Freelancing wasn’t something I planned from the beginning. It started as curiosity, slowly became a side hustle, and eventually turned into a long-term career path. Looking back, every step—every late-night learning session and every new client—played a role in shaping the freelancer I am today.

The Beginning – Discovering Online Work: 2010 — My First Freelance Experience

My journey into freelancing began in 2010 while I was still working a regular day job. I started doing link building as a side gig. At that time, I was simply exploring ways to earn extra income online.

The work was simple but eye-opening. It introduced me to the world of SEO, digital marketing, and remote work. What started as a small experiment quickly made me realize that there was a real opportunity in the freelance space.

Taking Freelancing Seriously: 2011 — Joining Upwork (Formerly oDesk)

In 2011, I officially entered the freelance marketplace by signing up on Upwork, which was known as oDesk at the time.

My main skill was still link building, and I began applying for projects and building my reputation as a freelancer. Those early jobs helped me understand how online clients worked, how projects were managed remotely, and how important communication and reliability were in freelancing.

It was the first real step in turning a side gig into something more meaningful.

Expanding My Skills: 2012 — Learning WordPress

By 2012, I noticed something important: the competition in SEO and link building was becoming intense.

Instead of staying in a crowded space, I decided to learn something new. That’s when I started studying WordPress CMS.

This decision turned out to be one of the most important moves in my career.

After dedicating time to learning and practicing, I eventually got hired by an Australian company where I worked with the Genesis Framework. This role allowed me to deepen my understanding of WordPress development and website building.

It also opened the door to more technical and higher-value freelance work.

Building Long-Term Professional Relationships: 2013 — Meeting Mahyar

In 2013, I met Mahyar Goodarzi, who was introduced to me by a web designer from the company I previously worked with.

That introduction turned into a valuable professional relationship. Since then, we collaborated on several projects across different companies.

Over time, Mahyar established Digitalift, and I continued working with him on various projects. It became one of the long-term collaborations that helped shape my freelance journey.

Growing with WordPress Builders: From Frameworks to Modern Page Builders

As WordPress evolved, so did the tools used to build websites.

Over the years, I’ve worked with several popular WordPress builders, including:

• Avada
• Divi
• Elementor

Each platform introduced new ways of building websites faster and more efficiently. Today, Elementor has become my primary builder because of its flexibility and modern workflow.

Looking Back

Freelancing didn’t happen overnight for me.

It started as a small side gig in 2010, grew into learning new skills like WordPress, and eventually led to long-term collaborations and bigger opportunities.

The journey taught me an important lesson:

Freelancing is not just about finding work—it’s about continuously learning, adapting, and building relationships along the way.

And this is only the beginning of my story in the freelance world.