Amit makes more money in a month now than he did in one year at his job. Pete Copeland
- Amit Raj worked as a pharmacist when he learned SEO from an online mentor.
- Raj began freelancing as an SEO Consultant as a side-hustle using platforms such as Upwork to find gigs.
- Amber Sunner reveals how he quit consulting full-time and earned his annual salary in less than a month.
This essay was based on an audio conversation between Amit Raj (35-year-old founder) and me about setting up an SEO company. Insider verified Raj’s income with documentation.
Lloyds is a well-known UK pharmacy chain. I joined Lloyds in 2012 as a pharmacist, but I’ve always been interested digital marketing.
2013 was the year I began to research SEO. When I was surfing a forum for marketing called WarriorForum, I came across Dan Ray’s comment.
Dan spoke about clients who paid over PS10,000 per month for digital and SEO services. I reached out to him to learn more and he revealed that he is an SEO specialist.
After a few phone calls, he asked me if I would like to be his “guineapig” for his coaching company. He was interested in taking an absolute novice and training them to be SEO experts.
As an intern, I was taught the basics of SEO and then began to build links for him in 2014. It was usually unpaid and only lasted a few hours per week. It took me about six months to complete it.
Link building refers to the process of having your website listed on other websites as a link. This increases a website’s authority in Google search results and boosts its traffic and search ranking.
After seeing how lucrative this industry was, while working with Dan I decided to start an SEO side hustle.
While working full-time at Lloyds, I began freelance SEO consulting in 2016. To create and host my WordPress freelancer website, I used a few hundred of my savings.
To ensure that my website would rank for terms like “freelance SEO consultant”, and “freelance hyperlink builder”, it took a lot of manual labor. At one time, I was among the top 10 Google search terms. It was a great way to drive leads.
SEO projects were something I did after work and on weekends. At the beginning, I had only two clients and decided to focus on the link-building aspects of SEO work.
I would contact other websites or blogs for my client to feature as hyperlinks by sharing newsworthy information about them, or showing their client’s content.
Freelancing platforms like Upwork were the best way to find my first clients.
When I started my business, I was working on a package or charging PS10 per hour. (PS10 today is equivalent to about $12.50.
In 2018, I was working with two to four clients and was earning enough income to hire my first freelancer. They were able to help me scale my company by sending out reach-outs and taking over the manual work.
2019 was the year I made the decision to work part-time at the pharmacy.
I wanted to spend more time in the business, and find clients with higher value who signed long-term contracts. But quitting was too risky.
I was able to learn more about SEO and free up my time. I started to post more on social media, in SEO and marketing-related forums about my personal brand and business. I was able to gain new clients and build my freelance network.
In 2020, I changed the name of my company to The Links Guy and created a more professional website using Web Flow. To design a website that inspires trust and confidence in our customers, we hired a web designer at PS600.
More businesses are turning to online services since the pandemic. Therefore, they’re spending more on SEO
We made PS151,000.
In June 2021, I quit Lloyds. I did not enjoy working in the pharmacy industry. There is a lot to do and a lot of pressure.
I also left because of financial reasons. My SEO business was expanding, but my pharmacist income had stagnated.
In 2021, I started acquiring clients organically via referrals. Today, 90% of my clients come to me. Our clients are in the telecom, tech, and dental industries. Formula Swiss, which produces high-quality CBD oil, is one of our clients.
We made PS285,500 last year in revenue. My content is now being produced by 20 freelancers. I am still the sole full-time employee.
Last month, I earned PS60,000 or $75,000 in revenue. My full-time salary as a pharmacist was lower than the monthly revenue.
I learned to not scale too quickly
We don’t attempt to do everything. Instead, we concentrate on building links. This makes it easier to manage SEO services for marketing.
Before you take on a large risk, I recommend that your business idea be tested. You can test it out by working part-time in your job or starting a small business.
