stepdub
Supreme Member
- Dec 25, 2016
- 1,330
- 1,451
Namaste guys.
In the last 12 months, I've bid on 7200+ Upwork projects along with my partner. We worked on fixed price projects, hourly projects, commission only projects, and any combination of these. I'm sharing everything I've learned from my mistakes and everything that helped me make the most from my Upwork projects. Hope this could help you save time by shortlisting the right projects to bid on, and negotiate fair terms so that there are no surprises later on:
Upwork lets clients work with two types of projects:
Applying one pricing method for all projects (on and off Upwork) is a terrible miscalculation. You need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of all pricing methods.
Working on hourly projects is not favorable for freelancers. It locks you with one or two clients at a time. You may need to work with it when you are starting out, but as soon as you have some traction and reputation on Upwork, and a pretty job success score, you need to stop it. Billing per hour is not healthy for profit and productivity. You'll still be a "wage slave". Working on per hour basis turns you into a wage slave. And you have to show proof of work - screenshots, hours logged in etc, so there's not much you can do to bypass the contract rules.
You could bill clients on a per-day basis. Negotiate for 5 days a week, with well-defined milestones. This will help you maintain your freedom and work on multiple projects at the same time. Agree to work only for 5 days a week. Mon - Friday. Try to keep Saturday and Sunday for your personal stuff - relaxing, unwinding, family time, learning new things related to your work, etc.
ALWAYS prefer fixed-price projects. Ask for a deposit. 30% deposit, 70% on delivery works best. With the deposit, the client has committed to the project. With 70% pending, your ass will be on fire, you will have skin in the game, and are more likely to do a fantastic job, make the client happy, and get a nice 5-star rating - which will compound in you getting new projects easily, getting job invites (no connects required for this), etc.
If the client wants the work finished on a deadline, you should charge a higher rate.
Make sure you start working on the project only after you have come to an agreement with the client on a price that YOU are happy with. If you take projects at a lower price, you will be unhappy and you will end up doing terrible work, upsetting the client, and risking your job success score.
Commission only, rev-share projects should be totally avoided when you are just starting out.
That's all guys. Use your judgment to evaluate each client and what pricing model could work with them. Happy to know other freelancers' inputs.
In the last 12 months, I've bid on 7200+ Upwork projects along with my partner. We worked on fixed price projects, hourly projects, commission only projects, and any combination of these. I'm sharing everything I've learned from my mistakes and everything that helped me make the most from my Upwork projects. Hope this could help you save time by shortlisting the right projects to bid on, and negotiate fair terms so that there are no surprises later on:
Upwork lets clients work with two types of projects:
- Fixed Price.
- Hourly Billing
Applying one pricing method for all projects (on and off Upwork) is a terrible miscalculation. You need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of all pricing methods.
Working on hourly projects is not favorable for freelancers. It locks you with one or two clients at a time. You may need to work with it when you are starting out, but as soon as you have some traction and reputation on Upwork, and a pretty job success score, you need to stop it. Billing per hour is not healthy for profit and productivity. You'll still be a "wage slave". Working on per hour basis turns you into a wage slave. And you have to show proof of work - screenshots, hours logged in etc, so there's not much you can do to bypass the contract rules.
You could bill clients on a per-day basis. Negotiate for 5 days a week, with well-defined milestones. This will help you maintain your freedom and work on multiple projects at the same time. Agree to work only for 5 days a week. Mon - Friday. Try to keep Saturday and Sunday for your personal stuff - relaxing, unwinding, family time, learning new things related to your work, etc.
ALWAYS prefer fixed-price projects. Ask for a deposit. 30% deposit, 70% on delivery works best. With the deposit, the client has committed to the project. With 70% pending, your ass will be on fire, you will have skin in the game, and are more likely to do a fantastic job, make the client happy, and get a nice 5-star rating - which will compound in you getting new projects easily, getting job invites (no connects required for this), etc.
If the client wants the work finished on a deadline, you should charge a higher rate.
Make sure you start working on the project only after you have come to an agreement with the client on a price that YOU are happy with. If you take projects at a lower price, you will be unhappy and you will end up doing terrible work, upsetting the client, and risking your job success score.
Commission only, rev-share projects should be totally avoided when you are just starting out.
That's all guys. Use your judgment to evaluate each client and what pricing model could work with them. Happy to know other freelancers' inputs.
