Do you have a job that pays you well, and yet you’re not satisfied? You constantly feel that you’re destined for something bigger, something better. Do you have the vision to control your own life rather than being controlled by a job description or your boss?
I was once in the same situation. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in December 2017 and immediately got a 6-figure job. Three months later, I switched to another corporate dream job where the salary and perks were even bigger. I had a great boss, a comfortable work environment, and last but not least – FREE Lunch! Anyone would have died for such a job, and I was grateful for having one!
Being in the job for two years, I started to realize that this wasn’t me. I wanted freedom, I wanted to have control, and above all, I wanted my income and growth to be entirely in my hands rather than being controlled by HR policy or corporate hierarchy. I was already freelancing and making $2000 per month on average, but I never knew that this would be why I would eventually quit my job.
My Freelancing Story
So here’s my freelancing story – I started freelancing in April 2017 – just to see how it goes. I got no order for three months because I took it very casually. But one day, I got a buyer message on my gig; being in a corporate job and having dealt with clients, my communication was already quite good. So, I was able to close my client quite quickly. It turns out that he was a student and was looking for me to do the majority of his accounting projects. This was the start of a total of 25 orders on my gig – ultimately, my gigs started to perform, and I started to make a decent $700/month on average.
In 2018, I realized that I needed to upskill myself and introduce high ticket services. I started with the first-ever “Investor-ready” business planning services on Fiverr- it was no surprise that I got some outstanding orders, and my reputation as a freelancer started to grow. I became a TRS in December 2018, but it was short-lived – someone ordered three gigs and then canceled all of them – my order rate suffered, and I was de-ranked!
How COVID helped me grow
But I never lost hope and continued to build my portfolio and get reviews, and in the next 5-6 months, I became a TRS again. So fast forward to 2020, and COVID happened, and we were asked to work from home. This gave me some liberty and time to work more on my skills and services. I then onboarded two team members who worked with me on a project basis.
Well, this was the start of everything. At that time, my highest service was priced at $995, and I knew that I deserved better. To improve my sales and negotiation, and business practices, I hired a coach who charged me $10,000. My coach’s name is Yahaya Bakkar, and he is one of the most sought-after coaches in the USA. With my heart in my throat, I wired him $10,000, but I knew that I SHOULD invest in myself to grow. Working with Yahya improved my business sales and processes in no time. My business generated its first $10,000/month in the next sixty days and has never made anything else.
Yahya also told me to work on other sales and marketing channels and not just rely on Fiverr and Upwork, which boosted my business growth. I then onboarded a proper team and started to scale.
The time when I quit my job
In September 2020, when I felt that my business was generating consistent income, I eventually quit my job to focus full-time on my business. I have 7-8 people working with me consistently on the projects. In 2021 I started with my coaching business. I coach and train freelancers to become “High-Income Consultants” and entrepreneurs and build systems and teams to grow a business rather than being self-employed as a freelancer. I’ve coached more than 200 people, and 3 of my students have already quit their jobs and built a sustainable consulting and service business for themselves.
What lessons to learn
My story is a testament that if you have a vision and constantly believe and strive for it, you’ll ultimately get it. I didn’t make $10,000 in the first month. My journey was slow, full of ups and downs, but it was worth living.
We all start small and hence we should never be ashamed if we charge $5 for a service because ultimately we will be charging $500 or $5000 for the same service.
I hope that my story serves as an inspiration for those in the same shoes as I was in 2019. I know it is not a superman story, but it is of perseverance, patience, and hard work.
If there’s one message that I’d like to give, in the end, it would be to please invest in yourself. Invest your time and resources in yourself first because that’s going to yield the highest dividends for you.
You can check my work out on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Discussion about this post