vWorker Case Study 4: Karl Loftiss (kleelof)

About this series: 

vWorker has recently conducted case studies of successful employers and workers on the site. During the next few weeks, we’ll be releasing a new story each week; describing the story of how an employer was able to use vWorker to develop/enhance their business or how a worker is able to financially support themselves through the work earned on vWorker.

Karl Loftiss:

Karl Loftiss (screen name kleelof), is a virtual worker from Hatyai, Songkla, Thailand. Karl first started programming at the age of 13 and fell in love with it. But practical considerations drove him to become a chef, which he did for 17 years. But he always loved computers. One day his wife noticed he was spending all his free time programming, and told him he should find a way to make it pay. So he gave vWorker a try. Today he earns more each month from programming that he does at his "real" job.

Karl shared the following with us about his experiences working on vWorker.

1. Why did you start working on vWorker? How did you find vWorker?

My story and experience on vWorker is one that I believe will show that freelancing can be both profitable and rewarding regardless of your experience or skill level.

The first application I ever wrote was in about 1981, when I was 13 years old. It was on a Commodore Pet computer. The application allowed you to enter your birthday and it would tell you the day you were born. Since then, I have been fascinated by the challenges and rewards of programming.

However, I did not go into computers. I became a chef instead, and pursued that career for 17 years. Occasionally I would delve into programming again, but it was mostly small stuff, and my ‘real’ work usually kept me too busy to pursue anything substantial.

In 2004, I moved to Thailand and began teaching English to 7th graders. One of the fringe benefits of the job was a laptop computer I could use for my own personal use. Well, that computer and the fact that I had lots of free time between classes, allowed me to explore programming again. I began working with VB.NET and Flash to build educational games for my students.

By 2008, I was spending all my free time at school and at home programming.

One evening, my wife asked me if I could make money programming. I just laughed and said I didn’t think so. At that time I didn’t know about freelancing websites like vWorker. However, I remembered a teacher at school told me he did freelance work. I asked him about it and he gave me the names of a few freelance websites.

By that weekend, I had my first job to write an application that could scan for pornographic content in images. It took me about 5 hours to write and I got paid $200. I knew at that moment freelance development was perfect for me.

Now, I have a constant flow of projects, have built a list of clients who regularly ask me to do work for them, and often make more in one month than I do teaching.

By the way…a couple of months ago I was telling my wife how her comment about making money at programming had led me down the path of fulfilling a dream I had for a long time. She laughed, looked at me, and told me she had meant it as a joke. ;)

2. What advice do you have for others who are starting the same way you did?

My experience with freelancing and vWorker has been the best I’ve had after teaching. It really feels great when clients say things like ‘dream come true’, ‘helped achieved my goals’ or tell me they got more than had expected or could imagine from my work.

As strange as it sounds, I learned many skills as a chef that I am able to apply to my freelance work. Skills such as communication, patience, and attention to detail.

I think if a 41 year-old ex-chef can become a success at freelancing, almost anyone else with a unique skill, a little hard work, and a desire to help others can do so, as well.

3. What is your favorite feature on vWorker?

The first thing that attracted me to the site was the 100+ bid requests that were being sent to me everyday. Every time I finish a project, and am wondering when I will get another one, I read through these bid requests and almost always find an interesting project or two (or 10). And because I’ve been able to build a nice rating and collection of excellent feedback from clients, I get about 90% of the projects I bid on.

Another great feature is the escrow system. As a provider and occasional buyer, it is reassuring to know my money is safe and that I will be paid for my work, or as an employer, know that I am protected from unethical providers.

4. Do you have any tips/tricks/secrets about vWorker that you’ve learned that you’d like to share?

The biggest complaint I hear from clients is they had communication problems with previous developers. I’ve found it is important to remember that my clients are investing hundreds or sometimes thousands of dollars, as well as countless hours in achieving a goal. If they feel they are not being heard or understood, they can quickly turn against you and problems begin to arise.

Although vWorker requires weekly reporting on projects over $150, I usually update my clients every or every other day. I always respond immediately to questions and am honest in my answers, even if the answer does not benefit me. Just this morning, I told a perspective client who only got one bid on his project (mine) that he might get more bids if he posted it as a Pay For Deliverables project rather than as a Pay For Time project.

Patience and attention to detail can also go a long way in keeping clients happy. I would be hard pressed to remember a project that had specs that did not change at least slightly after the project started. My general policy is to accept requests that do not involve extensive functionality changes. These small changes can really impress clients and often lead to bonuses or further work that they may be willing to pay a little more to have me do the work, rather than find another developer.

I realize sharing these tips may create more competition for me, but I like the programming community and am happy to share what I have learned with others.

5. Do you have interesting stories about employers or projects you’ve completed that you’d like share?

One of my most recent projects was for the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburg, PA, USA. They wanted a touchscreen trivia game that would teach kids about energy. It was a challenging project that required skills in Flash, .NET, PHP and mySQL. But it is a great feeling knowing that something I built will be used by hundreds of students every week, and help the science center accomplish its goal of teaching students about energy.

Although educational applications are my favorite, most of my work is for entertainment and business. And, even though I use several freelance sites to find these projects, vWorker is by far my favorite and most reliable site.



Subscribe to the vWorker Latest News Blog through RSS or email. Visit vWorker.com.
© 2001-2011 Exhedra Solutions, Inc.