Did 2026 become a Ghost Town
@Kayla Brick Quick question for the group (and maybe a little therapy session): Is it just me, or did 2026 decide the digital space should move at the speed of a snail that’s actively trying to fall asleep? So instead of grinding cold outreach into the void, I figured I’d flip the script go inbound, let the work come to me. Set up both a freelancer and agency profile on Upwork. Great plan, right? Then reality introduced itself. No job history. No ratings. Turns out that’s basically showing up to a trust exercise and nobody wants to catch you. The work I do is custom, handcrafted, actual-human-touched because I still believe a real designer does it a little better than the AI factory line. But Upwork doesn’t have a badge for that yet. So here’s where I need the group brain: How do you get past the ghost town profile phase and actually land those first few jobs? I’m guessing most of you were standing in these same shoes at some point zero reviews, all potential, nobody buying tickets to the show. My profile seems to scare off the low and mid-budget crowd (which honestly, fine), but my actual target clients see no history and treat it like a red flag instead of a blank canvas. What actually worked for you to break through?