Hello and welcome to episode 107 of Webflail. 

I'm your host, Jack, your failure connoisseur, and today I am joined by none other than Tolu Abolarin. 

This guy came up to me at FlowFest in Manchester. He was a little nervous and said, "Hey Jack, I listen to the podcast, I'm a big fan."

I was like, "Oh my God, someone listens to the Webflail podcast! I appreciate you, thanks so much!" We stayed in contact, and he recently reached out and said, "Hey Jack, would you mind if I came on and shared my story?" He's got a killer story, as you're about to find out today, so I'm very glad to have him on.

Tolu moved to Birmingham from Nigeria last year. He now works at Greater Studio, based in New York, freelancing for them while also doing his own freelance projects. He's got a killer portfolio, so definitely check that out: ToluMEN.com—that's T-O-L-U-M-E-N.com. His portfolio is beautiful. He does both design and development, and he's really starting to make waves. But has it always been easy? Of course not.

The three failures we'll be discussing today are:
1) Chasing money over quality and not niching down
2) Not networking enough
3) Working for a startup without a formal agreement—or not getting paid.

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction to Freelancing Journey
00:27 Meet Tolu Abelaran: A Story of Growth
01:10 Tolu's Journey from Nigeria to the UK
02:38 Embracing Failure as a Learning Tool
04:48 Discovering Webflow: A New Skillset
08:55 Breaking into the Webflow Community
13:30 Landing a Full-Time Role at Greater Studio
15:37 Balancing Freelance and Full-Time Work
20:24 Reflecting on Past Mistakes and Niching Down
27:08 The Importance of Being Known for Something
27:48 Finding Your Niche in the Webflow Community
29:58 Overcoming Networking Challenges
33:40 The Power of Connection and Networking
39:20 Learning from a Painful Startup Experience
47:43 The Value of Agency Work for Stability
51:03 Embracing New Skills and Future Challenges
53:02 Conclusion and Gratitude

WEBFLAIL FREEBIES
10 Step Process To Land Your First Webflow Clients: The Ultimate Guide:
https://www.webflail.com/resources/10-step-process-to-land-your-first-webflow-clients-the-ultimate-guide

LINKS FOR TOLU
‍💻 See Website: https://www.greaterstudio.com/
X: https://x.com/tolumhen
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tolulopeabolarin/

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