May 2024 EHI Online Meeting

By
EHI Meetings

DATE: 24 May 2024 

Welcome and Prayer

Mike opened the meeting with prayer. 

Discussion 

Greg: Do we have anyone joining this call for the first time? 

Jonas: I am here for the first time! I’m Jonas!  

Greg: Great! Welcome. Philemon, did you have a good celebration with your family and friends, celebrating your Top-Rated Badge? 

Philemon: Thank you! I had a great time with the celebration!  

Greg: You are a great pioneer. A pioneer is someone who does something new that is very difficult and challenging, and there are several pioneers on this call. Philemon is one, and we are going to celebrate another pioneer now. Jeff has now reached Top-Rated just like Philemon. Let’s hear it for Jeff! 

Jeff: Thank you!! Philemon, thank you for your model. I followed your steps to get a Top-Rated Badge on Upwork.  

Greg: Elin, will you tell everyone what a Top-Rated Badge is and why it is important? 

Elin: One benefit of a Top-Rated Badge is you will get paid faster on hourly contacts. You also have more control over your Job Success Score. You can ask Upwork to remove a bad review so that you can continue to have a good Job Success Score. You also become eligible for Premium Upwork Support if you were to run into technical problems on Upwork. In addition, you can offer consultations to clients as a supplemental way to earn money on Upwork. The Top-Rated Badge tells everyone that you are in the top 10% of talent on Upwork. The badge demonstrates that you have worked very hard on Upwork, and you must keep working very hard to keep your Top-Rated Badge. 

Greg: Jeff, we want you to celebrate with your friends like Philemon did! You and Philemon have set great examples for others to follow. Your example gives others hope as they work to earn income on Upwork. As you know, it is very challenging to work on Upwork, so giving other people hope makes it a little easier for them. Does anyone have any questions about the Top-Rated Badge? 

Jonas: How does Upwork know that a freelancer has become Top-Rated? 

Jeff: Upwork monitors freelancer progress, and when the freelancer reaches Top-Rated, they are sent a congratulations by email that they’ve reached that level. 

Greg: There are two critical factors to becoming Top-Rated: 1, you must make $1,000 in one year, and 2, you must have good reviews.  

Greg: Mike, will you share what your group is doing? 

Mike: Philemon, Efatha, and Ash, and working together as a team and using professional skills to do a job for my company. They are doing great work.  

Greg: What kind of work are they doing?  

Mike: They are building a survey, a questionnaire that collects answers from our users. They are learning how to use their programming skills on a team. 

Greg: What you are doing is so important. It is teaching people how to take their skills and adapt them the way companies in America and Europe do business. Since it is those companies who are often hiring you, it is important to know how they do business. If you make it easy for them to do business with you, they will hire you more often and be willing to pay you more dollars per hour.  

Mike: Another aspect of that is that Philemon, Efatha, and Ash know how to work as a team and can bring other freelancers on their team to accelerate their success. 

Greg: That is really important. There is a strategic question that I want the group to be thinking about. As a group, what do we need to do to get 100 people on Upwork who are earning $2,000 per year by 2031? One of the ways that Americans and Europeans think is, they think about a goal, what it is that they want to accomplish. When we think about a long-term goal, it helps us plan and develop tactics that will help us reach the goal. This is a goal that I’ve been praying that God would help us achieve. So my question is what work would we have to do to accomplish this goal? 

Jephte: We should interest people around us and show them the types of skills that are needed on Upwork. 

Greg: That is a good tactic! 

Philemon: We should think about having a center where people can learn English and develop skills that are needed to be successful on Upwork. That center would need to have a great internet connection. 

Greg: That is an interesting idea that we need to explore more. Some of the things that I like about what Mike is doing is teaching you to work as a team. With those skills, it may be possible that not every team member needs to know English. A team member who knows English can win a job on Upwork, and the whole team can work on the job. Even as I say that I know that what we are trying to do here is very, very challenging, but I also know that Jesus is a personal and powerful provide for His people. I know that he will reward our obedience and our diligent work. That is why the challenge of working online is not as great as it seems. 

Bible Verse 

Matthew 22:36-40 

(NIV) “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

(LSG) Maître, quel est le plus grand commandement de la loi? Jésus lui répondit: Tu aimeras le Seigneur, ton Dieu, de tout ton coeur, de toute ton âme, et de toute ta pensée. C’est le premier et le plus grand commandement. Et voici le second, qui lui est semblable: Tu aimeras ton prochain comme toi-même. De ces deux commandements dépendent toute la loi et les prophètes. 

