How Tochi Built a Freelancing Career Around Empathy, Strategy, and Community
In this episode of Geegpay Dairies, Tochi talks freelancing, psychology, and the simple shift that changed everything for his career.
3 minutes
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I had just graduated from uni in 2022. I was in my NYSC process and I was serving in Lagos. But I got rejected where I was posted to. And at the time, freelancing was the rave. Everybody was talking about it. So, I tried to get into it while looking for a new posting place. It didn't work out at first. But I kept trying. I’d build my profile, break it down, and build it up over and over again.
After six months of NYSC, I finally got a posting letter to NUPRC. Throughout the 6 months I worked at my posting, it was crazy. I had to wake up by four every morning to prepare for work. Then I’d walk to the bus stop just so I can beat the traffic that’s going to build up if I don't catch up with that bus.
After a month of working with NUPRC, I got an offer letter to start another remote job. So I started juggling the two jobs. And then, in the process of working the NUPRC job and remote work, I got admission to go study for my masters. So, three things were happening at the same time.
However, in my admission letter, they said I had to stop all work. That meant me quitting my jobs for the span of the program which was a whole year. It was a tough choice to make. So I took up freelancing instead, and I am very glad I did. It gives me the freedom to learn, to grow, to work where I want to work, to not wake up every morning running to the bus stop just so I can make it to the office on time.
I started writing when I was 13 years old. Now I write about a lot of things. It's always been a flair I've had. I write fiction and nonfiction. I just need to understand your audience, that is, the client avatar, who I’m speaking to, and what your audience likes. And then I know where to start.
I started writing for an e-learning brand on Upwork. I wrote about dyslexia, dyspraxia, asperger’s, and ADHD. Most of them were new to me, but because I was able to understand the client avatar, I could write about them. It goes for everything —writing, social media management, and every other thing I put myself into. I have to understand what I'm doing, who I'm writing for, what they want to see, what drives them. When you have that on lock, every other thing comes easily.
Reaching the $20k milestone feels incredibly rewarding. It's a testament to the hard work, dedication, and consistent effort I've put into my projects. It's also motivating and encourages me to aim even higher.
So the funny thing is, I'm actually in one of those periods right now. Work has been slow with my other gigs. On one hand, I'm looking for something else to work on and on the other hand, I don't want to overcommit.
Despite my achievements, getting a job is still very hard. Because you have your achievements and then you have like a thousand other people that have that same achievement who are also going for that same job so you have to prove to the client that you are the one for the job. It's hard to stay resilient, but if you don't keep applying for jobs and let the sadness of the downtimes take over you, you may not land another job.
I have a community where I talk to people who are way ahead of me and who started freelancing a long time ago. The community provides a platform for networking, sharing experiences, and learning from fellow freelancers. It's a source of inspiration and support.
The clients were long-term. I've worked with one client for close to a year now. Sometimes I worked overtime, like when we were about to launch a project and I had to carry out a lot of tasks. That's another key thing. You have to make yourself valuable. There were some weeks where I was working 60 hours. There were some weeks when I was burnt out. But I had a goal and a plan for 2024, and I was not going to stop until I got it.
The first job I got on Upwork lasted less than an hour which earned me less than $6, and then Upwork blocked the person's account because it was a sham job. But I kept showing up. I kept looking for what to do, finding problems and solutions to the problems, and that was how I worked one job for over six months, and the other one for two years and they both gave me $10,000 and over $11,000.
I would like to put this out. I did not get the jobs by applying. I woke up one morning at 4, dressed up to go to my NYSC job in V.I. (Victoria Island), and then I checked my phone and saw an invitation to interview for a job on Upwork which was visible to only me. The job came with a note, and it said, “I'm giving you first dibs on this job. I want you to see it before anyone else. Tell me if it's a fit for you.” This was someone I hadn’t spoken to before. But he had so much trust in me. I was the first to see the job. Nobody else saw that job. And then I just said, yes, it fits. And he sent me an offer.
I started the job by learning. I didn't know what I was doing. He trained me on what to do, and then he gave me the go-ahead to do what I could do. The first week was bumpy, obviously. I was still getting a hang of everything. But with time, the trust just blossomed. It blossomed to the point that he referred me for another job, and that was the job that took me to over $20,000. Because he trusted me, he pitched me to another CEO, and said, I could handle the tasks. And I did.
That's the thing. Whenever I think about it, I'm just in shock, because I don't even know. I had like $6 earned on Upwork. I was verified, sure, but I had no background of work, no feedback, or anything. When we were texting, he said, I applied for one of his jobs before, and I did not get the job, but he saved my profile for any other job he might have.
Most times, when you don't get the job, you don't know what else is waiting for you. So, as a freelancer, you just have to keep putting yourself out there. You don't know who is saving your profile. You also have to be teachable and you have to be a fast learner.
Building strong relationships with clients through clear communication, delivering high-quality work, and understanding their needs has been key. I also ensure to follow up after project completion to check in and offer additional support.
No, I haven’t had any issues with Geegpay. Geegpay has streamlined my financial management by offering a reliable way to receive payments and manage my earnings. It has made financial transactions smoother and more predictable, allowing me to focus more on my work.
Oh, that is so nice. I had a Twitter Space this morning with over 70 listeners and I plan to have another one next week. They’re already anticipating that one. So yeah, I think I’m comfortable with that. It's a huge step for me, though. I've always been shy and reserved. So putting myself out there is a huge step. Even posting the $20,000 milestone on Twitter was a huge step for me because I barely post. It actually happened since the start of last month. But I just decided, you know what? Today I'm going to share this.
Freelancing with anxiety is very hard because you have to be bold enough to tell the client that you understand their problem and you know how to solve it. And if they notice you're shaking or fidgeting, they’ll move on to the next freelancer. And trust me, there is always going to be one freelancer that can deliver.
So, with anxiety, I feel like you just have to be hopeful that your client is understanding. I can't say that you should forget you have anxiety or you should be strong. I'm not going to say that because it's not easy. Even speaking up sometimes is scary. But hopefully, people with anxiety like me, would come across clients that are willing to listen to them and to hear them out. I believe that I had a lot of luck with my client. Because his business was about people with disabilities, people with dyslexia, anxiety, and the likes, so he was a pro at understanding people with these kinds of problems. And he understood my problem. There should be a lot more talk about mental health.
I messed up at a physical interview I had last year. I kept shaking in the conference room and it turned out very bad. But I also did some virtual ones, I think two years ago, with Procter & Gamble. I did three stages of interviews and it turned out well. So I just feel like it depends on how the interviewer makes you feel. Some interviewers are very strict and it affects the outcome. Because then your anxiety will start acting up. You’d feel like you're doing something wrong or you've said something wrong. And then you proceed to say more wrong things. Even if you know what you're doing.
It does get easier. Especially when the client is someone who understands. If you're working with someone who understands that this person goes through this sometimes and maybe she needs to feel like she's in a safe environment before she's able to communicate properly then you'll enjoy working with them.
My future goals include expanding my skill set, increasing my client base, and achieving higher earning milestones. I plan to accomplish these by continuous learning, networking, and consistently delivering exceptional work.
I would say get help. Because you can't do it all by yourself. Except you want to do trial and error, you should get help. I would also say, you should invest in what you want to get. Nothing comes for free. Upwork Connects are very expensive right now. And after you apply, you don't even know if you're going to get responded to. You're just going to apply and hope for the best. The last advice would be to not give up. Because if you give up, it's your loss. You could be stuck with minimum wage which can barely take care of you or you could be earning over $2,000 every month and taking care of yourself well.
