones who fail, do not put much into it and falsely believe places like Upwork bring instant money.