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Jacqui-Lee Katz: from broke to breaking the bank
Growing up in South Africa has always been a privilege I've made sure not to overlook. The strength, resilience, and work ethic that my people have cultivated has helped shape the person I am today. It is, however, true that many people on the African continent don't think that the online market is built for us. Opportunities like dropshipping, online freelancing, and creative marketplaces, are often seen as something reserved for the western world.
This was why, when I was first introduced to Fiverr many years ago, I overlooked the opportunity. I saw hundreds and thousands of sellers and thought I had no place in an oversaturated market. I saw US and UK influencers speaking about online freelancing and thought it would never work for someone like me - how wrong I was!
Explore Jacqui-Lee's skills
Brave beginnings
I was lucky enough to be raised by three powerful women who encouraged me to pursue my dreams and demonstrated that the strength of a woman is unmatched - whether that's in the home or the business arena. Having strong female role models, all of whom were providers for their families, showed me that it was possible to break away from stereotypical roles and make something memorable of my life, no matter where I started from.
With the promise of a blossoming creative future, I went on to study filmmaking and gender theory for 7 years, achieving my Masters degree cum laude before spending some time lecturing film theory at one of the top universities in the country. My first taste of knowledge sharing was both gratifying and grounding, inspiring me to pursue my own career in the documentary filmmaking arena.
Leaving a legacy
I led a fruitful career in social justice documentary filmmaking and photography, where I worked on feature documentaries and signature photographic collections, winning multiple awards for my work. I had the opportunity to work with the likes of global icon Mrs. Winnie Mandela on documenting her life story and, soon after, the renowned singer-songwriter, Bono, on a documentary series for his ONE organization. The series, called #YoursInPower, tracked 3 African female activists across the continent.
I co-owned a successful production company at the time, and our philosophy was that the majority of profits from documentaries we made would go towards enriching the lives of the communities we worked with. We were young, idealistic, and wild dreamers on a mission to make a tangible impact on our country and the world.
We were successful in our mission, but not wealthy by any means - the typical life of a social justice filmmaker. So, I encouraged my business partner to open a new lifestyle photography division of our company in an effort to make our social justice pursuits more profitable and sustainable. I didn't know it then, but I was blossoming into a serial-entrepreneur. My mind would spin with new ideas, and I found I was exceptionally good at branding, marketing, and strategic implementation.
A fresh start
It was at this time that I was diagnosed with a chronic illness. Any entrepreneur will tell you that building a business requires limitless energy, dedication, and mental fortitude. Multiple prolonged hospital stays, and intense treatments meant that the journey was just that much harder. My body wasn't capable of spending 7 days straight shooting in remote locations, and my mind was tired from being exposed to the medical world for what felt like an eternity.
Still, I was determined that this setback wouldn't stop me from achieving success, so I made the decision to start afresh. A new life at the seaside would mean healing water at my doorstep and a new career path would mean less stress on my body. However, I quickly found myself working three jobs just to pay the rent for my apartment at the beach.
Waking up at 4am to waitress all day long, earning minimum wage (less than $2 an hour), working on documentaries through the night, and flying back to my hometown on weekends to do photoshoots was exhausting.
And then COVID hit.
From fear to Fiverr
I was immediately laid off from my waitressing job overnight, and no filming or photography could take place. All three revenue streams dried up within a matter of 24 hours, and I realized I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. No one was coming to save me. Covid had left 7.9 million South Africans jobless.
A friend of mine from Israel knew the situation I was in and called to check up on me. I remember breaking down and crying for the first time on that phone call. I was helping to support the women who raised me. They were counting on me to take care of them - they deserved the world, and I was failing, miserably.
While the country boasts a vibrant, dynamic environment and rich cultural heritage unlike any other, the reality is that the unemployment rate in South Africa sits between 30 - 40% at any given time. I had applied to hundreds of jobs when I moved to the City of Cape Town and never heard back from a single employer. I explained to my friend that I was simply out of options. Covid had destroyed all three of my income streams and I was unemployable in my own country.
That's when she suggested signing up to become a seller on Fiverr. Because I had been on the platform briefly about 5 years prior, I had serious reservations. How would I stand out in a sea of established sellers who all had thousands of reviews? How would I find clients that were willing to take a chance on someone with no reviews? But, out of desperation, and a firm but loving push from a good friend, I decided to give it a try.
I truly had nothing left to lose.
Preparing for change
I did a deep dive into all-things-Fiverr, learning as much as I could before attempting to open a gig. If I was going to do this, I was going to give it a real shot, so I dedicated a week to doing intensive research and building a portfolio of work from my previous careers. I decided that Fiverr Pro would be the best way to start making real money fast, so I researched what a Pro application should include and made sure I ticked and exceeded every single box.
