Can you make money by working online while being in Yemen? In this training seminar Mr. Ameer Tawfik will share with us his experience as an online freelancer.

2. How to become an Online
Freelancer
By
Ameer Tawfik
July 6, 2015
Hosted by BlockOne Business Incubator

3. Outlines
• Introduction to Freelancing
• A live demo of doing it
• General Tips
• Handling Money
• Golden rules for Yemeni
Freelancers.
• An actual exercise in groups

4. Introduction to Freelancing
• Who is a freelancer?
“ An individual who has engaged in
supplemental, temporary, project- or contract-
based work within the last 12 months”
According to Elance-oDesk freelancing
platform.

5. Introduction to Freelancing
• Popular freelancing sites:
Almost everything:
- Upwork (oDesk), Elance, Freelancer,
PeoplePerHour, guru.
Domain specific:
Toptal (software), 99design (graphic design)
Arabic sites:
(https://mostaql.com) ‫مستقل‬
(https://khamsat.com/) ‫خمسات‬

6. Introduction to Freelancing

7. Freelancing impact

11. How does it work?
• Sign up
• Fill in your details ( formal details)
• Find projects that match your skills.
• Select and bid in projects:
You need to write cover letter and answer
questions sometimes.
• Get hired and start working.
• Get paid weekly or per milestone.
• Withdraw money from your online account to
local bank account, mastercard or Paypal.
• Close work and give feedback.

12. Live Demo

13. How To Bid
• Apply for things you want to do?
• Do not sell your skills for cheap unless you
want to learn (not just work).
• Make all of your transactions online. Let
Upwork takes their commission. This helps in
building your reputation.
• Do not take more than 3 clients at once (this is
my personal limit)
• More important, do not lie or overpromise?
• Fixed Price vs hourly basis.

14. • Read about your client background. Google
their names and know them. It helps you
understand what they want.
• Read other competitors profiles? Can you beat
them: things like price, experience.
• Do not bid if there are more than 12
applicants (again my personal limit).
• Learn all aspects of business. You are
supposed to do them all.
How To Bid

15. How to do the work
• Time management. Set days for each client.
• Keep a log of everything you do. Use time
tracking software like Klock.
• Use them even if you are using the platform time
tracking. It helps you understand how much time
you really put in a project.
• Billable hour is not like a workable hour, pay
attention for that.
• Take ownership of your client works and be
responsible.

16. How to do the work
• Use cloud back up (Google drive , Dropbox).
• Use things like GitHub, Bitbucket to store your clients
source code.
• Do not mix personal with work. Use a separate email.
• Learn how to say No!
• Learn how to use TeamViewer, Skype, Join.me
• Use Outlook, Thuderbird.
• Enabling receiving emails at your Phone.
• Install Skype and work related software to your mobile.
• Set a day in a week to go out (that is why I teach at
university)

17. How to do the work
• Buy a desk and a chair. Do not work at your bed
room.
• Buy good hardware.
• Set work hours if you are at home. Never work all
day.
• Make people around you understand your work
nature. Believe me they do not get it?
• Try to work early in the morning. My personal
experience is that they are the most effective
hours.

18. How to Progress
• Do not make freelancing a live time job?
• Focus on your skills?
• Keep learning and improving? It never ends.
• Read about best practices in your fields. You
might do things completely wrong.
• Take different projects.
• Manage your clients adequately. Do not
ignore clients over others. They are important.

19. How to Progress
• Do not refund money easily, it will hurt your
reputation online?
• Pay attention to your health; burnout.
• Take projects that make you learn. One of the
best things about freelancing is that it exposes
you to a lot of problems. That means a lot of
experience.

20. Handling Money
• Have a bank account. (we are in the 21st
century already).
• Always have more than two payment methods
available for you. Paynoeer must be one of
them
• Subscribe your phone bills and give them your
address. Your details must match those at the
passport and in English.

21. Golden rules for Yemeni Freelancers.
• ‫الصبر‬‫ثم‬‫الصبر‬‫ثم‬‫الصبر‬
• ‫اعمل‬‫خطه‬‫ا‬‫و‬‫ب‬‫و‬‫ج‬‫و‬ ……‫ي‬
• ‫الحياة‬‫السياسيه‬‫توثر‬‫عليك‬‫من‬‫كل‬‫النواحي‬‫رضيت‬‫ام‬‫ابيت‬ .
• ‫الزم‬‫تخرج‬ Paynooer
• ‫ل‬‫السف‬،‫االنجليزي‬‫البد‬‫منها‬ .
• ‫الكهرباء‬‫و‬‫النت‬‫هم‬‫اعدائك‬‫الرئيسين‬‫في‬‫هذه‬‫البالد‬ . ‫اشتري‬‫مولد‬،
‫طاقة‬‫شمسيه‬،‫انترنت‬‫على‬‫الستاليات‬،‫انترنت‬‫ثري‬‫جي‬ .
• ‫اشتري‬‫اكثر‬‫من‬‫جهاز‬‫كمبيوتر‬ . ‫الجهاز‬‫الوحيد‬‫قد‬‫ال‬‫يكون‬‫دائما‬
‫يكون‬‫تحت‬‫الطلب‬ .

22. Golden rules for Yemeni Freelancers.
• ‫توقع‬‫ان‬‫يطلب‬‫التاكد‬‫من‬‫شخصيتك‬‫في‬‫اي‬‫وقت‬،‫و‬‫عليه‬‫جهز‬‫اكثر‬
‫من‬‫فاتوره‬‫باسمك‬‫و‬‫عنوانك‬‫في‬‫اليمن‬ .
• ‫تعلم‬‫ان‬‫تتابع‬‫كل‬‫شي‬‫بنفسك‬ .
• ‫تعلم‬‫ان‬‫تستخدم‬‫خدمة‬‫العمالء‬‫حق‬‫مواقع‬‫العمل‬ . ‫هم‬‫ياخذوا‬‫مال‬‫من‬
‫اجل‬‫خدمتك‬ .
• ‫تعلم‬‫تسئل‬‫غيرك‬‫عن‬‫حلول‬ .
• ‫اسلوب‬‫القبيله‬‫و‬‫هذا‬‫نعطيه‬‫سعر‬‫رخيص‬‫و‬‫هذا‬‫سعر‬‫غالي‬‫ما‬‫ينفع‬
‫.هنا‬ ‫كل‬‫بيانات‬‫العمل‬‫حقك‬‫موجوده‬‫في‬‫الموقع‬‫و‬‫يمكن‬‫الي‬‫واحد‬
‫ان‬‫يطلع‬‫عليها‬ .

23. Q & A