Behind The Scenes: My Remote Work Income Sources in 2025 So Far

At the beginning of the year, I wrote a post about How to Get Remote Work Clients in Zimbabwe. It garnered a lot of attention and if I’m being honest, it also stirred up a mix of emotions, both from others and myself. Some of it was excitement, some disbelief, some skepticism and a little bit of critique. But the reason I shared that post was really to offer ideas and insight into what has worked for me in the 10+ years I’ve been working remotely both as a full-time employee and a freelancer.

What I probably didn’t share back in January was that I was actually transitioning again. I had just stepped out of a full-time remote role and was returning to full-time freelancing and running my Online Business Management (OBM) services under my own business. As far as client contracts go, I was pretty much back to starting from zero.

Fast forward to the end of June, the halfway mark of the year, I found myself doing some deep reflection. In fact, I had started reflecting back in April because, as any business owner knows, you start seeing what’s working and what’s not possibly right there at the 3-4 month mark. 

So, here we are. I’d like to share with you a behind-the-scenes look at how I generated income remotely in this first half of 2025, partly for transparency, but also just to show you what’s possible, diversity of income streams and also the power of community, networking and maintaining visibility.  

A Little Context On My Life and Work Setup

I live in Harare, Zimbabwe, and I’m a co-parent to a toddler. I work 100% from home in rented accommodation. My internet connection is from Liquid Technologies, and I use the Pay-As-You-Go fibre billing model which has been working well for me since I decided to be more intentional (read: strict) about how I use my internet in the home.  

My workday typically starts at 8:30 AM after school drop-off and ends around 7 PM. In between, I take breaks for meals, errands, or the school run. Most days, I’m seated at my laptop for about 7–8 hours whether or not I have client projects I am working on. More of that last part on another day.

Now, let’s dive into the remote work income sources that contributed to keeping the lights on for me. 

Income Source 1: Expert AI Training (40%)

What It Involved:

I worked as an AI trainer and data labeller with a global organisation called Pareto. Each project had its own structure, but most involved reviewing, labelling, or generating content for AI training. Even though you are registered as an Independent Contractor with Pareto, you have to apply and qualify to join each project and most times, you start out in a trial phase. The work is paid based on approved submissions, so quality matters deeply. You can’t just submit mediocre or substandard work and hope that it will be approved. 

AI Training and Data Labelling was new territory for me, but I jumped in with an open mind and learned as I went. The projects were quite challenging but I learnt a lot along the way. 

How I Landed It:

Sometime in February, I met with someone at the WIDB Digital Skills Training of Trainers event. Later after this event, she reached out to me having realised that I am into remote work and recommended that I follow a post that she found in a Facebook group where women from Zimbabwe were creating a community to discuss remote work opportunities. Following her encouragement, I joined a WhatsApp group for Zimbabwean women interested in remote work. About a month or so later, someone from that group shared a Pareto project opportunity. I nearly didn’t apply (imposter syndrome is the pits I tell you), but with some encouragement from the woman who posted it, I went for it and made it in. Since then, I’ve successfully joined three other Pareto projects and managed to work on them as an independent contractor.

Pros:

• Pareto has such a high-quality support team and comprehensive onboarding materials which make it easier to navigate any new project. 
• I got great exposure to collaborative global work teams through the various projects I worked on
• I found their payment system to be reliable and transparent

Cons:

• Unfortunately, the rate at which projects come is not consistent hence income is not predictable and this is (understandably) beyond Pareto’s control
• The projects I joined had steep learning curves on some tasks but they were doable. Remember the comprehensive onboarding materials? Yeah, that helps a great deal if you pay attention and follow instructions. 
• Your written English skills need to be strong to succeed because even minor grammar and spelling errors can affect the quality of your work.

Income Source 2: Web Design (25%)

What It Involved:

I offered starter WordPress website design for small businesses and startups. Most sites were around five pages, designed to give businesses a professional online presence without overly complex features. I was targeting mostly businesses that were getting online for the first time and also those that had tried to DIY their websites but got overwhelmed along the way. 

How I Landed It:

At the start of the year, I told my network of friends and family that I was actively focused on growing my web design portfolio. I shared my offer directly in their WhatsApp DMs and they went on to share with their friends and connections. From there, the projects started coming in. Some came from people I knew directly, others from those they referred me to. It has been growing organically from simple conversations and follow-ups.

