A remote village in Kulaura Upazila of Moulvibazar District.  There was no good internet system, and not enough electricity to run computers.  Abdul Kayum is the son of this countryside, who dreams of growing up.  Hence, he ignores all the obstacles and rushes towards the realization of his dream.

Abdul Kayum passed his higher secondary from Kulaura Degree College in 2016.  Later, while studying in the 1st year of his degree, he joined the business with his elder brother.  He couldn’t continue his studies then.  He has been involved in freelancing since 2019.  Although he is working as a full-time freelancer since almost the end of 2020.

Abdul Kayum said, “With the help of YouTube, I can work with clients from different countries online.  So, I got admission to an online web design course at a reputed institution in Bangladesh in June 2019.  However, due to the voltage problem in my house, the PC does not work.  I still remember at that time I used to close the shutters of my shop and take classes inside the shop two days a week for more than two hours.  Sometimes, I got scared even thinking that I used to stay in the shop with my younger brother and sleep on the floor for class assignments and work practice. There was a lot of fear every night as there was a shop next to the road.  However, I had to stay at my shop due to the shortage of electricity and unavailability of internet in my village.   After practicing and sleeping in the shop at night, I had to open the shop every day in the morning.  I don’t think I slept more than 4-6 hours at that time.  This is how my skill development started. During the class, in October 2019, I made a fiver account with the mentor’s guidelines.  Created a profile, got a gig and kept trying.  Nevertheless, it took about 4 months to get a job.  And how will I get it?  Looking at the gig files from that time makes me smile even though I’m sad now.”

Currently, he is working as an email marketer and web designer.  However, he wants to work as a full-stack web developer in future. Hence, he is moving towards that goal.  Abdul Kayum’s achievement in this short journey of three years is remarkable.  He is working as a top-rated freelancer on the world’s top marketing platform Upwork and a top-rated nominated seller on Fiverr.

In response to a question about the success of freelancing, he said, “I don’t know what I was able to do with freelancing.  However, I could make my small dreams come true slowly.  As a son of a middle-class family, I used to pray a lot so that I could support my family as well.  Alhamdulillah, it is now possible because the prayer has been accepted”.

Kayum said,” At the age when my friends were busy with sports or someone was busy in love.  At the very age, my family focused on my career.  For example, when they used to give tour-picnics, I regretted seeing them doing this at that time. However, currently, some of them are running after a job or some are still busy with studies.  And I am working and thinking about how to give work to others besides working myself. Apart from freelancing, I am an avid traveller.  When I have time, I go out for a walk near or far. Furthermore, I also like to do photography.  Although, I am not a professional photographer.  Still trying to learn photography. I know success is far away.  Hence, I want you all to be praying for me so that one day I can introduce myself as a successful freelancer and share my success story.”

Ruhan/Kamran