Focus on where you’re going - Graphic Designer Innocent K Boateng
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Focus on where you’re going - Freelance Graphic Designer Innocent K Boateng
During his high school years in a small city in Ghana, Innocent landed a job at a printing press. While there, he learned Photoshop from a graphic designer and began watching tutorials on YouTube to build up his skills.
Innocent grew a small following online, shared his work and won some commissions - first free of charge and then paid.
By 2017, ready to turn his skill and the community he was building into a business, Innocent rebranded his Instagram profile, set-up an account on Fiverr and began producing design tutorials on YouTube to draw clients in.
Today, while in his third year of university and with leadership roles at church and school, Innocent’s running a freelance graphic design business and spreading the message to other young people in Africa: you can find work online.
Innocent K Boateng
“The only limits that exist are the ones in your mind. So put your craft out there, start something, teach people, get recommendations and start working on the internet and be a freelancer.
“It’s not about where you’re coming from, it’s about who you are and where you want to get to.”
Innocent’s tips for making it work on Fiverr
Fiverr is a gig marketplace where freelancers and creators can share offers, such as “I’ll design your brochure for £X.” Clients can buy these offers right away in Fiverr, placing an order with you and paying immediately, rather than making an enquiry.
There’s a lot of competition on Fiverr and so ratings are essential. The algorithm favours users with reviews so you’ll come up first in searches if you build your ratings.
To get started, demonstrate your value. Not necessarily on Fiverr — you could build a community elsewhere and then send them to the offers you have available on your Fiverr profile.
Innocent’s worked incredibly hard — producing at least one YouTube video a week — to build an audience outside of Fiverr that he can sell his services to.
He creates an offer on Fiverr and then uses YouTube and Instagram to drive people to those offers, where they can buy right away.
They are specific tutorials, such as “How to design a Christmas Carol Service flyer” or “How to design a modern real estate flyer.”
If the viewer doesn’t have time to do it themselves, they’ve seen that Innocent can do the job. They’ve just watched him do it in the tutorial and so he’s demonstrated value. If they wish, they can go on to place an order with him.
What’s crucial, Innocent says, is not to put all of your eggs in one basket.
Finding clients and getting paid
Some of Innocent’s work comes via referrals and recommendations.
As well as YouTube and Fiverr, Innocent, or @sir_innocent, as he’s known online, is building an audience for his work on Instagram.
Many of his clients are international but he does some work locally too, either via old contacts at his first job or from fellow Ghanaians who find him online.
“There are not many of us Ghanaians making tutorials, especially when it comes to graphics and the tech aspect. So people really love to work with a local guy trying to put himself out there on the internet.”
Innocent’s biggest challenge as a freelancer, he says, is in finding ways to accept payment.
Despite his obvious commitment and skill, he often loses clients because payment apps like PayPal aren’t serviced in Ghana, and while Fiverr can offer an opportunity to connect with (and get paid by) international clients, it doesn’t solve all problems.
Because of online scammers, many people don’t trust the smaller payment applications that are supported in Africa, and so he often loses work from otherwise willing parties.
He finds that it helps to have different platforms, different sources of income. If things are slow in one place, he would hope that it balances out elsewhere.
How Innocent manages the work-life-study balance
He’s in his third year of university, with leadership roles at school and at church, plus he’s running a freelance graphic design business, an Instagram account and a YouTube channel. How does he fit it all in?
“I use a lot of time management apps on my phone (because I'm always on my phone). So the alarms, the reminders, the timetable, I've got everything in place. When it's time for classes, I'll be there. When it's time to read, I'll be there and when it's time for work, I'll also be there. So I think it all comes to time management and how you manage your time as a freelancer and then a student.”
And as for getting those YouTube videos up every week?
“I don't try to record, edit and post on the same day. When I started I did that and it really got me burned out. So when I'm in school, I post once a week. I'll use one day to plan, one day to edit, one day to record and then one day to post.”
Innocent says that he plans a lot and he’s learning to work with systems, rather than goals. It’s about achieving one thing at a time, step-by-step.
His big goal? His aspiration?
“To change the directive of the African mindset that you can't really make it big from Africa. I have a goal to change that narrative and to prove to other young people from Africa that it's not about where you're coming from, it’s about who you are and where you want to get to.”
Listen to Innocent’s story now via the player at the top of the page or on your favourite podcast app (search Being Freelance).
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Podcast Transcript
Transcript of the Being Freelance podcast with Steve Folland and freelance Graphic Designer Innocent K Boateng
Transcription by humans at Rev - try them for yourself!
Steve Folland: How about we get started hearing how you got started being freelance?
Innocent K Boateng: So after I finished high school here in Ghana, I took up a job, that was before I got to university. So I took up a job at a printing press. I was serving as the typee, so anything regarding typing, I would do it and I had opportunity to learn Photoshop from a then graphic designer. So when he's doing something, I would just go and sit by him and then learn Photoshop. I picked up the interest in working in Photoshop around 2015, and then I started watching a lot of tutorials on YouTube. So, I downloaded gigs and gigs of tutorials from YouTube and then I started practicing.
Innocent K Boateng: Now, I had a bit of following on Facebook and Instagram, so any kind of work that I would do, I would just share it on the platform. And then people will be like, "Wow, this is great. You are doing well. Can you do some of them for us?" So I started working for free and apparently people started paying me for what I do. So fast forward to 2017, I got introduced to Fiverr and then I decided to make this like a real-time business. So I decided to rebrand my Instagram, post my works there and people started reaching out for gigs or, giving me gigs, yeah. So that was how I started being freelance.
