$3500/Month via Upwork as a Digital Nomad

Hollie Kingsland is a freelance editor and writer from the UK 🇬🇧

From her Upwork (login required), she has earned over $80,000 since starting out in 2020.

Though the early days were a struggle, she has since built a business that allows her to travel the world and work from anywhere 🏝️

She recently wrote…

I never expected to be using a platform like Upwork, nor did I ever really expect to become a freelancer – much less be my own boss – but life took an unexpected turn in 2020 when the global COVID-19 pandemic put a hold on my travels and sent me packing back to the UK without a job.

As it turned out, the pandemic provided the perfect opportunity to pursue an alternative approach to work.

Now…

After nearly three years of being a freelancer, I’m making a comfortable living and I have clients who value my contributions and expertise. I’m certainly not making millions, nor am I working three-day weeks.

I’m actually earning more than I did in my last full-time employment.

Via Hollie’s LinkedIn, her last full-time employment was as an Individual Giving Officer for a company called Sense. A few months after she left, the job was advertised with a salary of £29,500 GBP (about $40,000 USD).

So presumably Hollie is now earning $3500 or more each month as a freelancer 🤑

How she got started…

In the early days, I was applying to jobs I was way overqualified for that were paying pennies… My first job paid me the grand total of $5… After Upwork’s fees and the exchange rate, I made £3.08.

Considering that was the first money I’d earned in six months, I remember feeling pretty chuffed!

The thing is that, for me, this approach worked. It enabled me to make valuable contacts, gather gushing reviews, and most importantly, it allowed me to figure out the whole Upwork ball game as quickly as possible.

However, she feels things are changing…

To find success on Upwork in 2023, you’ll need a bucket-load of patience, a willingness to invest in Connects to get your proposals seen, and the dedication to create an epic profile and submit stellar applications. But more than anything, you’ll need to be the real deal and have legitimate skills.

(Upwork Connects are used as a currency on the platform, to make sure people don’t submit spammy applications.)

💬 In reply to a comment asking if one should pay for Connects, she says…

I did buy connects at the start. I thought of the expense as an investment.

Starting a business always requires some investment, whether that be paying advertising fees to market your services, paying a web developer to create your website or paying for a course to consolidate your skills.

Hollie’s experience is similar to many others we’ve featured in this newsletter.

I’d say the recurring theme is: it’s hard before it’s easy.

Sounds like Hollie’s first few months as a freelancer on Upwork were a tough grind, but her willingness to endure such tough times is what made her digital nomad dreams come through 💪