Elance & oDesk merge - oDesk renamed to UpWork

[healthstatus]

I am hardly ever a fan of companies changing their name and losing all that brand recognition.

As a big user of outsource workers I am keeping an eye on this. Any thoughts?

https://www.elance.com/q/blog/introducing-upwork-–-evolution-elance-and-odesk

 

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[johnp]

I am hardly ever a fan of companies changing their name and losing all that brand recognition.

As a big user of outsource workers I am keeping an eye on this. Any thoughts?

https://www.elance.com/q/blog/introducing-upwork-–-evolution-elance-and-odesk

I hope that their customer service improves. I went from spending thousands of dollars per month on Elance freelancers to $0 because they suspended my account for no reason. I contacted them everyday to fix my account. I even got on the phone and talked to customer service. It took 1 month before someone finally start investigating the issue.

I always liked the simplicity of Elance. I never liked the design of Odesk. It looks like Upwork is going to use Odesk's design. I heard that they are going to keep Elance open for 2 years at the most. I don't think we have much of a choice so I'm trying to get comfortable to UpWork now so I don't make any hiring mistakes. I also like the idea of the live chat but I haven't found that feature yet.

 

[Lex DeVille]

I hope that their customer service improves. I went from spending thousands of dollars per month on Elance freelancers to $0 because they suspended my account for no reason. I contacted them everyday to fix my account. I even got on the phone and talked to customer service. It took 1 month before someone finally start investigating the issue.

I always liked the simplicity of Elance. I never liked the design of Odesk. It looks like Upwork is going to use Odesk's design. I heard that they are going to keep Elance open for 2 years at the most. I don't think we have much of a choice so I'm trying to get comfortable to UpWork now so I don't make any hiring mistakes. I also like the idea of the live chat but I haven't found that feature yet.

This is apparently a huge problem for people on Odesk too. I didn't realize Elance was suspending accounts, but on Odesk many clients have been suspended without notice. I have yet to experience this from the hiring end, but several of my past client's accounts were suspended with little notice. It sucks because it leaves everyone wondering wtf to do.

 

[johnp]

This is apparently a huge problem for people on Odesk too. I didn't realize Elance was suspending accounts, but on Odesk many clients have been suspended without notice. I have yet to experience this from the hiring end, but several of my past client's accounts were suspended with little notice. It sucks because it leaves everyone wondering wtf to do.

Yea it sucks when it happens. They suspended my account because they discovered that I apparently had two accounts, one of which was inactive for years. They didn't give me any notice. I got on the phone with them and stated they they probably suspended my account for that reason, but they still wouldn't fix the issue. I get the feeling that they outsource their customer service.

I ended up creating a 3rd account with Elance and now I have 2 accounts with Upwork, so they only made the multiple account problem worse haha.

 

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[Polarbeans]

I am hardly ever a fan of companies changing their name and losing all that brand recognition

Totally.

+ I don't think UpWork is that good of a name. The logo is nice but the name oDesk was more unique.

You don't see iPhone getting a new name anytime soon..

 

[Lex DeVille]

U P Work

I don't P work.

I PISS EXCELLENCE!

 

[David Fiddler]

The neon colors are killing my eyes. Otherwise there's nothing new (been an oDesk user). But I hate the name change also.
"Sure, I will send you everything via oDes...wait...F*cking upwork!"

@SinisterLex You better go and edit ALL your posts regarding oDesk and switch up the name.

 

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[healthstatus]

U P Work

I don't P work.

I PISS EXCELLENCE!

That post cost me a lot of brain cells....

I don't think UpWork is that good of a name.

I think f#cked Upwork will become the unofficial tagline. This smells greatly of the recommendation by an executive spouse and all the minions were too chicken to oppose it.

 

[Polarbeans]

f#cked Upwork

Haha, good one

 

[Phones]

I always felt that Odesk and Elance had great qualities bet were, individually, sub-par to Freelancer.