I even created a full profile booklet about myself with work samples and experience references to attach to my application. After applying for Fiverr Pro three times, I finally got verified as Pro in the Writing vertical and was able to open my first Pro gig.
By this time, I had done so much research into the types of gigs that were profitable, the keywords to use, and how to structure a three-tiered offer that I immediately knew which gig I would open first. Having run my own companies, I had so much experience in the branding world, so I created my brand story gig first, and got my first client overnight!
Within a week on Fiverr, I had made as much as I would normally make within a month from all three of my previous revenue streams put together. To say that this was 'life-changing' would be an understatement.
It wasn't long before I was able to make enough money on Fiverr to support my family without any other income streams, and within less than a year, I had made 6-figures in USD. Essentially, I had created a 7-figure business in my country in under a year. In time, I started to open more gigs based on the research and analyses I was doing, and broadened my client base dramatically when I introduced website content and blog articles into my suite of services.
With every new service I offered, I had to develop my skillset, take courses to ensure I was delivering exceptional quality, and build my portfolio of work - a process that was both challenging and incredibly rewarding. I learned everything I could about professional SEO content writing and advanced digital marketing, leveraging these skills to give my services a competitive edge.
Cultivating abundance
I was working with everyone from small startups looking to take their business from concept to reality with written content for their website, funnels, social media platforms, and pitch decks all the way to large public companies looking to build robust blogs to attract more clients or do a full brand transformation.
I was also working closely with multiple internal teams on Fiverr to write blog articles, email newsletters, course content, and promotional material for the platform itself - a humbling experience to say the least.
At this point, I had become a full-time Fiverr Pro Seller with Top Seller status, and my freelance business was growing by the day. I worked 18 to 20 hours a day for 365 days a year without one day off before I decided to start growing my team. My vision was always to empower other people in my country with the same life-changing opportunity I was given to work from home while making a substantial living. As my team grew, so did my business, and we started to build a private client base too.
I had people from across the globe finding me on social media and LinkedIn, and I was beginning to build an online presence for myself as the #BrandBoss, appearing on multiple podcasts to talk about my journey, my predictions for the future of the gig economy, and my advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
I finally made it official and turned my freelance business into a registered company trading as PINK Branding Agency and, since then, I've embraced the world of online entrepreneurship (what I call On-trepreneurship). I'm now helping more people than I ever thought possible to build their dream businesses from the ground up or transform their existing brands with killer copy and sales-savvy strategies.
Expanding horizons
After working with over 2000 brands worldwide and helping them take their brands from bland to booming, I eventually decided that I knew enough to add brand consulting and strategic planning to my offering on Fiverr. When we launched BOLD #BrandBoss, it was all about empowering others to start building the revolutionary brands they had always envisioned, and I made sure that my Fiverr clients were getting the same opportunities to work with me on a consulting basis through the platform.
My new business Cream Content, will be launching this month and will leverage the knowledge I've gained by working with thousands of brands on Fiverr to provide female-led businesses with the editable templates and customized resources they need to stay on-brand, on-point and always profitable. Of course, I'll be building this offering into my Fiverr service suite as well. Every move I've made, both on the platform and with my private client base, has been carefully planned and executed with one end goal in mind: to help others build iconic brands and lasting legacies.
As we continue to grow on the platform, we will always invest time in researching trends and staying up to date with the latest developments so that my clients get the very best service and my gigs remain on the leading-edge of what the platform has to offer. As soon as new features roll out, we test them and measure our statistics to see what effect the features have on our metrics. We take full advantage of every opportunity Fiverr offers, including the full suite of Fiverr Pro features.
For example, having the opportunity to work with a Success Manager has revolutionized the way I operate on Fiverr. It took some time to find the right Success Manager for my business, but when I did, it changed the game. My Success Manager's input in my business strategy and her support in guiding my endeavors on the platform have been an essential part of my exponential growth on Fiverr. She has become a core part of my team, and advises my every move so that I can maximize my presence on the platform and better serve my buyers.
Words of wisdom
Advice I'd give to new sellers is not to see other sellers as competition but, rather, as inspiration. Every time I'd see a seller post about their achievements, I would never see it as a threat - I would take it as an example of what's possible if you're willing to put yourself out there and grab onto the opportunities that are waiting for you to take hold of.
I'd also encourage new sellers to be bold and brave when putting themselves out there. Making calculated decisions is only half the job. Having the courage to believe in yourself enough to make those tough decisions is what will take you to the next level.
I've always been a firm believer that when opportunity meets preparation, magic happens. So, prepare as much as possible, keep your eyes open for the opportunities, and then let go of the myth that you will ever feel "ready" to take the leap into online freelancing. The idea of feeling ready is an illusion, but the feeling of accomplishment when you push through your self-doubt or fears of failure to make it happen is very real indeed.
