A Computer Bought with Tuition Savings Changed His Life: Anup Is Now a Top-Rated Freelancer and Entrepreneur

The story of Anup Kumar Roy, a young man from Shariatpur who grew up in a struggling household, is one of patience and hard work. The same man who once had to count every taka and run from tuition to tuition from afternoon to night to support his family and his studies is today a 'Top Rated Freelancer' on the international freelancing marketplace Upwork.

Anup has earned nearly one hundred thousand US dollars — more than a crore in taka — from freelancing marketplaces so far. As the volume of work grew, he opened a small office in his home district, where seven people now work.

Anup is the only child of Asit Baran Roy and Padma Rani Roy. Because of his father's job at a private organisation, a large part of his life was spent in Bandarban district. After passing his SSC in the science stream in 2015, he completed honours from Jazira University College in Shariatpur and later a master's in political science from Government Tolaram College in Narayanganj.

To pay for his studies and stand beside his family, Anup began tutoring in 2016. He also taught for a long time at a coaching centre. Teaching students was not just a source of income for him; it taught him to take responsibility, value time and build a habit of hard work.

Although he dreamed of owning a computer, Anup could not fulfil that dream for a long time. He needed one to learn digital marketing, but raising about 70,000 taka at once was impossible for him. Yet he did not give up.

After slowly saving about 35,000 taka from tutoring, Anup bought a computer with the remaining 35,000 borrowed from his mother and relatives, and tears came to his eyes with joy that day. The computer was not just an electronic device to him; it was the key to changing the course of his life. After buying it, he gradually repaid all the money from tutoring earnings.

Anup says the road to success was not smooth. Although he first took freelancing training at an educational institution, the desired success did not come even after six or seven months. But even after losing time and money, he did not stop. He realised that a course alone does not make one skilled; regular practice and finding solutions by understanding problems are also essential.

He then trained in digital marketing at Shamim Hossain's IT training institute 'SkillUpper' and kept teaching himself late into the night using Google's online courses, YouTube and online learning materials. After nearly a year of effort, in June 2022 he earned 20 dollars from his first paid media job on Fiverr. The amount was small, but for him it was a huge achievement.

After that first job, Anup continued working on Fiverr, built his professional profile on Upwork and expanded his international network through LinkedIn. Once he was regularly earning 40,000 to 50,000 taka a month from freelancing, he would hand most of it to his mother without buying anything for himself. In his words, the relief and smile on his mother's face were a greater reward than the joy of receiving money.

Anup now works in digital marketing on both Fiverr and Upwork. He mainly works with various US businesses and digital marketing agencies on paid media, Google advertising management and conversion tracking. He is also responsible for marketing and business development for a European fashion house.

The days of working alone are over; Anup's team at his small Shariatpur office now handles paid media management, sales and marketing, client management and project management. His current monthly income is 300,000 to 500,000 taka, and in his best month he earned up to 800,000 taka.

His advice to newcomers is that freelancing is not a shortcut to getting rich overnight; it must be taken as a long-term profession. Reaching a good position requires at least a year to a year and a half of regular learning and practice. In the age of artificial intelligence, one must also learn to use relevant AI tools and platforms alongside the work. In his view, with honesty and hard work, extraordinary success is possible even from an ordinary middle-class family.