Passive marketplace can ensure freelancers’ sustainability

Nazzasi Chowdhury, a Fine Arts student of Bogura Art College and a freelancer, believes in focussing on passive marketplaces to generate sustainable earnings. He shared his experiences with The Business Post’s Rifat Islam on how he turned his passion into a profession.

The Business Post: How did you get into freelancing and what platforms did you use?

Nazzasi Chowdhury: From childhood, I was very much fond of art and painting. I decided to turn my passion into a profession when I grew up.

Back in 2017, I got an opportunity to participate in a freelancing course offered by the Skills for Employment Investment Programme (SEIP) which was financed by the Bangladesh Bank. After that, I never had to look back.

At first, I worked with portrait sketches and logo designs on marketplaces.

Currently, I am working with watercolour illustrations on microstock sites such as Freepik, Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Etsy etc along with other active markets like Upwork and Fiverr.

TBP: How did you achieve expertise in this sector?

NC: My hands-on painting skills aided me in learning graphic design easily.

In the beginning, a YouTube channel “Learn with Shohag” helped me familiarise myself with graphic designing tools. Then, I learned how to create watercolour illustrations from another website called “XvectIntern.”

Seniors in my field also helped me overcome difficulties and learn new techniques.

TBP: How much do you manage to earn per month from freelancing?

NC: Around Tk 30,000 to Tk 40,000 per month. As my main field of work is passive marketplaces, my works generate money when buyers select my products.

TBP: Which areas offer higher income for freelancers?

NC: If you are good with your work and have patience, you will surely be valued in all areas of freelancing.

However, website and software development and graphic designing are some of the more lucrative areas.

TBP: What problems do you face while working as a freelancer?

NC: The absence of PayPal, a widely-used online payments system, makes it difficult for us to receive money from our clients. It hinders our transactions with clients abroad.

TBP: Who are the competitors for Bangladeshi freelancers?

NC: Freelancers all over the world are in competition with each other.

However, freelance workers from South-Asian countries can be particularly considered as competitors for Bangladeshi freelancers as they are increasingly being active in the marketplaces.

Although the success rate in a marketplace depends on individual skills, low-quality jobs by beginners are ruining the image of our country as a whole.

TBP: What would be your advice for new freelancers?

NC: I advise the newbies to acquire skills first in the area they are most comfortable with. Get trained from a reputed IT company. There are also several courses conducted under government projects where one can be upskilled.

To have a sustainable income flow, always keep a passive earning source open alongside an active one. In this way, passive earnings will provide support if earnings from the active market decrease.

TBP: What are your expectations from the government to flourish this sector further?

NC: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Junaid Ahmed Palak are quite freelancer-friendly and have played a pioneering role in this country. I hope they will consider bringing PayPal services to Bangladesh soon.

Easy and speedy access to the internet everywhere is needed as well. With this, people living in remote areas will also get the opportunity to get involved with freelancing and scrape a living.

TBP: Where do you see yourself in future?

NC: I want to develop an IT company and a technology-based research centre so that the people of Bangladesh can find the opportunity to invest their time in building this country as an IT-friendly one.