Do a quick Google search for “working online” or “part-time side work online”.

Or anything work-seeking paired with the possibility of it being on-the-side.

The results will always disappoint you.

It’s simple, most of the valuable information is to be sold and not told.

The people who have “been told” in context to freelance are often misinformed. They are also usually relying on the wrong source for their information.

Ask around about freelance you’ll usually get negative insight:
– some person whom you work with, who tried it and didn’t work (which is the story for them finding that job)
– a random friend who heard of someone else freelancing and how it didn’t work (the typical word of mouth)
– someone who freelance but is too busy to show you the ropes (this one of the reasons I now write about freelance)

The phrase “freelancing is a race to the bottom” comes up a lot.

Freelancing was also a race to the bottom for me. Until I realized it was just different than a traditional job position. At that point, it became a stroll to the top.

The problem isn’t freelance. The problem is the stigma associated with freelance-ish sites. That and horror stories from lazy freelancers who didn’t do their job correctly.

I say freelance-ish because they don’t embody what I believe to be in the best interest of the freelancer.

Websites like Mturk and Fivver are great for some people. But I consider them “freelance-ish” and less of the real deal.

(I use Fivver often for a quick design task here and there, Just don’t promote it for my readers to go there and freelance)

If you’re looking to take freelance serious beyond a “quick buck”, I would not suggest using them.

They aren’t made for people to scale their freelance and land more prominent clients. Sites like those are designed to make an extremely quick and low buck.

Websites like Upwork usually takes more time up-front to get the ball moving. But remember, it’s a numbers game.

It remains my goto platform over the past decade for a reason and has proven to work for everyone who I worked with.

Consider Upwork if:
– You want an easy way to grow into an agency. Want to make the big switch, perfect use the same platform and you’ll also get tools to manage and pay your team. Perfect when starting off.
– Want to reduce the possibility of getting scammed. It’s more of a vetting process on the freelancer site and the client.
– Need a simple way to get large clients. Upwork has the attention of larger corporations who would like to leverage a freelance workforce. They pitch freelancers to these large companies all the time (I was asked to help at one point).

Relative to doing this outside of Upwork, it’s a stroll through the park.

Yes, you are competing with people who can work at a fraction of your cost. The only difference here is that you have the superpower of seeing your competition.

What if we had that superpower when applying to a job. Can you imagine how much would change?