Why are you using blockchain technology for this?

There are a few reasons for this! Firstly, Blockchain technology provides an AMAZING way for us to create a lottery that is completely automated and completely fair as it is free of human interference. Secondly, online payment systems such as Paypal are limited in many countries. Blockchain technology provides a way for payments to be made without the need of a third party such as a bank or credit union. Thirdly, by building the Online CoWork lottery with blockchain technology, we aim to show how useful this technology can be and how it can be used for good to improve the lives of people around the world.

Why did you create this lottery?

If you earn money online, it means you likely have tasks to complete - and you probably wouldn't mind some pocket money to fund your business! This is where the lottery comes in. It aims to help with 2 common issues that plague women with online businesses - productivity and funding. Our founder, Hayley, has travelled to many countries and came across many women who were trying to make a living online. And so Online CoWork was born. (But let's not forget that this is also about having a bit of fun and connecting with like-minded people from around the world!)

Who is this lottery aimed at?

This lottery is aimed at helping women and non-binary people with online businesses from around the world (including remote workers!). People who work online from home, coffee shops and co-working spaces. We are talking about virtual assistants, social media managers, bloggers, YouTubers, online yoga instructors, Etsy and Amazon sellers, influencers, software developers, online lawyers, online accountants, etc!

But do I have to be a women/non-binary person to participate?

The Online CoWork lottery is aimed at helping women and non-binary people specifically - as this is a demographic that has historically been marginalized. However, we didn't create Online CoWork to discriminate based on gender! If you don't identify as female/non-binary, you are welcome to participate if you feel that our platform could be of use to you!

Ok, so how do I do this?

1) If this is your first time participating, you will please need to register for the lottery by creating a profile. You can access the profile form by clicking the 'Start Here' button at the top of the page (Note: Your wallet needs to be connected in order to see this button).

Once you have completed this form, we will manually approve it within 72 hours (but hopefully much faster!). If your profile is approved, it will go into our member directory to hopefully bring more clients/sales to your business - or followers to your social media sites! You can then add your first task to the lottery right away.

2) To add your first business task that you've been procrastinating about completing, make sure that you have a free crypto wallet and that it has a few MATIC coins in it (more on this later!).

3) Connect your wallet on the home page (make sure that it is on the Polygon Network) and you'll see a box where you can add your task. Type your task into the box. You will also need to add an amount in MATIC that you believe would personally give you some extra accountability to get the task done. 1 MATIC is around 1 USD, but you can see the exact current price of MATIC by clicking here.

NOTE:
a) Each tasks costs a minimum of 1 MATIC.
b) For every 1 MATIC that you put into the lottery prize pool each week, you get one entry! That means, if you bet $100 on yourself that you will say create your SEO strategy by the end of the week, that means your name will go into the hat 100 times for that particular lottery draw!
c) You will NOT be getting this money back. This money will be added to the lottery prize pool that the lottery winner (yes, that could be you!) will win each week.

Next, push the button to "Get it done!".

4) When you push the button, your wallet will pop up and you'll be asked to confirm the transaction. To add a transaction on the blockchain, you will also need to pay a tiny 'gas fee' which is usually less than $0.01c. This will be calculated automatically when you make your transaction. Please keep in mind that the gas fee can change and we have no control over this as it is a fee required for the Polygon Network and has nothing to do with Online CoWork.

5) Once the transaction has been confirmed, you should see it appear in the task feed below the form. Now go, go go - get your task done! You'll be able to see the tasks of others appearing in the task feed as well, and this will also hopefully help to motivate you to get working!

6) The 1 MATIC that each person pays for each task gets pooled together to create the lottery "winnings". These winnings will be distributed to one random "Online CoWorker" every 7 days to provide funding for their online business - to pay for things such as website hosting, shopify fees, extra product stock, etc. Or alternatively, if the Online CoWorker doesn't have an online business, it could be used to pay for educational courses for professional/personal development - but it's up to you! The money is yours to use for anything that would help you to move forwards in your life.

8) The lottery prize will be reset each week.

9) We will decide how many winners there are per week. Usually it will be 1 to 3 winners per week. if you win, please note that you won't be able to win for the next draw so as to allow others to win as well. You may still participate in the lottery for accountability for your tasks and to support other women in business, but your wallet address will be hidden for 1 week.