Greg: What does it mean to love someone as yourself?  

Gauthier: For me, to love my neighbor means to give my neighbor the same opportunities and the same good things that I have. 

Legrand: It makes me think about Matthew 7:12 that explains doing for others as you would want others to do for you. The apostle Paul also says to not look after your own interests, but to look after the interests of others.  

Greg: Yes. I think when we are obedient to this command, our obedience will be rewarded, and God will be glorified. One way to be obedient to this command is by inviting people to join Upwork. Jeff has invited Jonas. Before he invited Jonas, he invited Malawi. This is Jeff loving Jonas and Malawi. Philemon invited Timothy and Aaron. These are examples of Philemon loving his neighbors. Mike working with Philemon, Efatha, and Ash is an example of Mike loving his neighbor. Usually when we think of a neighbor, we think of someone we can reach out to and touch. Because of the internet, our neighbor can be someone we can reach out and touch through the internet.  

Jonas: I would like to thank you all for showing me how to earn money online. I will do my best to tell others about Upwork as it will be a sign of showing them love.  

Greg: Does anyone have any other questions about Upwork? 

Solomon: I have a law background. How do you suggest I get a job on Upwork? 

Greg: First, you should pray to ask God what type of work you should do on Upwork. And then do some research on what jobs are available on Upwork. 

Elin: Solomon, please contact us so we can make some suggestions by email. 

Gauthier: I would like to thank everybody for the things they have been doing on Upwork, even before myself. To get a job is not easy. It has now been 1.5 years since I began my profile. I have changed my profile about 4 times. So far, I have not been hired through Upwork. My question is: what should I include on my profile to get a job? 

Elin: Gauthier, please email me and we will offer you support on building your profile.   

Closing Prayer 

Agustin closed us in prayer. 

Upwork Tips 

The freelance world can be exciting! If you’re thinking of using Upwork, dive in, but be prepared to work hard and smart. Success depends on a polished profile that showcases your skills, competitive proposals targeting specific niches and high-quality work that gets clients excited (and encourages them to leave positive feedback). Remember, a strong work ethic and exceeding expectations are key to building a loyal client base. (Philemon) 

TOP-RATED BADGE  

When you’re Top Rated, Upwork puts a dedicated badge on your profile, your proposals, and your projects on Project Catalog. This badge lets clients know you have a track record of great work and may increase your chances of being invited to an interview. Upwork updates eligibility every two weeks. Developing great relationships with your clients is the first step toward becoming a Top-Rated freelancer. Communication and professionalism are essential. Successful freelancers also choose projects that match their skills, provide quality work, and complete projects on time.   

To qualify you must meet these requirements. You can maintain your badge by continuing to meet all of the Top Rated requirements. For example, if your JSS drops below 90% or if you’re inactive for more than 90 days, you could lose your status.  

  • A current Job Success Score of 90% or higher  
  • First project on Upwork was more than 90 days ago  
  • Maintained Rising Talent status or a Job Success Score of at least 90% for at least 13 of the last 16 weeks  
  • A 100% complete profile   
  • 12-month earnings of at least $1,000  
  • Up-to-date availability (if unavailable now, set a date estimate)  
  • An account in good standing with no recent account holds
  • Activity on the platform (proposal, accepted invitation, or earnings) in the past 90 days  

    Top-Rated Badge Benefits:  

    • More control over your Job Success Score  
    • You can occasionally request the removal of client feedback.  
    • Job Digest email to make it easier to find jobs that are a great match  
    • A periodic email including jobs suggested specifically for the recipient  
    • Faster payments on hourly contracts  
    • With faster payouts, the typical 10-day wait for payment is cut in half for hourly contracts  
    • Ability to offer consultations to share expertise with clients  
    • Set up consultation to increase earnings, build a network of clients, and boost your reputation. Choose when you’re available to meet and set your rate, then clients can come to you.  
    • If consultations are available to you, you’ll find the option to create one on the My Project Dashboard page, under the Find Work dropdown menu. 
    • For tips go to https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/4411743730963-Set-up-a-consultation 

    GETTING PAID 

    • EHI freelancers recommend:  
      • Use Payoneer  
      • USE Equity BCDC 
      • Do NOT use Rawbank   
    • Make sure that your Bank Account names match with your Payoneer Account names as it makes the verification easier! 
    • Review all bank and payment vendor fees carefully when setting up your payment method.