Hello @creamy-dawn-73235, Your profile mentions software development agency. From development (backend, frontend etc.) perspective, I have noticed the good clients on Upwork are not looking for agencies but are after Independent contractors. Most of the good companies paying high rates expand their in-house team by hiring contractors.
Upwork is not a place where actual business clients are present. For example, a client willing to spend $100k+ on their web app. These types of projects are taken by local software development agencies outside Upwork. And then these agencies expand their team by hiring contractors on Upwork/locally. And other types of good Upwork clients are Start-Ups/established product companies who want to expand their team.
The business clients that are present on the platform are those who want to build the next web app like Upwork in $500. Better to avoid these types of clients.
So, for an independent contractor working with technology like React, Blockchain, Flutter etc. things will be relatively easier.