Everyone will tell you “Wix sucks!” oh, and “Upwork is the cesspool of the internet, stay out of there.”
But here I am livin’ it up, freelance style and I got my start with a Wix website and an Upwork client.
Upwork gave me the perfect signals
Very few people talk about the real value of Upwork, which is the market research you can do there. So many potential freelancers get stuck, worrying that their focus is not the right one. They worry, legitimately, that if they choose the wrong niche, they won’t get any work.
But the thing is, Upwork has all the answers. It’s like that textbook that had all the answers easily-accessible in the back of the book.
Upwork job postings tell you exactly what people are hiring for. You don’t have to create your brand idea out of thin air (that’s actually a really bad idea). Just cruise through the Upwork listings and see exactly what people are paying freelancers for.
Cryptocurrency was going to boom.
Now for the “results not typical” disclaimer. I have a tenacity and tech comfort not everyone has. I’ve always approached things with a how-hard-can-it-be mentality. And, frankly, I’m competitive and achievement-addicted, so I wanted to be a part of the bleeding edge. Crypto was absolutely that edge in 2017. I was willing to figure out words like blockchain, decentralization, Bitcoin and Ethereum.
If those words sound like a foreign language, here’s the summary – I found a super-hot niche, taught myself all about it, and started earning money as a writer for that industry.
My Wix website was so simple. I literally picked the most modern and clean template I could find. And the piece de resistance? A video in the header.
….That. Stupid. Video.
Everyone thought it was so impressive. I mean I literally used a stock video from the Wix collection and popped it in the website header. But it blew prospects’ minds. Maybe it was the slow motion? People love a slow-mo video.
Upwork helped me do market research
Upwork helped me land one solid SaaS client.
The takeaway – go with your gut
My takeaway is this. I used arguably the worst “tactics” according to the gurus. Wix sucks. Upwork is the worst.
If I would have listened to the online experts, I’d still be depressed in a cubicle somewhere.
I followed my burning discontent and my good instincts and took action. For me, that meant using Wix because I liked the drag and drop editor. It meant using Upwork because it was a clear path to finding my first clients.
Don’t let internet advice cloud your inner wisdom. Take action. Do work every day that will get you closer to your goal. That doesn’t mean scroll mindlessly.
Write, design, dance, blog, create, cry, film, paint, speak, call, sing – those are all verbs that can get you somewhere.
Scrolling gets you nowhere.