genn.tech — freelance_ops.sh

> loading profile dominicgenn ... 24yrs IT / helpdesk / Apple ASP / MSP / Tier 3 sysadmin

> scanning platforms, rates, and investment required ...

Where to sell your IT skills

Platforms, plus what they realistically pay and what it costs to get started. Figures are broad AUD/USD market averages, not guarantees — treat them as planning ranges.

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ls

/platforms/general
PlatformEst. earningsInvestmentNotes
Upwork ~$25–60/hr mid-level; $60–120+/hr specialised (AI/infra) Free to join; 10% service fee on earnings; "Connects" cost ~$0.15 each to bid Biggest pool for ongoing IT support and sysadmin work. Income is proposal-driven, not passive — expect unpaid time writing bids early on.
Fiverr $50–500 per fixed gig depending on scope Free to join; 20% commission on every sale Works well for packaged offers like "set up your Proxmox homelab." Income is lumpy until you have reviews.
Freelancer.com ~$15–55/hr, similar to Upwork Free tier available; paid membership ~$5–30/mo unlocks more bids More price-competitive pool. Good secondary listing rather than a primary focus.
Toptal $60–120+/hr once accepted Free to apply; screening process takes real unpaid time (multiple rounds) Highest rate ceiling here, but the vetting is strict — worth it once you have documented case studies (Proxmox build, Aurora IT fleet work).
PeoplePerHour ~$20–50/hr Free to join; "hourlies" (fixed offers) list for free, 20% fee on new clients Smaller pool, less competition than Upwork for support/admin work.
We Work Remotely Salary-equivalent, varies by role Free to browse and apply Job board, not a bidding marketplace — closer to what you've been doing applying to roles like Proxmox Server Solutions.
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ls

/platforms/on_site_au
PlatformEst. earningsInvestmentNotes
Airtasker $40–400/task; $1,200–4,200+/month at 1–2 to 5+ tasks per week (AU IT support average) Free to join; ~15–20% service fee per completed task Direct match for your Apple ASP and MSP background. Local, Sydney-based, no bidding against a global rate floor.
Field Nation $75–150/hr on-site break/fix (US-skewed data, AU work orders exist) Free to join; may need basic tools/insurance for dispatched jobs Good fit for your telecommunications certificate plus break/fix history.
WorkMarket (ADP) Similar to Field Nation, work-order based Free to join; background check sometimes required Enterprise dispatch model for on-site technicians.
Expert360 $100–250+/hr consulting-tier engagements Free to apply; application/vetting process, no listing fee Higher-rate AU consulting marketplace — worth a profile once Pixnbits has a track record to point to.
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/platforms/niche
PlatformEst. earningsInvestmentNotes
Codeable $70–120/hr average on WordPress/PHP work Free to apply; approval-based, takes a percentage per project Vetted marketplace specifically for WordPress and PHP work — relevant given the genn.tech PHPMailer/contact form debugging.
LinkedIn Services Varies — leads convert to your own rate, no platform cut Free — uses your existing profile Shows up when people search for IT support/consulting near Casula/Sydney. Lowest-effort option on this list.
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ls

/content_creation
PathEst. earningsInvestmentNotes
YouTube (ad revenue) ~$0–500/mo first year; meaningful income usually needs 10k+ subs and consistent uploads Low — you already have the OBS rig and homelab; mainly time Slowest path to income but compounds — a "build in public" homelab/AI-tooling channel doubles as a portfolio for the freelance platforms above.
Twitch / live streaming Sub/donation income highly variable — most small streamers earn under $100/mo Low, existing rig covers it Better as a community-building tool than a primary income source unless you already have an audience.
Sponsored/client content via Pixnbits $300–2,000+ per production job, business-to-business rates Time-heavy; gear largely already owned Most realistic near-term income from content skills — selling the production service directly rather than waiting on an audience.
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cat

skills_to_list.md

IT support & helpdesk

  • Remote and on-site technical support (Windows, macOS, networking)
  • Endpoint fleet management and troubleshooting at scale (Aurora IT / OneSchool Global experience)
  • Tier 3 systems administration and escalation handling

Apple & device repair

  • Mac/iPhone/iPad diagnostics and repair (Apple Authorised Service background, Max Computing)
  • Data recovery and migration between devices

Infrastructure & homelab

  • Proxmox virtualization setup and ZFS storage pools
  • Synology NAS setup, recovery, and Tailscale/remote access configuration
  • Small business network setup and telecommunications wiring (Cert III Telecommunications)

Web & hosting

  • Site recovery and migration after server/NAS failure
  • PHP debugging (contact forms, PHPMailer/SMTP issues)
  • Portfolio/brand site builds with custom HTML/CSS/JS

Local AI / LLM tooling — emerging niche, less competition

  • Local LLM setup and troubleshooting (Ollama, LM Studio, MLX on Apple Silicon)
  • Connecting local models to dev tools (Claude Code, OpenCode) for privacy-conscious clients

Streaming & production — via Pixnbits

  • OBS streaming rig setup and custom control panels
  • Broadcast and social media production
Positioning tip: a profile that says "I do all IT" competes on price. One that says "Proxmox/Synology homelab builds for small businesses" or "Local LLM setup for privacy-conscious clients" competes on being the only listing that matches the search.
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projection

with_a_business_partner.md

If someone handled sales, client management, pricing, and admin — no IT background needed — while you handled delivery, the ceiling changes shape: fewer hours spent chasing/quoting work, more hours spent doing billable work, and room to run several clients or a small MSP-style retainer book at once.

WHAT YOU'D STILL OWN

  • Technical delivery — support, setup, repair, infrastructure
  • Scoping what's technically possible/realistic
  • Quality of the work itself

WHAT A BUSINESS PARTNER COULD OWN

  • Lead generation, quoting, and client communication
  • Pricing strategy, invoicing, and chasing payment
  • Scheduling, contracts, and repeat-client retention (MSP-style retainers)
StageApprox. monthlyWhat it looks like
Solo, part-time (now) $1,200–3,500 1–2 Airtasker/Upwork jobs a week alongside other work — capped by your own time to find and quote jobs.
Solo, full-time focus $4,000–8,000 Full working week, but a meaningful chunk still spent on admin, quoting, and chasing invoices instead of billable work.
With a business partner $8,000–15,000+ Partner keeps a steady pipeline of leads and retainer clients (small business IT support contracts, not one-off tasks); your time is almost entirely billable delivery. Realistic if 3–5 small businesses are on monthly retainers ($300–800/mo each) plus ad-hoc project work on top.
Reality check: these are directional ranges, not forecasts — actual results depend on how fast a client base builds, local competition, and how retainers are priced. The main lever a business partner adds isn't more IT work, it's converting one-off gig income into recurring small-business retainers, which is where the ceiling actually moves.