The professional journey is the inevitable part of self-reliance. As a passionate freelancer, you must agree that you have to prepare for this journey, you have to reach your destiny. In fact, when we begin we are just like a child. We need an example before us to follow, to learn, and to beget our path by ourselves. Thus things become easier. So to help you prepare and prosper we are here to present the ongoing story of Nazma Akter. She has set herself as a star in the freelancing business. Want to miss that? Hope not! Despite being a mom how she reached such a position is indeed an inspiration for many women too. Okay, let us now get in touch with that! 

Beginning of the journey

Nazma was a typical full-time job holder. She was in a non-govt. job previously. But being a mom soon she started facing troubles. She was failing to balance her job life and family life. She says,

“I had children. So I was just craving to get rid of my job. Then in October 2017, I heard about freelancing through one of my colleagues. I’m so grateful to her!”

She further says, “As soon as I learned about this, I got myself admitted in a graphic design course. After completing the course sincerely I created an account at Upwork. So this was my beginning.”  

Knowing own worth

Nazma firmly believes that it is highly important for every freelancer to know their own worth. Especially in a marketplace like Upwork bidding must be witty. She remembers from her experience,

“I used to bid only on those jobs where I felt most confident. I began with a low-paying job in the beginning. Within a month I got my first project. I accomplished the task as sincerely as possible. My maiden client liked that too. He gave a nice review that raised my confidence level. Ohh, I can’t exactly explain how amazing the feeling was!” 

She didn’t lust for money at her outset. Rather she wisely chose her projects and gave her best to win the client’s heart. After the successful accomplishment, she started getting jobs one by one. 

Nazma’s Expertise

She works as a graphic designer. She has proficiency in photo editing, listing as well as illustration. Else, she runs an agency. She secured some fix clients from different countries and has her expert team to look after their projects. Nazma’s agency is actively doing business in Amazon, eBay, and Shopify. 

Key to success

Miss Nazma emphasized being realistic and optimistic at the same time. She says, 

নাজমা আক্তার“Look, all can’t succeed in freelancing. If all of your college friends want to get admitted to Dhaka University, will it be possible? What do you think? Similarly, you must admit that all can never be successful in this profession. However, those who have faith in themselves and have sheer love for this profession will succeed for sure.”  

So in her opinion, we deducted that this ‘love or affection’ is the key to prosper in freelancing. 

Beauty of Freelancing

Nazma also opines that freelancing is beautiful. Also, she explains why. She says, 

“The most beautiful thing is I have the chance to deal with people from various countries. You see, regardless of any religion, gender, or 9 AM to 5 PM job boundary here we are giving service in exchange for an honorarium. We do trust each other including the job provider platform without watching or securing any legal frame. So I think this is a huge progression of civilization.” 

Also, she talked about its flexibility, smartness, and highly praised as they can work from home. 

Freelancing for Women

She highlighted this ‘working from home opportunity’ especially for women. She says,

“Women have different challenges in their lives. They have to play the role of wives, mothers, etc. Especially when I see my country’s perspective I enthusiastically encourage our women to freelance business. You see, in our Muslim society women do maintain Hijab, and maintaining family is a crucial responsibility for them. They fail to perform that when they are in generic full-time jobs like I was. Here freelancing can be a great opportunity for them.”  

She is optimistic that Bangladeshi women can contribute a lot to their families and the national economy as well.

She additionally says, “They can earn remittance by minimum skills from home. Now they can easily become self-employed.” 

Nazma no longer has to be detached from her home. She can give proper time to her children, family, and relatives now. 

On Treating the Profession

She urges that freelancers should treat their profession as a business and invest their time and labor wisely. She says, “They must have a vision. And they must not treat this merely as an alternative job for survival. Again, I consider freelancing is the most progressive module. You will have the biggest market through this and it’s not a joke!” 

She further says, “For outsourcing, I only welcome those who really feel proud to be freelancers. If you can’t pride in this, please don’t come. Remember, only lovers can create and freelancing niches are almost creative jobs.”

Tips for the Newbie

She opines that the newbie should –