- Business Builders Africa
- Posts
- Can you start an online business with $140? Read on to find out…
Can you start an online business with $140? Read on to find out…
Plus: 30+ remote jobs hiring in Africa; how to earn $175,000/year freelance writing; why you need to use a password manager NOW!
Conor Walsh
August 14th, 2023
Here’s what’s in today’s email:
🤑 How to earn $175,000/year as a freelance writer
💡 How to turn your biggest expenses into a new business
🧐 Can you start an online business for $140?
🤖 This week in AI
🎯 This week’s remote jobs for Africans
📰 Tech & Marketing News This Week
Big Cabal Media grew revenues but cut 19% of its workforce. While the Nigerian publisher has grown revenue 180% year-on-year, they cite “harsh market conditions“ as responsible for the cuts. (Link)
Sendy is being acquired. The Kenyan e-commerce fulfillment startup is in talks with potential buyers within the industry. (Link)
Namibia passed a law recognizing virtual assets. The law aims to legalize and regulate virtual assets that include cryptocurrency, and facilitate sustainable innovations in the area. (Link)
👩🏽💻 Career Resources
Freelance Content Writer & Consultant Earning $175,000/year. This writer went from making $16k to $175k/year in just 3 years by building strong relationships with clients, mastering the B2B space, and working hard. (Link)
How to build a 6-figure travel content business. How one couple built their Canadian travel website to $150,000 a year. Take lots of notes. 😉 (Link)
🤖 This Week in AI
These Black women have been warning us about AI for years. A sobering reminder that warnings about the dangers of AI are nothing new, and maybe we’ve been listening to the wrong people. (Link)
🤖
AI models can now crack most passwords. An old story, but I just saw it for the first time. “Overall, the tool was able to crack 51% of common passwords in under a minute, 65% in under an hour, 71% in a day, and 81% in a month.“ (Link)
Moral of the story: Start using a password manager (I recommend Dashlane) and get a job in cybersecurity.
🎧 Podcast: Turn Your Biggest Expenses into a New Business
Nathan Barry, founder of Convertkit, interviews Sahil Bloom about building a thriving creator economy-focused business that includes a 400,000-subscriber newsletter and investments in a $1m+/year agency.
My favorite quote:
If I’m spending $5,000 a month on video editing services, I should actually own a video editing business.
When I’m posting a video, I can say, “Hey, I’m using this video editing service,” and send a bunch of other people to this service that I own, that is charging $5k a month for their services.
Now, I just turn something that I was just spending cash on every single month into something that is making money.
💡 Here’s how I might think about this:
In my previous business, finding top-quality writers and SEOs in Kenya was an ongoing challenge and expense.
It’s also something I learned other online businesses in Kenya were struggling with.
So, I started an SEO and content marketing agency to help Kenyan businesses leverage these marketing channels (and take care of the hiring for them). I also started this newsletter to educate African businesses and freelancers on content marketing and help connect business owners with top-tier freelance talent.
Both businesses are growing fast!
Can you do something similar in your business?
🎯 Can You Start an Online Business for $140?
Ombasa Ndege has launched a case study to find out.
The business is Teeprints, and he’s launching with it with just 20,000 Kenyan shillings (~$140 in August ‘23).
His plan is to grow the business through SEO, without seeking outside investment.
In the LinkedIn post and YouTube video announcing the project, Ombasa states three inspiring goals:
Build a portfolio of low-capital online businesses in Kenya
Hire operators and contractors for each business, alleviating youth unemployment and teaching valuable skills
Demonstrate the power of SEO as a marketing channel to small businesses in Kenya
In the announcement video below, he also breaks down how he’ll spend the initial 20,000 Ksh and how he’ll leverage free tools to build the business.
Also, Ombasa is hiring! Keep reading for the job post.
🎯 Remote Jobs This Week
The following remote jobs and freelance gigs have been filtered for people living in Africa. Currently, our focus is on content-related roles, but if you’d like to see us expand to other roles/career paths, send a request!
Content and Marketing Roles
Breaking News Writer at United Press International; $3K/month.
Copywriter at Mark Brinn Design; no compensation listed.
Freelance Proposal Writer at Wilder Strategies; no compensation listed.
Freelance Writer at WiRe Innovations; no compensation listed.
SEO Content Writer at Campaign Refinery; no compensation listed.
Junior Editors and Edit Assistants at Maverick Media; no compensation listed.
Design
⭐ Featured Job: Graphic Design Intern at OnMedia ⭐
OnMedia is a web design and SEO agency in Kenya, looking for a graphic design intern to work on client projects.
Requirements:
2 years experience
Portfolio of design examples
Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite
Product Designer at Sticker Mule; $120K+ based on experience.
VFX Professional at Maverick Media; no compensation listed
Freelance Graphic Designer at Driven Lighting Group; no compensation listed.
Freelance Graphic Designers at Infinia; no compensation listed.
Freelance Designers at Impact 360 Institute; no compensation listed.
Freelance Product Designers at Dropbox; no compensation listed.
Digital Artist - Real Time at Apple Marcom; no compensation listed.
Assistant Art Director at Linkwell Health; no compensation listed.
Social Media
Freelance Social Media Strategist at Alpine; no compensation listed.
Social Media Analyst at Apple Marcom; no compensation listed.
Administrative and Operations Roles
Sales Development Representative at Drip; $10-15/hour.
Freelance Consumer PR at Invisible Hand; no compensation listed.
Junior Recruiter at Kisi; no compensation listed.
Sales Recruiter at NimbleRx; no compensation listed.
Product Marketer at ahrefs; no compensation listed.
Customer Service Representative (South Africa - Remote) at Staffaro; no compensation listed.
Senior Marketer - Operations Manager (South Africa - Remote) at Keller Executive Search; no compensation listed.
Growth Associate - Pay1st (South Africa - Remote) at Carry1st; no compensation listed.
Technical Roles
Advanced AI Data Trainer at Invincible; $15-20/hour.
Senior DevOps Engineer at Apple Marcom; no compensation listed.
DevOps Engineer (Nigeria - Remote) at Branch International; no compensation listed.
Backend Software Engineer (Nigeria - Remote) at Branch International; no compensation listed.
Numerous Roles
Multiple Roles at AssemblyAI; no compensation listed.
Multiple Roles at Red Ventures Freelance network; no compensation listed.
That’s all for this week!
Thanks,
Conor
How