Re:Ask HN: Has anyone bootstrapped a business using services...
by elephant0xffff on Tuesday May 08, 2018 @08:07AM
(#17020347)
Thanks, this is uplifting information, and sounds like a good plan - start with low-paying jobs and be exceptional and then raise your rates and get first-hand clients.
How professional do they handle freelancer's and client's privacy? I will try to do my best but some things can and will go wrong. If things don't go well I don't want to loose my reputation because of some remote-work jobs site, because they or a client skrewed up.
Re:Ask HN: Has anyone bootstrapped a business using services...
by timojaask on Tuesday May 08, 2018 @08:19AM
(#17020393)
I don't personally know enough about Upwork to answer that question.
I'm currently working as a developer consultant, and get all my clients from my previous work history. I used to work in an agency, building apps for many different clients, so now I've got a lot of connections in the industry.
Re:Ask HN: Has anyone bootstrapped a business using services...
by elephant0xffff on Tuesday May 08, 2018 @03:28PM
(#17023994)
Has it been complex to sell your skills because of your previous employee? Did you just cold e-mail your previous contacts that you got while working or did they approach you?
Re:Ask HN: Has anyone bootstrapped a business using services...
by staticautomatic on Tuesday May 08, 2018 @05:00PM
(#17025042)
What is your specific privacy concern? That something bad will happen and everyone on the internet will see that you were involved?
One of my good friends started his copywriting career on Upwork. First projects he did were extremely cheap, just getting some experience. However, he made sure he does the absolute best he can, with every project. So clients were happy and recommended him to other clients. My friend would be doubling his hourly rate pretty frequenly, and eventually stopped using Upwork altogether, because clients would contact him directly, by reference from his previous clients.
On the other hand, I know a person who's been copywriting on Upwork for seven years, and still has an hourly rate of 10 USD / hour, which is just ridiculous.