Steve Folland: What was your experience of Fiverr like? How did you get on with that at first? And did it change over time?
Innocent K Boateng: I really thought it was going to be a very crazy place. The competition is very tough on Fiverr, so I didn't really pay attention to it until 2017. So it was this kind of work that I did for a friend in the US and somebody needed someone to manipulate a picture for, and it was a friend so he recommended me to the person. Now, when I got in touch with the person on Facebook, she said that the best place she could hire me was on Fiverr. So I thought okay, that was a great opportunity. I quickly set up my account and then she placed the order on Fiverr and that was my first gig. Subsequently, she gave me four other gigs and ratings and that was how I got started with Fiverr.
Steve Folland: What would you say was a good thing to do in terms of getting work on Fiverr? Obviously that first one was a personal recommendation, but what things did you try out that that were successful?
Innocent K Boateng: Okay. So in 2017, I also started a YouTube channel where I decided to share my little experiences that I've learned after I've been using Photoshop for like two, three years. So I decided to share that small, small things that I've learned in Photoshop with others on YouTube. So when I saw that Fiverr was an opportunity, a great place to make money, I then decided to build my following on Instagram and then build my following on YouTube as well, so I started posting free tutorials for people on YouTube.
Innocent K Boateng: I picked topics that people would be interested in. So people were coming from my social media handles to my Fiverr account. So I didn't really have to use that buyer request where people would have to use, especially when you start on Fiverr you message a lot of people, send a lot of request before you get your first few gigs. I just had to pull people from my YouTube account, or my YouTube channel and my Instagram, Facebook, just to Fiverr.
Steve Folland: I see. So for those who don't use Fiverr, it sounds to me like the way you're using it, that is different perhaps to Upwork for example, is that you can create, I guess, offers. Like a, "I will do this for you for this amount of money," and you can have any number of those on your profile. So people might click through to you from your YouTube channel, for example, and see those and then be able to buy it straight away. Was it like that?
Innocent K Boateng: Yes, exactly. So just like I said, I pick a particular topic. So one of the videos that drives people to my Fiverr accounts is how to make a church poster or a church flyer. So I do that particular tutorial, step by step. After that, in YouTube, in the comments section, I will pin my gig, that relates to church flyers to that particular video. So, in case the video blows up and then have many views, the people are likely to see the first comment in a section and I'll leave it in the description as well. So people watch the tutorial and you see if they can't really have time to make it themselves, they would rather want somebody to do it for them. So, seeing that you can teach it actually testify that you can do it as well.
Innocent K Boateng: So you follow to my Fiverr accounts and be like, "Hey, I'm coming from a YouTube channel. So I saw this, that you can do it for me." And then we just get started over there.
Steve Folland: I love that because really, that's no different to when people create content and then try to get them towards their own website and then try to get them to pay for their services. But instead of driving them to your website, you're driving them to-
Innocent K Boateng: My Fiverr account.
Steve Folland: ... a platform that makes it easy to pay you, especially, I guess, because you're in Ghana, does that make it easier to be paid? Because obviously overseas transactions can be tricky if you were dealing with them all yourself, so you have one central place in Fiverr.
Innocent K Boateng: Yes. That's the idea. So you see, when people are ordering from Fiverr, it's kind of trusted, the trust thing is there. Instead of you be like, "Hey, I can work this out for you," for them to send you the money. On Fiverr, they just make the payment when you deliver everything and then they accept it, you get paid and everyone is on the same page.
Steve Folland: That's so good. Yeah, so it's the trust as well. So how often would you be creating videos that specifically drove people to your Fiverr gigs?
Innocent K Boateng: Okay. Since 2017, I think July of 2017 I've been very consistent on YouTube - I've been creating videos almost every week, unless it is the time for break, where I take two weeks of break, because sometimes you get so burned out. So otherwise I would just be creating ... Or when I'm in school and it's time for exams or something like that, I just take a break. But since 2017 I've been creating consistent videos for people and it has been really helpful when it comes to driving people to my Fiverr account and my social media pages for them to order something.
Steve Folland: So you're creating videos every week, but you were doing that originally while studying at ... Are you still studying now or have you finished? Innocent K Boateng: Yes, I'm still studying. I'm currently level 300 in the university - I'll be completing next year.
Steve Folland: Oh, wow.
Innocent K Boateng: Yes.
Steve Folland: So the whole time, basically that you've been at university, you've been doing this on the side?
Steve Folland: What are you studying by the way? Innocent K Boateng: I'm reading information technology in education.
Steve Folland: And so for you, when you finish that course, is there a career that you had in mind to do with that, or are you all about being a freelance designer, if you see what I mean?
Innocent K Boateng: Actually now I've picked an interest in design, I really love designs, that is one thing that ... but I also love teaching a lot because teaching gives clarity when you share something with 10 people, you share it 10 times, but they will hear it once. So, I feel like since education is part of my program, I'll go more into education, but then I'll try to blend the IT and then the design. I really love designing just like that. So I'm actually going to keep up the freelance, working on the freelance, but I will go more into teaching because I really love to teach and share my ideas, thoughts, and principles with others.
Steve Folland: So have you had any problems with working on Fiverr?
Innocent K Boateng: Honestly, it's their payment system that is not really great. Just like you said earlier, living in Ghana and getting the payment, for the record, PayPal is not supported here in Ghana. So if you want to use PayPal, you would have to use a different African country, or perhaps if you have a friend outside, you would let them help you. So the payments would have to reach somebody else before it comes to me. Of course, I created a PayPal and then it got blocked since PayPal is not supported here in Ghana.
