Is Upwork a Race to the Bottom?

The expression “race to the bottom” coined by Louis Brandeis generally means that someone is trying to undercut competitors with a lower price for the same product or service. Although the expression targeted nations and companies originally, it is being used widely in the context of modern freelance sites.

It’s mentioned more often on the Upwork Community Forum than most of us would like. Google search with “are freelance sites a race to the bottom” shows about 35 million hits and “is Upwork a race to the bottom?” gives over half a million hits! It’s a popular topic on Quora too.

There are three ways to look at this phenomenon:

1. Accept that Upwork and all other freelance sites are indeed a race to the bottom and work for peanuts
2. Try to fight the phenomenon somehow without a clear strategy which leads to quitting the whole thing soon
3. Challenge the original assumption and make your own way to the top, not the bottom

After getting my things going on the good old Elance site (now Upwork) in 2015 and after coaching talented individuals to freelancer rockstars since 2017, I’ve found that it is the difference in the mindset that makes up the direction of the race.

Many (1.) imagine there is nothing more than survival and the lowest rates always win. This is exactly what the “race to the bottom” means. When competing with ever-lowering prices with all other freelancers globally, there is a good chance that no matter how much you undercut others, someone will always undercut you!

Therefore the “race.”

Some (2.) try just for a few months by claiming to be worth higher prices because of some unsubstantiated claim. Typically, it is the expensive location they live in even though they have the exact same skills as their competitors in less expensive places. Then, quit and complain that the sites such as Upwork are so bad.

The last group (3.), those who don’t accept starting the race... [Click to continue reading]