Stopped using Upwork for new clients 90 days ago and here's what happened

I used to spend 10 hours a week on Upwork proposals getting maybe 1 client every 2 weeks. Switched to cold emailing local businesses in my city, about 30 a day. In my first month I landed 3 clients paying $1,500 each instead of the $500 gigs I was competing for on there. The difference was I could show them photos of their neighbors' houses I cleaned instead of generic samples. Has anyone else dumped the bidding sites and gone direct? How did it work out for you?

Hit batch 100 on my hot sauce today, kinda weird milestone

I've been keeping a tally on the fridge for my fermented pepper sauces, and this morning I cracked open jar number 100. It's just a simple habanero mango I've made like 20 times before, but something about that round number got me. My wife laughed and said I should add confetti to the fermentation station. Did anyone else get oddly sentimental at a random batch count?

Fell for the fancy portfolio template trend and lost $180

Fell for the fancy portfolio template trend and lost $180

I put a fake 'client feedback' note in my portfolio as a joke and someone took it seriously

I was showing my portfolio at a local design meetup in Portland last month. I had this one project page where I added a fake sticky note that said 'Client Note: Make the logo bigger. And maybe add a unicorn?' as a joke about bad feedback. This one guy, Mark, looked at it for a solid minute, then turned to me and said, 'So, did you add the unicorn? I think it could work if you made it more subtle.' I had to explain it was a joke. Has anyone else had a portfolio joke totally misunderstood?

Overheard a client at a coffee shop say 'we just need it to look cool'

I was grabbing a coffee in Denver and the people at the next table were talking to what sounded like a small design studio. The client kept saying 'we just need it to look cool' but couldn't give any more details when asked. The designer sounded really stuck. It made me think about how often we get that kind of vague feedback and how it kills a project's direction. How do you guys pull useful info out of a client when they only give you words like 'cool' or 'modern'?

Appreciation post: Hit 5,000 hours on my current machine

It's a 2018 Link-Belt 110, and hitting that number made me realize how much I trust its swing. Anyone else have a rig they just know inside out now?

My rain barrel setup flooded my basement last week

I put in a 55 gallon rain barrel system last spring to water my garden, thinking it was a solid move to cut down on tap water. It worked fine until we got that heavy rain in Portland last Tuesday. The overflow hose, which was just a basic garden hose, got clogged with leaves and pine needles. I didn't check it before the storm. Next thing I know, water is backing up, overflowing the barrel itself, and pouring right down my foundation wall. Had about two inches of water in a corner of the basement before I caught it. I spent the whole night with a wet vac and fans. I guess my 'climate action' almost caused a mold problem. Has anyone else had a rain barrel fail like this, and what's a better overflow setup?

A client in Chicago once told me 'just make it feel like a Tuesday afternoon in October' and it changed how I pitch concepts

Unpopular opinion: Binging a 24-episode arc in one weekend versus watching it weekly...

I did the weekly thing for 'Chainsaw Man' and the full binge for 'Jujutsu Kaisen' Shibuya, and the weekly hype and forum theories made the experience way richer. Anyone else find they remember and enjoy shows more with that week-to-week anticipation?

TIL my old boss was right about using a torque wrench on breakers

We had a 400 amp panel fail after 18 months because the lugs were just hand-tight. The new shop policy is a click-type wrench set to the spec on the side of every breaker. How many of you actually torque everything to spec?