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  • Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.

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    Nairalife #344 bio

    What’s your earliest memory of money?

    I started becoming conscious of it around the age of 10 or 11. My dad’s import-export business fell into issues, and my serial entrepreneur mum took over as breadwinner. So, we rarely had enough, and my earliest memories of money were of having to manage it. 

    How much “managing” did you have to do?

    I didn’t get sent out of school for not paying my fees, but I remember having to heavily pad my school list. That way, even when my parents cut down the number of items they could buy, I’d have the basics. 

    I carried this habit to uni as well. My pocket money stayed at ₦10k/month throughout my time in school. For context, I was in uni between 2014 and 2019. 

    ₦10k was nothing to write home about, so I often had to lie to get extra money. Thankfully, I studied pharmacy, and we always had to buy one textbook or another. So, I could say I needed ₦30k for a ₦10k textbook.

    It wasn’t the nicest thing to do, but I had almost no choice. I couldn’t do runs or other bad things to make money. Maybe it was my mother’s prayers. 

    When was the first time you worked for money?

    I had stints renting out my storybooks in primary school for ₦50 – ₦100. I also sold Parago sweets for a bit in secondary school when classmates kept begging me to give them mine. I was like, “Don’t beg me. Just buy it.” So, people bought, and I started buying to resell in school for ₦50 profit.

    However, my first proper income was in 300 level. I really loved taking pictures and writing about my everyday life. My inspiration was Linda Ikeji’s story – how she became rich from blogging, and I thought, “Maybe I can start doing this too.” 

    I had a hand-me-down phone. Those types of phones that your elder sibling finishes using before passing them down to you. I used the phone to take pictures and write stories about my daily activities. At first, I only posted my content on my family’s group chat. However, my brother encouraged me to share it online and on my WhatsApp status as well. So, I did that. 

    One day, a contact reached out, saying she’d love for me to write for an entertainment blog she was starting. I planned to do it for free because I honestly didn’t feel confident enough in my writing. But she offered a ₦10k/month pay plus data. I was like, “Ah. So I can make money from this?”

    Haha. Almost every writer’s rite of passage

    Besides writing, I handled the blog’s Instagram page. I just knew Instagram was a place to post pictures, write captions and put hashtags. Social media management was a new terrain, and I really didn’t know what to do. But I’m quite solution-oriented; once you give me something, I must find a way to make it work. 

    So, I did some research and learnt from online business coaches. I worked with her for six months, then she stopped the blog. 

    However, I didn’t stay unemployed for long. One of the online business coaches I followed had a thing where she allowed people to pitch their services and share opportunities in her comment section on certain days. 

    It was from there that I met a client who was looking for someone who could write their Instagram captions. I didn’t even know this was a thing. They paid ₦2500 per caption, and sometimes I’d write two captions a day. I did this for three months, and it further opened my eyes to the fact that there was money to be made in this social media thing. So, I kept pitching people. 

    I DM’ed small businesses offering to manage their social media pages. Now that I think about it, I was severely undercharging. I’d tell them ₦15k, they’d price me to ₦10k, and I’d collect it. I was stuck at ₦10k for almost two years. I didn’t charge higher out of fear that people would refuse to pay more than that. 

    Then, in 2018, I made my first “big money”.

    Tell me about that

    People were always asking me about my hair, so I started a natural hair blog. I thought it’d be a way to make my Linda Ikeji blogger dreams come true. 

    While I didn’t make money directly from the blog, it helped me get in the eyesight of my next client — a diaspora-based Nigerian who wanted me to write articles for their mental health platform. The articles were SEO-focused; they provided me with keywords, and I wrote based on those. They paid ₦75k per article, and I worked on two articles monthly.

    The contract lasted three months, and oh my God, I felt so rich that period. Unfortunately, I mismanaged the money. Suddenly, cooking became irritating. I visited restaurants, bought food for friends, and just flexed all the money. It felt good to have my own money, but I didn’t manage it well.

    I didn’t get another gig in uni after this one. I was now in my final year, so I just focused on graduating. 

    What came next after uni?

    An internship was supposed to come next, but while I waited to land a placement, I took on a locum role at a pharmacy. My salary was ₦40k, but I almost never received the full amount because my employer deducted money for various reasons, from punishment for lateness to the cost of expired or lost drugs. I didn’t mind because I lived with my parents and had no expenses. 

    I worked there for seven months before I got a proper one-year internship at a community pharmacy in 2020. For most people in the pharmacy space, community pharmacies are the last option, but I actually preferred them. I could actually impact people directly. Plus, I didn’t want to work at a hospital because I can’t stand the smell. 

    Please don’t ask why a pharmacist can’t stand a hospital. I studied the course purely for materialistic reasons. My mum sold me the dream of pharmacists driving cars and having money.

    Haha. Real. What was the pay at the internship like?

    My salary was ₦75k/month. Sometimes it went up to ₦85k because of my initiative to market drugs and drive sales. I had noticed some products weren’t moving, so I put my digital skills to use. 

    Our target audience was older people, and since this category uses WhatsApp frequently, I started a broadcast messaging campaign to our customers, highlighting the different products. I also shared health and wellness tips on specific days. It worked. Sales were consistently good while I worked at the pharmacy. 

