“All right — I’ll do an illustration side business overseas!” I decided.
But while deciding to do a “side business overseas” was easy, when it came to what exactly to do, and where, I honestly had no idea at first.
That’s when I came across a service called “Fiverr.”
Most people have probably never heard of it. I hadn’t either — it was a completely new name to me.
And yet, surprisingly few Japanese people actually use this Fiverr.
Honestly, I realized this could be a chance.
Previous: Starting an Illustration Side Business in My 50s
What Is Fiverr?
Fiverr is one of the world’s largest freelance marketplaces, run by an American IT company.
Illustration, design, video editing, writing, programming — any skill can be listed as a product page called a “Gig.”
Buyers (clients) from all over the world pick from those gigs and place orders.
The name apparently comes from “starting at $5.” But with global prices rising, unit prices have gone up too, and jobs worth several hundred dollars are perfectly normal now.
In short, if Coconala is a Japan-only flea-market app for skills, Fiverr is “a flea-market app for skills, open to the whole world.”
How Big Is It?
Sellers (providers) from more than 190 countries are registered on Fiverr. It’s said that over 4 million (!!) sellers exist.
“With that many, won’t I just get buried?”
That’s what I thought. Of course I did — anyone would (laughs).
But there’s an important fact here.
The Fact That There Are Almost No Japanese Sellers
Looking at Fiverr’s traffic by country, the US leads at about 25%, followed by India, the UK, Pakistan, and Indonesia.
And Japan doesn’t even rank. Probably 1–2% or less. In other words, the absolute number of Japanese sellers is extremely small.
Why? The reason is clear: the language barrier.
Profile text, gig descriptions, communication with buyers — everything is in English. That alone makes many Japanese people give up.
I almost gave up at first, too.
“Few Japanese Sellers” Is Also an Opportunity
Search Fiverr for illustration gigs, and you’ll find this reality.
Most sellers who come up for keywords like “Japanese style illustration” or “Showa retro” are creators from Southeast Asia — Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and so on.
Not real Showa retro illustrations drawn by an actual Japanese person.
In a sea of imitations of “Japanese style,” what if a real Japanese artist listed real Japanese culture, drawn by their own hand? That’s a way to stand out.
And with the historically weak yen continuing, income from overseas is quite favorable when converted into yen.
So Why Hadn’t I Noticed Until Now?
Let me be honest. Both Fiverr and INPRNT were first found for me by an AI (Claude).
I asked: “Tell me overseas platforms where I can earn money with zero English.”
Just asking that brought up several candidates.
But even in that moment, somewhere in my heart I was thinking:
“I can’t speak English, so it’s impossible after all!!!”
The turning point was consulting Claude.
“I want to make an English gig on Fiverr. Is it OK that I can’t speak English?”
The answer that came back was: “Completely doable.”
When I learned that the gig title, description, tags, and even replies to buyers could all be made together with Claude, it suddenly felt real.
What I Learned by Actually Registering
Registering on Fiverr itself is free.
However, there are an awful lot of settings. Profile text, portfolio images, gig title, description, price, tags, FAQ — all in English, all needing thought as you fill them in.
If I had tried to do this alone, I truly think it would have been impossible for me.
But with Claude, I just explain in Japanese what I want to say in English, and natural English comes out.
Check it, paste it. Repeat — and the gig was complete.
Where Things Stand Now
Currently, two gigs are published on my Fiverr.
- Showa retro portrait illustration
- Mechanical illustration (motorcycles and vehicles)
Orders are still zero.
But the fact that “someone in his 50s with zero English could stand at the entrance to selling illustrations to the whole world” is something the me of three months ago could never have imagined.
Next Time
Next time, I’ll share exactly how I created the gig — including my exchanges with Claude, the full process.
Next: How I Created My Fiverr Gig
The big comparison of 5 overseas platforms is here
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