First Upwork Job showcases the honest experiences of students of Workupvarsity who got their first Upwork Job. Today, we speak with Olayinka Olalekan a Crypto Enthusiast. Now, he talks to us about how he got his first Upwork Job. 

Good day, Mr. Olayinka, it is nice to have you here. Can you introduce yourself briefly?

Hi, I’m Olayinka Olalekan Emmanuel, a Multi-media digital content creator who specializes in visual art and motion. 

I am a professional Video Editor, Graphic Designer, Blogger, Vlogger/YouTuber & Electrical Contractor.

I have over 5 years of experience in all my expertise.

I am the CEO of Mighty Tech & Media Concept.

I have worked on different projects all around my expertise, including a stand-alone company, a small business owner’s project, a startup, an individual, and many more.

However, I can’t even start to count on them just to save our time.

I own and manage Mighty Lyrics, a YouTube channel, currently with over 1.1 million views and over 4k subscribers. (https://youtube.com/@mighty_lyrics) 

I have other channels doing great as well that I don’t want to mention.

That is a great introduction, I can’t wait to hear more!

Tell us, why did you choose Freelancing as a career path?

Firstly, where I come from, nobody believes in digital skills, all they believe in is either you do hard labor jobs to get money to feed yourself and your family or you go to school after you graduate, you then hunt to secure a job and start collecting a salary. Better still you learn a skill/handwork such as “Tailoring, Stylist, Mechanics, Elect/Electronics… etc” so that is what they believe in. 

I may call myself a hard guy who always wants to be different in all ways. My love and passion for tech and the internet are top-notch. I always want to live by example for people to see the Impossibilities as possible.

So back to your question: 

There are many reasons why I choose freelancing as a career path. 

For me, it gives flexibility and freedom that comes with being your boss. 

Being a freelancer, anyone might be drawn to the challenge of running their own business, or the opportunity to work with a variety of clients on a variety of projects.

Freelancing can be a great way to build a successful career. With a little planning and hard work, you can turn your freelancing business into a thriving enterprise.

Just like I am, I want to be everywhere, with different skills, different tasks, and different sectors for the sake of freelancing.

You can work from any part of the world at any time, with no limitations, even irrespective of where you are from your continent, your country, your state, your culture, or who you are, your educational level, with or without a certificate.

So tell me what other career gives you this type of freedom, advantage, and flexibility… If I may ask you?? 

If you follow the right path, your earnings can be unlimited as a freelancer, not to compare with those who do the local monthly salary jobs.

NB: I never condemn any kind of job or profession in any way. Do not misquote me, and don’t forget, I’m an Electrical Contractor by profession as well and it doesn’t stop me from freelancing with my digital skills.

The good news is, that the more you put into your business, the more you’ll get out of it. So if you’re ready to take the plunge into freelancing, go for it and you won’t regret it.

Mmmm, the benefits are amazing indeed, everyone should have a taste of freelancing.

When did you start your Freelancing Journey?

Oh let me recall, I probably started freelancing in 2010, and funny enough I never knew what I was doing then was freelancing, I just found myself in it.

Let me explain in detail my love for tech and computers is unexplainable, it’s like we are a duo even before 2009, I’ve been developing a website with a Java phone (Nokia 2700, Nokia 3110c).

During those years I developed (w2c.in, muf. Mobii) websites, and I developed those sites with my phone then. I can stay on the phone surfing the internet 24/7 without getting tired, but sometimes I get carried away and skip meals because of it.

Who remembers (4thetricks.w2c.in) it’s a source of free browsing tricks, tutorials, and other social discussions. I used to be one of their top admin users (Ola4luv).

Let me not make the story long because I can’t finish the story of years of existence with challenges till I moved to Blogger.com and developed my first blogger website (dabgist), a music and entertainment website, I got a top-level domain and then kept it moving.

Back To your Question:

All these past years I never made any money, with those efforts, experience, and hard work.

Whenever I need money, I will sell my   Adsense, all because I need to raise capital for another urgent and important thing.

So how do I make money:

2010-2020

My progress has prompted many people who love tech, blogging, and the internet too, and from the connections within family, friends & neighbors.

