So This Is My Why

$106,241/year from 8 income streams?! - Rachel How (UX/UI Designer)

March 8, 2026·58 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Rachel How is one of Malaysia’s top UX/UI designer - entirely self-taught - with a huge 330k following she’s built over the last 4+ years! But finding her path wasn’t easy. She quit law school after 2 months because it wasn’t for her. Worked 10 different odd jobs - including as a body lotion rep & real estate agent - to figure out her interests. Her realisation: She enjoyed designing property posters over selling the houses themselves. That led to her joining a hackathon organised by Hong Leong Bank as a designer. They ranked 10 top. That led to a role as a Senior Product Designer Fave. While working full-time, she launched her UX/UI YouTube channel and started building different income streams. By 2022, she was generating $106,241/year from her freelance work itself, which gave her the confidence to take the leap. Quit. And become a solopreneur. But career journeys are never linear. To learn more about how Rachel built her 8 income streams, her advice for building a YouTube channel & what keeps her going, tune in! Highlights: 1:24 The $106,241 year 3:15 Growing up wanting to be "somebody" 8:02 The RM50,000 Law School 10:45 Quitting Law after 2 months: 13:10 Working 10 odd jobs 15:45 The turning point 19:12 Entering the Hong Leong Bank hackathon 22:30 Self-teaching UX/UI: YouTube vs. Reality 26:40 Landing the role at Fave 29:15 Launching her YouTube channel: 10k subs in 3 months 32:50 Burnout & health struggles 35:20 Being the sole provider for her family 38:44 Why her revenue dropped to $70k in 2023 47:12 Don't follow passion, follow curiosity 50:05 Advice for aspiring solopreneurs 🎙️Show notes/transcript for this episode: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/156 🎥 Subscribe to YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSZlcS5ooyCjj_MkrmH_WhQ?sub_confirmation=1 🙊 Support STIMY for as little as $0.10/day! - https://www.sothisismywhy.com/support-stimy/ 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/profile

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