Work Unlocked Podcast: Here’s What You Can Learn from Episodes 5 and 6

The way we work has changed forever. Where and how we work is undoubtedly different now. More importantly, our attitudes about the way we work have undergone a radical transformation. Upwork’s recently launched Work Unlocked podcast takes a look at this shift and how individuals and businesses around the world are managing (and thriving!) with these changes.

Season 1 is packed full of insights to help us broaden our views about how we work and live.

Each episode is thought-provoking, with stories from real-life independent talent who have found success on Upwork as well as business and industry leaders on the forefront of the future of work.

Here’s what you can learn from episodes 5 and 6.

Episode 5: Reimagine What’s Possible

At Upwork, we drink our own champagne. We collaborate with talented independent professionals to fill talent gaps and enhance our capabilities as an organization.

In this episode, you’ll hear from videographer Frisco Chavez who scaled his business with key client relationships and built a flexible life, thanks to Upwork. You’ll also hear from a special guest—Upwork’s own Senior Director of Content Strategy, Katie Evans—who shares how Frisco has become essential to Upwork’s content efforts.

Frisco shares important advice for freelancers looking to scale their business and build ongoing relationships with clients.

1. Do your research. Understand the market and don’t be afraid to ask for what you’re worth.
2. Think of yourself as a professional business. Build trust. Show clients they can depend on you. By being reliable, you become a valuable partner to them.
3. Diversify and learn new skills. Learning more and adding to your knowledge and skillset builds your confidence and the confidence helps you attract more business.
   

Hear more of Frisco’s freelancing advice here.

Later in the episode, you will tune into insights from Zoë Harte, Chief People Officer at Upwork, who discusses how making independent talent a key part of your business, can not only help you achieve your mission and goals but also contribute to a better work-life balance for all.

According to Zoë, Upwork is uniquely positioned to serve as a role model for this as the company has been proudly utilizing independent talent since its inception. She shares Upwork’s winning talent philosophy, which is:

1. Extraordinary talent is not restricted by geography or by worker status.  
2. Extraordinary teams aren't homogeneous.
3. Independent talent should be at the heart of every single business.

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“Greater diversity of thought and experience leads to not only superior team results, but teams which are far more engaged, there's far more innovation and there's far more understanding and just breadth of thought and as well as different experiences. And that's only good for the business and the team itself.”

—Zoë Harte.

To reiterate the point we started with, we do drink our own champagne at Upwork. Learn more about this and how to make the most of independent talent for your business.

Episode 6: Increasing Your Income Starts with Finding Your Wow

What can you do that’ll surprise and delight your customers? In this episode, web designer Chris Misterek shares six steps to winning more business by staying true to your values and wowing your clients.

Chris is one of Upwork’s top-earning freelancers. After a major life change, Chris turned to Upwork to start afresh and built a web design business from scratch.  Today, Chris credits Upwork for playing a big role in his professional and financial transformation.

For new talent looking to achieve similar levels of success, Chris, shares three key bits of wisdom:

1. Take the time to learn and understand how Upwork works.
2. Get good at pitching yourself. The right pitch leads to the right jobs and the right clients.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask for reviews. Make it easy for clients by using templates and having a process in place.
   

Hear more of Chris’s advice for wowing clients here.

Later in the episode, you’ll hear from John Winsor, an executive-in-residence at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard (LISH) and founder and CEO of Open Assembly, where he provides strategic advice on the future of work.

John discusses the new and changing world of work with hosts Tim and Gene. He also shares how his approach helped NASA leverage the independent talent to 10x their number of missions and reduce cost by 90%!

According to John, the key work transformations in a post-pandemic world will be:

1. Reframing to a fully remote world to remain competitive and hire top talent.
2. Solving the tech talent crisis by taking advantage of the open talent ecosystem.
3. Accepting that this “great experiment” is actually a generational change in the way we work and live.

“I think that the reality is every company has to become resilient. We don’t know the future and I think that’s the big learning from COVID... nobody knows the future.”

—John Winsor

Hear more of John’s thoughts on the future of work and how organizations can prepare for it with the help of independent talent.

Want more of Work Unlocked?

You can also get a full recap of the first two episodes here and here’s what you missed in episodes 3 and 4.