I got a project from an outsider, to develop a website just like mine, which I deliver so well, after that a street brother asked me to develop a website for him as well, he has a passion for religion and I was able to develop (muyilight.com) then on blogger, I charged 15k, in designing lol, plus the domain inclusive.

I am super happy and grateful for that because the site is still in existence currently till date.

I got another web design project on WordPress, (horlicks-ent) which I delivered so well too.

That’s how my freelancing career began. Here is the reason why I said earlier, I started freelancing even before I realized what it means to be a freelancer.

In late 2021 around November/December I joined (Upwork Varsity) then, but due to copyright claim issues, They later rebranded to (WorkUpVarsity).

And ever since I Joined the Workup Varsity Community the whole story changed and a new chapter began.

That’s quite an interesting start.

When you started, was the journey smooth?

Oh did I hear you saying smooth??

CAPITAL NO, the journey was rough and tough, but also thick and tall.

Fast forward to when I joined WorkupVarsity, I got to know freelancing as a career.

– I got to know some freelancing platforms to kickstart my career and make it global.

– How to build a portfolio.

– How to position and present myself to clients.

– How to write a winning proposal and many more I can’t mention here.

– How to source 

– Nonstop Tutorials/Classes/Sessions and different training from the CEO of WorkupVarsity himself.

And with all this, I can say it has boosted my mentality to possess my possession in my freelancing career.

I will add this: Nothing good comes smoothly and easily. Remember a tree can never make a forest, even if you are destined to be successful, you need the right path to follow, either a team, public speaker, influencer, mentorship, or community. But thank God I found it all at Workup Varsity.

Nothing was smoother in my freelancing career until I became a member of WorkupVarsity.

Wow, I can see some light already, let’s talk more about the challenges.

What were your challenges?

Many challenges I can’t even count on them.

Getting your account set up on any freelancing platform can be easy and fun but to source for a Job and get it might be challenging.

To sum it up, Landing a job in freelancing is not always easy, especially your first job. It’s a big challenge almost all newbies will face, even not newbies alone. Almost 40-55% of freelancers are currently facing it.

You never need to panic only get yourself prepared for it.

Every successful freelancer you see outside has many hidden challenges he never tells you. So, if anything, just dust yourself up and keep moving.

You can see the numbers of work done and working hours, money earned, top rated or bestsellers on a successful freelancer’s profile. But do you ever ask them how many of their resume or proposals have been on the ice/trashed?

I just want to let you know before a freelancer gets 50 successful work done, maybe he has 200 or more sales/proposals which have been rejected by different clients, so what if the freelancer has given up, you won’t see them and be inspired by the same way you imagine been like them.

I’m talking from experience, let others’ success motivate you, but always be ready to give it your best with hard work.

Another challenge is Rejection: 

yes, pls always prepare for it, it will always come, whether you like it or not. 

Now tell me How do you expect to win a contract with over 20-50 applications already, so tell me how you will convince the client to give you that particular job?

What makes you the best out of all and what counts you as after?

As part of rejection, some clients will ask for samples during interviews but after all, they will still give out the job to another freelancer.

I will never sugarcoat anything, believe me, I’ve done free jobs, oh my bad, for the sake of securing a contract, but still clients will tell me I wasn’t the luckiest freelancer. Oh, my bad. I call it an experience.

I have a series of challenges as I said lier, I can’t state it all.

To sum it up, if you’re just starting your freelancing career, I am sorry to tell you there will be challenges but don’t give yourself to them. Okay, that is to say, don’t give up. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Mmm, challenges in freelancing are inevitable for almost all, I haven’t interviewed any with a smooth ride.

Did these challenges stop you at any point?

Never, I am unstoppable. I’m different and unique in the creature.

Whatever my heart desires, I go for it. I don’t care about the outcome because I don’t back off from what I am passionate about, I’ve been like this from day one. 

How will mere challenges stop me from my peace, That’s how I take my freelancing career.

I always see giving up as an option, it can never be a choice for me to choose. So nothing stops me.

Interviewer:

What steps did you take to overcome these challenges? 

The first and the best I have taken so far is joining the first & the best African freelancing community (WORKUP VARSITY).

