Thinking of working from home to make money or earn a side income? If so, you should definitely read my success story about how I made my first US$30K on Upwork in less than a year as a busy stay-at-home mom, trying new things with minimal experience in the services I offered – so you can too!
Upwork is the world’s LARGEST online freelancing platform, with over 18 MILLION freelancers. While you may be intimidated by the number of competitors, don’t be discouraged—there are plenty of jobs in all sorts of niches, and it’s never too late to start (I started in summer 2023).
Although I hold a “Top-Rated Plus” badge on Upwork, representing the top 3% of freelancers on the platform, it’s not like I’m some kind of genius or have incredibly rare talent. Heck, I don’t even have a four-year university degree, and English is my second language.
I can tell you that all you need is a good amount of patience, commitment (both time and emotional), and a solid strategy—that’s all.
In this blog, I’m sharing the strong motivation I had to become a freelancer, the two types of services I offer on Upwork, and finally, how I made my first $30K on the platform in 3 steps. Without further ado, let’s start making money from the comfort of your home!
My Upwork Success Story: Motivation Is EVERYTHING
My Upwork success story begins with my motivation. First of all, I had a solid desire to be a freelancer and work from home. To be honest, I was quite DESPERATE. In retrospect, I believe that’s what’s keeping me going on my freelance journey when many others would have given up in the early stages.
I truly believe that a busy person with a healthy level of desperation has a much higher chance of success in freelance business than someone who has nothing but time on their hands, and with solid financial security.
You know why? Because desperation gives you the focus and energy to succeed.
Becoming a Mom Made Me Ditch The 9 to 5 Job With a Good Salary
Before becoming a stay-at-home mom and freelancer, I spent 14 years working as a software QA for a large corporate company after earning my two-year college diploma in Robotics.
I was happy with my job, stable income, corporate benefits, co-workers, and everything else—but just like many other women, I experienced a significant career shift when I had children.
I didn’t want to put my kids in daycare for 8+ hours a day, 5 days a week and miss out on watching them grow, but I could not afford to have zero income when the cost of living is incredibly high.
In case you’re wondering, I don’t have a billionaire husband, nor do I have a family member who can watch my kids whenever I need (wouldn’t that be nice?). I’m just an average mom in her 40s, struggling to find a work-life balance—just like everybody else.
Given these circumstances, I decided to ditch my full-time corporate job and somehow find a way to work from home and be close to my kids.
Strugle to Find an Alternative Career
But needless to say, things aren’t that simple. I quickly realized that I could no longer be a QA and work from home because, in the software field, I would have to maintain communication with my teammates throughout the day through meetings, emails, chats, and everything else. That would be impossible for me to manage with two kids at home.
I felt lost, sad, and frustrated with the dilemma—I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom for the kids, but I didn’t know what to do with my career because I couldn’t go back to fixed working hours.
I needed to find a work-from-home opportunity that would give me the flexibility to work whenever I had time—just a few hours here and there throughout the week.
A Google Search That Opened My Eyes to Freelancing
Oneday, I did some research online and discovered that I could find freelancing jobs that require minimal interaction with clients, allowing me to free myself from working 9 to 5 every day!
That’s when I realized that I could try offering the two types of services described in the next section: Language localization and voice recording.
My freelance career started with ProZ.com, another online platform designed primarily for language professionals.
Through this platform, I offered Japanese/English translation and voice-recording services, working with around 20 clients over the course of a few years. Some clients assigned me one-off projects here and there, while others provided a steady stream of work each month, and some still do even now.
However, after experiencing some extremely-slow months and clients who didn’t end up paying me, I needed to find another platform that offered a more consistent level of job openings and secure payment protection —and Upwork was exactly what I was looking for.
Service I Offer on Upwork① Language Localization
Finding My Niche
It took me a while to realize what I could offer to the world—something that’s unique and valuable—because I had no experience outside of the software field.
Sometimes it’s hard to recognize what we are good at because we often forget that not everyone has the same abilities or background as we do.