Innocent K Boateng: So, the only problem I have with Fiverr is the payment system and also their emails delays a lot. Somebody can send you a message, four hours later before you get a notification. That is sometimes really, really annoying because by the time you reply the message, the person has already gone to another person to get serviced.
Steve Folland: Oh man. Yeah, that would be annoying. So what tips would you give to somebody else who wanted to get started on Fiverr, do you think?
Innocent K Boateng: Fiverr is, like I said, a very competitive place, and no one really wants to hire you if you don't have any kind of rating. So before you even think of starting on Fiverr, you can actually build a kind of following or get some trusted people who will be your first or give you your first orders and rate you. People wouldn't really want to hire somebody who has no rating or doesn't have any kind of level. I'm currently level 1.5, so it has to give people the impression that I'm trusted, I have the reviews.
Innocent K Boateng: So before you even start on Fiverr, make sure that you have at least a following, you build some kind of following that you can easily... it's more or less like driving people to your website. So you build that kind of flow in and then you say, "Hey, I'm launching this particular gig if you'd be interested to purchase?" Or you find a few people to make your first orders. If possible, you can even pay them to make the orders so that you get the reviews and people can, from there, start giving you jobs.
Steve Folland: Then do you start showing up in people's searches?
Innocent K Boateng: Okay, so the algorithm on Fiverr is such that if you are quite fortunate and you get consistent gigs or consistent jobs, you may be placed at the top of your gigs, so when somebody searches for church fliers and then you have the reviews, you come up first. Another tip is you have to always be online because people would want to work directly. I read that most of the people that come on Fiverr come because they really need a job done quickly. So, they don't want to send it to their local printing press. So if you are always online, it gives the people the impression that you are ready to work and they can easily give you jobs instead of messaging somebody who is not online and then later on waiting for them to respond.
Steve Folland: So how do you cope with that when you're also studying as well as this? How do you fit work around life?
Innocent K Boateng: It's a very tough thing, especially when I got to my third year and I had to pick up a lot of leadership role in school and in church as well. So it was very stressful, but then I think it all comes up to time management. When you are able to manage your time well ... I use a lot of time management apps on my phone because I'm always the most on my phone. So the alarms, the reminders, the timetable, I've got everything in place. When it's time for classes, I'll be there. When it's time to read, I'll be there and when it's time for work, I'll also be there. So I think it all comes to time management and how you manage your time as a freelancer and then a student.
Steve Folland: Yeah, nice. What's it like for you in like your part of Ghana, for example. Are you in a city or are you quite rural? I guess if you're university, you're probably in a city.
Innocent K Boateng: Okay, so when it's time for school, I school in Kumasi, so I'm in the city, but then where I'm coming from, I didn't really come from a big city. It's not that kind of ... like a village or something, but it's not that a big city. Then I didn't have the opportunity to attend these big, big schools. I went to the government schools. So I came from a very small city in Ghana but then I made it through. So, I think it all comes to limitations and why you think really that you are not really limited, it is only your mindset that is going to, because all that I'm doing now is practically self-taught.
Steve Folland: It's self-taught, but also yeah, you're able to work with the world effectively. Do you know other freelances or is it mainly just you doing this where you are?
Innocent K Boateng: Yeah, there are a lot of people. So for instance, currently people are on Instagram and then they are showcasing their work. So, I think they are really build ... and then a couple of my friends, we are trying to send that message out there. So I've recently started a series on my YouTube channel, where I talk with creatives and freelances here in Ghana, specifically in Ghana. So I reach out to the creatives who are also freelancers, and then I let them share their stories and then their processes with others.
Innocent K Boateng: I think it's a great way to send a message out there to other Africans and other Ghanaians, fellow Ghanaians, the youth in particular that they can actually start this whole thing. People actually have that notion that you can't really make it working online from home but then I think this whole lockdown issue and things has proven that you can actually stay at your home and then reach out to many people, work out for others from around the globe. So we are trying to spread that message out to the youth in Ghana and in Africa.
Steve Folland: Oh man, good for you. I love your content that you're creating but it must-
Innocent K Boateng: Thank you.
Steve Folland: I know, I make videos, I do podcasts and I know how long it takes to do things. How much time would you say that you have to give to the stuff that you're creating for YouTube, for example, on a weekly basis?
Innocent K Boateng: It's a lot of time, that is an honest thing, it's a lot of time, especially when I'm in school. But then what I do is I split it. I don't try to record, edit and post at the same day. When I started earlier, when I was doing that, and it really got me burned out and stuff, but what I do is I will use one day. So when I'm in school, I post once a week. So, I'll use one day to plan, one day to edit, one day to record and then one day to post.
Innocent K Boateng: So with that, it gives me ... let's say dedicating an hour to all your content every single day. By the following week, when you post a video today, by the following week, you've already come up with a different content that you can post. So I think that's gives a lot of time to rest, lot of time to focus on other things as well. So practically six to eight hours a week dedicated to my content that I create on YouTube. But when I come home, sometimes it changes. I try to post twice a week, so that means it is going to double the time that I spend if you get a concept.
Steve Folland: But the great thing is as well, is you're connecting with people, as well as driving people to Fiverr you're connecting with a community and people who refer you, I guess?
Innocent K Boateng: Exactly. So community's also very important when it comes to things like this, because freelancing is more of recommendation. You show your work and somebody will just recommend you to somebody. They will see a post somewhere looking for a flyer designer and then you'll be like, "Hey," saying, "I saw this poster I think you can reach out," or recommend you to that person and then the person reach out. So community is a very important issue when it comes to this whole freelance thing, because people would have to recommend you. You can't always recommend yourself.
