Introduction
Belmin Valk was a typical university student in Antwerp, Belgium, studying business management while searching for a way to achieve financial independence. After a failed attempt at e-commerce that resulted in an 8,000 Euro loss, he pivoted to mastering a high-income skill. Within one year, he transformed his life through copywriting business scaling, reaching revenue levels of 2,500 to 2,700 Euros per month and achieving complete location independence. By focusing on specialized marketing strategies, Belmin moved from being a time-rich but money-poor student to a professional preparing to move to Thailand. Read on to see his exact journey and the lessons he learned about speed, discipline, and execution.
Founder Success Story QnA
What was your life like before joining the real world?
I joined the real world like a year ago. Before then, I was studying university business management here in Antwerp in Belgium and actually, I have been studying that for like I’d say three years or something. I started University because I always wanted to make money on my own; I just thought at that point University was the solution for me. I believed it would give me the skills and knowledge to make that money, but it wasn’t it. In the second and third year, you start to feel like this is useless. I just felt like I wasn’t learning anything, which was weird because I thought the knowledge was going to get better the longer you approach the end of your study. That wasn’t the case.
How did your first entrepreneurial journey begin during the pandemic?
That’s when the entrepreneurial journey started for me personally, but I didn’t start with what I do now. Back then it was private labeling and e-commerce. I started in e-commerce on a platform called bol.com here in Belgium, which is like Amazon but on a smaller, more local scale. It went well in a sense, but I realized all the lessons that they fail to teach in that community—specifically that profit and turnover are not the same thing. I was 18 or 19 back then and I turned over 35K, but I made an 8K loss. I basically lost all the savings that I had used to start that business.
How did you end up joining the community and choosing copywriting?
I came across a YouTube Community post from Andrew Tate. I felt the urgency and it was only 50 bucks. I just joined without thinking. You had to choose your skill based on how time-rich and money-rich you were. Back then I was time-rich but money-poor, so I got assigned to copywriting. I just started going through the motions and taking action, though I didn’t take it that seriously yet. It was just like, “Okay, I’ll see what it does.”
What was the turning point where you started taking it seriously?
It’s a common theme with a lot of guys: when you get your first sales calls. I didn’t close until the fourth or fifth one, but it was very weird to me. Having that first sales call that I closed where I actually made money made me realize I just made money from thin air basically. At that point, I started investing all my time into this. It was about three months in. After that, it just snowballed. Eventually, I just quit college all together. Now I realize how important it is to have a skill instead of a business first.
How different is the material in the real world compared to what you find online?
It’s vastly different. Perhaps other people teach some of the technical stuff, but a lot of the principles that weren’t taught in other courses were my downfall in e-commerce. Those principles are how I gained everything in the real world. Also, the level of expertise of the professors is insane. They take lessons that other people would take two hours to teach and they teach them in a couple of minutes. It is consumable and powerful.
Did the community benefit you in any way?
I wouldn’t be here where I am today if I didn’t have the community. I found a group of people that I talk to almost daily. When you have ambition, there are very few people that actually understand or are willing to sacrifice things. It was profound to find people exactly like me with the same values and work ethic. It’s exponential for growth, not only in income but mindset. When you see people you talk to every day making two or three times what you make, that lights a fire to keep going.
Can a 13 or 14-year-old do copywriting, or does it require experience?
It really doesn’t matter your age. It’s all about your competence level and your level of professionalism. If you come across as a professional and you provide quality work that provides results, your age is absolutely irrelevant. I’m 22 right now, and seeing 16-year-olds making more money than me was a wake-up call. Age doesn’t really matter as much as how skilled you actually are.
What was your biggest challenge when you first started?
My biggest challenge was closing a call because I was afraid. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to provide the result. It’s called imposter syndrome. I thought I needed to practice more or read more books before I was good enough to actually make money. I was literally saying no to money on calls. Everything changed when I changed that mindset and decided to just say yes and learn with speed. You are way more competent than you think you are when you put in the work every day.
