How to upgrade an agency on upwork?

Question

Freelance

Hello.
I have my own account on upwork-e in the beginning I collected ratings and feedback for myself by doing work for cheap (5$-10$). Now I want to open an upwork agency and upgrade it accordingly.
I think there are two options:
1. Do it again for cheap (I doubt that this tactic will work)
2. Transfer your clients to the agency
Questions:
1. Will my solutions work? If so, which one?
2. Who promoted their agency?
3. What other pitfalls are there when opening agencies?
4. How do you hire freelancers to work? Do you hire familiar freelancers on upwork-e?
PS Sorry for so many questions.

Answer 1

There are no pitfalls in the work of the agency. There is a whole Great Barrier Reef :)
If you want to develop your agency, your studio, in fact, you need to at least become a cool specialist in the industry you work in. If you are Top Rated or Rising Talent, it helps quite a lot, if not, there is room to grow as a freelancer. Secondly, you need to understand that an agency is, in fact, a different job, not as a programmer, but as a manager.
1. The main thing to start with is clients. You should have more or less regular customers, plus those who are ready to conclude a contract almost tomorrow, and also spare ones with whom you are negotiating for the future. Clients disappear for months, change their mind or go to competitors, this is the norm.
2. Find your niche which can be short and clear: "we are a bakery that makes delicious raisin tarts" or "we make an awesome mobile-friendly frontend on React JS". This does not mean that only this should be sold, but it will be an accent when you communicate with a client, especially with a new one.
3. What can you offer your developers? options 2 - RFP or % of the project. at the beginning, of course%, paying a constant salary, even a small one, is a very big risk. Think about how much money you don't mind sharing. keep in mind that it may be better to agree on a smaller amount, and then give a bonus - psychologically for a person it is much more pleasant.
What can you offer your developers besides money? Learning new technologies, buying tools and useful services, participating in conferences - all this can and should be taken into account when discussing with a potential employee.
Where to look for employees - word of mouth, freelance exchanges, linkedin.
4. Deadlines - this is usually a problem for me. I don’t know about you, but my little experience says that if you manage to manage even more or less on your projects, then when managing other people’s projects, you are late, and much more. Obviously, it depends on the specifics and size of the project. Consider this moment and bargain with the client for a long time. Find out why he needs this particular date and what it is connected with (eg movie premiere, Christmas, rocket launch to Mars, etc.).
5. Workflow - the main milestones that you need to think over / build:
All this will take time and effort, so give yourself the right to make mistakes.
6. How to promote - honestly, I can’t advise here, I didn’t do promotion on purpose. If you do a good job and get good reviews, then gradually the flow of orders from old clients and new invitations will provide you and your employees with work (provided, of course, that you do not take +1 person every month, which I would strongly advise against).
Work on your conscience, make cool applications and everything will be fine for you!
PS Sorry, that is somewhat chaotic. If you liked the general style, there will be time to add my thoughts on the rest of the points in the comments.