34-year-old turned Fiverr side hustle into full-time business—it brings in $40,000 a month and lets him work from anywhere

CNBC

16-07-2025

In early 2020, Indianapolis-based attorney Derrick Morgan Jr. got a call from his cousin, who was launching an architecture firm and needed help filing a trademark.
"I was like, 'Alright, sure, I'll help you. I haven't done it in a while. This will be pro bono, we'll figure it out,'" the 34-year-old tells CNBC Make It. But once he started doing the work, "it was like riding a bike — got right back into it."
The timing was fortuitous. The Covid-19 pandemic soon shut down courts, and Morgan's work at an Indianapolis-based law firm slowed dramatically. As a junior lawyer on contingency cases, fewer court dates meant fewer opportunities to get paid.
"I needed a way to make more money, and this trademark thing came up," he says. That gave him the idea to list his services on Fiverr, a freelance platform where he could offer affordable trademark help to small business owners.
Morgan's first month on Fiverr brought in about $180 — enough to cover his phone bill, he says. But it didn't take long for demand to build. By his third month, he earned around $5,000. In month four, it jumped to $10,000.
Morgan's approachable style resonated with small business owners and entrepreneurs, many of whom were navigating trademarks for the first time, he says. His strong reviews helped him eventually earn Fiverr's Top Rated seller designation — the platform's highest status.
"A lot of these prospective clients, they're first-time business owners," Morgan says. "They've never dealt with a big fancy attorney who's going to be charging them hundreds of dollars to confuse them. I get a lot of clients because I'm approachable and I meet them where they are."
Still, he was cautious. "Obviously, I still thought it was a fluke," he says. "I didn't want to quit my job after just four good months."
For a while, he juggled both his day job and the growing freelance business. By early 2021, he reduced his hours at the law firm. A few months later, he left the role entirely to focus on his trademark business full time.
Morgan's trademark business is on track to bring in nearly $500,000 this year — or just over $40,000 a month. He pays himself over $350,000 and works remotely with help from a paralegal and an AI assistant. Most of his clients now come through word of mouth and social media, though he still maintains a presence on Fiverr.
In practice, much of the work is procedural, which allows him to serve more clients efficiently and keep costs down, he says. He typically charges between $600 and $800 per filing, depending on the service.
The flexibility of the work fits Morgan's lifestyle. A longtime traveler who has visited more than 60 countries, he now splits his time between Dallas and Mexico City, where he rents a furnished apartment in a walkable neighborhood known for its cafes and late-night taco spots.
By choosing to base himself in Mexico City, where his living costs are lower than in most U.S. cities, he's able to invest 40% of his income — with the goal of reaching financial independence by age 45.
For Morgan, it's less about building wealth and more about "being able to do what I want, when I want," he says.