Disclaimer: In Real Life is a platform for everyday people to share their experiences and voices. All articles are personal stories and do not necessarily echo In Real Life’s sentiments.
Hi, my name is Taufiq. This is my story of how I lost my job during MCO, then started a small online fitness service with Instagram.
Back in 2019, I was a customer service consultant for a telco company. I worked 5-6 days a week and each shift was 12 hours. After each work day, I was exhausted by the time I reached home.
And the pay? The basic salary was RM2000. It was not even enough to cover my child’s school fees.
So I quit that job and secured a job as a personal trainer. But not long after, MCO happened and the company told me they were closing all their gyms. I lost that job.
For the first time in my life, I was jobless with 1 young mouth to feed. My son was 4 that year.
The MCO left me jobless with a 4-year old to feed
Image: Cradling my 4-year old son as I worked
When I received the news, I was in shock. I was supposed to earn RM 3000 as a personal trainer. That amount of money was supposed to cover my living expenses and pay my son’s school fees.
For over 10 years, I used to think that I had to find my passion so I could make all the money I want and be happy. I wasted a lot of time, effort and tears trying all kinds of passions and turning it into a business.
That day, I changed the way I thought about work.
I told myself, “Forget passion. What am I actually good at?”
Although I couldn’t find a way to combine my passion and job, those 10 years of work armed me with a variety of skills. I listed down my key skill sets:
- Video editing
- Personal training (I’m a certified coach)
- Sales
- Communication skills
I asked myself, “How can I start an online service without spending much money?” I also began to notice some changes in the world during the MCO.Because gyms were closed, people were freaking out that they could not exercise the usual way.
Furthermore, there is a lot of misinformation about personal fitness in Malaysia, and many people fall victim to it. Thinking about this, an idea came to me: “What if I took my personal training online?”
I googled personal trainers in Malaysia. I noticed that they were all doing group sessions, but none were focused on educating and giving free advice to their customers.
I started an Instagram account that gives free fitness advice
Image: This 51-year-old has lost 12kgs and is now fitter than her husband!
So I started putting out fitness content on my IG page. The purpose of this channel was to help everyday Malaysians get fit from home. I called myself Your Bro Taufiq (YBT). Literally, I was like your fitness bro just giving you free advice at the gym.
With my experience in sales, I tailored my content to my targeted market. I kept putting out video content, mixing and matching ideas, testing the hashtags, and researching my competitors.
Slowly, I watched my IG following grow. When I started March 2020, I had about 1,700 followers. As of August 2023, I have 43,000 followers.
Although I had garnered a substantial following, this did not necessarily translate directly into income.
There are a lot of courses out there that require you to pay through the nose for digital marketing, but I didn’t have the capital for that. Direct messaging strangers and following up with prospects also didn’t work for me.
After some thought, I observed how my customers behaved. When people find me on Instagram, they get exposed to my content, and they send me DMs to inquire. Interested buyers simply pay me on the spot.
When I figured that out, I started a simple no-frills online service. I pinpoint the market that has a need and curated my content for them. I achieved this by posting before-and-after shots of my clients on Instagram.
I let the results speak for themselves, which led interested customers to DM me directly on IG. To operate the service I provide, my only expenses were my phone bills… and, of course taxes. I didn’t even have a website.
There will be slow and fast months in a business.
Image: Some of the 200+ students that Taufiq has trained from home without a website or any video calls.
When it comes to owning a business, you’ll get stretches of high income and stretches of low income.
Whenever I go a few days without my usual payments, I decided to stop focusing on that anxiety and do other things:
- I took morning walks with my son
- I sent cakes to all my siblings
- I messaged some of my old friends (including those that tak layan me)
- I took the time to do the activities that lift up my spirituality/faith
- I spent quality time chatting with my wife before bed
Suddenly, for the past few days, there has been a sudden inflow of payments. Clients who would normally take weeks to make a decision paid me on the very same day. The weirdest inquiry that I suspected would never convert into a sale paid me on the spot.
Now, I’ve passed the RM10K mark in my profit and I’m on track to make RM20K in the month of June.
Honestly, this is not the first time this has happened to me — when business was slow for some time and suddenly shot up.
Anyone can start their own service right now
Image: Nisa is 37 years old and a mother of three. She is also a doctor. Before she met Taufiq, she did not watch her health and was an emotional eater. Now, Taufiq has taught her a stress-free way of watching her health.
I shifted my focus from finding passion to monetizing my existing skills. For now, I don’t really need passion to make me happy, because knowing how to make money reduces a lot of my stress.
And so, I’m a lot happier now.
I strongly believe that anyone can start their own service — even if you don’t have the same skills I do.
If you are clueless and unsure about what to do, then allow me to say this: You already have what it takes to make money or change the world. All you have to do is use your existing strength.
Do you need anything fancy, like a website? Maybe later. For now, just langgar (take your best shot) first.
For example, if you understand mandarin, you can teach a mandarin class through a zoom call and get paid for it through an online transfer. The only cost is your existing phone and internet bill.
Start really small. Improve as you go.
If there’s a demand, that’s all you need
Picture: “Can’t find the motivation to exercise? Then YouTube workouts are for you. Have some coffee and jump in; you’ll be thankful afterwards. You reap what you sow, so don’t wait for motivation.”
It might not be your passion, but if it’s something you’re good at, as long as there is a demand, it could be all you need.
My message to those who have taken the path of starting their own business:
- Manage your risk. Don’t go all in at once.
- Quiet times may happen but don’t feel defeated. Ease comes after every hardship. Remember, the good times can happen again as long as you repeat the formula that has been making you money.
- Money is important, but don’t leave out the other important things in your life.
I know the struggle of making money and I really hope that you’ll achieve success in your chosen field. I wish you all the best.
That’s my story and thank you for reading.
Follow Taufiq on Instagram: www.instagram.com/yourbrotaufiq
For more stories like this, read: How This Pilot, Fashion Designer, And Engineer Started An Online Business and Fathima And Anis Started An Online Boutique Hello Daisy With Only RM300. Now They Sell To 10 Different Countries.
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