Do what you love & money follows - 24YO's 1cr/yr design success

[Sangeeta]

I'm 24, a self-taught visual designer. I signed a contract with a Singapore-based startup for USD 108,000 (around 1 crore rupees) plus food and stay covered. This is after 6 years of hustling in design. I started learning graphic design on YouTube during the Covid lockdown, my first year of college. I was enrolled in an economics degree. After 6-7 months, I got my first part-time job, designing 8-slide carousels for 4,000 rupees a month. I did that for 8 months, then joined an agency for 30,000 rupees a month. It was hectic, but I enjoyed designing. I remember my friends didn't understand why I was hustling so much. I wasn't enjoying social media posts, so I quit. My parents weren't convinced I could make a career in design, it seemed like a hobby to them. I started questioning it too. I focused on college placements and got a day 0 placement for around 15 LPA at a consulting company. I signed it as a safety net. But I knew I wanted to focus on design in my final year. I decided to freelance, starting with 10,000 rupees per branding project. I increased my rates every month. My goal was to exceed my placement salary and convince my parents to let me quit. 8 months later, I was consistently making over 1 lakh rupees a month. I sat down with my parents and convinced them to let me quit my job. It took a few days and lots of discussions, but my track record helped. I believe showing them proof that I could make money from design was key. They were still concerned about future growth, but let me pursue design. I had to explain to people why I left a good job offer to pursue design, which they thought was underpaid labour. I decided to prove them wrong. For 1.5 years, I freelanced and increased my project rates from 10,000 to 1 lakh rupees. Then, a Singapore company headhunted me and offered 8.5 lakh rupees a month plus expenses. I never thought an Indian designer could make that kind of money. It feels good to have proven people wrong, but I feel even better doing what I enjoy. If I took the consulting job, I'd probably hate every day, be overworked, and get paid a maximum of 25 LPA. I've always believed that if you do what you love and try to be the best, you'll not have to think about money eventually.

[Gopal]

Congratulations OP

[Irfan]

Really inspiring story, your hustle paid off. Congrats OP

[Namrata]

Congratulations! Can you show your sample portfolio? I'm curious to see your designs. How did you stay competitive during AI's rise? Many people use ChatGPT to design stuff, and demand for freelance work might fall.

[Charu]

Congrats mate!

[Gregg]

Gave me hope, thanks

[Aarti]

Can you show your sample design?

[Chiranjit]

How did you fall in love with what you're doing?

[Jayant]

How does freelancing and setting rates work? The initial sales are the hardest part, right? What's your journey been like during that phase?

[Ravi]

Survivorship bias

[Jyoti.kumar]

Do you think being from a specific college boosted your credibility? 15 LPA consulting job, my guess would be an old IIT.