About the Client
Erika Londono, the founder of FinAdvance LLC, runs a Latin America-based agency that provides bookkeeping and financial reporting services to U.S.-based businesses. What started as a solo freelancing career quickly grew into a boutique agency, with a team of four bookkeepers and a portfolio of over 20 active clients.
With a deep understanding of financial operations and a mission to deliver reliable bookkeeping support, Erika built FinAdvance by leveraging Upwork as her primary—and only—source of clients.
Before GigRadar: Passive Growth and Vulnerable Stability
Erika’s journey on Upwork began as a freelancer. Over time, she realized the potential to subcontract locally and transitioned into an agency model. However, the agency’s growth was largely passive, fueled exclusively by client invitations, not active outreach.
I used to apply to job postings. And I never heard back… Then I just started to get invited, invited, invited. And then from there I started growing.
For a while, this approach worked. But the business faced a rude awakening when one of their major clients suddenly canceled the contract—revealing just how fragile the model was. Erika found herself in a high-risk position: over-reliant on a single income stream and without a structured client acquisition plan.
Attempts to send proposals manually had been ineffective. Even when Connects were boosted, results didn’t follow. The agency had no team member assigned to lead generation, and proposals lacked the clarity and strategy needed to convert.
I was boosting my bids sometimes, and that didn't give a result either… I was never getting any return on investment. I was never securing any contracts that way.
This resulted in wasted time, lost opportunities, and ultimately a realization that something needed to change.
Searching for a Smarter Solution
Erika was first contacted by a GigRadar team member via cold email in November. While the offer seemed promising, her agency was in a stable phase and wasn’t actively looking to grow. But a few months later, the canceled contract changed everything.
With social media marketing failing to deliver new leads, Erika revisited GigRadar. What stood out to her was not just the promise of automation, but the transparency around ROI, and most importantly, the human onboarding support.
We had a demo, and what helped us was the return of investment he presented—how long it would take us to see results and how it could benefit our business. That definitely made us decide to move forward.
The price was a concern for a small agency, and Erika had to fund the subscription from her personal savings. But with her back against the wall, she was ready to bet on a structured tool that could rebuild her pipeline.
Implementation and Learning Curve
Erika joined GigRadar at the end of March, and unlike many agencies that take a few months to fine-tune their filters, she hit the ground running.
Two aspects made a significant difference:
- Onboarding Call
Erika credits the one-on-one onboarding session with Maria as the foundation of her success. The platform wasn’t immediately intuitive, and without that call, she believes the setup wouldn’t have been as effective.
Don’t replace the onboarding with a video or article. The platform is not so easy to use. The onboarding with Maria—that is what helped me start on a good foot.
- GigRadar's Email Series
From guidance on how to write compelling cover letters to advice on scanner setup, the email series provided tangible steps that challenged Erika’s existing assumptions.
There was this email that said, ‘Dear Hiring Manager, thank you for considering my application,’ and I laughed—because that’s exactly how I started all my bids. No wonder I never got replies. That email changed everything.
With optimized filters and stronger cover letters, Erika was ready to rebuild.
Results: 4 Contracts in One Month and a Fast ROI
In her first month using GigRadar, Erika secured two new contracts directly through the platform. Each of these contracts involved clients managing multiple businesses, resulting in six active sub-clients with additional expansion potential.
Additionally, Erika closed two more contracts via traditional Upwork invitations—bringing her total to four contracts within just four weeks.
These are just two contracts, you may say, but the possibility of growth is very high. These business owners have already handed us multiple clients each.
The platform proved its value fast. In just one month, the agency generated $2,000+ in new revenue, fully covering its investment.
A More Strategic Path Forward
While Erika hasn’t yet expanded her team further, that’s intentional. Her current focus is building airtight internal SOPs before bringing on additional freelancers.
Unless I know I can complete the work myself 100%, I do not delegate. I want to make sure we have strong processes before we grow the team.
Instead of reacting to job feeds manually, GigRadar now provides Erika with a steady stream of high-quality, targeted opportunities—without the need to check Upwork constantly.
Final Thoughts & Advice to Others
Erika’s case is proof that even highly specialized niches like bookkeeping can thrive on Upwork with the right tools and approach. But she’s clear: success doesn’t come from automation alone—it comes from learning how to use it well.
Don’t just throw money at it without learning. Set up your filters, understand the platform, monitor it, and let it work. It works—but only if you do your part.
She also urges other agency owners to focus on profile quality, especially freelancer profiles within their teams, as well as setting the right pricing and using trending keywords from job posts.
Ready to Take Control of Your Upwork Growth?
If you’re tired of sending cold proposals that go nowhere or relying on unpredictable invitations, it’s time to change your game.
