I run my Fiverr business while traveling the world. Here's what I've learned about scaling and sustainability

# Freelancer Tips

How I built a profitable Fiverr business that allows me to live out my dreams

Skye Hale

It was 2019, back when remote work was still novel, and the world hadn't yet shifted to working from home. I was in my early twenties, spending most of my paycheck on rent and expenses. The travel I craved felt impossibly out of reach, buried under the weight of limited PTO and a traditional work schedule that left little room for the life I actually wanted to live.

That's when my business partner and I pulled out a whiteboard and started brainstorming. We needed to replace our income with freelance work that could go wherever we went. Fiverr came to mind immediately. I'd run a $5 social media management gig on the platform throughout college to fund weekend plans, so I knew it worked. But this time, we needed something bigger.

After tossing around ideas, we landed on business naming. It was creative but analytical, requiring careful domain and trademark research. More importantly, the category was relatively untapped with minimal competition. We launched the gig alongside a few others, but the business naming service took off almost immediately. Within weeks, orders were rolling in.

Within months, I had the confidence to make freelancing my full-time career and launch my branding agency, Bootstrap Branding.

That one gig became my ticket to freedom. I've since completed Fiverr projects all over the world: from elephant sanctuaries in Thailand to beachside cafes in Mexico, all while growing my business.

The systems and strategies that made my business sustainable

Over the years, my work on Fiverr has taught me lessons I never would have learned in a traditional job. Here are the key insights that have shaped how I work:

Clients often don't know what they want until they see it. This is especially true in business naming, which is deeply personal and subjective for founders. I've learned to craft brief, detailed questions that elicit their true vision, asking about their brand personality, target audience, and even the names they hate, as that can be just as revealing as the names they love.

Client education is essential. I can't assume clients understand the domain landscape the way I do. When someone falls in love with a name idea, they're often shocked to learn that virtually every short, common .com domain is already taken or priced in the thousands. Rather than letting them discover this disappointment on their own, I now educate clients upfront about what's feasible in today's saturated market. I explain alternatives like creative domains, unique spellings, or compound words. This extra effort in the beginning saves frustration later and builds trust.

Repeat clients are everything. These are the clients who come back for new projects, who refer their friends and colleagues, who leave glowing reviews that attract even more business. Building genuine rapport and delivering exceptional work isn't just good ethics, it's the most seamless way to scale on Fiverr. Some of my repeat clients have worked with me on five or six different ventures over the years.

Offering complementary services helps you grow. Once my business naming gig plateaued, I added related services like brand name feedback and tagline creation. These were natural extensions that my existing clients actually needed. If you've had a great experience with a client, following up to mention your other services often leads to additional projects.

Beyond client work itself, I've discovered important lessons about managing the business side:

Building systems early saves your sanity. My business partner and I use the project management tool Trello to track every order, creating checklists to ensure we message buyers promptly, follow up on their experience, and never miss a deadline. This organization allows us to maintain quality even as order volume increases.

Taking breaks from the platform is critical to long-term success. When I first started, I answered every message within minutes and rushed to deliver orders as fast as possible. I thought speed equaled success. Instead, I burned out quickly, and the quality of my work suffered. Now I check my Fiverr inbox three times daily: morning, midday, and evening. This creates space for deep, focused work on actual projects. It’s led to better deliverables, happier clients, and a much healthier relationship with my business.

It's difficult to fully capture what my Fiverr business has given me. I’ve completed naming projects while sitting at a coffee farm in Costa Rica, surrounded by mountains and the smell of roasting beans. I've worked from a quiet beach in Mexico between swim sessions. I've also taken my laptop to family members' hospital rooms and to my younger cousin’s college graduation, never missing the moments that matter because I had "used up my vacation days."

That's the real gift of a Fiverr business. It goes wherever you go. It bends to fit your life rather than forcing your life to bend around it. Whether you're chasing adventure, prioritizing family, or simply wanting autonomy over your schedule, Fiverr offers a path to get there.

But I'll be honest: it requires work, patience, and genuine passion for your craft. Fiverr isn't a shortcut or a get-rich-quick scheme. It's a platform that rewards consistency, quality, and the willingness to continuously learn and adapt.

If I could go back to 2019, dreaming about a life with more freedom and adventure, I'd tell myself this: take the leap. The whiteboard brainstorm session you're about to have will change your life. The freedom you're dreaming about isn't just possible, it's waiting on the other side of that first gig.

Schuyler “Skye” is the cofounder of Bootstrap Branding, a naming and brand development studio launched in 2019 to help founders build intentional, scalable brands. With 7+ years in marketing across agency and in-house roles, she specializes in business naming, brand strategy, and creative systems that support long-term growth. Her work on Fiverr has allowed her to build a location-independent business while partnering with founders around the world.

Check out her profile to see more from Skye.

Comments (2)

Popular

I run my Fiverr business while traveling the world. Here's what I've learned about scaling and sustainability

How I built a profitable Fiverr business that allows me to live out my dreams

The systems and strategies that made my business sustainable

Popular

Related