Steve Folland: Yeah. Something else I wanted to ask about Fiverr is that a lot of time people criticize it for ... Well, they call it a race to the bottom. You're not earning as much as you could be because nobody wants to pay enough on there. What's your experience of that?
Innocent K Boateng: So I think it all comes down to the value that you're creating and I think Fiverr also is known for the competition. Whenever there is a lot of competition, a lot of people seeking or fighting for the same thing, it reduces the value, so that is the mindset. But then personally, people coming from my YouTube channel have demonstrated the value that I can provide for them in the videos and tutorials that I make, so they know the value that I'm ready to provide and then they are ready to pay for that. So I think when you start off on Fiverr, people really have that doubt that can you really do it? Or after all, a lot of people are fighting for the same project. When somebody posts a buyer request, people will be fighting for that same project, or they can just give any amount for that. But if you are able to set up your value or tell the client the value that you can provide them, I think they are going to pay what you are worth.
Steve Folland: So you don't feel that you need to compete by going lower with your price, because actually you're confident enough that enough people are coming to you, knowing that they want to work with you, not somebody else?
Innocent K Boateng: Exactly. So, they know the person that they are going in for and what value he can provide, from the videos and tutorials that I make.
Steve Folland: That's great. So, that's work on Fiverr. Do you work with people locally as well?
Innocent K Boateng: Yes. I do work with people locally. So I said earlier that I worked at a printing press. So people really know me from the printing press and then sometimes they email or text you, call you, to work on projects locally. Or sometimes I even get called at the printing press. I'm currently not working there, but then I go there to offer them help and assistance once in a while. So I worked with others locally and when people are even noticing me from my YouTube page as well. So they try to work with you directly, if they find out that you're a Ghanaian and you are making these kind of tutorials and stuff. There are not many of us making tutorials, especially when it comes to graphics and the tech aspect. So people really love to work with a local guy trying to put himself out there on the internet.
Innocent K Boateng: One of the places that I'm getting most of my gigs from these days is also on my Instagram because recently I've been very active on Instagram. Branded my Instagram and then using the right hashtags and all those things. Yeah, so Fiverr, people coming from my YouTube channel that is locally and then internationally, and then working on Instagram as well. Sometimes in these communities on Facebook, where you get to interact with people, share your works, sometimes you do get gigs from there. So the thing is not only on Fiverr, actually, you can't depend on that. It's an honest thing. Sometimes it takes like two weeks, three weeks, or probably a month and then you've not gotten any gig on Fiverr, but then the other places would be working for you. So you put all of these together. You don't actually put all your eggs in one basket. I hope you get the point?
Steve Folland: Yeah that's such a good point. With your YouTube and the content that you're creating, I like as well that it seems ... You gave the example of creating a church flyer. You're creating content that people ... I know, it's not just showing them how to, I don't know, 'draw a circle', for example, in Illustrator. It's how to actually create something that people want in the real world and that they could buy from you potentially, if they didn't want to do it themselves. How do you come up with the ideas for what people are looking for?
Innocent K Boateng: So let me start off with it this way: when I started, I learned from YouTube. But then when I started, I wasn't getting that kind of a step-by-step tutorial. Sometimes most of them that you get, it will be a step-by-step, but then full of music, no instruction to walk you through how to come up with that. So I decided to offer myself to do that kind of thing, so I mostly make my tutorials in-depth so that even the first person to open Photoshop for the first time would be able to go with that.
Innocent K Boateng: When it comes to the ideas, it's mostly generated from the things that I've done in the past when I was working at a printing press, because I created a lot of flyers, banners, brochures when I was at the printing press. So when I revisit some of my work, I just figure out the things that I could do, or I could have done better then and then I remake that poster. Or sometimes I grab inspiration from Pinterest, from Instagram, from all the social media. Sometimes you see, or people personally send you, flyers or a thing that they want to see a tutorial on. But then if I pick someone's work, not working out on it, like verbatim, step-by-step. If I pick someone's work, I try to credit the person that this flyer was made by this person but it was suggested by a friend or a subscriber. So I pick their flyer and then I make a tutorial out of it. But most of the tutorials are from the previous work that I've done and the inspiration I get on the internet.
Steve Folland: You mentioned that you've been creating more interview styles as well with other creatives in Ghana. Do you get to collaborate with other people in other ways?
Innocent K Boateng: Yeah. So the idea of the interviews recently came, I think I'm trying to go out there fully to talk to other creatives, and then I've done three collaborations with creatives, especially the tech. You know, I'm an IT guy, so I love tech. I really love tech, so I recently had an opportunity to collaborate with the tech YouTubers in Ghana, most of them. I went to the capital town to collaborate with most of them on the page, or on the channel.
Steve Folland: And then you're growing from each other's audiences, I guess?
Innocent K Boateng: That is the point. Steve Folland: Which as well as growing your audience, will grow your business. It all ties together and I love it, Innocent. What would you say though, is the biggest challenge to you being freelance?
Innocent K Boateng: Well, my biggest challenge currently would have to be the payment system. So Instagram, for instance, people come to you and then they would want your service they want you to do something for them. But then, most of their preferred payment options aren't available here in Ghana. So, like I mentioned earlier, my PayPal got blocked, so I had to depend on a friend, a Ghanaian friend in the United States. So all payments were sent to him and then later on, he would send it to me because people wouldn't really want to send you a direct money before you do the work for them. That is the concept of freelancing, you pay before you get serviced, so they would send it to that account.
