I got the chance to invite uber-successful freelancing millionaire Alex Fasulo to Austin a few weeks back. She shared with me how she started her online journey and the tips that got her to where she is today.

If you have never met Alex, she is known for selling over 7 figures on Fiverr. In addition, she has over 153k followers on Instagram and 686k on TikTok! When Alex first made her Fiverr profile in 2015, she never could have imagined that she would be making the money she does today. Alex is a living example of how scaling a side hustle can change your life! 

Before her big break, many of Alex's family members and close friends didn't believe in the idea of making money online. She explained to me how they simply humored the idea and left it at that. However, in 2018, when CNBC covered Alex’s story, things started to change. It ruffled feathers and laid a foundation for others to follow in her non-traditional footsteps. 

Q: How did you get started?

A: “I went to college, graduated early, and took a job in Albany, New York in politics. After a year of working that job, I was 22 and wanted more of a challenge. I applied to somewhere between 150 and 200 jobs in New York City and got accepted to 1. I moved to the city and took a new PR job at a tech firm. It was terrible and I hated every second of it. After 4 weeks, I quit. I had no plan, no money, and no effing idea what I was going to do! 

In the following 10 or so weeks, I tried a variety of different things. I tried teaching social media classes, managing social media accounts, social media consultation, website design (that went horribly!), and freelance writing. The latter was the one thing I tried that really took off. I was in no place to be picky about how I made my money, so I settled on writing and ran with it. 

After working my butt off for 2 to 3 months on Fiverr, I was making around 2k a month. That was enough for me and I was really happy! I did that for 2 years and lived pretty contently. It wasn't until the third year that my income really exploded. 

In that third year, Fiverr launched Fiverr Pro. Fiverr Pro is a premium, top 1% of the platform feature on Fiverr that allows sellers to charge much more for their work. That was when my income jumped to $273 in one year!” 

Q: What was your first gig?

A: “The very first service I offered on Fiverr was a proofreading service for $5. Whether the client wanted me to proofread half a book or a text message, I agreed to do it for $5. Interestingly, a lot of celebrities turn to Fiverr for services because they can do so anonymously. One of the funniest things that ever happened was I got a gig proofreading text messages for a member of the royal family!” 

Q: How did you feel once you started making money?

A: “It was a funny time for me when I started making hundreds of thousands per year. Even though I was really proud of myself, I struggled with imposter syndrome. I was only 25 and the reception I got from some of my closest friends and family was really hard for me. I naively didn't think the money would make people mad at me. It was like a crash course on human nature! For the next 2 years, I saved my money and didn't really post about my success out of fear that I would lose my friends. Ever since I would say that I've become a much more realistic person. 

In 2020, I finally began to own my story thanks to TikTok. TikTok got my story out there so aggressively and so many people followed me in support of it! I realized how dumb it was that I was hiding my success all because 20 people were assholes!”

Q: What did you do with your money?

A: “As I mentioned, I saved it all for the first 5 or 6 years. Only recently did I start investing my money and buying big things. Part of this is because I was still young. I felt like I needed time to catch up to my money in order to feel like I knew how to responsibly manage it.”

Q: What is your lifestyle like now?

A: “July 2021 is when I finally came out of hustle mode. After 6 years of not taking a single day off, I knew it was time. That is in part because my best friend quit her job and began working with me! She has a CPA/finace background so I hired her. I am slowly learning about myself and acknowledging what matters to me. A luxury of working your ass off for so long is having the privilege to slow down and reevaluate what's important.”

Q: I heard you're writing a book, is that true?

A: “Yes! Ever since I was little, I knew that one day I would write a book. Last year, I got a book deal! It was a really rewarding experience and proved to me that even if life sucks, if you work as hard as you can and stay true to yourself, you can make anything happen. I hope to write many more in the future!”

Q: Where can people follow and learn more about you? 

A: “Everywhere! If you look up Alexandra Fasulo on just about any social media platform, you'll find me! I have a podcast, The Freelance Fairytales, which is basically a free crash course on freelancing. I also have a Facebook group Freelancing Mentorship with Alexandra Fasulo. There are over 22,000 people in the group where members (and myself) help others and answer questions and share tips regarding freelancing. Definitely check those out!”

Alex is also a guest instructor in my course, the Brambila method! She shares some great tips and resources to help get you started! 

Q: What are the chances of you moving to Austin?

A: “There is a 100% chance that I will move to Austin part-time…”

I would like to thank Alex for coming out to visit and share her story. She is a living example that freelancing is legit! All it takes is persistence and hard work! 

Thanks for reading. Peace and God bless.

I make new content every single week, so be sure to subscribe to my Youtube and follow my Instagram @brambilabong and TikTok at @AdrianBrambila. I also have tons of resources and courses on my website that you won’t want to miss. Head over to www.adrianbrambila.com to learn more about what I do and how I live a financially free life.