    I completed my internship in September 2021, and NYSC was supposed to come next. While I waited for the call-up letter, I started applying to social media management jobs on LinkedIn.

    You weren’t planning on practising pharmacy?

    I wasn’t. I know most people strive for financial freedom, but location freedom was at the top of my list. I wanted the freedom of working remotely. Also, I’m not sure why, but I just felt cutting off transport costs would equal more money for me.

    One of the roles I applied for was a social media associate role at a social enterprise I really admired. They didn’t get back to me for about a month, so I thought I didn’t get it, only for me to receive an interview invitation as I was rounding up NYSC orientation camp. 

    During the interview, they asked about my salary expectations, and I said ₦250k. My sister had told me to give that figure, and I followed her advice even though I thought it was a lot to ask for. 

    The interviewer said, “Hmm? What did you say?” 

    I repeated the amount with confidence, even though I was shaking. 

    Then she said, “Hmm. Okay.”

    Ah. Please tell me you got the job

    I honestly thought that was the end. However, to my surprise, I received a congratulatory email to proceed to the next interview stage less than one hour after the call. To cut the long story short, I got the job in December, and they gave me the ₦250k. But that was the gross pay; my net salary came down to around ₦188k after deductions. 

    I was still excited sha. I had a pension, HMO and all the other corporate things. It was my first big girl job and the first time I had all those benefits, so it was a big deal. On top of all that, it was fully remote. 

    Love to see it. How did you juggle the job with NYSC?

    I was posted to a university for NYSC, and interestingly, they were on strike for almost the entirety of my service year. So, I didn’t work there. I just collected my ₦33k allawee. 

    I also got another ₦120k/month social media management job during my NYSC year. I had updated my LinkedIn to reflect my new role and was a bit more active on the platform when the client reached out to offer me the gig. I should’ve asked to be paid in dollars, since it was a US-based company, but I didn’t know better. Plus, I didn’t even have the facilities to collect payment in dollars, so there’s that. 

    So, I had two income sources (plus allawee) during service year, bringing my monthly income to around ₦340k. I was balling.

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    How long did you manage both jobs?

    I stayed at both for a little over a year. I left my 9-5 in early 2023 because it felt like the right time to leave. I was tired of social media management and, to make it worse, I was juggling two demanding SMM jobs. I felt like I was dying inside. 

    So, I left my regular 9-5 first, and left the other in mid-2023. I transitioned to a media company, where I served as a project manager. The job came with a pay cut to ₦150k/month, and I think emotions played a role in my accepting the offer. My employer was a celebrity I admired and wanted to work with, so I didn’t negotiate. 

    Also, I took the job to explore something outside social media, but guess what? I ended up doing social media management there, too.

    I’m screaming. How come?

    I was employed to manage a film project, and after its completion, my employer continued to pay me as usual. I felt guilty about collecting a salary without working. So, when I noticed their social media wasn’t doing so great, I took it upon myself to manage the page.

    The page grew in a relatively short time, and my employer decided to start pitching to companies that we could also handle their brand and social media. Of course, this extra work came to my desk because they saw I was doing a good job. 

    That’s how I became the brand and marketing person managing the portfolios of different brands. At one point, we had five brands on retainer. I did that for a few months before I started to think, “I can actually do this on my own.” 

    I’d essentially created a new income source for the company, but my pay was nothing compared to how much I was bringing in. So, even though I was scared, I quit my job in September 2024 to start freelancing.

    Did you have any immediate plans?

    I honestly didn’t. I had no plan or clients, but I was tired of 9-to-5 and wanted to try freelancing.

    Fortunately, I got my first client almost immediately. Someone I’d worked with referred me to an international organisation for a four-month project. The project paid ₦250k/month to lead the marketing for their film project.

    While this was happening, I was showing up on social media. I thought it was important for people to know what I did, since referrals have been the primary means of success in my life’s journey. So, I was working on my skills, getting better at LinkedIn and sharing my findings across my channels: WhatsApp status, Instagram and LinkedIn. I even did videos sometimes.  

    One day, a friend asked, “You do LinkedIn optimisation right? A client needs it for their MBA. What are your rates?” I didn’t have any rates. I was just learning LinkedIn for myself. 

    I asked someone active on LinkedIn how much he’d likely charge to optimise someone’s profile. He said “₦10k” and it immediately gave me PTSD from my ₦10k days. There was no way I was returning to charging ₦10k for services.

    So, what did you do?

    Thank God for ChatGPT. I asked it to provide me with three different optimisation packages, with the least expensive package costing ₦100k. It helped with the big, big English, which I carried to Canva and designed into a proper rate card. 

    The client liked it, even though she priced me too much. She wanted the ₦200k package for ₦100k. We eventually agreed that she’d bring two more clients who would pay ₦100k, too. That’s how I got ₦300k sharp sharp for something I could do within one or two hours. 

    After that gig, the client referred me to more people, and those ones referred me too. In two weeks, I made ₦1m from LinkedIn optimisation.

    This same LinkedIn optimisation?

    See, the English in my offerings was plenty. Besides creating profile banners, optimising their headlines and all the other updates, the most expensive package also included ready-made content for one month. They didn’t even have to worry about posting. I created the content and scheduled it. So, there was a lot of value. 