Innocent K Boateng: So my biggest problem right now is the payment option. I really hope and wish that the PayPal is currently supported in Ghana. I think it would help and things like Cash App. I really hope it's supported here in Ghana, I would have been a greater blessing, because I've lost a lot of plans as regard to this kind of payment option.
Steve Folland: Yeah, that's got to be frustrating.
Innocent K Boateng: Yeah. When you ask somebody to transfer via Western Union, they feel like it's ... because there are a lot of scammers online and that kind of stuff. So they feel like PayPal, Cash App, those big, big transaction platforms, they are trustworthy and then they want to send through that medium. So they really prefer that to other transfers. Then there are a couple of them that work locally, but then most of the international clients don't know about it. Somebody who lives in, let's say the UK, maybe he's from Ghana, that person would know that something like Taptap Send, it works. So they can easily use that to transfer money to you in Ghana rather than the international client.
Steve Folland: Oh man, I hope that gets better for you soon.
Innocent K Boateng: I hope so.
Steve Folland: Now, if you could tell your younger self one thing about being freelance, what would that be?
Innocent K Boateng: It's all about limitation. The only limits that exist are the ones that are in your mind, regardless of where you are from now on, thanks to the internet you can work with everybody. So put your craft out there, start something, teach people, get recommendations and start working on the internet and be a freelancer.
Steve Folland: Nice. You strike me as somebody who's ambitious, not just within your work, but obviously within the content that you create and everything. You can't do that if you're not but are you somebody who has goals? Who has a plan?
Innocent K Boateng: Yes. I have a lot of planning, and I have a lot of things written down that I'm currently working with the systems instead of goals. I'm not trying to reach out to goals because mostly when you work with goals, it fails you. So I've broken it down to systems where I can really achieve it one at a time, step-by-step but then I have big goals, big aspiration, like changing the directive of the African mindset that you can't really make it big from Africa, or when you are coming from a very small place or village, you can't really make it big.
Innocent K Boateng: So I have that goal to change that narrative and to prove to other young youth from Africa, that it's not about where you're coming from. It is about who you are and where you want to get to. So that is the mindset and that is the goal.
Steve Folland: Innocent, it's been an absolute pleasure to talk to you. All the best being freelance.
Innocent K Boateng: Thanks for having me.
Steve Folland: How about we get started hearing how you got started being freelance?
Innocent K Boateng: So after I finished high school here in Ghana, I took up a job, that was before I got to university. So I took up a job at a printing press. I was serving as the typee, so anything regarding typing, I would do it and I had opportunity to learn Photoshop from a then graphic designer. So when he's doing something, I would just go and sit by him and then learn Photoshop. I picked up the interest in working in Photoshop around 2015, and then I started watching a lot of tutorials on YouTube. So, I downloaded gigs and gigs of tutorials from YouTube and then I started practicing.
Innocent K Boateng: Now, I had a bit of following on Facebook and Instagram, so any kind of work that I would do, I would just share it on the platform. And then people will be like, "Wow, this is great. You are doing well. Can you do some of them for us?" So I started working for free and apparently people started paying me for what I do. So fast forward to 2017, I got introduced to Fiverr and then I decided to make this like a real-time business. So I decided to rebrand my Instagram, post my works there and people started reaching out for gigs or, giving me gigs, yeah. So that was how I started being freelance.
Steve Folland: What was your experience of Fiverr like? How did you get on with that at first? And did it change over time?
Innocent K Boateng: I really thought it was going to be a very crazy place. The competition is very tough on Fiverr, so I didn't really pay attention to it until 2017. So it was this kind of work that I did for a friend in the US and somebody needed someone to manipulate a picture for, and it was a friend so he recommended me to the person. Now, when I got in touch with the person on Facebook, she said that the best place she could hire me was on Fiverr. So I thought okay, that was a great opportunity. I quickly set up my account and then she placed the order on Fiverr and that was my first gig. Subsequently, she gave me four other gigs and ratings and that was how I got started with Fiverr.
Steve Folland: What would you say was a good thing to do in terms of getting work on Fiverr? Obviously that first one was a personal recommendation, but what things did you try out that that were successful?
Innocent K Boateng: Okay. So in 2017, I also started a YouTube channel where I decided to share my little experiences that I've learned after I've been using Photoshop for like two, three years. So I decided to share that small, small things that I've learned in Photoshop with others on YouTube. So when I saw that Fiverr was an opportunity, a great place to make money, I then decided to build my following on Instagram and then build my following on YouTube as well, so I started posting free tutorials for people on YouTube.
Innocent K Boateng: I picked topics that people would be interested in. So people were coming from my social media handles to my Fiverr account. So I didn't really have to use that buyer request where people would have to use, especially when you start on Fiverr you message a lot of people, send a lot of request before you get your first few gigs. I just had to pull people from my YouTube account, or my YouTube channel and my Instagram, Facebook, just to Fiverr.
Steve Folland: I see. So for those who don't use Fiverr, it sounds to me like the way you're using it, that is different perhaps to Upwork for example, is that you can create, I guess, offers. Like a, "I will do this for you for this amount of money," and you can have any number of those on your profile. So people might click through to you from your YouTube channel, for example, and see those and then be able to buy it straight away. Was it like that?
Innocent K Boateng: Yes, exactly. So just like I said, I pick a particular topic. So one of the videos that drives people to my Fiverr accounts is how to make a church poster or a church flyer. So I do that particular tutorial, step by step. After that, in YouTube, in the comments section, I will pin my gig, that relates to church flyers to that particular video. So, in case the video blows up and then have many views, the people are likely to see the first comment in a section and I'll leave it in the description as well. So people watch the tutorial and you see if they can't really have time to make it themselves, they would rather want somebody to do it for them. So, seeing that you can teach it actually testify that you can do it as well.
