Exciting news! We have our first winners from the 2017 Request a Payment Raffle!

WINNERS

Week 1 – Manish Anand, India
Week 2 – Iryna Goral, Ukraine
Week 3 – Faisal Siddiqi, Pakistan
Week 4 – Md. Tareq Hossaine, Bangladesh
Final Winner – Ming Ming Hu, China

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Week 1 Winner:

Manish describes himself as a hard-working young entrepreneur, who owns a digital marketing platform solution and has found success with independent employment.

As a freelancer working with clients in the US, Manish found that his biggest challenge as a professional was getting paid without incurring high fees. He found Payoneer to be the optimal and most affordable solution for getting paid globally, after trying several other options.

We asked Manish what advice he can give other freelancers who are just starting out as independent professionals:

I follow five simple steps:
1. Choose your craft
2. Create a brand
3. Build a portfolio and source testimonials
4. Start pitching
5. Play the Odds.

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Week 2 Winner:

Iryna has found success as a freelancer in the social media marketing field. For over 5 years now, Iryna has enjoyed the benefits and freedom that a freelance lifestyle offer, including the ability to travel and work from anywhere in the world.

Payoneer is a great solution for Iryna, allowing her to both work directly with clients via the Request a Payment, while also connecting to marketplaces. Being able to track payments, receive them quickly anywhere in the world and with nominal fees, have helped Iryna to maintain a healthy business without giving up on her passion for traveling. The flexibility of the service enables her to work with international clients and grow her business to new regions.

We asked Iryna what her #1 piece of advice is for beginning freelancers who are trying to find their way:

Never rely on one project! Never! Better to have more. In other words, do not keep all eggs in one basket. And of course travel a lot. Traveling helps to broad your mind and give new opportunities.

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Week 3 Winner:

Faisal is a certified accountant with over 20 years’ experience and a long list of professional achievements, including financial management positions in PWC and Al Jazeera. Faisal started his own bookkeeping practice in 2016 so that he could reach a global audience, and has achieved great success with clients from all over the world.

As a business-owner, Faisal found that one of his biggest challenges was getting paid; the payments services he tried out were either expensive, offered poor exchange rates, or made the transaction process tedious for the client or himself. After discovering Payoneer, he felt that his biggest problem was solved: a solution offering lower fees, easy process and fair rates. Faisal particularly likes that clients have multiple payment options, and that Request a Payment Service features help him keep track of payments.

Faisal offered some crucial points for freelancers starting out in the field, including this important note:

Always have the highest priority to “help your client” – do your best and it will show in your service – don’t be afraid to take that extra mile to please your client – even if it doesn’t pay you extra!

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Week 4 Winner:

Tareq is an engineer-turned-graphic-artist with a background in coding as well. He has been working as a freelance graphic designer since 2010, when he discovered that his true passion is translating visions into design realities.

Payoneer’s partnerships with many major freelance marketplaces were a huge advantage for Tareq. The local banking system in Bangladesh can be highly bureaucratic and often slow; Payoneer enables him to pay other freelancers, access his funds much quicker with lower fees, and make purchases and payments online. The Request a Payment Service is particularly helpful, he reports, offering flexibility for him and his international clients with multiple payment options and tracking tools.

Tareq offered these pertinent, practical tips for other freelancers about finding jobs and balancing work and life:

Skill gets you hired. So learn new skills. Be transparent with your clients. And don’t work too much. Spend some time with friends and family. Visit new places and meet new people.

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Week 5 Winner:

Ming Ming Hu owns an eCommerce business in China, with a focus on sports apparel and accessories. When working on marketplaces like Wish, Ming Ming was able to receive payments easily. However, when it came to smaller payments and direct purchases, she ran into some issues; when billing her clients and customers directly, SWIFT bank transfers were often the only available option, resulting in high fees on her side for receiving the funds. Payoneer’s Request a Service helped solve this issue for her, providing her and her clients with a platform that is reliable and easy to manage for all sides. What’s more, the Customer Care provides support and answers to issues she encounters, a service she couldn’t get with other payment methods.

Ming Ming feels that this can easily make or break a small e-business. Her advice to beginning eSellers:

Choose a good, fair marketplace, that’ll protect the buyer and the seller; otherwise your funds can be frozen or your store can get suspended. You’ll end up wasting your time on appeals rather than running your business.

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Congrats, winners!