Hi. I plan to study web design and web development, for the purpose of being a Freelancer at Fiverr and Upwork. Then I want to develop a greater business. A computer shop and or a web design agency of my own.
I plan to study quite hard for that.!
Will I find enough work at Fiverr and Upwork as a Freelancer???
Do I need to get a loan to start my computer shop and web design agency???
Thanks.
Hi Stefan,
Starting as a freelancer on Fiverr and Upwork can be a great way to build your skills, portfolio, and client base. There’s definitely potential to find work, but competition can be tough, so focus on building a strong profile and delivering quality work. As for starting a computer shop or web design agency, it’s possible to grow your business gradually without a loan, but it depends on your specific situation and how quickly you want to scale. Start small, reinvest your earnings, and consider a loan only if necessary for larger expansions. Good luck!
If you want to kick-start your freelance work on Upwork, Fiverr, and so on, then take up a couple of courses and undertake multiple projects to build your portfolio. It is tough to find an initial batch of projects without having a portfolio. Otherwise, you create one with your own projects and attach those to your portfolio.
At Upwork, you need a profound profile, a well-developed portfolio, and properly written proposals. Your rating is important in this network, so actively work in this direction. Meanwhile, remember that you need to buy Upwork credits to apply for jobs.
With Fiverr, you will be developing “gigs” that clients can buy. You are supposed to put in a description of your skills and attach beautiful samples of your previous work to each gig. Fiverr will allow you to set your price and terms, but keep in mind that the competition could be enormous.
Develop your freelancing career first. It is only when you have a well-established clientele base that it will be okay to open your own agency.
Thank you!
Hi Stefan. Congrats to this idea and goal!
I started to work as a web development freelancer when I was 19. I never went to university and just started freelancing on Upwork. From my experience today it is very hard though to be successful on Upwork and especially Fiverr unless you are in a specific market. If for example you’re a German developer building German sites it will be much easier to find projects than in English, and still it will be hard.
You could try other tactics in addition. I got my first customer from an Ebay post 
Try to be creative and look for places like this.
After that it’s all about being good and getting long-term clients. Companies will be happy to have a good developer, so do a good job and they will offer you constant work. I was lucky to get a client who offered me a 20 hrs/week contract. Looks for something like that.
I tried to start a web design agency as well. It’s very competitive but probably not impossible. I ended up shifting to content and SEO because the market was easier. I’m now running Blogtec, where we focus on SEO and content services.
I guess the lesson is to try to find a specific niche, like PHP developer for XX applications, or focus on a specific market/audience.