The network for creativity
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Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
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I used to think being a good freelancer meant being available for everything.
More calls.
More projects.
More flexibility.
More “yes”.
Over time, I learned almost the opposite.
My best work happens when:
the scope is clear
communication is mostly async
there is trust instead of constant checking
I can stay with a product long enough to understand the business, not just the code
saying “no” to unnecessary complexity is allowed
Interestingly, the more boundaries I introduced, the better the work became.
Less context switching.
Better decisions.
Cleaner code.
More ownership.
I’m starting to think that professional growth as a freelancer is not only about becoming faster or learning more technologies.
Sometimes it’s about becoming much more selective about how you work.
Curious: what’s one boundary that made you better at your work?
Knowing when to say no is what makes you an expert. Clients don't just want a yes man they want a guide who stops projects from getting messy and late.
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
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This is wild to me!
I have worked so hard to build this profile and it just goes to show that you really do get out what you put in. Work has really picked up since I worked on my discovery score and the right clients seem to be finding their way to me. Couldn't be happier.
Congrats on Top 1% — that's huge! 193 is wild. If you don't mind sharing, what moved the needle most for your discovery score? Was it profile completion, case studies, or just consistent posting? Trying to build mine from scratch right now.
I don't know if I'm making the right move or not. 😅
I've moved from Upwork to Contra, hoping for better opportunities.
Will it work out? Honestly, I don't know yet.
But I'm keeping my expectations high and giving it a shot.
So, say hi! I'm new here.
And if you're already on Contra, I'd love a few tips:
How did you land your first client?
What should a beginner focus on?
Any mistakes I should avoid?
Let's connect and help each other grow!
Hi Hun!
I've been on Contra for years now (i suspect since the early days) and have had a lot of work from it over the years, including long-term clients.
I landed my first clients fairly early (within a couple of months, I'd say) into using it but here are some tips if...
I started The Second Shift because I know exactly what it is to find yourself mid-career and struggling to stay in the workforce.
When I met my co-founder Jenny we bonded over the frustration that so many women in our time of life feel - pushed out of the full time workforce even though we were still efficient and effective. Why weren't companies taking advantage of us by offering some flexibility? We started talking to forward-thinking companies who understood this, and built a company around this idea.
Fast forward 10+ years and more roles roles now come with some level of flexibility, which gives our members more opportunities to work with companies on longer and more complex jobs. We have also grown our elite membership to over 3500 extra ordinary women - all fully vetted so that we know they can hit the ground running on any job.
Most importantly we have been acquired by Sinecure, inc, the technology-powered talent advisory, which gives us the reach, technology and infrastructure to dramatically scale that impact.
