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Upwork is an essential tool for scaling your small business, here’s why

Business owners using Upwork to find high quality professionals
Upwork

Upwork is an incredible place to find in a wide variety of disciplines, from and to . While that may be apparent immediately, even if you have yet to use the platform to find support, what’s not evident is just how essential it can be. It’s more than a solution to find new, freelance, and short-term hires. It also gives you all the tools to communicate, collaborate, and manage those professionals for however long you maintain a working relationship. More importantly, those integrated tools help you save time and money as a business owner by providing it all in one convenient place, effectively and securely. Let’s explore why it’s so essential and why you should be using Upwork yourself if you’re not already.

Upwork is your quintessential ally in the digital age

Finding quality pros on Upwork is easier than ever
Upwork

Forget for a moment that Upwork exists. We know it’s a strange request, but hear us out. If you wanted to find top-notch talent, traditionally, you’d have to post the job offer, sift through applicants, conduct interviews, measure team synergies to make sure they’re a good fit, and then spearhead the administrative tasks like signing agreements, arranging payments, and so on. Logistically, so much goes into that process, and that’s before you even start a project or begin collaborating. Then, you have to arrange collaboration and communication tools, find ways to track the task or project’s progress, and, on a basic level, manage the freelancer by keeping them on task and within deadlines.

Upwork makes all of that so much simpler.

  • It unifies all administrative processes by merging them into one convenient platform.
  • You can access a wide range of high-quality talent with over 12 million freelancers outside your local market.
  • You’ll get seamless communication and collaboration tools to chat, video call, or share files all from within Upwork.
  • A built-in payment system offers improved security for clients and freelancers alike. Manage all of your payments in one place.
  • Time tracking and reporting solutions allow you to see and manage billable hours and performance.
  • An advanced algorithmic and AI-driven Best Match system ensures you’re matched with freelancers and professionals who best fit your project.

But here’s the best part: Upwork allows you to save time and money by tapping into the vast talent pool of freelancers without the standard overhead of hiring full-time employees.

You can find precisely who you need, when you need them, and retain their services for as long as you need them. It’s as straightforward as that.

It’s no surprise that so many business owners are turning to Upwork to find top-tier talent.

How does this help scale your business?

As a small to medium-sized operation, it stands to reason that you don’t have the same resources as a large organization, and you probably never will. But that doesn’t mean you cannot compete on the same stage and succeed — quite the opposite. Upwork is an exceptional solution, providing you access to such a vast array of talented and capable professionals without the excessive costs of hiring them full-time. You can also find talent outside your usual bubble, meaning outside of your local market, which means you get many more opportunities to scale and grow your business than you would otherwise.

Imagine bringing on a highly skilled developer from across the world who could transform your workflows. New, inspired website designs, software that offers an unprecedented boost in customer experience and usability, or sales and marketing teams that think outside the box. These are all very real possibilities, and with Upwork, they’re merely a few clicks away.

How to get started on Upwork

Upwork is intuitive and user-friendly. .

First, if you don’t already have one. Then, post jobs or opportunities you have available, which are published on Upwork’s open marketplace. Professionals will send you proposals if they think they’re a good fit; meanwhile, the advanced Upwork algorithms will shortlist candidates who best match the opportunity.

Before you greenlight any work, you can review every professional who submits a proposal, including their profiles, portfolios of prior work, and professional reviews from other businesses and entrepreneurs. You can also browse similar projects they’ve worked on, check and review their qualifications, or schedule a chat or video interview within the Upwork platform.

After you sign with a professional, you’ll get an exclusive online space to manage the project. Here, you can securely upload or receive relevant files, communicate with your new hire, give valuable feedback, and even make payments. There’s a mobile app with full access to all platform features if you’re always on the go.

Why wait? Top-tier talent is just a few clicks away

woman using Upwork to find top-tier talent
Upwork

Upwork is a fantastic opportunity for any small or medium business looking to scale and optimize operations with top-tier talent. Beyond that, a host of functional support features make managing freelancers easier than ever. Typically, you’d have a lot to manage when hiring freelancers, but that’s not the case here. Upwork gives you all the tools to collaborate, manage, and engage, including onboard communication solutions, secure payment options, and much more. Get the help you need without the overhead costs of hiring full-time staff.

