Testimonials
What freelancers say after attending Belanjo
These are the kinds of things participants share after completing a programme — what shifted, what they found useful, and where they feel more confident now.
Back to Home340+
Freelancers through our programmes
4.7
Average satisfaction score (out of 5)
3
Years running programmes in PJ
91%
Would recommend to another freelancer
Participant Reflections
In their own words
Amirah Hazwani
Freelance graphic designer, Kuala Lumpur
I joined the Workshop expecting a general talk and walked out with a buffer figure I actually understood and knew how to work toward. The income-flow worksheet made me realise my 'slow months' weren't random — they have a pattern I had just never mapped before. I've already referred two other freelancers.
May 2025 · Workshop
Darren Tan
Copywriter, Petaling Jaya
Six weeks felt like the right length for the Planning Programme. It gave me time between sessions to actually try things and come back with questions. The facilitator was patient with the group, and the freelancer circles were more useful than I expected — hearing that other people have the same January problem was genuinely reassuring. I would have liked a bit more on tracking tools, but that might just be my specific need.
Apr 2025 · Planning Programme
Nur Izzati
Freelance translator, Shah Alam
The Foundations Course was exactly what I needed after two years of freelancing without any real plan. It was slow enough to absorb properly and the workbook kept everything organised across the eleven weeks. What I valued most was how clearly they separated general education from advice — I never felt pushed toward any particular product or decision.
Apr 2025 · Foundations Course
Rajan Kumar
Freelance web developer, Subang Jaya
The buffer planner worksheet is something I still use every quarter. Before the Workshop I had a rough mental model, but putting it on paper with my actual numbers made it concrete in a way that stuck. The half-day format was the right pace — I didn't feel rushed but I also didn't feel like my time was being stretched.
May 2025 · Workshop
Farhana Yusof
Social media consultant, Ampang
I did the Planning Programme after a rough Q1 where a couple of clients paid late and I had nothing to cover the gap. The programme helped me understand that the problem wasn't just the late payment — it was not having a workable buffer set up beforehand. That reframe alone was worth the six weeks. The venue at Common Ground is also comfortable and easy to get to from most parts of PJ.
Apr 2025 · Planning Programme
Lim Wei Jian
Freelance photographer, Bangsar
What stood out in the Foundations Course was that every session produced something I walked away with — a completed worksheet or a planner section. By week eleven I had an entire folder of materials that told a coherent story about my own finances. It's the first time in three years of freelancing that I've had a clear picture of what a sensible reserve looks like for me.
May 2025 · Foundations Course
Case Studies
Three participant journeys
A closer look at what brought three different freelancers to Belanjo and what shifted after they completed a programme.
Sharifah Rania — UX/UI designer, Kuala Lumpur
Completed: Planning Programme · March 2025
The situation
Sharifah had been freelancing for four years with reasonably steady client work but found herself anxious every time a project finished and the next one hadn't confirmed yet. Months with three active clients felt fine; months with one felt worrying — even though her overall annual figures were workable.
What the programme addressed
Through the income-mapping exercises in weeks one and two, Sharifah plotted her last twenty-four months of invoices and identified that she had never, in four years, had two consecutive months below a workable threshold. The anxiety had been treating a pattern as randomness. Weeks three through five focused on building a realistic buffer target based on her actual expense structure.
What changed
By the end of the programme Sharifah had a written buffer target, a simple monthly check-in habit, and a clearer sense of what 'a quiet month' actually meant for her specific costs. She described the biggest shift as moving from reacting to income as it arrived to treating it as something that moves in known patterns.
"I kept thinking there was something wrong with how I was managing money. The programme helped me see that there wasn't — I just hadn't mapped what I already had."
Mohd Fadzillah — freelance video editor, Selangor
Completed: Workshop · April 2025
The situation
Fadzillah had recently moved from full-time employment to full-time freelancing. He had savings but no framework for thinking about how long they needed to last or what a working reserve structure might look like for someone with his client mix and expense profile.
What the Workshop addressed
The half-day session walked him through the income-flow model and — more practically — through a buffer-calculation exercise using his own numbers. He identified his average monthly costs, his realistic slow-month income floor, and from those two figures derived a buffer target he could work toward incrementally.
What changed
Fadzillah described leaving with a sense of having gone from "I should sort this out" to "I know what I'm sorting out." He has since enrolled in the Planning Programme to continue building on the framework introduced in the Workshop.
"Four hours felt about right for where I was. I got what I came for — a concrete number to aim for and a way to think about months that don't go to plan."
Phone
+60 3-7960 4218Address
Level 4, Common Ground, Jaya One, 72A Jalan Universiti, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Office Hours
Mon–Fri: 9 am – 6 pm
Sat: 9 am – 1 pm
Sun & PH: Closed
Credentials
Professional standing
CPD-aligned curriculum
Programme content developed in line with continuing professional development principles for adult education in Malaysia.
Common Ground venue partner
Hosted at a recognised co-working and events space in Jaya One, Petaling Jaya — accessible by public transport and familiar to the local freelance community.
Annual materials review
All worksheets and content references updated each year. Participants always receive materials reflecting current general-education context for the Malaysian market.
Your turn
Ready to make sense of your own income tide?
Get in touch and we will help you find the right programme for where you are right now.