Seems like a good move. Anything that brings markets together is great, more competition, better quality for better prices.

 

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[johnp]

I just hired my first freelancer on upwork. I'm actually starting to like it. It's 100x faster than Elance. The messenger app is nice. It just seems harder to screen people on upwork/odesk.

individually, sub-par to Freelancer.

I signed into freelancer one time and got overwhelmed, then never gave it a second chance. What makes freelancer better?

 

[barone]

I registered because I wanted to spread the word that Upwork does NOT take care of its most loyal freelancers...

https://collegetimes.co/upwork-sucks/

I don't know if you allow sharing links for new users but I would like to bump this thread and engage in a conversation about the best freelance sites out there because I am exhausted of wasting time with crazy, cheap clients. Thanks for having me on Fastlane...

 

[theag]

Upwork's website is a piece of shit. Unbelievably slow and buggy.

 

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[Wizard]

I just hired my first freelancer on upwork. I'm actually starting to like it. It's 100x faster than Elance. The messenger app is nice. It just seems harder to screen people on upwork/odesk.

Yeah it is harder to screen people... On Elance freelancers added pdf/word docs for reference... they don't have that option for Upwork?

 

[Jake]

Upwork's website is a piece of shit. Unbelievably slow and buggy.

I used to love elance..not happy with my brief usage of upwork.

Time will tell I guess

 

[Lex DeVille]

I registered because I wanted to spread the word that Upwork does NOT take care of its most loyal freelancers...

https://collegetimes.co/upwork-sucks/

I don't know if you allow sharing links for new users but I would like to bump this thread and engage in a conversation about the best freelance sites out there because I am exhausted of wasting time with crazy, cheap clients. Thanks for having me on Fastlane...

If you want to stop wasting time with crazy, cheap clients, then I suggest curing the problem, not the symptoms.

Changing freelance websites doesn't solve your problem.

Learning what to look for, how to ask good questions, how to influence, and how to create value does.

Some of my cheapest clients have become my highest-paying clients.

 

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[barone]

If you want to stop wasting time with crazy, cheap clients, then I suggest curing the problem, not the symptoms.

Changing freelance websites doesn't solve your problem.

Learning what to look for, how to ask good questions, how to influence, and how to create value does.

Some of my cheapest clients have become my highest-paying clients.

Thanks for the input, but can you explain what you mean? I know Fastlane teaches adding value, but finding good clients is difficult it seems without building up a massive online reputation with a big blog, big LinkedIn profile, etc...?? how can you find high paying clients so easily? cheers and thanked you.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Thanks for the input, but can you explain what you mean? I know Fastlane teaches adding value, but finding good clients is difficult it seems without building up a massive online reputation with a big blog, big LinkedIn profile, etc...?? how can you find high paying clients so easily? cheers and thanked you.

Look, it starts with your mindset.
Right now you're operating from a less than useful perspective.
That's why you keep getting burned.

The mentality of "I can't get good clients because Upwork sucks", or "I can't get good clients because I don't have a massive online presence", is what we call the victim mentality. It assumes everything else is the problem and avoids suggesting that you might be the problem.

If you want different results you gotta take responsibility.
You gotta figure out what you're doing that isn't working, and do something different.

How can I find high-paying clients so easily?

I don't. It's not easy. I put in more time and effort than most people to prove why I'm the best damn thing since sliced bread, and once I prove it I use my skills to create mutually beneficial relationships that develop into high-paying long-term clients. It didn't happen over night, and it doesn't always work out, but the one thing that makes all the difference is that I always own the result no matter what happens.

If your clients pay low it's not their fault. It's yours.
If your clients don't communicate as much as you need it's not their fault. It's yours.
If your clients hate your product it's not their fault. It's yours.
If high-paying clients don't seek you out for jobs it's not their fault. It's yours.

Until you think like this and figure out what you're doing/not doing to get results, then things will stay the same.