Innocent K Boateng: So you follow to my Fiverr accounts and be like, "Hey, I'm coming from a YouTube channel. So I saw this, that you can do it for me." And then we just get started over there.
Steve Folland: I love that because really, that's no different to when people create content and then try to get them towards their own website and then try to get them to pay for their services. But instead of driving them to your website, you're driving them to-
Innocent K Boateng: My Fiverr account.
Steve Folland: ... a platform that makes it easy to pay you, especially, I guess, because you're in Ghana, does that make it easier to be paid? Because obviously overseas transactions can be tricky if you were dealing with them all yourself, so you have one central place in Fiverr.
Innocent K Boateng: Yes. That's the idea. So you see, when people are ordering from Fiverr, it's kind of trusted, the trust thing is there. Instead of you be like, "Hey, I can work this out for you," for them to send you the money. On Fiverr, they just make the payment when you deliver everything and then they accept it, you get paid and everyone is on the same page.
Steve Folland: That's so good. Yeah, so it's the trust as well. So how often would you be creating videos that specifically drove people to your Fiverr gigs?
Innocent K Boateng: Okay. Since 2017, I think July of 2017 I've been very consistent on YouTube - I've been creating videos almost every week, unless it is the time for break, where I take two weeks of break, because sometimes you get so burned out. So otherwise I would just be creating ... Or when I'm in school and it's time for exams or something like that, I just take a break. But since 2017 I've been creating consistent videos for people and it has been really helpful when it comes to driving people to my Fiverr account and my social media pages for them to order something.
Steve Folland: So you're creating videos every week, but you were doing that originally while studying at ... Are you still studying now or have you finished? Innocent K Boateng: Yes, I'm still studying. I'm currently level 300 in the university - I'll be completing next year.
Steve Folland: Oh, wow.
Innocent K Boateng: Yes.
Steve Folland: So the whole time, basically that you've been at university, you've been doing this on the side?
Steve Folland: What are you studying by the way? Innocent K Boateng: I'm reading information technology in education.
Steve Folland: And so for you, when you finish that course, is there a career that you had in mind to do with that, or are you all about being a freelance designer, if you see what I mean?
Innocent K Boateng: Actually now I've picked an interest in design, I really love designs, that is one thing that ... but I also love teaching a lot because teaching gives clarity when you share something with 10 people, you share it 10 times, but they will hear it once. So, I feel like since education is part of my program, I'll go more into education, but then I'll try to blend the IT and then the design. I really love designing just like that. So I'm actually going to keep up the freelance, working on the freelance, but I will go more into teaching because I really love to teach and share my ideas, thoughts, and principles with others.
Steve Folland: So have you had any problems with working on Fiverr?
Innocent K Boateng: Honestly, it's their payment system that is not really great. Just like you said earlier, living in Ghana and getting the payment, for the record, PayPal is not supported here in Ghana. So if you want to use PayPal, you would have to use a different African country, or perhaps if you have a friend outside, you would let them help you. So the payments would have to reach somebody else before it comes to me. Of course, I created a PayPal and then it got blocked since PayPal is not supported here in Ghana.
Innocent K Boateng: So, the only problem I have with Fiverr is the payment system and also their emails delays a lot. Somebody can send you a message, four hours later before you get a notification. That is sometimes really, really annoying because by the time you reply the message, the person has already gone to another person to get serviced.
Steve Folland: Oh man. Yeah, that would be annoying. So what tips would you give to somebody else who wanted to get started on Fiverr, do you think?
Innocent K Boateng: Fiverr is, like I said, a very competitive place, and no one really wants to hire you if you don't have any kind of rating. So before you even think of starting on Fiverr, you can actually build a kind of following or get some trusted people who will be your first or give you your first orders and rate you. People wouldn't really want to hire somebody who has no rating or doesn't have any kind of level. I'm currently level 1.5, so it has to give people the impression that I'm trusted, I have the reviews.
Innocent K Boateng: So before you even start on Fiverr, make sure that you have at least a following, you build some kind of following that you can easily... it's more or less like driving people to your website. So you build that kind of flow in and then you say, "Hey, I'm launching this particular gig if you'd be interested to purchase?" Or you find a few people to make your first orders. If possible, you can even pay them to make the orders so that you get the reviews and people can, from there, start giving you jobs.
Steve Folland: Then do you start showing up in people's searches?
Innocent K Boateng: Okay, so the algorithm on Fiverr is such that if you are quite fortunate and you get consistent gigs or consistent jobs, you may be placed at the top of your gigs, so when somebody searches for church fliers and then you have the reviews, you come up first. Another tip is you have to always be online because people would want to work directly. I read that most of the people that come on Fiverr come because they really need a job done quickly. So, they don't want to send it to their local printing press. So if you are always online, it gives the people the impression that you are ready to work and they can easily give you jobs instead of messaging somebody who is not online and then later on waiting for them to respond.
Steve Folland: So how do you cope with that when you're also studying as well as this? How do you fit work around life?
Innocent K Boateng: It's a very tough thing, especially when I got to my third year and I had to pick up a lot of leadership role in school and in church as well. So it was very stressful, but then I think it all comes up to time management. When you are able to manage your time well ... I use a lot of time management apps on my phone because I'm always the most on my phone. So the alarms, the reminders, the timetable, I've got everything in place. When it's time for classes, I'll be there. When it's time to read, I'll be there and when it's time for work, I'll also be there. So I think it all comes to time management and how you manage your time as a freelancer and then a student.
