photo credit: Mish Mish

“Here is a guest post by Julie who has made the transition from corporate job to online Freelancer.”

Let me start by giving you a little background on me. I’m not doing this to bore you; I simply want to give you some idea on what we might have in common. There were two reasons I decided to sign-up with oDesk. The first, I was fed-up with working for someone who took all the credit for my hard work, and, incidentally, hadn’t given me a pay rise in over 3 years. The reason I was given for this was I wasn’t worth anymore than I was already being paid!

The second reason and this was something that kind of forced my hand. I was made redundant (possibly why I never got that pay rise)! Many of you will relate to both of the reasons I decided to enter the world of freelancing. The unfortunate thing for me was that I was left without an income before I even got started (but that’s a story for another day).

After much deliberating and I have to say, a good deal of panic, I decided to start looking on the internet for ways to make money online. This, I have to say, took longer than I expected. I had heard of money making scams, but never in my wildest dreams did I think there would be so many! The amount of “companies” that tell you about making money online and how you can become rich in a matter of days is astounding. However, I digress. After some-time, I stumbled across a website called oDesk, and I’m really glad I did.

I’m proud to announce that since the summer of 2011, I have been working as a freelancer, and I can’t believe how much money one can make from oDesk , thanks to this website. However, there are two sides to every story, and in the following words I’m going to tell you all about “the good, the bad and the ugly”.

The Good

The first and best thing to note about this website is they’re a real company. They are most definitely NOT a scam. You don’t have to pay to join, and it’s free to set-up your profile. In fact, you don’t pay anything for the benefits you receive with this website. So how do they make their money? I hear you ask. Well, they charge a percentage of any fees charged to the client, easy!

If you’re serious about using this website as your platform for making money online, you have to be prepared to put some hard work in. It takes time to build a profile you can be proud of, and you should take your time doing this.

Of course, there are basic details required and once that’s done then you’re into the realms of showcasing what you can do. If you want to make money online with oDesk, you need to have a good profile. The good news is they have a system to assist you on how to do just that; such as information on the best way to word the introduction you need, how you should present your resume, and all sorts of other tips, which (and I know I keep saying this) are free.

You can add a photo to give your profile that personal touch, and you can also take various tests that prove you can do what you say you can. It’s worth noting here that to become 100% oDesk “ready”, you will need to take a test but it’s not hard to do.

Once all of this is done, and you’re profile shows as 100% complete, you’re ready to start applying for jobs of which there is no shortage.

The Bad

I’m going to be fairly brief here because I’m a fan of oDesk and their website has helped me go about making money online, but it’s only fair to point out the downside. After all, nothing in life is perfect:

• When you apply to a job you will be in competition with other “bidders”. It doesn’t cost you anything to apply, but you do have to bear in mind that some clients will choose their contractors based on price alone.

• It can take a while for you to land your first job simply because you have no background with the website. Once you do start building on your profile, you will receive feedback. Again, some clients choose contractors based on this.

The Ugly

Yes, it’s a sad fact; there are undesirables that manage to set-up profiles on oDesk. They advertise jobs as “fixed price”, get you to do the work, and disappear without paying. This is the biggest problem the website has in my opinion. They will protect your earnings if you have an hourly contract, but not fixed. Maybe one day, they’ll correct this.

Conclusion

Making money online on oDesk is possible, I’m living proof just keep the following in mind:

• Vet your clients like they would you
• Make sure (where you can) that you factor the websites fees into your rate
• Take your time, and be patient!

Like this post? Check out our free course on how you can make money online.