Why Freelancing?

Are you happy with your current job?

Unless you’re a software engineer, and if you’re in a creative field like Marketing, I’m sure you’re not-so-happy with the current pay.

I wasn’t either.

I earned my MBA at a mid-tier college in Hyderabad.

The facilities? 
5-star.

The campus? 
Chef’s kiss.

The placements? 
Umm…

I secured a job at Xiaomi India in Bangalore in the B2B Sales Department but didn’t like the work. The pay was good—I was getting INR 46,200 in hand at the end of every month, with cab and food services provided by the office.

Six months later, I realized the honeymoon period was over, and it was time for a switch. I had internship experience as a content writer, so I started applying (even for jobs with lower pay) and quit in December 2022.

In my first full-time job as a Content Writer (with ChatGPT introduced by the end of 2022), writing blogs, social media captions, and working with the SEO manager and SMM was fun.

It was a startup, so everyone called the founders ‘bhaiya,’ and the whole ambiance was different from the proper corporate culture at Xiaomi.

But things changed, and I found myself doing the job of three people for INR 41,300, with no raise for a year. I asked for remote work, and they gave a big NO, even though every single member I interacted with was working remotely.

I decided that was enough and looked for a role change. I found one as a Content Manager—Remote—Same Pay, and I thought Jackpot!!!

I left Bangalore and moved back in with my parents in March 2024. Little did I know, the role of the Content Manager was to edit videos, and I was told, “Just write a caption using ChatGPT; don’t waste time.”

Having written for over two years and used ChatGPT for more than a year, I knew it was good for ideation but not for actual writing.

One day, I decided it was enough. I quit the job in April 2024 and gave myself two months to try freelancing.

By the end of June, if I wasn’t making at least 40k, I’d go back to a full-time job.

At the end of May, I closed my first client, a project that paid around 15k for the first month, and by mid-June, I closed another at 40k.

Within 1.5 months, I was making more than I had made in a month in the last three years.

The freedom to work when you want, no one to report to, no time tracking on your laptop to finish the 8 hours assigned—it was so relieving.

I planned to close another client by the end of July but couldn’t. In August, I decided to start this newsletter to share my journey, learnings, and lessons in more detail than I could on LinkedIn.

The client goal this month is 1 international client or 2 Indian clients. I’m working on my outreach strategy and will share the one that works for me.

This is the first time I’ve shared actual figures with someone, and I’ll be doing so with you throughout this freelance journey.

Are you happy with your current job? If not, this is your sign to start working toward a change!

Need help with a job change or want to figure out a service to start a side hustle? Hit the reply button, and let’s chat.

See you next Friday.

Best,
Nikita

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