Pros:

• Web design has become a creative outlet that continues to challenge me to grow
• A number of my web design clients return with other work requests outside of web design
• I have found web design projects easy to scope and schedule if done right

Cons:

• There is of course the danger of scope creep which can derail timelines if not tightly managed (Scope creep refers to the uncontrolled expansion of a project’s scope beyond its initial boundaries)
• Delays happen when clients don’t provide feedback, content or hosting details on time
• You need a fast and reliable internet connection and laptop to avoid jeopardising client work and causing unnecessary delays. 

Income Source 3: OBM Services (17%)

What It Involved:

This is actually my signature service offering. As an Online Business Manager (OBM), I help business owners run their day-to-day operations, manage their teams, and implement key projects. In the first half of the year, I led special projects for an online community, started working on a podcast launch project, and supported backend operations for a growing digital business. I use a range of project management, automation, time management, collaboration and workflow management tools to help deliver value for my clients. 

How I Landed It:

This work came through referrals: past clients, colleagues, and friends who know my skills and trusted me to deliver. They found out that I was offering these services through the posts I was putting up on my social media channels, mainly LinkedIn and WhatsApp. 

Pros:

• My OBM service offering continues to give me an opportunity to build long-term client relationships
• As an OBM, I am able to use a wide range of my skills which are a mix of strategic and operational
• The projects I work on are often fulfilling and tied to client growth and societal impact

Cons:

• This work requires deep time investment and (a lot of) context switching because I am often involved in multiple moving parts of a business at once from helping plan a launch, to answering questions from the team, to checking if tasks are on track. I’m constantly shifting my focus from one thing to another. I really have to think with the business owner and stay several steps ahead of them.
• Success depends heavily on client clarity, communication and how we get to collaborate to ensure that the right systems are in place and being appropriately used.

Income Source 4: VA/Admin Services (8%)

What It Involved:

Not sure if you know this but let me say it again…just in case. I actually started out in remote work as a Virtual Assistant (VA). Yes. I left my managerial position at the bank back in 2014 to pursue a career as a VA and haven’t looked back on this remote work thing since. However, over time, the work I do as a VA is not as much but sometimes when duty calls, I answer. I love supporting people. 

In the first half of 2025, I supported clients with general admin, including some spreadsheet tasks, bookkeeping and coordinating errands. 

How I Landed It:

These clients came through referrals, mostly from friends, family, past clients or people who had seen my work ethic in other roles.

Pros:

• I find Virtual Assistant or Admin-related services give me quick turnaround work that helps add to the bottomline.
• Delivering well in this role has allowed me to build trust quickly and led to longer-term project opportunities and assignments. 

Cons:

• To be honest, sometimes working on tasks like data entry can feel repetitive or less strategic.
• Sometimes working in a VA capacity may blur lines with OBM work if boundaries aren’t clear AND if you are susceptible to just giving and giving value like I am LOL! 

Income Source 5: Social Media Management (7%)

What It Involved:

I managed social media content and engagement for a few small businesses on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. I created posts, designed graphics, wrote captions, and monitored community interaction. I also answered DMs and comments and took part in internal discussions to explore some creative ideas which I mostly managed to get up and running using Canva Pro. I also monitored performance and made any adjustments to the content direction based on how users were interacting with the content. 

How I Landed It:

Again, referrals. I have had relatives and friends connect me with people needing this kind of support and have managed to work with a few clients in this area. 

Pros:

• Social media is generally fun, creative work and I love how results are often visible quickly through the insights and reporting on the major platforms out there 
• It’s easy to batch and schedule content ahead of time giving room for you to research, and focus on exploring other growth strategies and experiments. 
• Initiatives like paid ads or influencer outreaches can really help you realise quick, impactful wins for your clients 

Cons:

• Social media is A LOT of work which requires staying on top of trends and algorithms. Research has to be your best friend and you need to be open to learning and experimentation. 
• Clients may not always provide the materials needed which may affect quality of work or delay community interactions. 

Income Source 6: Training & Coaching (2%)

What It Involved:

Confession: I actually started out the year wanting to focus more on training and coaching. I particularly wanted to focus on training on remote work so that I could impart all I have learnt to date about preparing to launch a remote career. However, I kind of (temporarily I must say) abandoned mission and decided to focus on relaunching my OBM services instead. It made sense for the season I was in to do so. But I still desired to train and coach so found myself on the path of Digital Skills Training. I offered digital skills training classes and coached a few aspiring remote workers through group sessions and one-on-one tailored support. Some of these were free, whilst others were paid. 

