Most experienced freelancers will likely tell you not to rely on freelancing marketplaces to find work.
It’s good advice because those sites, like UpWork, pressure you to compete with other freelancers and lower your chances of landing high-paying jobs.
But, the truth is, we all have to start somewhere and the chances are even the most experienced freelancers have used a freelancing site at some point in their career to score a project or two.
The first freelancing site I used was Elance (now UpWork). I didn’t get many jobs on this platform, but I used it to connect with clients and build long-term partnerships. At the time, there wasn’t too much competition on Elance so landing a job was easier than it is today.