I gained lifetime access to my course, also a lifetime mentorship, and I’m free to connect with my colleagues in the freelancing sphere to rob minds and share knowledge and working experience.

This alone has helped me so far in overcoming many challenges in my freelancing career.

Also consistently showing up, I applaud myself for that even with those rejections and challenges in the freelancing platforms I still won’t give up, I will always be like, oh let me try this one more time, and if I don’t get it, I’ll change techniques and still try again until I find out what works for me then I keep it going just like that.

You are unstoppable indeed!

When you experienced a breakthrough, Tell us about your first Job on Upwork

Oh my God, this is tedious, my first job on Upwork did not come easy at all, but believe me, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

The imagination of getting hired to handle a task by a foreigner (white people) lol =

I was so excited, believe me, if you ask me how much I earned from the project, it was an $8 per hour job.

But that one I can’t forget because I had written a lot of proposals before I could secure the contract.

I started working as a web designer/developer before I started to add more skills.

The client needed a Crypto meme creator and I quickly dropped my proposal with faith since I possess all the required skills and resources needed to get the task done.

And lucky enough I got interviewed by him and I was awarded the contract, the fact white people can give me a job and I deliver well, also he gave me 5 star rating with positive feedback, that alone gives me joy. Ever since then, I have kept it going like that.

Wow, the fact you got a 5-star shows you outdid yourself.

You mentioned WorkupVarsity you have multiple times now, Tell us what you appreciate most in WorkupVarsity.

To be honest with you WorkupVarsity has always been a blessing to my career, I can’t tell it all, and I don’t want anyone to feel like I was paid to do this… No, I’m speaking out of the main fact, ever since I met the CEO of Workupvasity (Johnmiracle Ejikeme), I met him online through his social media lead generation, I guess it’s like 3 years ago now if I am not mistaken or so.

I knew him since the time of (Mitrobe networks) before he sold off the website to build up a new brand which is (The Bull Network), he continued the good work to launch (Workup Varsity) I think in late 2021 if not mistaken.

Mr. Johnmiracle has been a blessing to others, and people like me gain a lot of value by following all his social media handles alone.

There’s no way you follow his social media handle and won’t get value, so why will such a person create a Varsity and I won’t be part of it?

Even before the (Workupvasity) creation, I can remember that he would create different WhatsApp groups for different tasks and share free tips and mentorship on (cryptocurrency, SEO tips, Blogging, marketing tips) e.t.c

This isn’t hype, I’m not even so close to Mr. Johnmiracle, he’s from the East and I’m from the West, the community binds us together and even before the creation of the community, I’ve been benefiting from his knowledge. I don’t always message or chat with him, I do it occasionally when there’s a need for it.

I have a lot to tell about the value I’ve gotten, but let me just stop here, I don’t want it to be like hype or a paid interview.

To sum it up WorkupVarsity has been the best I have and I appreciate everything about it, it has always been a home of knowledge to me.

Wow, I can tell you gained a lot from the WorkupVarsity team especially the CEO. They have a helpful team in the Freelancing space indeed.

Would you recommend WorkupVarsity to the public who wants to become successful Freelancers?

Sure 100% full recommendation, WorkupVarsity, or nothing else.

I just hope and pray everyone sees and understands the lifetime value Workupvasity has for them, they won’t find it anywhere else.

Especially for those who are yet to join the Workupvarsity, I’m still wondering what’s keeping them waiting.

Any final words?

–Be Kind, 

-Be Focused and,

-Never Lose Hope.

Those are always my motto, watchwords, and best quotes.

Hope is always alive, whatsoever you might be passing through in life, never give up on it, God always has his reason for letting things happen, we might never understand his will but trust me the future will be bright.

Always work and pray, no blessing without working and sacrifice, do you understand the law of nothing goes for nothing?

If joining the (WorkupVarsity) community will be a sacrifice for you to do, I want you to do it. I wait to welcome you to the winning team.

Thanks, may God bless you (amen)

Thank you Mr. Olayinka for granting us the opportunity to interview you. I appreciate your sincerity and I must say your journey is inspiring.

Our dear reader, I hope this interview motivates you!