    The content idea helped me get several returning clients. They were like, “This is great. How much would it cost you to just manage my LinkedIn?” So, I slapped a price on it. Again, my lowest price was ₦100k.

    I started the LinkedIn hustle in September 2024, and by December, I had four steady clients. I also got a client who paid me in dollars — $500/month to manage her Instagram and LinkedIn. 

    In October, my former boss reached out for help managing her personal brand on LinkedIn and Instagram. I knew she had money, so I charged ₦350k. She haggled a bit, and we settled on ₦250k/month to post twice weekly on both platforms. 

    You were on a roll

    I was. However, the goal was to make sure all these clients stayed long-term. They’d all come towards the end of the year, and I didn’t want a three-month arrangement where they’d disappear again. I actually prayed on December 31st for my clients to follow me into the new year. 

    Fortunately, they did. I’m proud to say I’m even considering registering a company. Between December 2024 and now, I’ve onboarded four more clients, whom I manage their entire personal brand. As a result, my services have expanded beyond LinkedIn. If they want to start a podcast or website, I charge separately to handle the PR, arrange interview rounds, and all that. 

    Amazing. What’s your income like these days?

    I earn at least ₦1.5 million per month from my naira clients and $600/month from my dollar-paying clients. This is my main job now; I don’t have a 9-to-5 anymore, so you could say I’m a full-time freelancer.

    However, I’m looking at turning it into a creative business, specifically a personal branding agency. Personal branding brings me the most money, so I intend to position my agency to handle branding for C-level executives, founders and entrepreneurs with more than 10 years of experience in the industry. 

    Setting up a proper business will also allow me to hire some help to assist with the work. It’s a lot now, and I need to get assistance, especially because I plan to increase my rates in the new year.

    What kind of lifestyle does your income afford you?

    I can afford most of the things I need. Thankfully, I still live with my parents, so I don’t have rent expenses. What typically takes my money are subscriptions (all them Canva, ChatGPT, iCloud and the rest), data, gym subscriptions, cab rides and savings.

    Let’s break that down into a typical month

    Nairalife 344 expenses

    How would you describe your relationship with money?

    It’s still an ongoing thing. I grew up with a sense of scarcity, and I’m just now getting used to making money. I’m not proud of it, but I didn’t start saving until late 2024. Because I grew up with scarcity, I thought, “Now that I have money, I need to get everything I want before it goes.” I felt I could always make money since I provided value. So, I spent anyhow. However, I now realise the importance of savings and investments.

    Was there any shift that influenced this mindset change?

    Yes o. I realised Tinubu was likely to win the 2027 election, and it struck me that I had to prepare. It’s not 2027 yet, and the price of everything is increasing. What happens when he gets four more years? I decided it was time to save some money, so I could sleep better at night. 

    Right now, I save all my dollar income in an investment app. I use their real estate investment option, and I’ve been doing that for about three months. My investment portfolio is now worth $1800, and I have over ₦4m saved.

    You mentioned planning to register a company. Do you have a timeline in mind?

    I’ve actually registered it. It cost me ₦47k to register a limited company. I’m trying to get a tax identification number now, and I paid ₦15k for that. I just hired two interns whom I’ll be paying ₦70k each monthly. I want to test our arrangement over the next few months, establish a structure, and pursue more international clients before formally launching my business in January 2026. 

    Rooting for you. Is there an ideal amount you think you should be earning?

    When I made my first ₦1m, I told myself that’s the least amount of money I wanted to make in 2025. Now, I’ve surpassed that, and I know I can double that in 2026. So, $2k/month wouldn’t be bad. That would mean my business is making at least $5k.

    Is there anything you want right now but can’t afford?

    A car.

    I feel like this is everyone’s problem these days, and it’s so crazy how unaffordable a car has become

    It’s so crazy. I spend a fortune on cabs, and it’s so stressful. I might need around ₦15m to get a regular small car. 

    What was the last thing you bought that made you happy?

    I didn’t exactly buy this, but I contributed ₦1m to my church building project in April, and it made me so happy. I’d never given that amount before, and I loved that I could do it at once. 

    How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1-10?

    6. I now see what’s possible with my finances, and I know I can double or triple what I currently earn in a year. I’m still a beginner in this money thing, but I’m on the right track. I want to be able to boast of a $20k investment portfolio by 2027.

    If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.

    Yes, I want to do a Naira Life!

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  • Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.

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    Nairalife #324 bio

    What’s your earliest memory of money?

    Secondary school. I attended a boarding school, and my parents gave me ₦1k – ₦2k for about half a term. This taught me how to manage money, as I learnt to spend only ₦100 or ₦200 from it each time to stretch the money until I returned home.

    What was the financial situation at home like?

    My dad was a medical doctor who owned his own clinic, and my mum was a nurse. While we were mostly comfortable, there was the occasional struggle. 

    It wasn’t like I was swimming in money, though. Even in uni, I only got money from home when I was in school. And it wasn’t regular because my private university provided food and internet. So, for my parents, it was like, “We’ve paid for your fees, your feeding and the hostel. What more do you need?” 

