Getting your first remote freelance gig

There is no such thing as the perfect first job on Upwork.

When I first graduated college I was growing Respond Flow with my team, which was basically an unpaid full-time job.

To get the flexibility to work from home and continue work on Respond Flow, I turned to UpWork to find freelance work. This gave me a cushion to work 2 months before I could snag clients off of the platform. More on that in a later section.

In this section I’ll be going the method I used to get my first Upwork client.

The Search

They say there’s no such thing as the perfect first job. UpWork is no exception.

When you first sign up to the freelancer site, you have no reputation, no proof that you can do what you say, and still have to figure out a way to build up your client base.

That’s why early on you need to figure out where you can get small wins. Which industry or skill set do you know so well that you have few competitive job seekers or you’re so good that you’re lack of expertise doesn’t matter?

Coming out of college as a generalist, I found that knowing a skill very few people knew was my best bet….. And that was Pilates

You would think that no one would be hiring a young Pilates instructor on UpWork, but you’d be dead wrong! The first job I got was recording myself teaching a Pilates class for a smart mat company from California. 🙃

Yes, I recorded an entire Pilates class and got paid for the quick gig.

This experience taught me a valuable lesson. Find the jobs you can win early on. These small wins not only solidify your expertise in a niche industry but allows you to build up a reputation on the platform to get bigger clients/jobs.

Building Momentum

Once you’ve completed your first few small jobs and have built a reputation, it’s time to go for bigger jobs. I don’t mean $1000 dollar projects, but long term freelancer gigs.

Yes, they exist on Upwork too.

While small jobs are quick and easy, they don’t pay as much, and most importantly the pay is not consistent.

That’s why you should be looking to get week-long or even month-long jobs. This not only eliminates the time suck of constantly searching and bidding for jobs, but it also allows you to focus your effort and build your portfolio with great work.

My first long-term freelance gig is what carried me through the two months I had no job and worked on Respond Flow. Funny enough, I was running digital marketing campaigns for a fitness influencer who sold nutrition and fitness courses online 😉.

Action Items

• If you’re just getting started with UpWork or other freelance platforms, take a moment, and figure out what industry or skill you know so well that you can easily win jobs.
• Text me if you need helping to brainstorm how you can get small wins and start building up your reputation-> 918-205-7851
• Continue on to the next part of this guide if you want to learn how to best apply/bid for jobs on Upwork

<Onward to section 4: Effectively pitching yourself for gigs>