PEOPLE. I feel the need to explain something. Working on Elance (or any other mode of freelance avenues) is NOT “easy money”. It’s about hard work. It’s about dedication. It’s about giving it a LOT of time, effort and energy. It’s about being willing to suffer losses, enjoy the gains and rifle through the losses while dealing with everything else that comes in between. Sound familiar? That’s right. It’s called a business.
The only difference between a brick and mortar business and the online freelance one – is that sites like Elance are an online global marketplace as opposed to a local, regional or beyond – physical one. You will need to go through all the motions that anyone else running a business goes through.
First and foremost: You need a skill.
Let’s face it. If you are not skilled at something in particular, there’s a good you will NOT be successful when competing with countless other experienced individuals. You can learn, and I encourage that, but until and unless you are a skilled practitioner of the trade that you are advertising as your own, it is not a business in the true sense. I’m also not suggesting that amateurs cannot achieve or be good at this – however the notion that one can just join the website, do no research, spend very little investment and miraculously earn thousands of dollars in a very short time – is unrealistic.
Next, polish up your storefront. On Elance, this is your profile. I can’t tell you how many times this topic comes up, both on online forums, as well as personally among people who genuinely want to do well on Elance but don’t know how to go about it. How are prospective clients ever going to get to know you and the services you offer unless you don’t present them and present them well? This is Marketing 101 guys. Not 101 reasons to market yourself. It’s the most basic class in the school of business.
You need to market your skill.
Through sufficient advertising, eventually most business get business. But if you think that by sitting back while not doing a thing about grabbing that business and pulling it your way will prove fruitful, you are looking up the wrong tree, my friend. Once you’ve set up shop, you have to tell the world (ok, well at least the people who are going to potentially hire you) about your business.
Deliver results.
Once you’ve said and done all the above and you find yourself staring at the first project you’ve been awarded – it will do you no good unless you can actually do the work. Delivering the results is obviously paramount for you to keep your business vehicle moving. So, a part of that is taking on jobs that make sense. In a haste to be successful fast, or to speed things along – don’t be tempted to accept anything and everything that comes your way. Take on work that you know you will kick ass at doing. And, very importantly, if you don’t love (or least like) what you’re doing, give it up.
Put in more, more and more.
You MUST be persevering. You HAVE to put in a lot more than you can take out at first. And you absolutely, unequivocally and without a doubt NEED to be qualified at whatever it is that you are doing.
Build and maintain a reputation.
This is where the loop begins. You start over at the top – hone your skills, tweak your store from time to time, adapt to the changing market in terms of advertising, continue to get and keep clients – and keep them happy while at it. All the while, building a solid, impeccable reputation.
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So. To reiterate. This is not easy money. This is work. And a LOT of it, too. The reason some people say that my “results are not typical’”is because I put in a whole HELL of a lot of time and effort into my business. And I treat it as such. A business. With a service, a storefront, clients, some investments and a bottom line that SO far has been quite generous.
I wish you the best of luck! If you want it, you can have it – just be sure to go out and GET it.
~F
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