Setting up a Consultation.

[fehimcerik]

Hello,

Upwork suggest me to set up a consultation in my profile which I want to do but I have an issue at the first step of it. 

It requires selecting at least 1 area of expertise.However I could not find a way to enter manually while the premade ones not suiting my expertise.I am adding a screenshot to clarify. 

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Fehim

[AndreaG]

Hi Fehim, 

Please select the one that most resembles your expertise. You'll be able to personalize further with the custom tags and the title and description of your Consultation.

[fehimcerik]

Thank you for your reply Andrea.

I was thinking similar but I am not looking for a %100 match. These are not covering even %10 of what I am going to give consultation about. 

Do you still suggest me to choose a random one and move on? Do you think it affects negatively for clients to find my consultation service?

Thank you again

Fehim

[innov8develop]

I too would like to be able to set up the consultation service but have also found that there is no mandatory category that covers the services that I offer, more specifically Business Services, Human Resources, Training/coaching, and Genealogy Research. To select another category (not that there is one available that is similar) would amount to misrepresentation to clients.

I am sure that there are clients who would like to be able to have a consultation on these topic areas, are you going to add further categories, and if so please include Business Services and Research.

Regards

Angela

[MichaelJ]

Hi Angela,

Thank you for your message. Consultations are restricted to certain categories currently, but we expect this to expand over time. I will share your specific request with the appropriate team.

[53fdf837]

Hi Fehim,

Consultations can help you meet more clients, develop more powerful relationships, and build your reputation as a trusted advisor. Setting them up on Upwork lets you set your rate and availability, request information from clients, and book meetings all in one convenient location. 

You can read about offering consultations in project catalog here.

[fehimcerik]

Thank you for the response Elonah,

[bigc]

I'm running into the same issue. I've visited the consultation page multiple times waiting for something relevant to be added to the standard Areas of Expertise list, and nothing comes close to the skills I offer. I haven't selected one yet because anything I'd select would be completely false in regards to my expertise. Seems strange that with the amount of creatives on this platform, there are no immediate options for branding, art direction, or anything I'd consider creative design-related. Some immediate suggestions I'd offer for additions to the list would be:

Branding
Creative Direction/Development
Creative Project Planning
Product Development
Packaging Design/Sourcing/Production
Apparel Design/Sourcing/Production
Print Design/Production
Vendor/Manufacturer Sourcing

I often spend anywhere between 1 to 2 hours during client on-boarding processes discussing a combination of these subjects, and have had potential clients ask "do I owe you anything for this consultation?" Definitely many missed opportunities here...