With almost two decades of experience living in Japan and another two in Canada, I was fortunate to be fluent in both Japanese and English and to have a strong understanding of cultural nuances in Japan and North America.
Taking advantage of my unique background, I realized that I could be an English/Japanese translator!
Translation Work Is Mom-Friendly
Thankfully, translation work requires minimal interaction with clients. Once the content to be translated is provided to me, I don’t need to communicate with them until I deliver my work, unless I have questions.
This flexibility allows me to work whenever I have time, giving me the freedom to choose when to work and for how long. I just need to ensure that I meet the deadline.
No Experience Needed To Start
Now, you may be wondering if I need a qualification or educational background in linguistics in order to work as a translator. The fact of the matter is, most translators out there don’t have it.
While qualifications may be required for content related to medical, legal, or police fields, most of the time, they are not necessary (I’m always open about this with my clients, too).
Thanks to technology, we now have translation software, tools, and even AI like ChatGPT. You don’t really translate much from scratch anymore; it’s more about proofreading machine translations, and it’s not that hard to spot awkward translations and correct them in your native language.
You Can Start Too!
So, if you happen to speak another language, you should definitely give it a try. Specifically, if you speak a high-demand and low-competition language like Japanese, Korean, or Arabic, this could be your calling.
If you speak a high-demand and high-competition language like French, Spanish, or Chinese, you can still find many opportunities, but the rates may be lower because you’d be competing with many people from developing countries who are willing to work for as low as $2/hour.
There is a diverse range of content available for translation. I happen to have a background in IT, software, and hardware, but you can definitely find your niche.
Service I Offer on Upwork ② Voice Recording
Another Mom-friendly Line Of Work
If language translation isn’t your thing, don’t worry; I have another line of work as well, and I’m sure you can do it too. It’s called VOICE RECORDING.
Similar to translation projects, this type of work gives me the freedom to choose when to work and for how long, making it another perfect option for busy moms.
I came up with the idea of doing voice recording shortly after I decided to pursue Japanese translation. I realized there might be jobs for Japanese voice work as well, and I thought it would have less competition if I focused on Japanese voice rather than English voice.
There’s a Demand for Every Type of Voice
There are tons of voice recording projects available for all kinds of languages and accents. Whether you’re male, female, young, middle-aged, or mature, there’s something for everyone.
For voice recording projects, there are many types, including voice-overs, phone operators, video tutorials, advertisements, podcasts, AI model training, and more.
Affordable Start-up Cost
I bought a relatively inexpensive USB microphone, costing a couple of hundred dollars, and set up a home studio in my walk-in closet by putting acoustic foam everywhere. By no means does it look professional, but it’s good enough to create professional-grade, noise-free recordings, which is surprisingly impressive.
Depending on the type of project, you may not even need a microphone or a quiet environment; all you need is your smartphone. For most AI model training projects, you’ll be asked to speak in a conversational tone because that’s the kind of audio input AI needs to handle.
Some Projects Are Actually Really Fun and Pay Well
I once earned over $500 ($29/hour) just by chatting about whatever came to my mind to train an AI model. I love working on AI projects with little or no script because I get to use my creativity.
One time, my husband thought I’d gone insane talking about my day in a closet with no AC on one hot summer evening, but I told him, “Honey, what do you think I’m doing? I’m WORKING, obviously!”
My Success Story Of How I Made My First $ 30K on Upwork
My Strategy: The Secret Recipe for Getting Ahead on Upwork
Now, let’s dive into the topic you’ve been waiting for: how I made my first $30K on Upwork.
When I started competing with 18 million freelancers on Upwork, I obviously had no prior experience on the platform. At first, I felt like I was the only one wearing a white belt in a karate dojo while everybody else was wearing a black belt.
However, I developed a solid strategy with the following three steps, and I managed to find a way to climb up the ladder.
