Bankole* had a hypothesis: he could compete globally. In 2024, that hypothesis paid off.

Within two years, the 26-year-old product and web designer saw his income skyrocket. He went from earning a local salary of ₦300,000 to an average of $3,000 (approximately ₦ 4.5 million) per month as a freelancer. But the journey wasn’t a straight line. It required a strategic pivot from standard product design to Framer development, a masterclass in cold outreach, and the guts to leave the safety of a full-time role.

Here is how Bankole navigated the transition from local gigs to the global playground. 

Breaking the Local Ceiling

Bankole’s income trajectory is a case study in the value of earning foreign currency while living locally.

“My last role with a local business ended in January 2024, after I had worked for about a year on a  ₦300,000/month salary,” Bankole recalls. “When I landed my first international offer with a Dutch startup in May 2024, the jump was immediate. I went from ₦300k to €700. At the time, that was about ₦1 million.”

When that international role ended in March 2025, Bankole faced a choice: look for another job or bet on himself as a freelancer. He chose the latter, and the compensation took an upward momentum that shocked even him.

“In my first month of freelancing, I made between $1,000 and $1,500. But from April through June 2025, I was averaging $2,000 to $2,500. For the past three months, closing out the year 2025, my income has been hovering around $3,000 on average.”

However, he is quick to note the trade-off between stability and scale.

“Freelancing allows you to earn without limits. One month, you can make $5,000; the next, $10,000. But there is no security. There was a month I hit over $4,000, and the very next month I dropped to $1,000. With a full-time job, you sleep better knowing exactly what hits your account at month’s end. But as a freelancer, you have the freedom to pick your projects and control your time.”

The Strategic Pivot: Why Framer Changed the Game

Bankole started his career during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 as a graphic designer. By 2022, he had transitioned into Product Design (UI/UX), leveraging his background in Computer Science to understand Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).

But he noticed an industry bottleneck: Product design has a “shipping” problem.

“As a product designer, you often work on designs that never go live. They stay on Figma or ‘on paper’ because development takes time. It’s hard to build a convincing portfolio when prospects can’t see your work in action,” he explains.

Then, in January 2024, he discovered  Framer, a low-code tool that enables designers to design and publish fully functional websites without writing complex code.

“I decided to niche down to Framer because it is easier to scale,” Bankole says. “With Framer, I can pick up my laptop, design, implement, and hit publish. It’s live instantly. Prospects want to see live sites, not just static images. This ability to bring apps to life helped me scale much faster than I did as a pure product designer.”

Positioning: How to Get Hired in a Saturated Market

Technical skills were only half the equation. The market is flooded with designers who can build websites. To stand out, Bankole had to master positioning.

“You can’t just build a website, post it on social media, and expect people to DM you with $3,000 offers,” he laughs. “You need to utilise job platforms like Contra and be strategic with cold outreach.”

Bankole identifies four pillars of his strategy:

• Personal Branding: consistently posting work on X (formerly Twitter).

• Platform Leverage: Building a verified profile on Contra.

• Outreach: Sending targeted cold messages.

• Content Creation: (Which he actually stopped doing).

“Content creation didn’t work for me,” he admits. “It attracted a local audience — people who wanted to learn from me, not hire me. I kept getting local inquiries for low-budget gigs, which I had to reject. So, I stopped trying to be an influencer and focused on being an expert, showing off high-level work.”

The Outreach Strategy: Partner, Don’t Just Sell

Bankole’s most successful tactic wasn’t applying for random job postings; it was partnering with the competition.

“I don’t just send cold messages to random businesses. I look for agencies or established freelancers who are already successful,” he reveals. “I find people who have traction. They are overbooked and can’t handle more than two projects at a time. I pitch myself as the person who can help them handle the overflow.”

Because he signs NDAs with these agencies, he can’t always post the work publicly, which makes his Twitter presence tricky. However, the strategy keeps his income steady.

“Currently, I’m not even finding clients in the traditional sense. I’m working with agency owners. I partner with them to build their websites using Framer. It’s a B2B approach.”

Advice for Beginners: Boring Principles & Imposter Syndrome

Looking back at his five-year journey, Bankole believes the biggest hurdle for new entrants isn’t the design software, but their mindset.

“The toughest part is building trust,” he says. “To do that, you have to kill imposter syndrome. Beginners are reluctant to post their work because they fear it’s bad. But the design community is actually very supportive; they don’t roast beginners, they give feedback.”

He also warns against the “shiny object syndrome” of jumping straight into tools without understanding the theory.

“Everyone wants to skip the boring part. They want to open Figma and make beautiful things. However, the truly great designers have studied the principles of User Experience (UX). You cannot know UI and abandon UX. You need to read the books, take the standard courses (like the Google UX certification), and find a mentor.”

What’s next for Bankole? Despite the high earnings of freelancing, the volatility is wearing him down. “I believe I can do both,” he says. “My plan for 2026 is to secure a full-time role for stability and freelance on the side for the scale.”

Key Takeaways from Bankole’s Journey

• Solve the Live Problem: Clients pay for finished products, not mockups. Moving to a low-code tool like Framer allowed him to deliver finished websites, increasing his value.

• Target the Overbooked: Instead of fighting for clients, Bankole targeted agencies and freelancers who had too many clients. He became an asset to them, not a competitor.

• Global Mindset: He prepared for international roles long before he got one. By the time the opportunity came, his portfolio was ready to compete.

Read Next: How to Build a Global Career as a Nigerian Living in Nigeria, From People Who’ve Done It

Follow Zikoko Money on Instagram for relatable stories and actionable insights to help you make the most out of your money.