This month, I’m celebrating one year of building my presence as a global freelancer. Using established sites, I’ve worked to expand my client list from a narrow local base to a broad worldwide clientele. Where locally, I provided only media-related production and editing, my global freelancing career has allowed me to offer a wide range of writing services. In this twelfth month of global freelancing, I’ve achieved my goal: remote clients account for nearly 100% of my income—and I’m convinced that’s just the tip of the iceberg
After trying several alternatives, my platform of choice is Upwork.com, where businesses and individuals post their needs, and Upwork-screened freelancers (like myself) respond with a cover letter and relevant work examples to win the assignment. I have had the opportunity to work with a wider range of professionals and entrepreneurs than I would have otherwise. I have the opportunity to put all of my talents to work, instead of a select few.
My writing assignments have included professional biographies, recommendation letters, resignation letters, product descriptions, nonprofit mission statements, corporate website content, dozens of short stories and “chat stories,” numerous proposals and pitches for documentary video content, and production-ready scripts for educational and corporate videos.
I also provide video editing services, including corporate videos, YouTube content, training videos and premium quality celebratory videos (a photo and video montage marking a birthday or memorial, for example).
Corporate clients have included a wide range of spirited entrepreneurs, from those designing small tech start-ups to the founder/CEO of a vast corporation providing energy infrastructure. Individuals have also hired me for a range of tasks—one man in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia asked me to write a science fiction story for his son’s sixteenth birthday. I’ve worked for numerous online learning corporations, conceptualizing, writing, and in one case presenting content (offering my experience as a self-published author). Upwork gold is a repeat client—and I have had quite a few as both a writer and editor.
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| One of my Upwork gigs involved teaching an online writing course. |
Reaching this point has taken a great deal of hard work—requiring a commitment to adopting global freelancing as my profession. What started out as a side experiment only became truly viable when it became a full-time effort (I still work with local clients, though selectively).
In my case, another key piece of the puzzle was my decision to seek out training to use Upwork effectively. My thanks to Claudia Holcombe and the Barefoot Consultants program for providing excellent guidance on designing my Upwork profile, seeking and winning the best jobs, and other intricacies of becoming a successful global freelancer. If you’re serious about making this financially viable, training will get you up to speed right away.
Global freelancing (I’ve served clients in Kiev, Moscow, Saudi Arabia, Panama, Mexico, Canada, Australia and across the United States) isn’t simply a new direction in my career—it’s an entirely new dimension—and only increasing in potential. I can't say whether it's the future of employment - but it's my future.
You can check out my Upwork profile at https://www.upwork.com/fl/richsamuels (scroll down to the bottom for an indication of why I love my clients!) - and follow me @rickflix for more updates.