    So, I only handled cash if I needed something and asked my parents for money to get it. 

    Do you remember the first time you worked for money?

    Yes, 2013. For my industrial training at the 300 level, I worked at a petroleum company. I earned ₦30k/month and was supposed to work there for five months, but I ran away after three months because of the stress.

    Also, I had wanted to work in the IT department, but they posted me to human resources. The staff was just using me to run errands, and I didn’t learn anything. So, I ran away. 

    I spent the last two months of industrial training at a tech company that paid me ₦15k/month. It was closer to what I wanted to do. I was something of a tech nerd, and it helped me gain experience in programming and software building. I stuck with it after the IT period. 

    In my final year, I created a BBM channel on BlackBerry where I talked about tech stuff and shared updates from the tech industry. It was a relatively successful channel with really good numbers. My work with the channel set the foundation for my career after I finished uni. 

    How so?

    Post-NYSC, I tried to get a job as a developer at an e-commerce company. They thought I was better suited for social media because of my work with the BBM channel. So, I got the social media intern role, which kickstarted my transition from web development to marketing. 

    My starting salary was ₦50k/month. Six months later, I was promoted to social media associate, and my salary increased to ₦100k. Not long after I got promoted, everyone else on the team got salary increases, but my employer said I wasn’t eligible because I had just received a promotion raise. I had to wait another six months for a 10% or 20% raise. 

    It didn’t make sense to me, and I concluded that corporate growth was too slow. So, I worked there for only two years and left in 2019. 

    Did you have a plan?

    I decided to be an independent talent. I should mention that I took on side social media management gigs while I was still at the company. I worked with influencers to grow their accounts and manage their social media presence, which brought me around ₦70k/month. 

    My work with influencers opened my eyes to how many people doing marketing campaigns with influencers for big brands made so much more than I did, even though they weren’t as skilled. I knew I had the potential to earn more, and becoming an independent talent was my chance to explore that.  

    I made ₦250k the first month after I quit my 9-5. 

    Love it! Did you do anything differently?

    I became a consultant. I wrote proposals to brands, explaining how I could get influencers and run marketing campaigns for them. When the brand paid me, I got the influencers, managed the campaign and submitted reports. 

    I also managed influencer platforms and had a stint growing my own page as an influencer. I made some money promoting brands on my page before the account got suspended. Between 2019 and 2020, I made an average of ₦250k – ₦300k monthly. Then COVID came and things stalled a bit.

    We can all relate

    Brands stopped spending money, and most of the influencer contracts I handled were cancelled. I had to think about pivoting again and extending my reach to brands outside Nigeria. So, I joined freelance platforms like Upwork and Fiverr to hunt for remote jobs. 

    I found success on Upwork and am still an independent talent with the platform today. I offer social media and influencer marketing strategies, content, and SEO. I pitch clients, and if they like my proposal, we jump on a call to agree on a contract. 

    When I first started, I charged $15/hour, but now my rates are $30/hour. I work between 10 and 30 hours per week on most projects. Social media marketing is a recurring job, unlike writing an article once and getting it over with, so I often get long-term clients, usually around six months. 

    Join 1,000+ Nigerians, finance experts and industry leaders at The Naira Life Conference by Zikoko for a day of real, raw conversations about money and financial freedom. Click here to buy a ticket and secure your spot at the money event of the year, where you’ll get the practical tools to 10x your income, network with the biggest players in your industry, and level up in your career and business.

    When did you get your first big break on Upwork?

    Upwork money isn’t bulk money; it adds up the more jobs you get. But the first time I knew I could really make money with the platform was in 2022. 

    I tried my luck and pitched $25/hour to a client who accepted without negotiating. He could’ve negotiated, especially as he could see my profile and notice I earned $15/hour on average, but he didn’t mind. Also, the job itself shouldn’t have taken me more than 1-2 hours per week, but the client gave me a contract of 15 hours per week. 

    It was crazy money for less work compared to my other projects. I made close to $20k in four months working with this client. 

    I told myself, “If I can earn this much from one client without doing so much, I can increase my rates and find clients willing to pay me.” 

    Upwork is my biggest lead generator in terms of foreign clients, and my total accumulated earnings since I started have racked up to about $130k, minus Upwork service fees. 

    I also work with other brands and influencers (both Nigerian and international) outside the platform. Essentially, I pivot to wherever the money is. I consider myself a social media hustler. 

    What’s your monthly income like these days?

    I currently earn around $3k/month from two projects. My income fluctuates based on the number of projects or clients I work with. For instance, I made $5k for a few months last year. But $3k is a good average, which is around ₦4.8m right now. The exchange rate also determines how much my income amounts to.

    Speaking of, how do payments work? 

    I receive payments from Upwork in two ways: withdrawing directly into my domiciliary account or via digital payment platforms. 

    I use my domiciliary account to save larger funds because the wire transfer costs about $50, and it makes sense to pay that for sums like $5k or $10k. I use the payment platforms for regular monthly payments to meet my daily living expenses. Those ones allow me to open virtual USD accounts, so I send dollars there and withdraw the naira equivalent to my bank account. 

