Freelancing, side income, and going independent
I provide strategy consulting to 2 small businesses on evenings and weekends. Here's how I keep it clean. First: the legal check. Read your contract (see the earlier thread on this). Get implicit or explicit permission…
Freelance copywriting for 3 retainer clients. 8-10 hours/week. Found first clients through LinkedIn and Upwork. Year 2 all clients came from referrals. The key is delivering so well they tell others.
Legally you should register as a sole proprietor with SSM (RM60 for 5 years). Issue e-invoices or receipts. Declare income in your LHDN return under Section 4(a) business income.
Upwork: better for high-value longer projects, competitive but quality work. Fiverr: good for packaged services. Local clients: best rates if you have referrals. Start local, scale to Upwork once you have portfolio.
Research market rates. Set your floor rate (hourly that covers your living costs). Add 30-50% buffer for taxes, EPF void, and inconsistency. Never race to the bottom, it attracts bad clients.
Sold Notion templates on Gumroad and Etsy. Made RM1,400 first month, settled to RM600/month passive. Low effort once set up. Start with templates for things you already use daily.
Junior (1-3yr): RM80-120/hr. Mid (3-6yr): RM120-200/hr. Senior: RM200-350/hr. Projects: min RM3,000 for a simple app. Charge more for tight deadlines. Do not discount just because they ask.
Leveraged 8 years of supply chain expertise. Started writing LinkedIn posts about niche problems. Got 2 consulting enquiries in month 3. Raised rates every 6 months. Left full-time employment in year 2.
It is harder but not impossible. Need 2 years tax returns plus 6 months bank statements showing consistent income. Some banks require SSM registration minimum 2 years old. Maybank and CIMB have SME products.
Do 1-2 projects for free (or at cost) for NGOs or friends. Document them as case studies. Cold email 20 relevant businesses with a specific offer not a general pitch. First paying client came from email 11 for me.
Feast or famine is real. March was RM8,000. April was RM1,200. The solution: minimum 3 retainer clients, 3 months emergency fund, and never stop marketing even when you are busy.
My first course made RM4,500 in launch week (100 buyers at RM45). Ongoing sales passive after marketing. Revenue sharing platform: Teachable or course-selling via Notion + Stripe (works in Malaysia now).
Employment passes restrict you to work for the sponsoring employer only. Freelancing or consulting income technically violates this. Some people do it quietly, but the risk if found out is pass cancellation.
Get a signed brief before starting. Milestones with part-payment protect you. Never start before receiving a deposit (30-50%). If client becomes unresponsive mid-project, stop work and send a formal notice.
Margins have been squeezed by Shopee and TikTok Shop local sellers. Still works for niche products and brands with loyal communities. Commodity dropshipping is nearly dead. Brand building is the play now.
Month 1 income: RM2,100 (terrifying). Month 6: RM6,200. Month 12: RM9,800. Month 18: RM13,500. It compounds. The key was saying no to bad clients early and doubling down on good ones.
Check out: Allianz, Great Eastern, or AIA. Ensure you have a critical illness rider. Medical card is a priority. budget around RM150-300 per month depending on age and coverage.
Aim for 6 months of living expenses. Clients can pay late, and projects can dry up. An emergency fund is your "sanity fund" that allows you to say NO to bad clients.
Start with friends and family. Show your worth through a small project. Use LinkedIn to share your work. Networking at local events (Coworking, Tech meets) is much more effective than cold-emailing.
You can deduct: a portion of your home internet/utilities, coworking fees, software subscriptions, professional training, and travel for business. Keep every single receipt organized.
For people freelancing already and people deciding whether to start. Threads cover pricing work in Malaysia without undercharging, finding clients beyond the low-rate marketplaces, writing terms that make late payment less likely, and what to do when an invoice goes unpaid. The practical admin gets covered too — registering a business, handling tax, and managing income that arrives unevenly. Alongside that are the bigger decisions: whether to leave a stable job for it, how long a runway you need, and honest one-year-later updates from people who made the jump.