I started Freelancing on the side middle of last year with the push from @Matt Payne This also doesn’t include clients outside of the platform that reach out from the YouTube videos. Tbh I haven’t even used Upwork to its full potential. I’ve been complacent with the full time job and side hustle rev being put into investing.

6PM now (Sorry) Also working on a data analytics video for cowork. I found a TON of usecases. Anyways no video today. Still trying for 3 this week.

Should be about 5 hours of content. Grinded all day today and will do more tomorrow

Hey everyone, Just a win, I want to celebrate with this group. In mid-February, I received my first payment of around 3,100 EUR (~3,660 USD) for one week's work. I started freelancing last October, focusing on digitalization consulting, implementation support, and hands-on project work for small trades businesses. Here's what I've learned so far: Lesson 1: Get clients through in-person networking All three of my clients came through personal connections — two from industry meetups focused on digitalization in the trades, and one through my social circle. Nothing has beaten showing up in person. Lesson 2: Always come prepared What made the biggest difference in converting those connections into working relationships was the prep work I did before each first meeting. Client 1 — A small business owner in the food industry. I analyzed their website with SEMRush ahead of our first meeting and came in with a full report. We had a great conversation, and I advised them on several issues I'd found. I made an offer for ongoing SEO services (~1,000 USD per month for 6 months), which was outside their budget, but it built goodwill and established the relationship. Client 2 — A trades business owner who needed help selecting industry-specific software. I used Claude to build an exhaustive questionnaire beforehand, which made the conversation much more productive. I've been working pro bono so far (this is the guy from my social circle), but am currently figuring out how to transition to paid services. Client 3 — The one who paid me. They had an idea for a larger project involving automating a manual process. I showed up to the first meeting with an MVP, which impressed them enough to offer payment on the spot. We're now building it out further.

Hey guys, as some of you have seen I restarted my Upwork game on December 1st. 0 dollars per month in retainers. I spent the first month or so understanding how Upwork works in 2026, as I had not applied to a job in over a year. Once I understood how the game is played now, I got rolling (check my previous posts about it). Since then I've landed $27,780 in monthly retainers, and about 5k in what will probably just be one off jobs. The crazy part is I've barely pushed on it. My bottlenecks for resources have been what slowed me down (hence why I'm hiring, apply at matt@width.ai), and once cleared up I should be able to push even further. I've also turned down 5 jobs so far that did not fit my criteria. I will be recording a full breakdown video this weekend on the Journey, what I do, how I've been able to land these, and my plan moving forward. If you are trying to scale on Upwork I highly recommend you tune in. Video will be on the channel. good luck - Matt