Steve Folland: Yeah, nice. What's it like for you in like your part of Ghana, for example. Are you in a city or are you quite rural? I guess if you're university, you're probably in a city.
Innocent K Boateng: Okay, so when it's time for school, I school in Kumasi, so I'm in the city, but then where I'm coming from, I didn't really come from a big city. It's not that kind of ... like a village or something, but it's not that a big city. Then I didn't have the opportunity to attend these big, big schools. I went to the government schools. So I came from a very small city in Ghana but then I made it through. So, I think it all comes to limitations and why you think really that you are not really limited, it is only your mindset that is going to, because all that I'm doing now is practically self-taught.
Steve Folland: It's self-taught, but also yeah, you're able to work with the world effectively. Do you know other freelances or is it mainly just you doing this where you are?
Innocent K Boateng: Yeah, there are a lot of people. So for instance, currently people are on Instagram and then they are showcasing their work. So, I think they are really build ... and then a couple of my friends, we are trying to send that message out there. So I've recently started a series on my YouTube channel, where I talk with creatives and freelances here in Ghana, specifically in Ghana. So I reach out to the creatives who are also freelancers, and then I let them share their stories and then their processes with others.
Innocent K Boateng: I think it's a great way to send a message out there to other Africans and other Ghanaians, fellow Ghanaians, the youth in particular that they can actually start this whole thing. People actually have that notion that you can't really make it working online from home but then I think this whole lockdown issue and things has proven that you can actually stay at your home and then reach out to many people, work out for others from around the globe. So we are trying to spread that message out to the youth in Ghana and in Africa.
Steve Folland: Oh man, good for you. I love your content that you're creating but it must-
Innocent K Boateng: Thank you.
Steve Folland: I know, I make videos, I do podcasts and I know how long it takes to do things. How much time would you say that you have to give to the stuff that you're creating for YouTube, for example, on a weekly basis?
Innocent K Boateng: It's a lot of time, that is an honest thing, it's a lot of time, especially when I'm in school. But then what I do is I split it. I don't try to record, edit and post at the same day. When I started earlier, when I was doing that, and it really got me burned out and stuff, but what I do is I will use one day. So when I'm in school, I post once a week. So, I'll use one day to plan, one day to edit, one day to record and then one day to post.
Innocent K Boateng: So with that, it gives me ... let's say dedicating an hour to all your content every single day. By the following week, when you post a video today, by the following week, you've already come up with a different content that you can post. So I think that's gives a lot of time to rest, lot of time to focus on other things as well. So practically six to eight hours a week dedicated to my content that I create on YouTube. But when I come home, sometimes it changes. I try to post twice a week, so that means it is going to double the time that I spend if you get a concept.
Steve Folland: But the great thing is as well, is you're connecting with people, as well as driving people to Fiverr you're connecting with a community and people who refer you, I guess?
Innocent K Boateng: Exactly. So community's also very important when it comes to things like this, because freelancing is more of recommendation. You show your work and somebody will just recommend you to somebody. They will see a post somewhere looking for a flyer designer and then you'll be like, "Hey," saying, "I saw this poster I think you can reach out," or recommend you to that person and then the person reach out. So community is a very important issue when it comes to this whole freelance thing, because people would have to recommend you. You can't always recommend yourself.
Steve Folland: Yeah. Something else I wanted to ask about Fiverr is that a lot of time people criticize it for ... Well, they call it a race to the bottom. You're not earning as much as you could be because nobody wants to pay enough on there. What's your experience of that?
Innocent K Boateng: So I think it all comes down to the value that you're creating and I think Fiverr also is known for the competition. Whenever there is a lot of competition, a lot of people seeking or fighting for the same thing, it reduces the value, so that is the mindset. But then personally, people coming from my YouTube channel have demonstrated the value that I can provide for them in the videos and tutorials that I make, so they know the value that I'm ready to provide and then they are ready to pay for that. So I think when you start off on Fiverr, people really have that doubt that can you really do it? Or after all, a lot of people are fighting for the same project. When somebody posts a buyer request, people will be fighting for that same project, or they can just give any amount for that. But if you are able to set up your value or tell the client the value that you can provide them, I think they are going to pay what you are worth.
Steve Folland: So you don't feel that you need to compete by going lower with your price, because actually you're confident enough that enough people are coming to you, knowing that they want to work with you, not somebody else?
Innocent K Boateng: Exactly. So, they know the person that they are going in for and what value he can provide, from the videos and tutorials that I make.
Steve Folland: That's great. So, that's work on Fiverr. Do you work with people locally as well?
Innocent K Boateng: Yes. I do work with people locally. So I said earlier that I worked at a printing press. So people really know me from the printing press and then sometimes they email or text you, call you, to work on projects locally. Or sometimes I even get called at the printing press. I'm currently not working there, but then I go there to offer them help and assistance once in a while. So I worked with others locally and when people are even noticing me from my YouTube page as well. So they try to work with you directly, if they find out that you're a Ghanaian and you are making these kind of tutorials and stuff. There are not many of us making tutorials, especially when it comes to graphics and the tech aspect. So people really love to work with a local guy trying to put himself out there on the internet.