    The small disadvantage with the platforms is that they use their own exchange rates, and I can’t withdraw or send dollars to someone else, except another platform user. For instance, when I bought my car last year, I had to initiate a transfer from my domiciliary account to a black market BDC so I could get naira at the best rate. 

    But I think since this year, bank and black market rates have stabilised, so there’s not much difference. Also, the payment platforms have many competitors, so they try to give freelancers the best rate possible. 

    Interesting. How has your income growth impacted your lifestyle?

    Oh, it’s been very positive. More money has allowed me to achieve certain things earlier than I thought possible. For instance, I thought I’d get married at 32, but I got married at 28 and have a child now. I found the right person and had the financial resources, so there was no point waiting. 

    I always try to live below my means, but as comfortably as possible. At least, I can provide for my family without overthinking the state of the country. 

    How would you describe your relationship with money?

    I’m a big saver. I don’t think there’s been a period in my life when I’ve had a toxic relationship with money. I’ve always been very tactical with my spending. This has helped me as an independent talent in terms of financial security. 

    When I know I can make $5k this month and only $1k the next, or even nothing, I have to be tactical so I don’t blow it. I’ve been at this for five years now, and I feel like I’ve learned how to manage my money and save for the dry season.

    What does your savings portfolio look like?

    I have about $30k in savings, and it’s a good thing I started building my savings before getting married. I saved almost all that money while I was single. The increase in responsibilities, plus parenting, has made it a bit more difficult to keep money aside. 

    I have two landed properties that I’m trying to develop, in addition to my savings. I tend to focus on physical assets and savings because I’m wary of risky investments. 

    Walk me through your typical monthly expenses

    I probably don’t remember some expenses, but my typical monthly expense is usually pegged at ₦2m. It’s more difficult to keep a budget since I’m married.

    You’ve been an independent talent for 5 years. Do you plan to continue long-term?

    Honestly, it depends on whatever life throws at me. The goal is to become better and maybe save up to start a business in about five years. I don’t like risks, so I just need to make sure whatever business I invest in is something I can get good value from.

    Do you have a business idea in mind?

    I think a digital marketing agency best aligns with my current trajectory. I’ve had to turn down several clients because I try not to have more than two clients at a time. An agency would give me more room for growth and higher earnings. There’s a huge opportunity there, but I’m sceptical. I prefer working on things I can manage, and building an agency would mean trusting other people to do their job effectively. 

    I did have a mini agency arrangement when I first started my career, with the brands and influencers, but this would be on a larger scale. So, I need to work out the kinks. 

    Is there anything you want right now but can’t afford?

    Haha. That’s such a funny question. There are so many things I want but can’t afford right now. I want to build my own house and own a better car. I want a ₦500m home, but I can’t afford it. I still have a very long way to go. I want to travel with my family and do so much in this life. I haven’t even scratched the surface.

    What was the last thing you bought that made you happy?

    My car. It cost ₦27m, and it made me feel proud of myself. It was my first big sign that I could make big purchases and not drink garri the next day.

    Curious, is there any aspect of your finances you’d like to be better at?

    I’d like to become more willing to take risks. I’ve worked hard, and I like to keep my funds safe. That’s not a bad thing, but I think I’m at a point where I realise I need to be comfortable taking risks if I really want to grow wealth. Hopefully, I won’t fall into a hole when I learn to take risks. 

    I also want more stability in my earnings. It’d be great to earn around $5k – $7k/month consistently for the next year. Not that I’m making $4k this month and $1k next month — just a fixed, high, and stable income.

    How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1-10?

    7. I’m comfortable, but I’ve earned within the same income range for the last two to three years, and I want to grow. It’d be a 10 if I got a full-time job that triples my earnings and comes with a sponsored visa to the UK so I can relocate with my family. 

    If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.

    Yes, I want to do a Naira Life!

    Find all the past Naira Life stories here.

    Subscribe to the newsletter here.

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  • Every week, Zikoko seeks to understand how people move the Naira in and out of their lives. Some stories will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie. All the time, it’ll be revealing.

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    Nairalife #323 bio

    What’s your earliest memory of money?

    It was 2003 — the year my mother died — and I was 8. My aunt, her boyfriend and I were on the bus, and her boyfriend asked me to read a figure in the newspaper. I think it was 15 million and something-something thousand. When I pronounced it correctly, he gave me ₦15, and I used it to buy sweets. 

    I’m sorry about your mum

    Thank you. The newspaper incident happened because my aunt’s boyfriend was trying to cheer me up. We were going to my aunt’s workplace, and I think he wanted to take my mind off the whole thing.

    I imagine your mum’s passing away led to some changes at home 

    It stirred me into independence. My dad remarried a few years later and had four more children. I had to transition from being an only child to an elder sister to my siblings. Plus, my step-mum and I didn’t get along at all, so I was pretty much independent.

    Things didn’t change much on the financial side. My mum worked at a bank, and my dad was a contractor. I didn’t grow up looking for food to eat or anything like that. Even after my mum passed, my dad still made enough to keep us comfortable. I had a BlackBerry phone at 15. We were above average. 

    Do you remember the first time you earned money?

    I do. I’m really good at explaining stuff, so at uni, people came to me to simplify lecture notes and explain things in a way they could understand. At first, I did it for free until people started becoming entitled. I’d go home during the holidays or school breaks, and people would ask me, “Why weren’t you available to teach us?” 