Ok, I'm intrigued! So, how do I go about getting a free wallet and loading it with MATIC?

1) a) COINBASE WALLET: There are many different kinds of crypto wallets - but the easiest for those new to crypto is probably a Coinbase wallet - as you can buy and withdraw crypto to your bank account with the same wallet. It is available in a large amount of countries. In order to sign-up, you will need to submit an ID verification document to them, and once approved, you can add your Coinbase Wallet as a Chrome Extension in your browser in order to participate in the lottery. Visit the Coinbase tutorials and follow the steps to sign up for a Coinbase Wallet.

b) METAMASK WALLET: Another wallet option is a Chrome extension called Metamask. This takes 2 minutes to set up (and does not require any ID verification), so it's great for getting started quickly to create your lottery profile. But while you can buy MATIC directly in this wallet, you cannot withdraw your winnings to your bank account. You would still need to transfer your winnings to a Coinbase/Binance wallet if you decide to withdraw your winnings in the future. Here is a great tutorial on how to set up Metamask step-by-step.

** Something important to note about a Metamask and Coinbase wallet though is that they is not like a bank that you can call if you have a problem. You are FULLY in charge of the account. When you create your wallet, you will be given a secret phrase. This secret phrase is like the pin number for your bank account. However, if you lose the secret phrase, you will lose access to any funds in your Metamask forever. Wallet security is extremely important in the blockchain world, so it is important to keep your secret phrase safe! Write it on paper, put it in a ziploc bag and put it in a safe place - or even put it in a few safe places. This secret phrase can be used by anyone to access your account - so make sure it is in a place where no-one can use it and never share it with anyone online.

c) ZENGO: If you are not comfortable with the idea of looking after your secret phrase, we recently learned about a wallet called ZenGo which you can download on your phone from the app store. To connect to the lottery on your desktop, you can follow their easy instructions using a bridge called "Wallet Connect". However, ZenGo may not be supported in your country so please check this!

DISCLAIMER: By giving these wallet suggestions we are not endorsing or recommending them. They are just ideas for you, but there are many options for wallets in the world of crypto. Please do your own research and decide on a wallet that best suits you.

2) Once you have a wallet, you would need to make sure that you have added the "Polygon" network. Please see steps here on how to do this on Metamask. Or in your Coinbase wallet, you can navigate to Settings, select Active Networks, and then Polygon network from the list.

3) Next, you need to load your wallet with MATIC coins in order to take part in the lottery. You can do this many ways:

a) Buy Matic directly in your Coinbase Wallet with a debit card/credit card, etc.

b) Buy Matic directly on your ZenGo app with your debit/credit card. Click here for instructions on how to do this.

c) Another great way is that you can buy MATIC directly in your Metamask wallet! Click here for instructions. (Choose the 'extension' tab to learn specifically about buying through the Chrome extension.)

Not sure where to find your Metamask address for receiving MATIC from say Coinbase or Binance? Your Metamask address is like your bank account number. It can be found here.

NOTE: Each wallet (and your bank) charges a fee for exchanging regular currency (called 'fiat' - AUD, USD, etc) into crypto. And you will be charged again when you convert your crypto back to fiat currency. This fee can range from 1 to 3% - please check the fees for your personal wallet provider and your bank.

Also, if you cannot see your MATIC coins in your Metamask wallet once you have purchased them, look at the bottom of your Metamask screen and you will see a button "Import Token". Click that and paste this contract address for Polygon Matic: 0x0000000000000000000000000000000000001010, then click 'Add Custom Token'. Now, your MATIC coins should be visible in your wallet under 'Assets'.

4) If you have any problems or if you would like someone to help you through this process, please feel free to email us at info (at) onlinecowork.com. We provide an onboarding service for an extra fee to help you to get set up.

That all sounds good, but will I get my MATIC back if I complete each task?

Unfortunately, it is impossible for us to know if you actually completed your task or not. If all users "complete" their tasks, this would mean that there would be no money to giveaway in the lottery. So this wouldn't work. Having said this, if you know that you won't be getting your money back, this provides extra accountability for you to commit to getting your task done. So by participating, you benefit in 2 ways - you receive extra accountability to get your task done AND you get a lottery ticket for the chance to win funds for your business! 🥳

What kind of tasks can I add and how often can I add a task?