Innocent K Boateng: One of the places that I'm getting most of my gigs from these days is also on my Instagram because recently I've been very active on Instagram. Branded my Instagram and then using the right hashtags and all those things. Yeah, so Fiverr, people coming from my YouTube channel that is locally and then internationally, and then working on Instagram as well. Sometimes in these communities on Facebook, where you get to interact with people, share your works, sometimes you do get gigs from there. So the thing is not only on Fiverr, actually, you can't depend on that. It's an honest thing. Sometimes it takes like two weeks, three weeks, or probably a month and then you've not gotten any gig on Fiverr, but then the other places would be working for you. So you put all of these together. You don't actually put all your eggs in one basket. I hope you get the point?
Steve Folland: Yeah that's such a good point. With your YouTube and the content that you're creating, I like as well that it seems ... You gave the example of creating a church flyer. You're creating content that people ... I know, it's not just showing them how to, I don't know, 'draw a circle', for example, in Illustrator. It's how to actually create something that people want in the real world and that they could buy from you potentially, if they didn't want to do it themselves. How do you come up with the ideas for what people are looking for?
Innocent K Boateng: So let me start off with it this way: when I started, I learned from YouTube. But then when I started, I wasn't getting that kind of a step-by-step tutorial. Sometimes most of them that you get, it will be a step-by-step, but then full of music, no instruction to walk you through how to come up with that. So I decided to offer myself to do that kind of thing, so I mostly make my tutorials in-depth so that even the first person to open Photoshop for the first time would be able to go with that.
Innocent K Boateng: When it comes to the ideas, it's mostly generated from the things that I've done in the past when I was working at a printing press, because I created a lot of flyers, banners, brochures when I was at the printing press. So when I revisit some of my work, I just figure out the things that I could do, or I could have done better then and then I remake that poster. Or sometimes I grab inspiration from Pinterest, from Instagram, from all the social media. Sometimes you see, or people personally send you, flyers or a thing that they want to see a tutorial on. But then if I pick someone's work, not working out on it, like verbatim, step-by-step. If I pick someone's work, I try to credit the person that this flyer was made by this person but it was suggested by a friend or a subscriber. So I pick their flyer and then I make a tutorial out of it. But most of the tutorials are from the previous work that I've done and the inspiration I get on the internet.
Steve Folland: You mentioned that you've been creating more interview styles as well with other creatives in Ghana. Do you get to collaborate with other people in other ways?
Innocent K Boateng: Yeah. So the idea of the interviews recently came, I think I'm trying to go out there fully to talk to other creatives, and then I've done three collaborations with creatives, especially the tech. You know, I'm an IT guy, so I love tech. I really love tech, so I recently had an opportunity to collaborate with the tech YouTubers in Ghana, most of them. I went to the capital town to collaborate with most of them on the page, or on the channel.
Steve Folland: And then you're growing from each other's audiences, I guess?
Innocent K Boateng: That is the point. Steve Folland: Which as well as growing your audience, will grow your business. It all ties together and I love it, Innocent. What would you say though, is the biggest challenge to you being freelance?
Innocent K Boateng: Well, my biggest challenge currently would have to be the payment system. So Instagram, for instance, people come to you and then they would want your service they want you to do something for them. But then, most of their preferred payment options aren't available here in Ghana. So, like I mentioned earlier, my PayPal got blocked, so I had to depend on a friend, a Ghanaian friend in the United States. So all payments were sent to him and then later on, he would send it to me because people wouldn't really want to send you a direct money before you do the work for them. That is the concept of freelancing, you pay before you get serviced, so they would send it to that account.
Innocent K Boateng: So my biggest problem right now is the payment option. I really hope and wish that the PayPal is currently supported in Ghana. I think it would help and things like Cash App. I really hope it's supported here in Ghana, I would have been a greater blessing, because I've lost a lot of plans as regard to this kind of payment option.
Steve Folland: Yeah, that's got to be frustrating.
Innocent K Boateng: Yeah. When you ask somebody to transfer via Western Union, they feel like it's ... because there are a lot of scammers online and that kind of stuff. So they feel like PayPal, Cash App, those big, big transaction platforms, they are trustworthy and then they want to send through that medium. So they really prefer that to other transfers. Then there are a couple of them that work locally, but then most of the international clients don't know about it. Somebody who lives in, let's say the UK, maybe he's from Ghana, that person would know that something like Taptap Send, it works. So they can easily use that to transfer money to you in Ghana rather than the international client.
Steve Folland: Oh man, I hope that gets better for you soon.
Innocent K Boateng: I hope so.
Steve Folland: Now, if you could tell your younger self one thing about being freelance, what would that be?
Innocent K Boateng: It's all about limitation. The only limits that exist are the ones that are in your mind, regardless of where you are from now on, thanks to the internet you can work with everybody. So put your craft out there, start something, teach people, get recommendations and start working on the internet and be a freelancer.
Steve Folland: Nice. You strike me as somebody who's ambitious, not just within your work, but obviously within the content that you create and everything. You can't do that if you're not but are you somebody who has goals? Who has a plan?
Innocent K Boateng: Yes. I have a lot of planning, and I have a lot of things written down that I'm currently working with the systems instead of goals. I'm not trying to reach out to goals because mostly when you work with goals, it fails you. So I've broken it down to systems where I can really achieve it one at a time, step-by-step but then I have big goals, big aspiration, like changing the directive of the African mindset that you can't really make it big from Africa, or when you are coming from a very small place or village, you can't really make it big.
Innocent K Boateng: So I have that goal to change that narrative and to prove to other young youth from Africa, that it's not about where you're coming from. It is about who you are and where you want to get to. So that is the mindset and that is the goal.
Steve Folland: Innocent, it's been an absolute pleasure to talk to you. All the best being freelance.
Innocent K Boateng: Thanks for having me.