writer99025

Well, you are in the USA - Florida - you can get any job you want. The best place to find a job in the world right now, nobody has to stay jobless there. Also business has been picking up - 3% GDP growth - small and midsized business owners very confident according to surveys- unemployment rate at a historic low. I would say that even if you were to lose your Fiverr account - which is the worst case scenario - you will be fine. I always look at the worst case scenario and alternative solutions for that. (That’s why I don’t understand some of the pessimism coming from your country and your media. As an outside observer, I have to say WOW - the US economy, business and employment situation has never looked better. The politics and the media noise is hurting the US, but go beyond that, and you will see that things couldn’t have been better. Even the income of the non-college educated working class has risen by quite a lot.)

Worst idea possible. You can get reported and even lose your account.

Very, very rare for me. I have had only one CS complaint from a client related to a $5 order, and it was resolved amicably with the buyer even telling the CS that I was a great/honest/talented seller. I don’t remember the last time I gave a refund on a completed order or on work I had done, maybe 2 years back. I have given only 2 or 3 refunds on completed work in 4 years - I think $5 once, $10 once and $40 once. That’s it. Is that unusual? It helps that most of my buyers are repeat buyers. [Remember I said refund on “completed work or work done” - that’s different from cancellations/mutual cancellations.]

It has only happened to me once so far on Fiverr, out of over 3500 orders. So I have been lucky in that respect, generally never get a request for revision. Once a client didn’t like 1 article out of 10 and wanted another, I said no and showed them excerpts from the Fiverr TOS. Was very calm and respectful. That’s the last negative review I have received…a year back I think.

That was a good read. Personally, I never get angry with a client. I have a calm detachment with everything related to Fiverr. So I have a very good record when it comes to customer service and it’s rare for me to get into an argument with a client. There have been one or two I had problems with, but I never got angry with them. Just treated them with quiet contempt. [To be fair most of my clients are nice people, 99% of them, so I have been lucky.] (If anyone wants to make me angry, they only have to say something negative about PM Modi or India LOL)

You don’t have to mention Fiverr…just count how much money you have made and pay tax on that, simple. March 15th is the last date for paying advance tax. You can pay tax till July 31st as well. July 31st is the last date for filing tax returns.

Arrey bhai, if you are earning 18 lakhs per year, you can surely afford to hire a CA for advice? Why ask such an important question on an online forum? Hiring a CA will cost you Rs. 2000 to 3000 at the most. And no GST for under 20 lakhs.

Very good…

Freelancers, work-from-home professionals DON’T have to register for GST if they make less than Rs. 20 lakhs/year. FINAL.

Anyway, Eoin why don’t you write a book on Fiverr? You have given it a lot of thought, I am sure it will be the best book on Fiverr yet.

Yes, I probably over-think things quite a bit too but the reality is that freelancing is not easy but all the blogs, courses, advertisements make it sound like it is just a matter of signing up to make money and that is simply not the case. For new sellers, unless they are VERY lucky and get a first page rank for a considerable time (like a year+) they are going to struggle if they are financially dependent on Fiverr/other platforms. For some sellers, the ones we hear about in promos etc, they have been fortunate, got in at the right time and/or worked damn hard to get their success but the hard work element is generally mentioned in a throwaway line and the reality of it is not emphasized in the same way that their “6/7-figure-income” is bandied about. Don’t undersell yourself and your achievements. You work exceptionally hard to maintain your buyers and deliver as much as you do at the price you do. For many, working the hours you do is just not feasible and so other methods and strategies must be implemented. Also, your current income rate probably didn’t start at that 3 years ago and as much as a TRS badge is not a guarantee of continued success, it definitely helps to a point. I actually find it comforting to know that my success is in my own hands and not reliant on a company I have no real relationship with and so should other/new sellers. They don’t have to just take a ticket and hope for the best, unless that is all they are prepared to do. Actually, my earnings were high from the very start; and have remained consistent throughout. I have talked about my story enough here, so will just be repeating things…in my first 2 years, I did over a hundred orders every month…was placed high on search, in the first page itself. For much of my third year, I have been on 4th or 5th pages, relied entirely on repeat orders- bigger orders, higher delivery time. I think there is no one model that works for everyone, all of us have to find our own path to our kind of success. Fiverr gives everyone an equal chance - new, old, TRS, non-TRS, it’s up to the person to take it.

Man, you do a lot of thinking. If I was a new seller I would get scared by this UPYOUR process. My strategy was simple - do a great job, sell at a low price, talk politely to buyers, and deliver on time as far as possible. Spend the rest of your time worrying about the future of India. That’s it.

I work from 6 am to 10 pm India time, take off a couple of hours for exercise and other stuff 🙂

Haha Gina, you are the nicest buyer I know here. No, I would advise against sharing the work delivered as it can be easily used by someone else, so your money would be wasted. But you can share a few things such as pictures, animations, portraits, etc. that you’ve got made for fun.

Man, are you planning to pack in a year’s work into December…just take a freakin’ break…