How to start freelancing on upwork part-time

Upwork offers moms a flexible, accessible way to earn $20-75 per hour from home while maintaining control over their schedules and rates. The freelance platform connects 12 million freelancers with 5 million clients, making it easier to find work in writing, design, admin support, legal services and more without needing your own website or marketing strategy.

• Creating a strong, specialized profile increases your chances of getting accepted and hired
• Most successful freelancers apply multiple times before getting accepted
• Include a professional photo and complete all profile sections
• Craft a specific headline that includes what you do and who you serve
• Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your profile
• Research successful profiles by creating a client account to see what works
• Start with beginner-friendly rates to build reviews and experience
• Write customized proposals that show genuine interest in each job posting
• Deliver excellent work and follow up to request reviews

Check out our upcoming resource at littlehandsbigplans.co featuring 50 business ideas moms can do part-time. If you start freelancing on Upwork after this episode, I'd love to feature you in a future podcast!

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with another mom who needs encouragement. Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and connect with me on LinkedIn.

For other episodes and resources, visit our website at https://littlehandsbigplans.co/pages/podcast

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Little Launch series, a mini-series
from Little Hands, Big Plans, apodcast where we talk about
building a life of freedom andintention after motherhood.
One small step at a time.
In each short episode of thisseries, I'll walk you through
one practical, flexible businessidea that you can start as a
mom, right from home.
These are low-cost, practical,nap-time friendly ways to build

(00:26):
income without sacrificing theseason you're in.
Let's launch something littlethat could grow into something
big.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
On today's episode, I want to talk about how you can
start freelancing on Upwork as amom and as a small business
owner.
One of the things thatsurprises me the most is how
many people have not heard ofUpwork, at least at play dates.
Upwork is essentially afreelance workers marketplace,

(00:57):
and it has over 12 millionfreelancers and 5 million
clients that use the platform,and so what that means is that
anybody any small business owner, any person, even if they don't
have a small business thatneeds help with something, can
go on Upwork post a job.
It can be ongoing, it can be aone-off project, and then

(01:20):
freelancers can apply to the job, and that's how people are
matched, and the prices can beset based on hourly if it's
ongoing, or it can be a set rate.
And so let's talk about somestats and why freelancing is one
of the most accessible ways tostart earning money from home on

(01:40):
your terms.
So, on Upwork, moms typicallyearn between $20 and $75 per
hour, depending on their niche.
You can freelance in prettymuch anything, from writing,
graphic design, admin support,legal help, social media and

(02:01):
more.
You set your own schedule andcan work as little as five hours
a week.
So think about what your skillset was and before you left the
workforce, if you've left it orif you're thinking of making a
switch, and how you cantranslate it into Upwork.
Some of the benefits of Upworkis that it's completely flexible

(02:25):
.
You can choose what projectsyou take when you work and how
much you charge.
Platforms like Upwork make iteasier to connect to real
clients without searching foradditional help.
You don't have to have your ownwebsite, worry about SEO or
anything of the things that canseem overwhelming as a small

(02:45):
business owner.
It's simply you build up yourprofile, and so how it works is
that on your profile it showshow many hours or previous
projects you've worked on Upwork, and the more jobs that you do,
the higher the ranking.
So you're going to get morestars, more reviews.

(03:06):
It's going to show that you'veworked more hours.
It's going to show yourpercentage of success on
previous projects.
So when you're first starting,it might be slower.
You might have to apply formore jobs, but the longer you're
on the platform, the easier itwill become to secure jobs.
Let's go step by step on how youget into Upwork and I'm going

(03:28):
to give you some tips to getaccepted into Upwork, because
one of the biggestmisconceptions is that if you
get rejected by Upwork the firsttime you try, that's it.
You can't keep applying.
But most freelancers that I'vetalked to that are on Upwork
have actually had to applymultiple times before their
profile got accepted.

(03:48):
And so you can create a profileby going on Upworkcom, and the
stronger the niche, the betterchances that you're going to
have.
And so if you pick a specialty,you're going to have greater
chances of getting hired andalso getting on the platform,

(04:08):
because Upwork loves specialists, not generalists.
You want to have a strongprofile headline, which usually
includes what you do and who youare working with.
So, for example, you could putvirtual assistant for coaches.
You could put content writerfor health and wellness brands,

(04:31):
you could put a data entrysupport for busy entrepreneurs.
You get the gist.
You want to use keywordsnaturally in your profile, and
so if you know specific software, you can say I help
entrepreneurs with Canva, trello, google Workspace.

(04:53):
And you want to invest in aprofessional looking photo if
you can, because it helps tobuild trust and you don't have
to even hire someone.
You don't have to get a fancypicture, but you do want it to
be professional looking.
Another common reason why peopledon't get on upwork is if their

(05:14):
profile is half filled.
So, for example, if you leavesections blank, this can affect
you both getting hired and alsogetting on the platform.
And you can actually alsocreate.
If you want to get examples ofprofiles, you can create an
account like you're going tohire people and then you can

(05:35):
search talent so you can see thepeople that are ranking high
and what their profiles looklike.
So when you're're applying, youhave a better idea of what
works.
And again, just try to avoidreally competitive areas unless
you have a really strongportfolio.

(05:56):
So certain things like likedata entry or graphic design are
going to have more competition.
But if you're reallyspecialized in it and you have a
strong portfolio, that's okay.
And again, if you get rejected,just tweak your profile.

(06:16):
Try again in a couple weeks,and many freelancers report that
they were able to get on theplatform after trying multiple
times.
Another common tip is that youwant to set beginning friendly
rates, because remember that themore ratings, the more hours,
the more jobs that you do, theeasier it's going to become.

(06:39):
So it's a compounding effect,and so if you start with a lower
rate at the beginning, then youcan raise your rates once you
get more jobs and once you startgetting five-star feedback.
And then the most effort in theon the platform is also on
applying for jobs.
If you're especially if you'rejust starting out, you want to

(07:00):
make sure that you're writingcustom proposals to show that
you're interested in the job,and I think when I've hired in
the past, that has been the keyof when people stand out in the
application, because a lot ofpeople apply with boilerplate
language I can tell I didn'teven read my posting.

(07:20):
And if you make somethingthat's custom and that it shows
that you actually care about thewhat the poster said, that
makes your job applicationsstand out.
And then, lastly, you want tomake sure you deliver excellent
work and follow up, ask for areview, because that's going to
make it easier to keep going.

(07:41):
All right, and theencouragement I want to leave
with you today is whatever youdo, work at it with all your
heart, as if working for theLord, not for human masters
Colossians 3, 23.
And if you do decide to go onUpwork, I would love to feature
you in a future podcast.
So let me know if this episodesparked an idea or gave you the

(08:03):
confidence to explore Upwork.
And don't forget that I'm goingto have an upcoming resource on
the websitelittlehandsbigplansco, and it's
going to essentially have all ofthe ideas the 50 business ideas
that moms can do part time, sokeep an eye out for that.