Step 1: Focus On Building Reputation
My first priority was to work on as many jobs as possible to receive five-star ratings and improve my Job Success Rate because I knew those were the key factors clients consider when hiring freelancers.
There are three things beginner freelancers on Upwork can offer that experienced freelancers may not: lower rates, faster response times, and a flexible schedule.
Experienced freelancers are accustomed to working with clients who pay them well, so they are not desperate to offer low rates. Additionally, they are likely busy with ongoing projects and may not be able to respond promptly to client inquiries. Lastly, their schedules may be very limited due to their existing commitments.
In the beginning, I made sure to offer a minimum pay while trying not to be greedy and focusing on long-term returns. And when I say “minimum”, I mean less than CAD $17, which is the minimum wage where I live. Additionally, I downloaded the Upwork app on my phone and was always ready to respond to any job inquiries.
To stay sharp all day and be prepared to respond to any business inquiries, what helps me a lot is the fact that I don’t drink alcohol or smoke recreational marijuana. For the record, I have not yet found a single client in the same time zone as I am, so I often have to reply as soon as I turn off my alarm in bed or after I change into my pajamas at night.
Once I secured a job, I ensured that I provided top-notch service, making my clients feel as though they had received a first-class seat after paying only for an economy-class ticket. Thanks to this approach, many clients wrote me very positive reviews without me even having to ask. To make things even better, some of them returned for additional projects.
Step 2: Go the Extra Mile to Secure a Long-Term Project
What do you think the most likely scenario would be for going from $0 earnings to $30K?
If your profile page shows $0 in total earnings, there’s a very low chance of landing a one-off project that pays more than a couple of hundred dollars. The same applies to long-term projects that pay well.
I started by working on a few short-term, one-off projects that paid me a few hundred dollars or less. After earning a Rising Talent badge and receiving positive feedback from my clients, I began applying for long-term projects.
When I found an attractive long-term project with good pay, I went the extra mile. I conducted extensive research on the client by reading everything on their company website and then wrote a cover letter to clearly convey that I was the right person for the job.
Of course, it’s disheartening not to be selected after investing so much time and effort, but when that happened, I reminded myself that I was getting practice for my future clients for free, and I was fortunate to have that opportunity. Thankfully, I was able to secure a long-term project after my second Zoom interview, which paid me $28 per hour for up to 30 hours a week for about 8 months! My monthly income became over $3300 just from Upwork.
Step 3: Increased My Rates And Moved Up the Game
At this point, my earnings were already over $20K, and I had my “Top-Rated” badge. I rewrote my profile to highlight my past projects on Upwork and started applying for jobs that were for “intermediate” and “expert” levels, which pay more than those for “entry-level.” I used to apply.
In my cover letters, I always made sure to mention my 5-star ratings, “Top-Rated” badge, and 100% Job Success Rate, keeping everything else short and sweet because I knew the clients wouldn’t read an essay from a large number of applicants.
I also started bidding high for the proposal (sometimes I bid over 70 Connects where 1 Connect costs me $0.17) because I’ve already had enough qualifications to compete on Upwork.
If I’m not busy with ongoing projects, I apply to about 10 different job postings in a week, and I usually get a reply from 3 to 5 clients for those jobs. I found that most clients don’t reply to proposals right away, and some take 1 to 2 months, by which time I’ve completely forgotten about them. It’s always nice to hear back, though; it’s like finding a chocolate bar in your pantry when you forgot it was there.
Reaching My First $30K
Seven months after starting on Upwork, I earned my Top-Rated Plus badge on Upwork, representing the top 3% freelancer on Upwork. Another three months later, after completing over 15 projects, including some hourly jobs totaling 1,000 hours, I made my first $30K!
I truly believe that you can do it too, as long as you have solid motivation and are committed to following the strategies I mentioned above while patiently trying to establish a steady flow of work.
Of course, nothing happens overnight, but the results WILL come if you keep trying. Now, it’s your turn to take action. I hope you create an Upwork profile right after closing this page! Good luck!
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