You can add any business task that you have been procrastinating about, or that you just need to do that day! It could be writing a blog post, creating your website, emailing 3 clients, creating an SEO strategy, making an Instagram post - or even cleaning your desk or getting to inbox zero! You could add one task a week or you could add 10 tasks a day - it's up you! The more tasks you add, the more incentive you'll have to get your tasks done, the more you'll move forwards in your business and the more chances you'll have of winning the lottery - AND the higher the lottery prize pool will be! Feel good knowing that you're getting your tasks done - and even if you don't win the prize money, you'll be helping another Online CoWorker to reach their dreams!

Does the full 1 MATIC go into the lottery?

We do a 70/30 split where 70% of each MATIC goes into the lottery. The other 30% we keep as a service fee for business expenses to keep the lottery going.

Will you let us know if we've won?

Unfortunately, as crypto wallets do not have identity associated with them, we are unable to let you know - you would need to go into your wallet every now and again to check! Or head to our home page where we'll usually display the winner/s at the top!

I love what you're doing and I'd like to donate to the lottery directly. How do I do this?

That's amazing! We appreciate you! On the home page, you'll see a button to donate directly to that week's lottery.

If I win the lottery, do I need to pay tax on my winnings?

Unfortunately, we cannot give any tax advice. But as it is income, please contact your accountant for advice about your individual tax circumstances.

Does this lottery have a free community as well?

Yes! Join us on Discord - the virtual office for women who work online! Co-work and connect with others from around the world! Click here.

Who can I contact if I have more questions?

You are welcome to message us at info (at) onlinecowork.com! However, as we are a very small team, please allow 3 to 4 days for a response. Thank you!

I would like to advertise my products and services, do you know where I could do this?

We have dedicated our home page (onlinecowork.com) to sharing the events, products and services of women who work online! Think of it as a more organized version of a Facebook Group promo thread! Click here to post a link to your blogs, Etsy products, workshops, quizzes, freebies, etc! It's free. Also, if you'd like to advertise within our discord community (or perhaps host workshops within our Discord community), please contact us at info (at) onlinecowork.com.

Can you tell me more about Blockchain security?

The most important thing that you need to know right now is that while blockchain technology is extremely useful and is changing the face of many industries such as healthcare, finance, etc, security is extremely important! If you'd like to learn more about how to keep the funds in your Metamask wallet safe, please read this article.

It is a good idea to not use your Metamask wallet while on public wifi, don't click on any suspicious links in your emails or online and never give your secret phrase to anyone. It is also a good idea to avoid keeping large amounts of money in your Metamask account. Please note that in the unlikely event that your Metamask wallet gets hacked and you lose your money, we cannot be held responsible. But the risk is small and know that over 20 million people use Metamask to keep their funds safe!

What if I am not able to purchase MATIC? Are there any alternatives to buying MATIC with a credit/debit card, Apple Pay, bank transfer, etc?

There are a few ways that you can 'earn' crypto online - we found this article which gives some options! You can then convert your earnings into MATIC to use for the lottery! Remember, you only need to add one task (around 1 USD) to be eligible for the draw that week!

Another option is to sign up for a Coinbase wallet with a referral link such as this one - as you may get $10 in Bitcoin for signing up! You can then convert this bitcoin into MATIC and send it to your Metamask wallet address to use for the lottery!

How do I withdraw my winnings?

Unfortunately, you cannot withdraw to your bank account or Paypal directly from Metamask. You would need to send your crypto from your Metamask to your Coinbase wallet and request withdrawal from there to your bank account or Paypal.

Head over to your Metamask and follow these instructions.

However, if you are using ZenGo/Coinbase to connect directly to Online CoWork, then you can just request withdrawal directly in your ZenGo/Coinbase app. If you have any struggles - ZenGo and Coinbase have extensive help center where you can chat with them for advice. There are also many videos on YouTube on withdrawing from these platforms.

Note: Your wallet may charge you a withdrawal fee or 1 to 3% - please check with your wallet provider.

Where can I learn more about Web3 and Blockchain Technology?

This article is a great start! It is a very simple article that our founder, Hayley, wrote on Hashnode where it was featured.