My experience with Freelancer.com getting more spammy and fraudy

[AppMan]

So it happen I am developer myself , feel really sorry for people who are looking for specialist there and are not technical .
I have posted some software jobs lately from web design to programming . And I cant believe how some people bid there and assure you they are experienced software developers with good portfolio and 5 starts reviews to find out they are not even hobbyist , they want you to award the project, then they will keep bugging you to put escrow and release some part of it , but they will never deliver anything.
I think rating system is a joke in freelancer.com website. Simply because it require mutual rating.
I put a project that require 15 minutes to read the requirements and within first second ( yes first second ) a couple of bidders put a bid and claimed they have gone through all the requirements , and some of them has too many 5 stars . When I interviewed them , they were completely fraud and know nothing about the skills I was looking for.

So freelancers here, I know many of you do some cash on side from these website, and you will accuse employers of being the fraud , but I would say it is just hard on us as it is hard for you to know who is the real.

 

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[ZF Lee]

Oh dear...

I myself have a freelancer account on freelance.com, and its a whacko place.

After I first set up my account, I took a cursory look at the competition of content writers and copywriters.

One copywriter's profile read like this:
'I have X degree and I love X hobby. I would love to work with you.'
Anyone who know Sales 101 knows that no client in his right mind would care about the 'I' and 'Me'!

Yet somehow the profile is 5 stars, and the guy even has a few jobs up his sleeve. I'm wondering if that freelancer took some gullible clients prisoner, instead of the other way round...

This would be another reason why I am spending way lots of time doing video recordings of myself talking about my portfolio, and even process breakdowns of my projects (e.g. research methods that I use for writings, basic conflicts solving). I could do some of them in the interviews themselves, but for some clients, they might want a lot more upfront validation.

Somehow though, I haven't heard of these kinds of issues from Upwork, even when they have gone public.

 

[Sizemore]

I hear what you are saying @AppMan. People on these freelancing sites are profiling that they are experts in many different areas just to get work, when in reality, they are good at one thing and have a little experience in some other areas.

I outsource some of my coding on Upwork.com, maybe it is a little better there? One strategy I like to use is giving every freelancer an EXTREMELY specific and short first task that will demonstrate their knowledge. If I have ANY issues with their coding or communication style, I pay them and move on immediately, since there are a lot of developers out there for what I need.

I think the freelancing world would benefit by some platforms that niche down so that people won't bother creating accounts to freelance unless they are more legit. For example, I recently purchased excelfreelancers.com because I was frustrated with the same topic. Anyone want to value-skew it up? (wait, wait... one thing at a time, avoid shiny objects, avoid shiny objects)...

 

[Patrick Jones]

The short first task is a good idea. I do something similar when hiring web developers. They get 4h of budget and I see what they can do with that. Plus I get to see how well they can communicate.

When posting a job, I explicitly state that proposals from India will not be considered for ongoing lack of quality. That has brought the ratio of proposals:hires down to about 50:1 from 100:1.

Trying to hire there as a non-techie is asking for disaster.

 

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[Guest61835]

I was thinking of using Fiverr as a place to start my web designer freelancing career but I don't believe I want 20% of my money going to them. Absolute garbage. So for me I am attempting to move away from even thinking about using Fivver or freelancing websites and just get myself out there on my own website. The problem is I'm trying to find the laws regarding tax and laws of being a web designer in Tennessee ,USA.

But ya. I agree. Freelancing sites are filled with ALOT of spam or fakes in general.

 

[ZF Lee]

I was thinking of using Fiverr as a place to start my web designer freelancing career but I don't believe I want 20% of my money going to them. Absolute garbage. So for me I am attempting to move away from even thinking about using Fivver or freelancing websites and just get myself out there on my own website.

I generally don't mind any freelancing website taking a bit of my money as long as they provide good services and update according to the needs of freelancers and clients.

For Upwork, freelancers now have to pay a few cents for Connects to send proposals to clients.
Which is alright, as I don't use a lot of Connects and send lots of proposals unless I'm weeding out clients and looking for 'new seedlings'.

You could try Linkedin. I remember some speaker on an AWAI online call mentioning that it has a certain feature to help freelancers prospect...forgot what's the name, but I think the usual Linkedin PM-ing with sales calls the good ol' way will do.

 

[maverick]

Upwork is a good place to find freelancers/jobs. They're starting to charge for posts though so that means less competition and higher emphasis on quality.

 

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[CareCPA]

The problem is I'm trying to find the laws regarding tax and laws of being a web designer in Tennessee ,USA.

I wouldn't worry about this. Keep track of income and expenses, worry about the tax part when you're actually making five figures or more in profit. Stop using this as an excuse to get out there and find work.

 

[ZF Lee]

I wouldn't worry about this. Keep track of income and expenses, worry about the tax part when you're actually making five figures or more in profit. Stop using this as an excuse to get out there and find work.

On a side note, one of the reasons why I like Upwork is that it keeps receipts and certificates of all my earnings.

Quite heavily underrated, IMO.

So when the time comes for taxes in the future (if I want to scale this up into a full-blown agency of sorts), I can have some records to begin with.

I think following US laws, my earnings are also deducted already on the platform before it goes to my PayPal.
So there's some benefits with using freelance platforms, the good ones, that is.

 

[Guest61835]

I wouldn't worry about this. Keep track of income and expenses, worry about the tax part when you're actually making five figures or more in profit. Stop using this as an excuse to get out there and find work.

That's....really all I need to do? I was just treading carefully not to get sued basically for my services. You have to file quarterly taxes and many other other tax laws regarding your state and such on taxes and also forming contracts for clients. I mean...is there a place I could look at for legal information on this besides speaking to an attorney. I basically have everything ready to go. I just don't know the legal system. Ignorance isn't always bliss. IRS loves their tax money.

 

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[CareCPA]

That's....really all I need to do? I was just treading carefully not to get sued basically for my services. You have to file quarterly taxes and many other other tax laws regarding your state and such on taxes and also forming contracts for clients. I mean...is there a place I could look at for legal information on this besides speaking to an attorney. I basically have everything ready to go. I just don't know the legal system. Ignorance isn't always bliss. IRS loves their tax money.

You're doing web design. It would cost like $300 for a lawyer to create a contract for you.
The chance of you getting sued is relatively low anyway. If the client doesn't like the work, refund their money. I'm assuming you're creating websites, not apps that will store personal data, so liability there is pretty close to zero.
Don't confuse tax and legal, they're two separate areas.

Go make some money, and when you have a couple hundred dollars in hand, speak to a lawyer about your liability if it will make you feel better.