A freelancer's ultimate guide to Upwork: How to start your own business, work from anywhere in the world, and make seven figures
Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins
- Upwork is a marketplace that connects freelancers with clients looking to hire contractors.
- The platform attracts clientele from all sectors and levels, from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
Upwork is a platform where freelancers can find work and connect with potential clients, from a startup in need of a pitch deck to a Fortune 500 company outsourcing its marketing.
Throughout the pandemic, more Americans have quit their jobs to become their own bosses. This rise in solopreneurs and freelancers is, in part, due to a newfound ease and access to entrepreneurship — in many cases, all you need to start a business is a website and an internet connection.
Freelancers on Upwork set up a profile and search for job postings based on their expertise. Then they send proposals for the gigs they want. If they land the job, they complete it in the time they agreed upon with the client, and get paid for their services. Upwork charges a service fee of between 5% and 20% for each payment.
Usually, freelancers start their prices lower than the market rate to attract their first clients. Once they have completed enough gigs and earned good reviews, they can slowly increase their rates over time.
Insider spoke to four freelancers who have mastered Upwork to build seven-figure businesses. They gave their tips for getting started, establishing a loyal clientele, and working with major companies like Coca-Cola and Microsoft.
Courtney Allen earned $1.3 million on Upwork designing presentations for Fortune 500 companies
Courtney Allen is a freelance copywriter and presentation designer based in Seoul, South Korea. She previously worked at Cisco Systems as a presentation designer for senior executives and started freelancing in 2016 after a failed business attempt left her with $25,000 in credit-card debt.
Allen leveraged her PowerPoint and graphic-design skills to establish her own agency called 16X9. She has earned more than $1.3 million in total payments on Upwork, which Insider verified with documentation.
Evan Fisher earned $1.6 million on Upwork designing pitch decks for startups
Evan Fisher is a freelancer based in Atlanta. He was an investment banker for six years, lost his job in 2017, and then created a profile on Upwork to continue providing for his family.
Now he specializes in creating pitch decks for startups and has worked with companies backed by SoftBank and Andreessen Horowitz. Fisher has earned more than $1.6 million since joining the work platform, which Insider verified with documentation.
Jaime Hollander earned $1.5 million on Upwork and built a six-figure marketing company
Jaime Hollander is a copywriter and entrepreneur based in Glen Head, New York. In 2020, after 17 years of working for media companies such as Condé Nast, Meredith Corporation, and Time Out, Hollander quit her job and made her freelance side hustle her full-time career.
Since 2012, she's earned more than $1.5 million through freelancing on Upwork. Today, she runs her own marketing agency and booked six figures in revenue last year, which Insider verified with documentation.
Ryan Clark earned $1 million on Upwork as a software freelancer and travels the world
After his employer laid him off from his sales-engineer job in 2017, Ryan Clark started freelancing on Upwork. He launched a business — Mr. SharePoint — to help firms with digital-process and workflow automation.
While he's based in Chicago, he has the freedom to travel, set his own hours, and work from anywhere in the world. Clark earned more than $1 million in payments in the past five years on Upwork, which Insider verified with documentation.
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