04/12/2024
𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧: 𝐌𝐲 𝐔𝐩𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤
Yesterday, I received two notifications from Upwork at the same time, marking a significant moment in my freelancing journey:
1️⃣ A long-term client ended our contract after a successful year of collaboration. We started working together in December last year on their eCommerce website. Over the past 12 months, I provided support, maintenance, and optimization to help streamline and automate their business processes. Finally, the project is complete, and the client is thrilled with the results. It’s always satisfying to leave a client happy and their system running smoothly!
2️⃣ My Upwork account was temporarily suspended. While wrapping up with another client, they asked me to attach their Payoneer account to their website without creating a milestone. They even used the word “payment” in emails to me. Unfortunately, this triggered Upwork’s rules on external payments, and my account was flagged.
While Upwork has given me a chance to verify my account and continue offering services, this experience was an important reminder of how vital it is to stick to platform policies:
💡 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬:
Always request clients to create milestones before moving forward with any task.
If a client wants to share sensitive information, like payment details, suggest having a discussion on Upwork’s Zoom or message feature.
Never engage in payment-related discussions outside the platform—it’s against the rules and could jeopardize your account.
Mistakes happen, but they also teach us valuable lessons. I’m grateful for the chance to reflect on this and continue my work with greater awareness moving forward.
Have you ever faced a similar situation? How did you handle it? Let me know in the comments!
