Starting an Agency on Upwork: Things to Consider
Introduction:
The statistics show that almost 85% of Upwork users don’t treat to their profiles seriously, and that’s the reason why they fail to get their first job. On the other hand, those who work hard, succeed and those who succeed, take the forward steps to become more recognizable.
Luckily, Upwork is one of the platforms that gives you freedom to choose between working as an independent freelancer, as part of an agency, or as a combination of both. One of the best ways to earn more on Upwork is by turning your personal profile into an agency. If you are eager to know how you can start an agency on Upwork, then stay with us.
When to Start an Agency
This is perhaps the first question you may ask yourself, and here is our answer. There are 2 main cases when you need to consider starting an agency on Upwork.
For an Individual Freelancer
An individual freelancer may have different skills and experience. While you can showcase all of your skills on your primary/general and secondary profiles, it’s actually recommended to have all in one place and represent yourself as an agency.
For instance, if you have programming, video editing, and content creation skills then combine them in one profile and represent yourself as an agency that’s able to provide a full-package service. Many Upwork clients look for agencies that can handle a bunch of tasks at once. Of course, you must be sure you can handle it all by yourself and only after that you can take this responsibility on your shoulders.
For a Team of Freelancers
If you already have a team of talented freelancers experienced in different niches and skill sets, you can already start an agency. You can start with a small group of individuals and then expand your team according to the contracts you get on Upwork.
Note that your agency is supposed to have a brand name, logo and a specific niche. Although your agency consists of different team members, they should all be well-aware of your vision and aim to provide the client what they need.
The Benefits of Starting an Agency on Upwork
Starting an agency on Upwork is full of benefits. Once you get started with it, you’ll see how beneficial it is for you and your team. Here are some of them. An agency allows you to
Scale your online business.
Take on larger and long-term projects on Upwork.
Transition into a new niche and experience.
Represent a broader skill set.
Take on professional and well-organized approaches.
How to Start
Starting an agency requires some preparation. You can turn your current freelancer account into an agency account (but still use it as a separate account too). Or you need to set up an agency account from scratch. For this you need to have an Agency Plus plan inside Upwork. Now, let’s go through the steps to set up an agency.
Background: think of a brand name and logo that can represent your service. For instance, there is an agency called AutomateScale inside Upwork. The aim of this agency is to help automate and scale digital businesses. It has a logo and website which are recognizable between many business owners and Upwork clients.
Niche: your agency should have a specific niche. You should represent who you are, what you offer and who can use your services.
Agency service and approach to work: try to clearly describe your agency’s work-style so that the client could know what to expect from your agency.
Overview: in this section you can put a video, add keywords and a detailed description about your agency. It will serve as an advertisement for your company.
Skill set: include a skill set in your agency profile. You can talk about each of your skills and related experience in the description.
Portfolio: make sure you have a 100% complete profile and a perfectly organized portfolio. Your portfolio should represent your past work and visually grab the client’s attention. It can include pictures and video materials.
Agency Roles
Each of the agency members has a set of responsibilities and roles. An agency inside upwork is supposed to define agency roles. It usually includes an agency owner, admin, business managers, finance and marketing consultants, project managers and of course specialists who work on specific fields, such as programming, content creation, marketing, social media and some other categories found on Upwork.
To learn more about starting an Upwork agency, click on the video down below.