If you’ve been thinking about kickstarting some new projects but don’t have the talent on hand to do so, now’s an excellent time to explore Upwork. Why wait any longer than you have to? It could be just the move your business needs to breathe new life.

This BLUETTI portable power station is truly weatherproof
Man using BLUETTI AC240 portable power station while camping to cook

It seems like we're covering a new BLUETTI launch here at Digital Trends every month, but that's okay. Thanks to the brand's excellent products, innovative advancements, and great features, people all over can access reliable power. Its latest launch, the BLUETTI AC240, is an IP65-rated weatherproof portable power station that delivers a comprehensive energy solution for outdoor enthusiasts, first responders, and beyond. Protected against dust, water, and elements, this expandable station creates an uninterrupted power source in any environment at any time. Moreover, it empowers users to stay connected, even with power-hungry devices, to tackle demanding tasks regardless of the current weather, environment, or location. Right now, you can save big by taking advantage of Early Bird pricing.
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Why you should buy the BLUETTI AC240 all-weather portable power station

Imagine for a moment that you're camping with your family, hiking through the great outdoors, or even taking a long, scenic road trip through the countryside. In all of these situations, even when you're off-grid, you'll still need reliable access to power to charge your phone and tablet(s) and power up other electronics -- like a coffee maker when you wake up in the morning. Of course, power stations and power outlets don't exist randomly out in the wild. You could use your vehicle, but that will drain the battery and, in some cases, still won't provide enough power for what you want to do. Cue the BLUETTI AC240 portable power station and devices like it.

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The Razer Blade RTX 40 series gaming laptops are on sale right now
Player using Razer Blade 16 during intense gaming session.

When it comes to gaming laptops, Razer's Blade series is the crème de la crème. It offers lots of power, excellent video options thanks to NVIDIA graphics, and sleek, ultra-convenient designs. But all of that power comes at a hefty price, usually. At least, that is the case when there are no deals to be had, but today, there are. It's an excellent time to score an incredible gaming laptop to play some of the hottest titles out right now. You can save big on the Razer Blade series, from the Blade 14 to the Blade 18. For example, the Razer Blade 16 is usually $3,599, but today it's $400 off -- . Depending on which model you're after, you can save anywhere from $300 to $500, but these deals are only valid until April 27, so don't wait around.

 
Why you should shop this Razer Blade gaming laptop sale
Starting with the , you get an impressive Windows 11 gaming laptop with a 14-inch QHD+ 240Hz display, AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor, 16GB of DDR5 RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, all for $2,000. Normally $2,400, you're saving $400 with that deal. But it's not the only Razer Blade model on sale, and you can pretty much pick your size and configuration based on how large you want your gaming laptop and how much power you want tucked inside. Bigger isn't always necessarily better. But regardless of what size you choose, we regularly give Razer's Blade series high marks during hands-on time.

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This mini PC, and I do mean mini, has a Ryzen 7000 tucked inside for $200 off
Geekom A7 Mini PC with AMD Ryzen 7 for gaming showcased.

Computing, or small computing, has come a long way in recent years. Thanks to renewed interest in more manageable desktop sizes, even for PC gaming, we've seen a boon in the small PC world, namely with small form factor PCs (SFFPCs). For good reason, people are more interested in systems that take up less space, are more efficient, especially with energy usage, and can be placed in new areas, like their living rooms. There is now a whole category of small and mini PCs, and although they are bite-sized, they still pack a punch. Take Geekom's A7 Mini PC, which has an AMD Ryzen 7000 series tucked inside. That's no slouch on its own, but it also has 64GB of DDR5 RAM, WiFi 6E, and AMD Radeon graphics that supports up to four displays. All of that is packed inside an ultra-slim, space-saving case about the size of a book. Incredible. The top-tier model is currently $200 off, down to $649 instead of $849, when you use code digitaltrendsa7 at checkout. That code is valid in the US and the UK.

 
Why you should buy the Geekom A7 Mini PC

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