Tried Upwork vs local referrals for 3 months straight. The winner was obvious.

I spent 3 months hustling on Upwork and landed maybe 2 small gigs paying $300 total, while last month alone I got 4 clients from just talking to people at the Flying Star meetups. The difference was real trust built face to face versus competing with 50 randoms online. Has anyone else found that local connections blow past online platforms for steady work?

3 comments

3 Comments

faithpatel5d ago

Totally get this, it's rough out there on Upwork when you're just a face in a crowd. That face to face trust really does make a huge difference, kind of like how a handshake beats a cold email any day. Glad you found what works for you, that's the real win.

wells.evan5d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah cold pitching locals on Facebook got me my first real clients, way better than bidding blind online.

jana5095d ago

I mean, is it really that deep though? It's just finding clients, not solving world hunger.