My name is Imene Mellal, and this is my story.. or at least, part of it..
In 2011, while pursuing a Bachelor’s degree, and later a Master’s degree in Business Administration, I began my first attempts to “make money” online.
I volunteered as a writer and translator for a few websites in my native language, focusing primarily on content writing.
I started selling my services on various platforms, and for the first 2-3 years, I earned a decent amount of money from Arabic and French content writing. Although it wasn’t a significant sum, it was enough pocket money for a student.
However, I never aspired to become a freelance writer. My true passion lay in business management, which led me to focus on developing business skills.
One day in 2016, one of my early clients offered me a market research contract, despite my lack of work experience. I accepted the challenge, and upon completion, she sent me a review that transformed the way I looked at Freelancing.
In a few words, she praised my work as high-quality business analyst research, even comparing it to her experience at McKinsey & Company.
And that’s when I discovered everything I’m capable of!
The screenshot below shows her message to me (confidential information has been hidden):
That message wasn’t just feedback on a freelance platform; it was a precious appreciation that helped me overcome my imposter syndrome.
From that moment on, I continued applying for more jobs and achieved extraordinary results.
But what is the lesson learned here?
I learned that my ability to deliver such a project to someone more experienced than me, and earn their appreciation, even before obtaining my final degree or significant experience, was an indication that I was on the right path.
For instance, here is my income from One Week in June on Upwork alone (while working less than 4 hours a day):
And these are some of my client reviews (my main contracts are still in progress and these reviews are a sample):
If you want to know more about me, here is my LinkedIn Profile
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