What are the three biggest lessons you’ve learned?
First, act with speed. You can do something in a week that other people would do in six months. Second, do not get complacent. When you make money and become comfortable, seeing others grow faster reminds you to kick back into action. Third, listen to the right people. I don’t question what the professors tell me; I just act. I would feel arrogant if I questioned a millionaire telling me what I should do when they are ahead of me.
How did your discipline and focus improve?
Before, I was spending a lot of time watching anime and hanging out with people who weren’t accelerating my growth. I couldn’t focus for 20 minutes. Right now, I can focus for six hours. I might take a break after an hour and a half, but the work is easy. I’ve mastered the strategy and mindset. My sleep and food are also a lot better now.
Can you break down your recent 2K win?
It’s basically a compilation of retainers and projects. My income grows and then falls slightly, but every time the fall is higher than the previous one. A few months ago, my goal was to make 600 Euros so I could quit my student job. I made that two or three months after setting the goal and realized it wasn’t that hard. Now I’m hitting totals like 2,500 and 2,000 Euros regularly.
Belmin Valk Business Stats
Belmin has transitioned into a full-time professional freelancer, focusing on high-ticket client acquisition and retention.
- Monthly Revenue: 2,500 – 2,700 Euros
- Business Model: Copywriting and Marketing services
- Team Size: 1 (Solopreneur)
- Target Revenue Goal: 10,000 Euros/month
- Operating Location: Location Independent (Moving to Thailand)
- Main Services: Retainers and Project-based marketing
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Monthly Revenue | 2700 |
| Profit Margin | Near 100% (Service-based) |
| Initial Investment | 50 |
| Growth Duration | 12 Months |
| Daily Focus Time | 6 Hours |
| Lead Source | Cold Outreach & Sales Calls |
Belmin Valk Method
Belmin utilizes a high-intensity outreach and skill-acquisition model characteristic of the freelancing business category to secure high-ticket marketing clients.
- Choose a skill based on current time and capital resources
- Engage in daily skill practice through tutorials and speed-learning
- Execute cold outreach to secure initial sales calls
- Overcome imposter syndrome by saying yes to projects first
- Secure retainers to stabilize monthly recurring revenue
- Reinvest time into deep-work sessions to improve service delivery
Belmin Valk Tools
Belmin focuses on digital communication and focused work environments to scale his agency.
- Instagram: For networking and sharing marketing lessons via Conversion Cupid
- The Real World Platform: For mentorship, materials, and community support
- Pomodoro/Timers: Used for building focus from 20 minutes to several hours
- Video Calls: Primary tool for conducting and closing sales calls
- Retainers: The financial “tool” used to build predictable income floors
Key Notes
The journey from a struggling e-commerce student to a successful copywriter highlights several critical mindshifts.
- Turnover is not profit; e-commerce can have high revenue but net losses
- Skill-building should precede business-building to ensure long-term success
- Age is irrelevant if the level of competence and professionalism is high
- Imposter syndrome is a self-limiting barrier that prevents revenue generation
- The community acts as an exponential catalyst for both mindset and income
- Learning with speed allows for rapid pivoting and skill acquisition
Get Started in Just 5 Steps
Follow Belmin’s trajectory to start and scale your own remote service business.
- Identify a high-value skill like copywriting that requires zero startup capital
- Commit to at least one hour of daily focused learning and action
- Launch outreach campaigns to get your first 5 sales calls
- Accept projects even if they feel slightly out of your comfort zone
- Transition from one-off projects to monthly retainers for stability
Conclusion
Belmin Valk’s move to Thailand is a direct result of his willingness to abandon traditional academic paths in favor of high-income skills. By replacing wasted time with deep work and replacing doubt with speed, he turned a 50-dollar investment into a consistent multi-thousand-euro monthly income. His story proves that with the right mentorship and a refusal to stay complacent, achieving location independence is possible within a single year.