    At some point, I thought to myself, “You know what? I can charge these people.” So, I started charging each person between ₦200 and ₦500 per lecture. I did that from 200 level to my final year. That said, it didn’t bring serious money, so I lived on my ₦20k monthly allowance, which was enough for whatever I needed in school.

    I also had a few internships during school holidays at an NGO. I only worked there when school was out and got paid ₦15k/month each time. I think I did that twice. Then, after I graduated from university in 2017, I got an opportunity to travel to the US for a five-month work and travel program. 

    How did that happen?

    Someone at my uni organised work and travel programs for students in my department — a student exchange program. I can’t remember how much the process cost, but I know my round-trip ticket was ridiculously cheap. It was just ₦350k, but it also came with insane layovers. I spent three days travelling through different cities before finally reaching my destination. The point is, I got there. 

    A few days after I arrived, I got a job flipping burgers in the food section of an amusement park, earning $5/hour for 30 hours/week.

    Wait. I thought it was an academic program

    They didn’t really send us like that. It didn’t matter where we worked; they just wanted us to meet people from around the world and experience other cultures.

    Plus, each person had to pay for their accommodation from the money they earned. I stayed in an extended-stay apartment with five other Nigerians. I think the rent was $750/month, and we split it equally. So, I had to make money. 

    A few weeks after I started the amusement park job, I found another at a Wendy’s restaurant. The program didn’t allow us to work more than 40 hours/week, so I cut my hours at my first job so I could do 20-20 at each job. Wendy’s paid $7/hour, bringing my income from both jobs to around $800/month, minus tips. The tips were so good. Sometimes, I earned up to half of my income just from tips.

    So the money was good

    It was, but the work was hell. Both jobs had me standing 16 hours every day. At some point, I even broke down.

    To be fair, maybe I didn’t need to work that hard. My aunt had encouraged me to save as much money as possible, but I also wanted to balance it with having a good time. So, one salary was for spending and shopping, and the other was for saving. 

    I returned to Nigeria in November 2017 with about $2k in my account, which I gave to my aunt to keep. For context, I started living with her when I got into uni, and she had sponsored me for the US program.

    What happened after you returned to Nigeria?

    NYSC was the next step. Service year taught me hunger. Allawee was ₦19800, plus another ₦4k from my PPA that was always delayed. It was ridiculous. 

    By this time, my aunt had stopped giving me an allowance because I stubbornly refused to do my NYSC in the same state, so I had to make do with allawee. Thankfully, she paid my rent, but it was a real struggle surviving on ₦19,800. I learnt a new dimension of independence. Interestingly, my service year also changed the trajectory of my life. 

    How so?

    Corp members learned blue-collar skills as side hustles, but it didn’t make sense to me. I thought, “There have to be more lucrative options”. I came across a place where people learnt digital marketing and how to build websites; it intrigued me. 

    I joined them and learnt how to code on Adobe Dreamweaver using HTML and a few other languages. Throughout the service year, I attended weekend classes and learnt even more. 

    After NYSC in 2018, I got a job at a publishing firm. My salary was ₦50k/month to build websites and do digital marketing for them. The job made me realise my skills were pretty basic, so I learned a lot on the job and watched YouTube videos to keep up. 

    I learnt everything from SEO to digital marketing and website building. I was intrigued by the advent of digital marketing and how small businesses were moving from traditional marketing to digital. I knew that was where I wanted to be, so I kept honing my skills.

    Unfortunately, my employer was an asshole who owed salaries and never paid in full. After he withheld my salary for three months, I just left. This was in 2019.

    Did you have other income opportunities?

    Somehow, I found myself offering freelance services. I met my first client at a supermarket, and we entered into a conversation. He said he was a lawyer and also sold books. I mentioned I could build websites, and that’s how he said he needed an e-commerce website for his books. Before I knew it, he sent me ₦100k, and I remember staring at my account balance in shock. 

    I built the website, and he settled the domain and hosting. It turned out super nice. I wanted to do even more, so I got certified in digital marketing and kept learning. I was also applying for jobs and found one on LinkedIn towards the end of 2019. It was an on-site role, so I had to move to Lagos. I moved in with a friend, and we shared the ₦600k rent. My aunt paid for my half. 

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    How much did your job pay?

    My salary as a digital marketer was ₦125k/month. I also took on the occasional social media management and website-building side gig for anything between ₦50k – ₦150k. I kept my 9-5 job until 2021, when something very funny happened.

    What was that?

    I got pregnant. My job became hard to manage with pregnancy, especially with the late nights, and my partner wasn’t having it. We decided I’d quit, and he’d support me pending when I could get a new job.

    However, he became super distant and annoying after I had my child. He struggled to sustain us as a family, and I knew I needed to find a job immediately. I couldn’t depend on him for money.

    A few months later, in 2022, I got a job heading the digital marketing team in a fintech company. 

    Energy!

    My starting salary was ₦350k, and it increased to ₦420k in 2023. That same year, I took on an additional remote role with a foreign company that paid ₦300k, bringing my income to ₦720k. 

