5 Freelancer Community Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

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Updated: November 1st, 2023

Start A Freelancer Community

Here are some real life success stories of starting a freelancer community:

In her previous career as a social media manager, Amanda Shepherd developed a strong reputation in her niche and realized there was a gap in the market for aspiring social media managers who needed guidance on starting their own businesses. After conducting extensive market research, Amanda created the Social Media Manager Society, offering a program that teaches women how to run successful social media businesses. In just one year, she made nearly $100,000 while working an average of four hours per day, and continues to attract new students to her program.

How much they make: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 1

How I Started A $7.5K/Month Social Media Consulting And Training Business

A social media manager turned entrepreneur created a program that has brought in almost $100,000 in one year, designed to teach women how to run successful social media businesses in less than 30 days.

About

Amanda started Social Media Manager Society over 3 years ago

Revenue

Amanda grew the business to $20K/month

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2. Refrens ($120K/year)

How much they make: $120K/year
Current team size:

Making $10k/Mo Building the All-in-One Tool for Freelancers

Case study on Refrens: A dynamic operating system for freelancers that has already attracted over 100,000 sign-ups from small businesses, freelancers, and agencies.

Revenue

They grew the business to $10K/month

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Learn more about starting a freelancer community:

Where to start?

-> How much does it cost to start a freelancer community?
-> Pros and cons of a freelancer community

Need inspiration?

-> Examples of established freelancer community
-> Marketing ideas for a freelancer community

Other resources

3. Merrative ($24K/year)

Harshala Chavan, the founder of Merrative, came up with the idea for her business after noticing a lack of dedicated spaces for people to discuss literature. After attending a book club meetup, where she had a great discussion with others who had read the same book, she wondered if she could bring this experience online at scale. She validated her concept through participating in BPlans and growing her Instagram page, which eventually led to the launch of Merrative as a community-led marketplace for publishing talent.

How much they make: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 0

How I Bootstrapped A $2K/Month Online Community To Discuss Literature

Merrative, a community-driven marketplace for publishing talent, generates an average of $1,500 per month in marketplace transactions from their 5,000+ strong community of readers, writers, journalists, and scholars.

About

Harshala started Merrative almost 4 years ago

Revenue

Harshala grew the business to $2K/month

Costs

It cost Harshala $100 to start the business

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