Freelancing

I’m sitting in a sweltering Saigonese coffee shop—probably 8 years ago—trying to finish a sales letter for some long-forgotten dating guru on how to…never mind.  But…  The strange couple to my right is making it very hard to concentrate.  “DA-dyyy, I’m back!” the girl purrs, plopping into the wooden chair across from her man.  She’s […]

I got a message yesterday from a reader named M. She’s not a freelancer. But after reading one of my emails, she said: Really good copy. I’m not a freelancer but that even motivated me. Lol That’s what happens when the message hits the mark. And that’s exactly what most freelancers aren’t doing on Upwork.

Heard from a few of you today that Upwork’s gone wild with another fee increase:    Instead of the standard 10% fee, freelancers may see a higher or lower fee on new contracts.  This change is based on factors like supply and demand in the marketplace, with the goal of creating a more balanced and

Last summer my wife and I spent a week in Paris—one last shot of travel adrenaline before Baby Nora arrived in November.  If you’ve never heard of Paris, it’s a city in Europe where, every single morning, locals eat cheese and cigarettes for breakfast on a balcony overlooking a big, metal tower.  What a town. 

You can’t trust anyone anymore.  This morning I called my Honda dealership to grab some parts for my precious Accord.  Went about as well as you’d expect.  RIIINNNNGGGGG!  “HELLO. I’m…EMMA. Your local…HONDA representative!” blasted the obviously AI-and-not-actually-Emma on the other end. “How can I direct your call today!?”  😒  Can’t stand these…no matter what you

About a week ago, a business consultant found me on Upwork. She lived in Asia, helped Western companies expand into China, and had one of the juiciest marketing situations I’ve seen all year: High-ticket offer Huge email list No email marketing system A textbook dream client. We hopped on a consulting call. She was sharp,

For the past 3 years, I’ve played a dangerous game with our district court clerk.  Like two chess grandmasters we’ve tried to corner each other…  Piece by piece…  Email by email…  And I can’t tell who’s winning.  It all started with a summons:  “Please appear at the District Courthouse in one week. Failure to appear

Last night I got a Facebook message from a guy named Gavin. He’d seen one of my Upwork ads. Profile pic: yellow aviator sunglasses. Anime baseball cap. The unmistakable look of someone who just discovered freelancing through TikTok. He asked: Can Upwork Domination be applied to a brand-new Upwork account? The Short Answer Yes. It

People think cheating happens because someone’s unsatisfied. Or bored. Or drunk. Or chasing some midlife-thrill-seeking fantasy they saw in a romcom. But most of the time? It’s none of that. The #1 reason people cheat is much more boring—and more dangerous. It’s familiarity. Here’s how it usually goes: Two people sit near each other at

Wake up once at 4:27 am with a crying baby and no coffee beans in the cupboard?  Shame on you.  Wake up twice with no coffee beans?  Shame on me.  Last week I swore an oath to my wife that this house would never go uncaffeinated again. And so I demanded pounds upon pounds of