    My new income allowed me to afford nicer things for my child and live independently of my partner. I didn’t have to ask him for the smallest things like data anymore, and I think he couldn’t handle that switch. We eventually separated, so we co-parent now, and fantastically at that. 

    I switched jobs in 2024 to one that paid $800/month, and about six months later, I got a contract offer that really improved my life. I worked with that client for three months, making $3k/month. It was such a fun time. I bought things I needed and even started buying stupid things.

    Within those three months, I bought a car, changed my apartment, and put my daughter in a better school. I even got on Ozempic. Like I said, stupid things. 

    I’m screaming. Curious, how much was your pay in naira at the time? 

    It fluctuated a lot. The $800 from my 9-5 was usually about ₦1m, and the $3k was ₦4m and some change. 

    My 9-5 salary was paid to my traditional domiciliary account, and I often converted it by transferring dollars to the black market BDCs; they also had domiciliary accounts. However, I received the $3k from my client through a payment platform that allowed me to convert the funds to naira on the platform or transfer dollars to my domiciliary account. They had good rates, so it was pretty seamless. 

    I still go through the same process. The three-month contract was extended by a year, so I still work with the client today. 

    What’s your monthly income like these days?

    I currently work three full-time jobs, which is actually crazy. My income from all three is $6300/month. Bonuses sometimes push that to $7k, which is about ₦11m after conversion.   

    Also, I recently founded a marketing agency with a Mexican friend. The agency is based in Mexico, and my friend is white-passing, so she helps us close leads faster. She’s the face of our company, and I’m the brains. 

    We currently have about 7 clients we charge between $2k- $4k per month, depending on the scope of work. We share the profit 40:40:20 — 40% for each of us, and 20% back to the business and to pay staff. I don’t consider the agency as an income source. It’s more like a contingency plan; I save whatever profit I make for my child’s future. 

    I’m still stuck on the three full-time jobs part

    See, I have an obsessive need to work. I don’t ever want to return to a time when I cannot provide for my daughter. 

    Plus, I plan to japa to Mexico to fully scale my agency so I can “retire” from full-time work. So, I need the money from my three jobs as well. I just want to be comfortable to the point where I can afford anything my child wants.

    What do these japa plans look like now?

    It should happen sometime next year. My child will be done with kindergarten and transitioning to primary school, so it’ll be the perfect time to move. I also got her a Spanish tutor, so she already speaks Spanish as a second language.

    I save ₦5m/month from my income and have about $30k in my total portfolio. I have about $5k in investments using online financial services platforms. I also bought about $5k worth of foreign stocks in my daughter’s name in 2024. I get pretty good ROI on my investments, and they’ve helped with my portfolio. 

    So, I’m pretty much set for the move. The cost of living in Lagos and the city I plan to move to is similar. Rent, groceries, and everything else are pretty much the same. So, I’ll maintain my current lifestyle there. 

    Speaking of lifestyle, how has your income growth impacted your relationship with money?

    I used to be really bad with money. I like to eat, so I have this bad habit of visiting restaurants people have reviewed on TikTok just to have a personal experience. I actually have a spreadsheet of all the restaurants I’ve visited in Lagos. I go on these dates with my child.

    But now I’m becoming more reasonable. I need to save for the rainy days, so once I go grocery shopping every month, I buy my kid’s stuff, pay bills, pay my staff salaries, and buy the things I need, I save the rest. Now I have like ₦400k budgeted for miscellaneous expenses every month. If e finish, e finish.

    Walk me through your typical monthly expenses

    Nairalife #323 expenses

    This is after I take out my savings. I also sponsor my nanny through university. The black tax is to three of my step-siblings in university. I give them ₦50k each. I also send my dad money occasionally. 

    You know the saying, “more money, more problems”? That’s my life right now. Every time I open WhatsApp, one family member asks me for stuff. But my daughter is why I work so hard. I’ve never been so keen on making money until I had my child.

    What was the last thing you bought that made you happy?

    I got a new phone a few weeks ago. My phone started acting weird, and I didn’t think of fixing it; I just bought a brand new one, which made me really happy. It was an iPhone 15 Pro, and it cost ₦1.7m.

    Also, buying my car last year was one of my proudest moments. I bought it for ₦10m, and it was a birthday present to myself.

    Is there anything you want right now but can’t afford?

    Probably a citizenship by investment in one of the Island countries like St Kitts. That costs $500k. But honestly, I’m very content with the life I have right now. Not bad for a single mum.

    Not bad at all. How would you rate your financial happiness on a scale of 1 -10?

    9. I want to scale even further to the point where I know my child has everything she needs if I’m not here anymore. 

    I have an insane fear of dying. Because I lost my mom at a young age, I worry that my child may not have me for long (even though I know say I gallant until 88 haha) but all in all, once I get to a point where I’ve saved enough for my child — I honestly don’t know when or how much that is — then I’ll finally get to a 10.

    If you’re interested in talking about your Naira Life story, this is a good place to start.

    Yes, I want to do a Naira Life!

    Find all the past Naira Life stories here.

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  • In 2021, 15-year-old Ela made her first attempt at monetising her design skills and made $600. But it was her second attempt in 2023 that truly paid off. In just one year, she made over ₦6 million designing websites and graphics. Here’s how she did it.

