Before I moved onto our yacht I was a school teacher, not exactly a career that's made for a life at sea! So when I swapped the classroom for the freedom of liveaboard life, I had to reinvent myself and find new ways to earn so I could make money while sailing the world. One way I did that was by becoming a freelancer on UpWork.
Becoming a freelancer on platforms like UpWork can be challenge, but with hard work and dedication it's possible to earn enough online to support yourself while you're cruising full time.
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What is UpWork
If you haven't heard of UpWork it's simply an online marketplace that connects clients with freelancers. It's been around since 2015 and has millions of users across the world, with billions of dollars spent.
To be able to use UpWork all you need is a laptop and internet, two essential things if you want to live the boat life and work remotely. For us, Starlink has been a game changer, making it so much easier to earn an income while living on a sailboat full time.
How does UpWork actually work?
A client will post a job which freelancers then apply for by submitting a proposal. Each proposal costs a certain amount of "Connects" to submit, helping weed out bots and non-serious applicants. As a freelancer you receive free Connects for various things, and can purchase additional Connects if you want to.
After reviewing the submitted proposals, the client usually reaches out to any freelancers that peaked their interest via UpWork Messenger. They'll then select and hire the freelancer they want to use.
Getting paid on UpWork
There are two ways the work you do for a client can be paid for.
Hourly
Milestone
Hourly uses a timesheet to track the number of hours you do, while milestones are paid when the work is submitted. Both come with certain payment protections, which is one of the main benefits of using the platform.
Earnings are paid in USD and sit in your UpWork account until they're withdrawn to a bank account, which you can do automatically or manually.
If you don't have USD account then one of the best ways to be able to receive the funds is with a Wise Account. With a Wise Account, you can generate USD account details that allow you to receive your UpWork earnings without any additional fees. You can use this link to get a fee free transfer if you decide to sign up.
Cost to use UpWork
Unlike some of the other freelance platforms, it's free to sign up for and maintain an UpWork account. Where they make their money is on Connects and the service fee.
Cost | Amount | Payment |
Connects | 0.15 USD per Connect | Purchased by card or with your UpWork balance |
Freelance Service Fee | 10% of earnings | Automatically deducted before earnings are credited |
Using a platform that doesn't cost anything unless you're actively using it is helpful because when you live on a boat you never know what might pop up.
How to start an UpWork profile
To start an UpWork profile go to the website, hit sign up and select whether you're a client or freelancer. From there follow the prompts to complete your profile, providing this basic information.
Profile picture (must be a real photo of you)
Profile title
Overview of your strengths and skills
At least one highlight of your employment history
At least one skill tag
When completing your profile there is more information you can add, with a percentage number being used to show how complete your overall profile is.
5 tips for getting started on UpWork
Here's five tips that could help you get started building your UpWork profile and getting to the point where you have long term, high quality clients.
1. Complete your UpWork profile to 100%
With UpWork your profile only has to be 50% complete to start using the platform, but clients and the algorithm tend to favour profiles that are fully complete. There's a counter that keeps track of how complete your profile is, so keep adding information until it gets to 100%.
2. Aim to get ratings first
At the start one of the most important things is just getting a couple of reviews on your profile. It gives legitimacy to it, signalling to potential clients that you're an active freelancer who's able to complete a task. To get your initial review you will likely have to go for a very simple, low paying task.
My first task was reviewing an Amazon product. The client had started a business drop shipping a battery powered fur trimmer, and want to ship it to someone in Australia and have them review the product honestly. The pay was low but it got me a 5 star review and a free trimmer, so a win win situation.
Here's some leads to help you look for your first sailing nomad gig on UpWork.
Voice recordings in your accent
Surveys
Shipping test runs
Photos or videos that need to be taken in your location
Testing if something like a website or app works in your region
3. Accept you'll be paid less starting out
UpWork is a competitive platform and at the start you'll likely have to work for less than you're worth. When I started I was writing for a fixed rate of about 2 cents per word. Over time that grew, and now my rate is more than 4x higher and I've worked with high profile clients like Wise, Nord VPN and Hewlett Packard.
4. Filter clients to avoid wasting Connects
When searching through job listings, take a look at the clients rating, location and whether payment has been verified. This can give you a clue as to whether the listing is likely to be legitimate, because unfortunately spam ads do come up at times.
Also be aware that UpWork's policy is that communication on job postings should happen through their Messaging system, so a client wanting to speak to applicants off platform is a red flag. After you've been hired it can be different, as some clients need to share Google files or want to touch base on a Zoom call.
Something else to look at is how long ago the job was posted and how many other people have applied. A newer job with less applicants gives you more chance to stand out.
5. Optimise your proposals
Clients can get 50+ applicants so you want to optimise your proposal to make it stand out. How you go about doing this is a little different to how you'd do it for an normal job.
Keep your proposal concise, highlighting your work history, skills and experience in as fewer words possible; mine are usually around 250-400 words depending on the application criteria.
Make it personalised to the job positing. Clients can tell when it's completely generic so add something to your proposal that tells them why it peaked your interest.
Last words
For me becoming an UpWork freelancer was the starting point of my sailing digital nomad journey. It can take time, patience and a whole lot of applications to get started, but once you do it can be a viable way of making money while living aboard a sailboat.
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