Warning: If you hate Upwork you can stop reading now. I know so many of you hate Upwork because they take all of our hard earned money but Upwork has been such a great source of leads and paying clients for me, I personally ❤️🔥 the platform.

Now that I got that out of the way....do you ever dream of doing design work without staring at a screen?  Or how about getting paid for telling people what you think about their designs? What if I told you people are willing to pay you a high hourly rate to show them how to do something in Figma/Photoshop/Illustrator/Tool of your choice?

Upwork is launching a new feature that I think is a great option for designers who want to create additional streams of revenue without being chained to your desk all day. You already provide your services by creating designs for clients, right? Now, you can provide your services by offering design consultations as well.  Maybe even consultations by phone. Without even BEING at your desk?! Am I the only one who is excited by this????

I signed up for this as soon as I received the email from Upwork and it took about 5 minutes. I'm lazy, so I didn't add a custom graphic or video, but if you're smart, you will. I plan to add one later :).

You can set your own rates and availability. Once a client books a slot from your calendar, you can cancel up to 24 hours before the meeting if you review the requirements and realize you’re not the best fit. And since your time is valuable, you still get paid if the client cancels within 24 hours. 

Of course, you’re going to offer killer ideas, so providing consultations is another way to meet more clients and build up that long-term work. It’s the perfect way to assign monetary value to the experience and training that you’ve worked so hard to gain.

So yes, may still be ‘doing design work’ while you ‘stare at a screen.’ But this is such a different avenue, a way to share the knowledge you’ve built up and have personal interactions through a Zoom call!  Or maybe, the client just wants to bounce ideas off of you while you sit on the beach or take go for a hike! 🤯 🤯 🤯

The consultation feature will launch on Upwork early 2022. In the meantime, you can get your project catalog ready so you hit the ground running when it’s time. It never hurts to test the waters and see just how much you love (or hate) offering a new service.