    As told to Boluwatife

    Model is not affiliated with the story. 

    I graduated from secondary school in 2023 and took a gap year. I want to study medicine, and I didn’t get that the first time I wrote JAMB, so I decided I’d rather rewrite the exam than settle for a course I didn’t want.  

    While I waited, I decided to pursue freelance gigs. Within a year, I made over ₦6m offering website and graphic design services. You might assume the rapid income growth was just beginner’s luck, but this wasn’t my first stint at freelance work. That happened in 2021.

    My first attempt at freelancing

    The COVID pandemic halted the world in 2020, but its effects lingered in 2021. I was in SS 1, and my computer engineer dad — who often travelled for work — couldn’t travel anymore. It was a tough financial year for us, and we had to make difficult decisions. 

    One of those decisions was my education. My dad couldn’t afford my fees, so I stayed home for about nine months. I used my free time to turn my design hobby into an income source. 

    My interest in design is courtesy of my dad; he fed my curiosity about computers and websites. From him, I learned that I enjoyed learning how to code and design. I taught myself how to design and make illustrations by experimenting with free software like Photopea, Figma, Vimeo, Krita, and Canva. 

    I also joined a Discord writing community to share my work and design book covers for people for free. I was well-known on Discord.

    So, when I had to pause school in 2021, I turned to Discord and offered book cover design services for a fee. I landed six gigs and made $600 during the year. I couldn’t make more because of payment issues. I live in Nigeria, so I couldn’t get paid with PayPal. Also, I was 15, a minor, and couldn’t open an account to receive international payments. 

    I had to use my mum’s account, which posed another problem: different names. It took a lot of effort to assure clients they weren’t being scammed. So, when school resumed, I stopped pursuing the gigs and faced school squarely. I left my earnings with my parents, who kept the money in a savings account. 

    I haven’t asked about the money, but I’m honestly not bothered. Whether they saved it or used it, it’d still benefit me. I’m just happy I could make money.

    Growing capacity (and income) freelancing as a website and graphic designer

    My next foray into freelancing started in August 2023. I was better prepared this time.

    I created a portfolio and shared it on a graphic design subreddit for feedback. Interestingly, I got more than feedback. People began to reach out, asking if I was open to working with them. 

    One of them was a US-based client who wanted to create a website for a US political candidate. I didn’t know how much to charge, so on the initial call, I told them it’d charge anything from $200 to $2000. I wanted to buy time so I could check in with my mum and do more research. The client was just like, “Okay, send a proposal.”

    Somehow, I convinced the client that the brand needed more than a website. I proposed a total revamp with new logos and brand direction. The project took about four months to complete, and I received the full $2k as payment. 

    I’m still shocked that I didn’t get pushback on my charge. The project also boosted my confidence. The client knew I was barely 18 and still trusted me with something important. The odds of that happening in Nigeria are almost zero. 

    The same client reached out later to offer me another web design gig. That paid $1500, bringing my total income in 2023 to $3500.

    2024: Moving to Instagram

    In March 2024, I spread my freelancing net to Instagram and started offering web design services, logo and banner design, and social media templates. 

    My target was small business owners. On my page, I shared my designs, reels, and tips about how businesses could boost their websites to optimise for sales and visibility. My mum helped me run a ₦50k Instagram ad, and I got three clients in the first month. Since then, I’ve gotten at least one client monthly, typically making up to ₦100k/month. I don’t have a specific price point for my services because every client wants something different. 

    I do offer packages that clients can choose from, though. For instance, I have a ₦100k package, which includes five social media templates, a logo, packaging labels, and banners. 

    In 2024, I made ₦650k from Instagram clients alone, and it would’ve been more if I was consistent. I focused more on growing my Instagram account and preparing for JAMB than chasing clients. 

    Right now, all my earnings are saved in a commercial bank’s money market fund. My parents opened the account on my behalf, and I don’t handle the day-to-day or have much knowledge of how it works. I know the bank uses the money to finance loans and investments, and then pays the interest to the account owner. 

    The monthly dividend is at least 7%, and I can access my money at any time. If I convert my savings to naira at the current exchange rate, I will have a little over ₦6m.

    Income outlook for 2025

    I might continue chasing gigs when I get into uni, but only for the first two years. Medicine is hard, and I’d like to focus.

    However, I want to grow my income through investments. I fear that if I don’t figure out how to make my money work for me, all my hard work will be for nothing. What happens if I don’t have a steady income source? I’m not sure I can be financially secure—no matter how much money I make—until I learn to invest. Or maybe until I finally become a practising doctor.

    This year, I plan to be deliberate with investments. My mum owns a spice business, and she sources her products — ginger powder, cinnamon, curry, rosemary and the rest — from farmers in and outside Nigeria. 

    The business seems profitable. She recently invested ₦1m in ginger powder — she bought it from farmers in Northern Nigeria and made ₦4m after selling it. I might invest half of my savings in that.

    I’m also learning about stocks and will dabble in them this year. However, I intend to play it safe and will only experiment with small amounts at a time. I’m sure I’ll figure it out soon.

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    NEXT READ: I Retired at 53 With Over ₦1 Billion in Assets — Here’s How I Did It

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