How I Landed It:

After I became a Certified Trainer on the Women In Digital Business Foundations on Digital Skills Programme, I ran a free class on this programme. From this class, I realised there was interest from some participants wishing to get further support in areas like Bookkeeping. So I decided to run two additional class and those who enrolled came from this WIDB community and another community of women business owners I am in. 

Pros:

• I love training and supporting people. This is deeply fulfilling work for me. 
• The path of offering my training and coaching services has also helped me think about intentionality in building my personal brand and credibility and also inspired me to expand on my own knowledge.

Cons:

• Training requires A LOT of emotional energy and good planning. I learnt (and also unlearned) a lot about this during this time. 
• Remember how I wanted to train and coach and then abandoned mission? Well, let me just boil it down to this: In the beginning, it can be hard to price and scale training and coaching programmes because you want to build trust and you also want to establish what’s involved in creating the ideal value you want to give to those you are training. 

Income Source 7: Graphic Design (1%)

What It Involved:

I am still not sure whether or not to call myself a graphic designer but all I can tell you is, I know my way around Canva and similar design tools, I love to learn and I am out here collecting a few coins in the name of it. So I did basic logo design and created promotional flyers using Canva Pro and a few other design tools.

How I Landed It:

These were mostly referrals from people who knew I could “make something quickly” and trusted my aesthetic. Another graphic design assignment was also a result of a web design project that needed a few extras. 

Pros:

• I find graphic design as an avenue for quick cash for low-effort tasks (of course you need to know your tools and be open to learning)
• Every project I work on helps build visibility for my other offers

Cons:

• I think it’s easy to underprice yourself if you’re not careful so proper scoping is important 
• The more complex a project gets, the more time it demands. This can chip away at the value of what you originally charged.

What I’ve Learned So Far in 2025

Looking back, I’m grateful see how far I’ve come this year especially starting my online business from scratch again. Trust me, this is not the goal. At all. At all. The goal looked completely different from this but sometimes when you are pursuing remote work, you are going to pick up all kinds of projects along the way.

I honestly didn’t expect AI training to be my biggest income source but the experience and outcomes reminded me that sometimes the best opportunities come from trying something new.

I value every single job I get, whether it gives $50 or $1000. Every single assignment is so important. Every client interaction is so precious. 

Most importantly, to those who referred clients to me please allow me to say: Thank you.

Thank you for helping me re-launch my services in 2025. I don’t take it lightly when friends, family, past clients, and colleagues take the time to put in a good word for me, share my flyer, share my post, or make an introduction.

I can’t even begin to describe the impact your acts of kindness have had on my life. You know what these past six months have been like for me. You know how hard it was. You know the mental blocks I had to fight through.

I appreciate all of you so much. From the depth of my heart and soul, with every fibre of my being…THANK YOU.

Now, here are some of the lessons I am carrying with me that I would like to also share with you if you are sitting on the fence about exploring a remote work career.

Stay Visible 

Did you notice how most of my work came from referrals? People can’t refer you if they don’t know what you’re doing. Talk about what you do, as many times as you can to as many people as you can. People are listening and they are watching. 

Diversify, but Focus 

I’m not going to lie…these 7 remote income streams helped me stay afloat, put food on the table and pay rent but I suffered major burnout along the way trying to be everything to everyone. I’m now learning to double down my efforts on the highest value ones and also working on collaborating with other remote workers in my community on some of the projects I get. 

Your Network is Gold 

Almost every client came through someone I know. A friend, a fellow trainer, a past client, a family member. I’m not saying always be talking about work but nurture your relationships, both personal and professional. Be honest about the help you may need. I remember how I was feeling at the beginning of the year when I had to message 25+ people individually to ask me to refer and share my web design offer. There was a knot in my stomach (it’s called pride) but I ended up doing it and the community showed up. 

Imposter Syndrome Is A Liar!

AI wasn’t in my comfort zone, but trying it opened doors I didn’t even know existed. If I had given in to that voice that said, no you can’t possibly do this, I could have missed out on an earning opportunity. So, feel the fear and DO IT ANYWAY! 

Anyway, if you’re thinking of stepping into remote work, freelancing, or reimagining your income streams, I hope this gave you a real, honest glimpse into what’s possible. I really do. 

And if you have questions or could do with some coaching around this area, feel free to reach out. 

Do you work remotely? What has been the biggest slice of your pie? Let me know in the comments.