Key takeaway
Isabelle Ting — a full-time dentist — generated RM40,000 in freelance design income within months of completing the Design Hacking Masterclass by prioritising client needs over money, which led to 30+ clients through word-of-mouth referrals alone while keeping her day job.
Updated : Refreshed with a key takeaway summary and an FAQ section for clearer answers and AI-search visibility.
“If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life”.
Marc AnthonyMany people can relate to this famous quote and strive to achieve what it envisions – to have a job that they actually enjoy doing and being able to comfortably sustain their lives at the same time.
But as ideal as it sounds, many are still struggling to achieve this balance between wanting to do what they love and doing something that actually makes money.
Isabelle Ting discovered her interest in designing while she was studying for dentistry and needed to design posters and banners for her university projects.
At that time, she had begun to think about how she can utilize her skills to earn extra money.
It just never crossed her mind that this side hustle would allow her to build her own personal brand from the ground up!
While dentistry was still Isabelle’s ultimate passion, Isabelle started to experiment with her design capabilities much more — teaching herself the fundamentals of graphic design.
And then, she found the missing piece.
Isabelle happened to come across an ad for Design Hacking Masterclass on Facebook. With a hunger to pursue this adventure even further, Isabelle signed up without hesitation.
“Before this, I didn’t think that design can be something that can generate income for me.”
Isabelle TingYet, it took her less than 2 months of implementing the Design Hacking Masterclass syllabus to see her very first, serious client.
“Since then, I’ve been getting a consistent stream of prospects.”
“My clients are either repeating ones or new ones that came to me from word of mouth by previous clients that were happy with my work,” Isabelle told us with a smile.
Being a full-time dentist, Isabelle usually has her plate full with working long hours and serving many patients.
Her full-time job was never an obstacle.
Isabelle was able to continue her full-time position, never having to sacrifice that on her journey to a successful side hustle!
After clocking out of her day job, Isabelle comes back refreshed to continue working on her client projects.
“Even when the MCO started and I had to pause working as a dentist, I realized that I had more free time to work on my design projects,” Isabelle admitted.
Only a few months from her graduation with the Design Hacking Masterclass, Isabelle has managed to secure close to 30 clients who have given her rave reviews about her work.
It’s all about mindset!
To Isabelle, the key to successfully talking to prospects and successfully closing clients lies in one’s mindset.
Being a dentist, Isabelle is very dedicated to giving her best to her patients and she carries this dedication into her designing works. She can definitely say that it has served both her and her clients very well.
She believes that in order to succeed as a designer, one must always put the clients first and the money comes next.
But isn’t the point of doing this to make more money?
The answer is still yes, but your mindset and how you go about it will determine the outcome.
“If the person’s mindset is like that, I think it’s very difficult to process because your mindset is all about the money, money, money.”
Isabelle TingIsabelle believes that if a person wants to learn and do designing only for the purpose of making money, they will struggle with it because they have no actual passion for it.
When money is their one and only motivation to design, they will most likely not take the time and care to understand their clients, so they will likely not deliver well.
“It’s all about your clients’ needs.”
A person with a mindset that is focused solely on money will sound desperate — something easily noticed by clients.
As a result of putting her clients first, Isabelle has managed to indirectly master the art of sales closing and negotiations as well.
That, has greatly affected how clients think of her and their willingness to hire her for a project.
Overdeliver, overdeliver, overdeliver.
She admits that many people have come to her and asked for the secret behind her consistent stream of clients and the strengths of her designs.
To her, there is no simple trick or shortcut to getting what they want.
“I believe that it’s about implementation. You really need to follow the Design Hacking Masterclass’ lessons step-by-step and put in the effort to get to where you want to go!” Isabelle exclaimed.
“Those who are not willing to put in some work and practice will definitely find it harder to find their first client anytime soon.”
Of course, one needs to be practical, self-motivated and resourceful.
In other words, one can only stand out when they overdeliver on value at every turn.
“In order to serve my clients better and to be more confident when dealing with them, I’ve also started to learn more about traffic secrets and funnels,” Isabelle said.
“This has allowed me to communicate better with them and understand exactly what they need in their projects!”
How do you succeed like Isabelle?
Since she started designing in April, Isabelle has managed to generate around RM40,000 in sales.
All whilst doing this on a part-time basis, along with a day job!
You can follow Isabelle on her Facebook page or follow her on Instagram (@isabelle.t_design).
And she’s not alone!
Isabelle is one of our many students who have mastered the secrets of making a side income online.
Whether you’re doing this as a side hustle or trying to climb your way to the top of the game, we will show you the exact formula that you need.
Go here to discover the tried and tested secrets to generating your first online income 😉
FAQ
How did a full-time dentist build a RM40,000 side hustle in graphic design?
Isabelle Ting discovered a passion for design while creating university project materials, then enrolled in the Design Hacking Masterclass after seeing an ad on Facebook. Within less than two months of implementing the course step-by-step, she landed her first serious client. She kept her dental job throughout — working on design projects after clinic hours — and by April had secured close to 30 clients, almost entirely through word-of-mouth from satisfied customers.
What mindset is required to succeed as a freelance designer or side hustler?
Put the client's needs before the money. Isabelle's core belief is that designers focused solely on income will struggle — they won't take time to understand clients, deliver mediocre work, and sound desperate when pitching. In contrast, obsessing over the client's problem leads to overdelivery, which generates rave reviews and referrals naturally. As Isabelle puts it: 'Overdeliver, overdeliver, overdeliver.' The revenue follows the reputation, not the other way around.
Is it realistic to run a design side hustle alongside a demanding full-time job?
Yes — Isabelle's case proves it. As a practising dentist with long hours and many patients, she used time after work to serve design clients. When Malaysia's MCO (lockdown) paused her dental work, she simply had more time to accelerate her design business. The key is starting with a structured course so you're not wasting time on trial and error, then implementing consistently. Starting part-time with one client is far better than waiting for the 'right moment' to go full-time.
