About Me

They say if you cut me open, I bleed Merlot.

All we know is I'm staying on this beach until I run out of money.


Popular posts from this blog

Funding your Travels by Freelancing Abroad - My Experience

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There are loads of blogs out there about working as a freelancer whilst you travel the world, but I haven't seen one yet which goes too deeply into the actual logistics of it - how much you need to earn, how many hours you need to work, etc. So I'm writing my own! Whilst I know this blog is focused on UpWork, I still think this will be useful - and as basically all of my income at the moment is from UpWork hopefully it is still relevant as well! Freelancing is an up-and-down way to make money. Some weeks are more lucrative than others - at the moment my schedule is packed for the next week, but it'll fund my travels, probably for the next month or so. It's not all glamorous - I'll be eating cheaply and working a lot. I dipped into freelance for a while about a year before I set off, so I had a decent portfolio of blogs which I could use as an example of my writing style. I'd recommend that anyone who wants to freelance from abroad do the same. ...
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Get Approved on UpWork - Creating A Perfect Profile

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So this week your boy has started checking out a few UpWork community pages and I've noticed that a lot of people are struggling to get their profiles approved on the site. It's not as hard as you think to get approved on UpWork! One of the ways UpWork distinguishes itself from other freelancing sites like Freelancer and Fiverr  is by enforcing a relatively effective vetting process to stop the website being saturated with freelancers who offer the same skills. This basically means that if there are too many freelancers who offer the same skills as you already, it's unlikely that you'll be able to create an account. So how can you get around this? UpWork has a two stage process for assessing applications. The first stage is automatic, relying on algorithms which probe your application. The first loophole to jump through is your email address - you're less likely to get accepted with a generic gmail or outlook account than you are with a company one! Stag...
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My First Month on Upwork - Some Reflections

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My connects reset today which means it's been exactly a month - nice convenient time to reflect. So here's a blog vaguely based on where I am with my freelancing and where you should aim to be, I guess. I'd say the most important part of month one is building an application which works for you - check out an example of mine in this blog about applying for jobs. Whilst pinging out the same application for everything you apply for won't get you anywhere, there is a general theme and structure to get to grips with. Find out what works for you. Secondly, in the beginning it's all about building up a bit of feedback. Asking clients if they mind closing and reopening a contract so that you can build up 5* feedback is a good shout - once you've got a few under your belt it's much easier to land more jobs. In this initial stage of building up some feedback, you'll probably find yourself working for a bit less than you'd ideally want to get paid . U...
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