I’ll scream this until every 20-year-old in Colombo hears it: your contacts are more valuable than your degree. Build relationships. With agency owners. With brand managers. With photographers. With accountants. With that one uncle who somehow knows everyone from parliament to Pettah.
Let me tell you something upfront: Working independently is not for the faint of heart. Everyone wants the freedom. Everyone wants the, "be your own boss" Instagram caption. But not everyone is ready for the late-night edits, the angry clients, the back-to-back meetings, and the awkward phone calls where you have to pretend you didn’t forget something. When I left the corporate world and started working independently, I thought I knew it all. Turns out, that was just the tutorial level. Being your own boss is amazing, yes, but it’s also a bootcamp that teaches you everything school, your parents, and your overpriced marketing course forgot to mention. So here are the most unfiltered, slightly cocky (but very real) lessons I’ve learnt as a young entrepreneur navigating this wild, chaotic, beautiful thing called independence.
1
Your Network = Your Net Worth
I’ll scream this until every 20-year-old in Colombo hears it: your contacts are more valuable than your degree. Build relationships. With agency owners. With brand managers. With photographers. With accountants. With that one uncle who somehow knows everyone from parliament to Pettah. Now calm down; I’m not saying sell your soul or fake your vibe. I’m saying be intentional. Be visible. Be useful. Add value before you ask for value. And don’t confuse networking with brown-nosing. Networking doesn’t mean you go clubbing or abuse substances with the CEO. It means you follow up. You check in. You ask them how their launch went. You share their content. You make sure they remember you for the right reasons. Because when the opportunities come (and they will), they don’t go to the most qualified. They go to the most remembered.
2
Treat Their Brand Like It’s Your Baby (Even If You Secretly Hate It)
Let’s be real. Not every brand you work with will be your dream client. Some will have questionable colour palettes, outdated logos, and slogans that sound like they were written by a bored AI. But here’s the thing: You still show up and give 100%. Why? Because their brand is their baby. They’ve poured time, energy, and probably most of their savings into it. And whether you vibe with the product or not, your job is to bring your A-game. Make them feel like their success is your success. Lose sleep over their deadlines. Be as stressed as they are when a campaign doesn’t convert. Go the extra mile. Then go another. That’s how you win loyalty. That’s how you get referrals. That’s how you get brand managers texting you at midnight with, “You’re a lifesaver, bro.”
3
People Talk — So Don’t Give Them Anything to Use Against You
Colombo is not New York. It’s a WhatsApp group away from your reputation being toasted like a sad paan roll. Which means, no matter how big you get, never let your service get sloppy. You can be funny online, confident in pitches, and charming in meetings, but if your work is trash, trust me, you will be known. I’ve built my agency, on one key principle: zero bad reviews. Even if something goes wrong (and it will), we make up for it. We fix it. We communicate. We overdeliver. Because one bad story can cost you five future clients. One screenshot of a lazy excuse can float around in agency group chats. And the worst part? You’ll never know how many opportunities you lost because someone whispered, “Machan, that guy doesn’t deliver on time.”
4
It’s Not About Pretending to Care — It’s About Actually Showing Up
Yes, I said it earlier, sometimes you’ve got to look like you care even when you don’t. But here’s the twist: over time, you actually start caring. You care about the campaigns. About the results. About your client finally getting the engagement they deserve. About your designer nailing the brief. About your videographer getting his flowers. It’s called taking pride in your work. And the best entrepreneurs aren’t the ones who "fake it till they make it." They’re the ones who start with fake enthusiasm and eventually build real obsession. Real investment. Real care.
5
No One's Coming to Save You — And That’s Okay
You learn very quickly that there is no boss to escalate to. No HR to complain to. No one to blame when the pitch flops or the deadline is missed. It’s you. Just you. Your laptop. Your phone. Your sleepless brain. And while that’s terrifying at first, it becomes the most liberating thing ever. Because once you take full ownership, you also get full control. You can shape your brand. Your future. Your client lists. Your income. Your legacy. There’s no better high than that.
6
Final Thoughts (With a Bit of Swagger)
I’m 22. I’m building a eight-figure business. I’m collaborating with brands I once only dreamed of. I’m still learning, failing, reinventing. But one thing’s for sure: Working for myself has taught me more than any degree ever could. So, if you’re young, hungry, and thinking about going solo:
- Build your network.
- Guard your reputation like gold.
- Treat every brand like it’s your own.
- Be obsessed with delivering value.
- And above all, don’t talk like a boss till you’ve acted like one.
Hustle smart. Play long-term. And don’t worry about the noise. Because real winners? They don’t need to scream. Their work does it for them.
