Hiring freelancers as an agency

hannatamsalu · ‎03-23-2019

Hello Upwork gurus.

I have worked on Upwork for over 3 years now and it has been very successful. I have told my designer/illustrator/artist friends about it and they registered. However despite their talent they were not able to land any jobs due to their poor English skills. As a Top Rated Freelancer I participated in the Starting Your Agency webinar and thought it could be a good way to cooperate with my friends as an agency. I paid the fee and registered the agency. However now I am stuck as I am not able to contact them through Upwork.

Can I only do it after I win a project bid? I do not want to bid on the projects before I talk to my friends.
I went to Commuity forums and read posts about agencies being 'farmers', 'bottom feeders' etc, also there were mentions that contacting freelancers without an actual project is fraudulent and might lead to a dismissal... I certainly do not want that.

Is there any legal way to represent my friends? Or better close the agency and let them fight their own fights?

Thank you all in advance

petra_r · ‎03-23-2019

Hanna wrote:
I have told my designer/illustrator/artist friends about it and they registered. However now I am stuck as I am not able to contact them through Upwork.

Surely you know how to contact your friends? Just call them or email them and ask them for their details so you can add them to the agency (provided their profiles have been accepted)

As an agency you do not "hire" freelancers, clients hire freelancers through the agency.

Hanna wrote:

Can I only do it after I win a project bid?

Obviously not. An agency can not win a project. If you have an agency and a client awards a project, that project is awarded to a freelancer within the agency through the agency. Obviously that can not happen before that freelancer is a member of the agency.

Hanna wrote:
Or better close the agency and let them fight their own fights?

What is your actual purpose of having an agency?

hannatamsalu · ‎03-26-2019

Thank you Petra for your quick response.
I contacted my friends and was able to add them. I simply thought since I am on Upwork and they are on Upwork we do not need any other means of communication (like phone or email). Now they are members of a team but I am still not able message them. Did I just not find the button? Or do we still communicate via other means?

As to the purpose of having an agency, I do get more proposals that I physically can handle and at the same time I know several talented people who could not make itonUpwork due to their language skills. I though that having an agency would help me break the glass ceiling and at the same time will help talented people find their clients through Upwork.
Thanks again
Hanna