Wouldn’t it be great to earn in dollars and spend in rupees? Wouldn’t it be great to earn money from anywhere in the world – while working from home? Wouldn’t it be awesome to be your own boss, choose your own projects and determine how much you want to make every month? Wouldn’t it be totally cool to finally break out of the 9-5 and live a life where you control your work hours and output?
Welcome to the freelance life! Living a freelance life enables you to do all of the above, but requires discipline, motivation and effort. If you think you have what it takes, live in Pakistan and want to dive into the world of freelancing, then Elance.com is your best starter bet.
Elance provides you a marketplace of ready and willing buyers who want to utilize your services. Elance protects you with escrow so you are guaranteed payment. Elance gives you immense marketing and earning opportunities, but navigating Elance and knowing the tricks of freelancing requires a bit of a learning curve.
I am offering a comprehensive course that will take you step-by-step through the freelancing world and put you through your Elance paces. I am also guaranteeing that you will win your first project worth hundreds of dollars with my guidance and help.
Who Am I?
So who am I to make these guarantees?
- I have earned over $20,000 from Elance in the past 12 months alone.
- I have won second place in the Elance New Way to Work contest.
- I write for the Elance blog.
- I am ranked amongst the Top 50 freelancers on Elance at # 34 (out of 67,000+).
As you can see, I have gained a lot from Elance. It’s time to give some back 
What will you Gain from this Course?
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Choose a freelancing niche according to your passions and interests
- Setup a kickass Elance profile that will wow buyers
- Pass the Elance admissions test as well as a few skills tests in your area of expertise
- Choose/shortlist your first few projects
- Discover how to choose serious and high-paying buyers
- Write custom bids for those projects and buyers
- Work out your hourly rate (in $)
- Make/choose a few samples to send with your proposal
- Follow up with communication messages and added detail
- Setup your banking system with Elance to receive direct deposits to your local bank account
- Win your first project worth hundreds of dollars!!!
How will this Course Work?
So that’s what you’ll get from my Elance course. Here’s how this session works:
- This session will consist of a very small group of people so I can give individual attention to each
- There will be max 10 people per session (more sessions later)
- Session will be approximately 3 hours long
- Participants will receive presentation notes as well as comprehensive printed take-home material
- Session will be held on Saturday Dec 4th 2010 at 3PM
- Pricing: Rs.5000/. Here is how this course is priced: I will be teaching you and taking you through the first steps of winning your first Elance project. The minimum price that a buyer can award a project for is $50, which is about 5000 rupees. So you will actually earn back your investment amount with your first project! And with my success steps and guidance, there’s no reason why you won’t earn not just your first project but many more and for much greater amounts! After all, I got my first project for $630 And here’s the next reason for this amount:
- Exclusive access to me for troubleshooting and support until you earn your first project! You will be my exclusive client I will work out weekly emails with you and offer post-workshop support within this price (and occasionally whip you into shape and into a positive mindset!).
Who is this Course For?
This course is for:
- beginner freelancers
- students who wish to freelance on the side
- housewives and other work at home people wishing to add an extra income stream
- existing companies and freelancers who wish to pitch to international clients
- anyone who wants to get started with a service-oriented business of their own
Event Details
- Date: Saturday, December 4th, 2010
- Time: 3:00PM – 6:00PM
- Venue: ROLA offices, Suite 5, 4th Floor, Daniz Offices, 6-C, 14th Street, Kh-e-Shamsheer, Karachi 75500, Pakistan (See map & driving directions here: http://bit.ly/hCRk16)
- Duration: Three (3) hours
- Speaker: Salma Jafri, WordPL.net
Note: stationery will be available for note-taking; you are free to bring laptops if desired (please indicate in registration form if you will bring your laptop)
How to Register for “Freelance with Elance”
- Registrations will be open from Friday November 26th to Friday Dec 3rd 2010
- Registrations are on a first come first serve basis
- Registration timing is between 11AM – 4PM Monday – Saturday
- Please call Alex John on 021-35341352 or 0314-2968861 before coming to register
- Registration venue is same as above: ROLA offices, Suite 5, 4th Floor, Daniz Offices, 6-C, 14th Street, Kh-e-Shamsheer, Karachi 75500, Pakistan+92 21 35341352 (See map & driving directions here: http://bit.ly/hCRk16)
- Procedure: During registration, you will be required to fill out a short form, pay the registration amount in full (Rs.5000 non-refundable) and take your receipt. You will bring your receipt on the day of the course. In case you can’t make it to the current session due to an unavoidable situation, please call us 24 hours before the session begins – your seat will automatically roll over to the next available session.
Note: There are only 10 seats available for this session, so if you want a seat, please register early. Participants who register once the 10 seats have been allotted will be placed on a waiting list for the next session. They may be called for current session in case of cancellation.
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COMPLETE COURSE OUTLINE
Freelancing
What it is
What it entails
10 reasons to love freelancing
10 freelancing challenges
Elance
What it is
How it works
Why it’s the best choice for Pakistani freelancers
What you can expect from it
Basic Elance ToS everyone should be aware of
1. Getting Started
How to make an account
How to choose a category
How to choose a membership plan
How to verify credit card
2. Your Account
How to choose a username
How to build your profile for maximum effect
What skills tests to take and how to work them
What keywords to use
How to make yourself contactable & searchable
How to setup your bank account info
How to get verified recommendations & referrals
3. Start Bidding
How to choose a project
How to scout buyers
10 signs this projects isn’t a good fit for you
10 signs this project is perfect for you!
10 signs of a buyer from hell – avoid at all costs!
10 ways to work for great long term high-paying clients
When to use pre-bids and public Q&A
Action Item
[Tea Break]
4. Write your Proposal
The 6 steps of proposal writing
How to determine your freelancing rate
Why do some proposals fall flat while others prosper?
Remember: your proposal is your sales pitch and your personality pitch!
How to play to your strengths
The #1 proposal writing mistake and how you can avoid it
Examples and case studies of good and bad proposals across different categories
Proposal writing checklist
Action Item
5. Follow up
Watch your watchlist
How and when to send follow up messages
Why some projects don’t get awarded
How to keep your award ratios high
6. When the Project Gets Awarded – to YOU!
Congratulations!
Your first correspondence after an award
How to make a detailed scope document
How to set milestones
How to never start work before escrow is funded (hint: it’s all in the way you ask)
Your rights as a provider
What you should know before signing NDA & other agreements
Copyrights and plagiarism issues and how to protect yourself
Why it’s essential to keep all communication on Elance
What to do when projects get awarded to others
7. Living the Freelance Lifestyle
All that and a bag o’ chips?
Managing work and family – the ultimate balancing act
Working evenings and weekends only
Managing multiple projects
When you have too much work…
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What you Get
At the end of the session you will receive:
- A printed & bound quick start guide (w/ screenshots) to setting up your membership account on Elance
- A checklist for choosing the right projects
- A checklist for proposal writing & bid submission
- You will have “homework to do” after this session as well. You will be sending me three shortlisted projects each week and three of your best bids to critique. I will help you with 3 bids each week (via email only) until you win your first proposal. If you follow my guidelines and have what it takes, then it won’t take you more than a few weeks to win your first project worth hundreds of dollars!
Join me now in the quest to live to work, not work to live
Register now for Freelance with Elance and reserve your seat!