Ivan's Career Turning Point or How to Find Your Niche

Vladimir

A while back I had the opportunity to speak with Ivan Zidov, an Expert-Vetted AI Engineer who shared a very insightful, unique and educational story about finding his niche and specializing his services on Upwork.

✍️Let us know how you found your freelancing niche and steps you used or would advise on.

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"Initially, I had experience in computer vision and natural language processing. I thought I could work in both areas, so that was my market positioning on Upwork. However, I wondered how someone with the same knowledge and experience could charge two or three times more than I did. I decided to figure that out.

I searched on Upwork for profiles of freelancers who had earned over $10,000 and charged $100 or more per hour. At the time, my hourly rate was much lower. So I thought -let's see what these people are doing.

I made an Excel sheet and recorded details such as their job title, description, video introduction, portfolio, certifications, and recommendations. I created a list of the top 50 or 60 profiles. After analyzing them, I realized that most of these people had the same experience as I did, but there were key differences in their profiles.

👉The main difference was that the best profiles were very niche. For example, one profile I analyzed had an hourly rate of $350. The person specialized in CUDA, which is used to write code for graphics cards in machine learning models. This is a very niche area, and the person was the best at it at that time. I realized that the more niche your expertise, the more valuable it is.

👉The second insight was that the best profiles were written with the client in mind. They focused on what clients would gain by working with them, rather than just listing certifications and technical skills. I rewrote my profile to emphasize the benefits to clients. I shifted the focus from my certifications to the value I could provide.

👉The third point was that small details matter, such as having a video introduction, well-designed visuals, and a strong portfolio.

After making these changes, I doubled my hourly rate and started attracting more clients than ever."

Sein

Great points. This especially "the best profiles were written with the client in mind. They focused on what clients would gain"

Sein

There are great observations in there and from my own experiences I agree. I think a key factor for long term success is a freelancers willingness and ability to pivot and adapt to market changes, as well as having a solid niche.

Being prepared to re-approach marketing and rewrite profile / advertising is very important, and also being aware it could potentially take weeks, months, or even years to develop newly sustained traction. Working on patience and solid communications can be a huge help for this.

I think it's also important to realize that a lot of small positive changes can amount to bigger and better changes over a period of time, so consistency in our approach and attitudes to work is a great ally.

Vladimir

Sein Thanks Sein, adapting to changing market conditions has been crucial on Upwork in order to maintain freelancers' success in the last year or two. That has been especially a challenge for very experienced freelancers.

Sein

Vladimir Thanks Vlad. Yes adapting is a very big challenge. Things went a bit flat for me around 2021. It was difficult. I stepped away for 2 years and when I returned I gave it 2-3 months of thought and research before figuring out better approaches and refined marketing. I must have drafted my Profile over 100 times, easily.

Things are currently much better but I'm still very aware of the need to keep relivant in the marketplace. It's amazing how once you have your messaging correct, services focused, and niche better sorted you get much better traction. There is less work then 4 years ago but the quality I'm landing is better.

I remember it was around the time Project Catalogue started taking off things went flat, it wasn't a great fit for me.

Vladimir

That's interesting Sein. Although Project Catalog doesn't work for everyone in terms of getting new contracts and clients, it does work for a lot of freelancers, especially those in visual skill categories. In my opinion Project Catalog is one of the most successful and problem-free features in recent years. It's a great and free marketing option to say the least. I'm planning to start a thread around freelancer-friendly and useful Upwork features.

If the question isn't overly direct, how did you feel that as a seasoned freelancer you needed to make those profile changes and redefine your approach? Again, it depends on the category and the freelancer's business preference, if they opt for working with a single or small number of clients vs working on a higher number projects and often looking for new clients.

Sein

Vladimir Yes I can see Project Catalog being very useful. Initially when it came out I wasn't confident it would work for me. When I came back I tired it for a few months but rolled it back.

"I'm planning to start a thread around freelancer-friendly and useful Upwork features." -- This sounds great.

"how did you feel that as a seasoned freelancer you needed to make those profile changes and redefine your approach?"
When things went flat it was disappointing and I wasn't sure how to adapt. I was a little reluctant to make changes but realized it was the way forward. I'd considered up skill-ing and opening into new areas - I tend to do this anyway but I thought diversifying services might help. What helped massively though was reviewing everything I'h done for work and identified my strengths and figured out how to better play to that. After I came back and started making profile changes I was excited doing it and felt very motivated. - I had nothing to loose trying and I felt I'd done before and could do better this time. Every-time I hit a milestone writing my Profile I made a new copy, so I didn't need to be too precious because I was tracking changes - It really was a very layered process.

In my initial years on Upwork I opted for "a higher number projects and often looking for new clients" , a lot of short one off gigs, to help build up a provable track record of success on the platform. When things went flat I realized I hadn't focused enough on connecting with return clients, though I have returns the focus on one off gigs went against me later. Once I returned in 2023 the focus is much more on "working with a single or small number of clients" I defiantly prefer this.

Vladimir

Wow, thanks for the honesty and the ice-breaker. Since we don't yet have an option to link Upwork profiles in forum profiles here, would you mind sharing your primary skill category and services you offer?

Sein

Thanks Vlad. I didn't make your webinars in the previous community and after seeing the great quality of the welcome wagon I feel like I was missing out :) I'm happy to be here now. Yes is great to get an ice breaker thank you - I couldn't un-mute at the meeting but am very glad I attended.

Sure, my primary skill category is Sound Engineering and Audio Editing, Specialized in Mastering, Technical Support, and Music Production. I've worked on a few well known mobile apps, done time in radio, guest lectured at college, thought music privately before freelancing. I enjoyed music performance for a long time but that took a back seat when I started focusing on providing services for audio projects.