It’s no secret the stock of Upwork has taken a horrible turn this last year.
Definitely performing worse than any other stock that I own. And that kind of sucks.
This past year there were A LOT of changes including the CEO stepping down, from Stephane Kasriel to Hayden Brown, so I don’t think it’s any surprise that Wall Street has lost some of it’s faith.
Uncertainty is never their friend.
On the flip side,I’m still getting more work than I ever have been — so that’s nice!
Yesterday, during the stock holders conference call to report earnings, they broke down all of the recent changes.
Read the full transcript here.
And after hearing about how healthy this company is, I feel great about being affiliated with them.
Here’s my take from some of the key points that I think you’ll find interesting.
Temp to hire
This phrase really stood out to me, because I think it’s going to be a bigger and bigger play in the future for large companies, which wis who they’re mostly targeting at the moment.
Essentially, projects that start out small could lead to full blown employment and Upwork can take care of everything from Top to bottom. This makes them the biggest head hunters in town that can also translate to tons of different services like payroll and taxes.
Connects are Paying Off
For the last year, I’ve been answering tons of Quora questions about people asking me whether this is a good idea or not. Most freelancers that are small time hate it. And rightfully so. They weren’t making much money before the connects started costing them money, and now they may be in the red after sending a bunch of proposals. As for me? I’ve been paying the monthly fee for years not now to be a premium member so the connects haven’t really ever been free for me. I rarely use the connects though, because most of my hires come from invites. Which is where you need to try and get as soon as possible.
Until then I recommend going the premium route, because if it gets your profile seen by more clients, the better your chances of landing a job. And the Return on Investment is very easy to achieve.
Bigger and Bigger companies are coming
I mentioned this earlier, but I want to reiterate the efforts going into the niche. They want big companies that are going to hire tons of people and keep them hired for longer periods of time. Make sure that you look like someone that can be dependable and consistent, so you could potentially land one of these stable and consistent gigs.
Corona Virus Safe
They actually touched on this during the call which I thought was great because it was something that I was thinking. If this corona virus threat keeps increasing, I think people staying home and working may grow more and more.
1. Lean teams – If there is a down economy, it’s going to be much more cost effective to keep a slim team that is contract based vs. going full employment.
2. Remote work – if the world goes on lockdown, you can still work from the comfort of your own home which is fantastic.
Smart Marketing
Hayden mentioned that unlike other companies like Indeed, they haven’t “pulled the trigger” on any crazy marketing spend, which I commend.
I hear many people talk about Upwork organically, and I’m glad they’re not just blowing money fast to get tire kickers in the door or more unqualified freelancers. I would rather see their company healthy and growing at a natural pace.
All in all I’m looking forward to this new team take charge and reach their new goals. As this industry matures, and working remotely becomes the new norm, it is great to have a front seat in the action.
