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Vida Khoshpey
Vida Khoshpey

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๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ Freelance Devs Drop Your Realest Truth Here

(No flexing. No motivational BS. Just the raw reality people actually need.)๐Ÿ˜

If youโ€™ve ever made even $1 from coding outside a 9โ€“5โ€ฆ

this thread is your mic. ๐ŸŽค๐Ÿ”ฅ

Silent juniors who think theyโ€™re the only impostors

are reading every word you write. ๐Ÿ‘€๐Ÿ’ญ๐Ÿ˜‚

Reply using this exact template (copy โ†’ fill โ†’ send):

๐Ÿ’ฐ Platforms that paid me:  
โ†’ (Upwork, Fiverr, Toptal, Arc, Lemon.io, Contra, Twitter/X DMs, cold email, referrals, friend of a friend, etc.)

๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ Imposter syndrome in 2025:  
โ†’ Still hits daily  
โ†’ Only when I raise rates or meet a new client  
โ†’ Sometimes, usually late at night  
โ†’ Rarely now  
โ†’ Never had it (respect ๐Ÿซก)

๐Ÿ”ฅ One sentence I wish someone told me when I was terrified to send my first proposal:  
โ†’ โ€œYour real sentence here โ€” keep it raw.โ€
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๐Ÿ’ฌ Now fill in your details

Copy โ†’ paste โ†’ answer honestly โ†“

๐Ÿ’ฐ Platforms that paid me:

โ†’ (Upwork, Fiverr, Toptal, Arc, Lemon.io, Contra, Twitter/X DMs, cold email, referrals, friend-of-a-friend, etc.)

๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ Imposter syndrome in 2025:

โ†’ Still hits daily

โ†’ Only when I raise my rates or meet a new client

โ†’ Sometimes, usually late at night

โ†’ Rarely these days

โ†’ Never had it (respect ๐Ÿซก)

๐Ÿ”ฅ One sentence I wish someone told me before sending my first proposal:

โ†’ โ€œYour real sentence here โ€” keep it raw.โ€

Real examples (copy the vibe, not the words):

Platforms โ†’ Fiverr + one repeat client from Reddit  
Imposter โ†’ Daily, especially when they call me โ€œexpertโ€  
Truth โ†’ โ€œI started at $15/hr while following YouTube tutorials with the client on call.โ€
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๐Ÿ’ฐ Platforms โ†’ Upwork โ†’ Arc โ†’ now mostly direct  
๐Ÿ˜ถโ€๐ŸŒซ๏ธ Imposter โ†’ Only before sending $8k+ invoices  
๐Ÿ”ฅ Truth โ†’ โ€œHalf my career is just being the only one who answers emails on weekends.โ€
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No sugarcoating.

Just truth.๐Ÿ’•

The dev whoโ€™s about to give up tonight will read your comment and think:

โ€œโ€ฆwait, even THEY feel like this?โ€๐Ÿ˜ญ

Copy the template.

Fill it honestly.

Hit reply.

And if you donโ€™t want to use the template, thatโ€™s totally fine ๐Ÿ˜‚just tell your story in your own words. Iโ€™m listening.
Sometimes I catch myself thinking โ€œthe competition is too bigโ€ฆ why me? will anyone even pay me?โ€๐Ÿ˜ž
So your honesty might help someone who feels the same.

Weโ€™re waiting for your line โ†“

Top comments (11)

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wellywahyudi profile image
Welly Wahyudi

This really hit me. Iโ€™ve been dealing with imposter syndrome a lot lately, the kind that sneaks up on you and makes you feel like youโ€™re not โ€œgood enough,โ€ even when youโ€™re actually doing things and improving.

A few weeks ago I forced myself to start releasing some open-source stuff and writing blog posts. Honestly? I was super nervous. I kept thinking things like, โ€œWhy would anyone care about this?โ€ or โ€œWhat if people think itโ€™s too basic?โ€ That little voice can be so loud sometimes.

But after putting a few things out there even tiny projects I realized most of us are just trying our best and figuring things out as we go. And the community has been a lot more supportive than I expected. Likeโ€ฆ way more.

Iโ€™m still learning, still doubting myself here and there, but at least now Iโ€™m moving instead of just overthinking everything. Posts like this really help, so seriously, thanks for sharing it. ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿ’›

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vidakhoshpey22 profile image
Vida Khoshpey

You are trying your best, I really like your yellow energy๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ’›, you are a perfectionist and energetic person, I am sure you will improve even if you think you know nothing. I'm sure here we use AI and no confidence. But even this is skill .๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ Thank you for your nice comment i will support you ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿป๐Ÿ˜

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wellywahyudi profile image
Welly Wahyudi

Haha I just recently figured out thereโ€™s actually a name for what Iโ€™ve been feeling โ€” imposter syndrome ๐Ÿคฆโ€โ™‚๏ธ๐Ÿ˜‚
Thanks again for the positive energy, it means a lot ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ’›

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vidakhoshpey22 profile image
Vida Khoshpey

I didn't know either ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿคฃ AI suggested this name lmao

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art_light profile image
Art light

Love how real and supportive this thread is๐Ÿ‘Œ โ€” seriously appreciate you putting this out there. Your honesty makes the whole space feel a lot less intimidating, and it shows how much you genuinely care about helping beginners. Iโ€™m really inspired by the way you encourage people to share the truth instead of the polished version๐Ÿ‘. Definitely got me interested and feeling more confident just reading your words!
๐Ÿ˜‰

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vidakhoshpey22 profile image
Vida Khoshpey

Thank you for your beautiful comment, I followed you to support you.๐Ÿฅณ๐Ÿ˜ I hope you progress and yes, the atmosphere here is scary and future. But we can do it . I'm sure ๐Ÿฅบ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ

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art_light profile image
Art light

Thank you so much for your kind words and support, it truly means a lot to me. I really appreciate the follow and your positive energy ๐Ÿฅฐ. Even if the atmosphere feels scary and uncertain, I believe with patience and effort we can move forward and grow. Letโ€™s stay hopeful and keep doing our best.โœŒโœŒโœŒโœŒโœŒ

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plc-creates profile image
PLC Creates

Iโ€™m basically on a roller coaster. Some days Iโ€™m proud, other days I doubt everything. It depends on my energy level.

Looking back, I know the doubt slowed me down. I would have finished way more projects if I hadnโ€™t second-guessed myself so much.

So now I do it differently: I pick a timeframe and I stick to it. No overthinking. Just doing my best until the time is up.

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vidakhoshpey22 profile image
Vida Khoshpey

There's no need to be hard on yourself, we're human too and it's really hard, you have the right to be disappointed and doubt yourself, I'm the same way, sometimes I think I'll become Elon Musk, haha, sometimes I feel like I'm nothing without AI ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ’› so keep going just keep going and I will support you ๐Ÿ˜

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plc-creates profile image
PLC Creates

Thank you for your kind words ๐Ÿ˜Š

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