DATE: 6-9-2023
Welcome and Prayer (Greg)
Greg welcomed everyone to the call. Rigo and Michael, Greg’s travel companions, were also on the call. Iragi opened the group in prayer.
Upwork Updates, Successes and Challenges
Discussion about payment settings in Upwork on when to transfer money from the Upwork account to the bank account. Iragi had a problem with Upwork transferring money before it reached his setting limits.
- We learned that balances older than 180 days (about 6 months) will be withdrawn automatically, whether they are over your balance limit or not.
Connects on Upwork
Discussion about the challenges of not having enough Connects to bid on jobs in a competitive job market. Connects do not guarantee an interview. Spending money on Connects and not getting a job can get expensive just to be able to apply for a job.
Here are some facts about Connects on Upwork.
- Freelancer Basic accounts receive 10 free Connects each month, and Freelancer Plus accounts receive 70 Connects each month (plus the 10 free) for 80 Connects per month
- You receive 40 free Connects when you register for Upwork for the first time
- You receive 30 free Connects if you earn a Rising Talent badge
- Each month, your unused Connects will roll over. Connects will be used in the order you get them and unused ones will expire after one year
You do not get Connects:
- When you are invited to a job
- When you complete a job
You do not need to use any of your Connects:
- When a client invites you to a job
- When a client invites you to bid.
You may receive free Connects if:
(The number of free Connects given out is not disclosed by Upwork)
- You win an interview with an established client on Upwork
- If you Complete an Upwork Skill Certification
Buying Connects
- Connects cost $0.15 (USD) each and are sold in bundles or a custom amount of your choice
- You can also buy a Freelancer Plus subscription for $14.99 USD a month and get 80 connects per month
Connects refunds/credits
- If you’ve been awarded Connects for winning an interview, you might notice some are issued as refunds.
- For example: If you get 10 Connects for winning an interview, some of those are the Connects you used to submit your proposal for the job. Those Connects are refunded and then we add the rest as awarded Connects. For example, if you used 6 Connects to submit a proposal and win an interview, you’ll see 6 Connects “refunded” and 4 “awarded.”
We are working on a plan for EHI freelancers to earn Connects. Legrand thinks that’s a great idea and hopes that can happen.
Use Your Connects Wisely.
Connects are a valuable resource. When you use your Connects, you are investing in the opportunity to promote your services to prospective clients. Think carefully about a project before using your Connects!
Before you use your Connects to submit a proposal, do this:
- Carefully review the job post to make sure it matches your skills and availability
- Make sure you have enough time to submit a quality proposal
- Check to see if the client has hired anyone yet — sometimes clients don’t close a job right away after hiring
- Review the client’s history — do they usually hire right away and have previous freelancers enjoyed working with them?
- Consider the number of freelancers who have already submitted proposals and whether the client is interviewing others yet. It may be more difficult to get the client’s attention
Returned Connects
The Connects you used on a proposal will be returned if a project:
- Is canceled by the client before a contract is made. This does not apply to expired job posts.
- Violates our Terms of Service
- No longer available because of a violation or turns out to be fraud
- Connects are credited back to your account for reuse — not for a refund of their cash value.
- Your Connects are not returned if the client chooses another freelancer, lets the job expire without hiring, or if you withdraw your proposal from a project.
You can learn more about Connects through Upwork Support.
Disscussion Topics
Thanks to Philemon, we have been problem solving. If you are a business owner in America, you have the view that every problem has a solution. When people have problems in their businesses, they start thinking of ways to solve those problems. In order to solve problems, usually you have to gather information about the problem. How did you see me [Greg] gather information? By asking questions. Then we start thinking about possible solutions. There is one more thing to think about in solving the problem. Who should we be depending on to help us solve problems? [Iragi] I am thinking of prayer and relying on God for the solution.
Anytime people engage in business, there are going to be problems. One of the advantages of working on a team is that you have a group of people who can work together to solve the problem.
Has anyone looked at other platforms besides Upwork? Legrand recently opened an account on Fiverr. So far he has not gotten any jobs, but hopes to have updates soon. If you have already had success on Upwork, exploring other platforms might be an interesting option. There may be some platforms in French.
To the new EHI members: Ash, Idriss, Arial, Justin: Have you been able to set up your profile on Upwork? [Ash] Yes. Requested to send his profile link to Elin. [Idriss] Yes, all of them have created their profiles.
[Justin] What if someone has created a profile in French? [Elin] Work to translate your profile into English. [Greg] We don’t recommend spending time on Upwork if you can only work in French.
We asked Upwork support about creating a profile in French. They answered, ‘We cater to all clients and freelancers worldwide thus our platform by design is in English language only’.
Closing Prayer
We lost both Greg and Iragi due to network issues. We closed the meeting letting all know that we are praying for each one of them.