It all began 1st September 2021, when I sold my first ever FiveM Script unit on my Webstore: OsmFX Mods! Neither me, nor my family, friends, or anyone in my circle would have imagined that one day this thing would become such a significant part of my life! Today, I proudly celebrate 4 successful years of my journey in FiveM, a part of my life that I'll always be deeply attached to!

In my 4 years of FiveM, I wrote some crazy pieces of Game Mods, not just from code perspective, but design. I architected scripts from 0–100, thinking, designing, coding, selling, and accounting! I talked to thousands of clients, discussed architectures, plans, gave demos, iterated and improved, and delivered above and beyond from what they expected! Here's my story for you to read of how it all happened.

I was 17, and was fond of watching GTA5 videos on YouTube. Roleplay videos were picking up traction in those days, and I was fascinated by the fact that we could build our own world in a game, and drive it the way we want! It took me no time to download and setup FiveM, and this is how it all began!

I tried playing as a normal player in a few servers, but the grind was real! You had to work as hard in the game as you do in real life to earn enough resources to enjoy the Roleplay. And this is where I found that in the hierarchy of a Game Server, two levels are at the topmost position in the pyramid of significance — The Server Owner; and the Developer!

I lied to a group of folks running a FiveM Server, that I'm an experienced developer, when I had 0 idea of how FiveM Development worked. Lol… Imagine how crazy it would have been to sit in their meeting and not getting a word xD.

It was in no time that I was assigned a task, which was to fix a script. I am great at figuring things out (or atleast I was back then), and my enthusiasm helped me quickly find the issue. In many such petty little tasks, I was able to get an idea of the very basics of FiveM. On the other hand, the owner now had a guy, who would put in his heart and soul into finding and fixing script issues, without charging a penny.

Just like in many game servers, conflicts were usual, and we ended up going on our own paths eventually.

It took me some time to realise that there was a huge demand for FiveM Developers, but the issue was that FiveM Developers were crazy expensive. People were charging a lot per hour, and writing garbage code. Most server owners were anyways not concerned about code quality, but rather they were inclined towards "uniqueness, innovation and value-proposition". They were willing to pay for something that could make their server stand out. Why? 40–50% of the players were streamers, and they would drive traffic to a server if they showcased crazy scripts to the users.

I quickly grabbed this opportunity!

I had full faith in my creativity and innovation skills. These were not just buzz words for me, but at that time, these were my core strengths. I could see from a perspective of what a user would like, rather what would make me money! You can see a clear difference here.

Additionally, being under 18, I was not in a situation to get paid for stuff. Coming from a family where honesty has always been endorsed, we love doing our work in the righteous way possible, and we don't hesitate on leaving things if they feel wrong in any way!

So what does this yield then? A creative FiveM Mods Developer, who works for free!! and that was all the market needed.

In no time, I started seeing traffic on my free creations. People actively interacted on my discords, used my assets, updated them, appreciate the work, and sometimes reward me as well.

Wait! Reward? Oh so FiveM can help you get rewarded? Discord Nitro…here I come! :)

I was fond of using Discord. Discord Nitro was a small luxury I couldn't justify at the time — my parents expected me to focus on my studies.

When people wanted me to work for them on priority, or they were too impressed by my work, I got Nitros from them. In no time, I had 6–8 months of Nitro stacked up. I even gave away so many of them! While this might seem very normal, for me, these Nitros were a testament to the fact that I was doing something right, and that it was rewarding. As I continued to develop, I realised that this is much more than just Nitros, and that this can be further commercialised!

There came a day when my parents had asked me not to go all in on FiveM — to keep it as a side thing so I could focus on my studies. That same day, the only thing on my mind was: We'll go live tomorrow! I had planned it all for the launch of OsmFX Mods, the place that would serve as the webstore for all the upcoming paid releases.

I set it all up in a matter of days: got the paperwork done, registered on Tebex, and had a webstore live. It was so damn crazy!

I got my first sale on 1st September, and applied for a payout instantly. My first payout came within days of the store going live. Imagine earning from something you built yourself, in a fraction of the time you'd expect — it was a crazy feeling, and even crazier was the fact that I was successful.

When you perform poorly in many endeavours you take a shot at, you start to lose confidence, and the ability to do something risky. FiveM helped me make a comeback, not for anyone, but for my own self!

That first month, the numbers exceeded anything I'd imagined. Trust me, the feeling is something that cannot be explained. I am 100% confident that no job, no salary can give you this feeling — the one you get when "your own thing" works out, and that first paycheck comes! People who have won hackathons after grinding for 24–48 hours would know this feeling; my quantum was 2 years. It took me 2 years to build enough skill to go towards commercialising my scripts!

Working until late night was a routine, gritty eyes, getting scolded by parents, but when dreams are fuelled by the progress and growth of your own venture, nothing stops you from working hard.

It was important for me to manage my studies — not because my parents wanted it that way, but because I wanted to give it my best too. During the day, I focused in college — 0 intervention of FiveM during college hours. I don't think even half of my batchmates know about my FiveM thing, because it was never meant to make it to the college gates. Once I stepped out, first application would be Discord — checking tickets, sales, reviews, etc.

I saw a huge transformation in myself — standing confidently in front of large audiences, leading events, forming teams, taking initiatives, debating and pitching with faculty to make things happen, and efficiently managing time, all gradually got developed…all thanks to FiveM.

I kept scaling my FiveM venture to different scopes — from webstore, to working for individual clients, to getting some permanent clients from Europe and the USA. Who would have thought that a kid in university would be serving clients abroad?

Yes, I've heard people say you can say this once you are in a situation to say this, cant argue, but for some, it is sometimes the way they implement certain things.

I've always focused on making an impact, in whatever form I get a chance to — building good and friendly relations with my clients, delivering more than what they had imagined, thinking about their audience and shaping scripts for the players, rather than for the owner, and this has been the backbone of me serving as a FiveM Developer.

To date, I've given close to 20% of the total sales as free copies, Why? Because not everyone can afford to pay for scripts, yet many still have the passion and vision to build a great server. That passion drives them to work tirelessly every day on their projects. If they see enough value in my work to reach out for a copy despite not being able to pay, then money I can earn will never stand in the way of their vision coming to life. I still wait for people to message me for discounts, and I love surprising them with free copies!

Also, I'm not writing this as if I'm doing charity; its a way of looking at things in a different way.

In job interviews, recruiters often took a deep dive into what exactly FiveM was and what I was doing. Spending time on this topic — something I've worked on from 0–100 and one of my strongest points — helped me impress interviewers and secure offers. People ask me why I have a long introduction; I still never have to shorten it — this is why. 😉

Every journey comes with its share of highs and lows. While the article highlights mostly the brighter moments, things such as criticism, conflicts, stress, and worries have also shaped my experiences — adding the depth and flavour that make them truly meaningful.

The purpose of this article cannot be defined in a few lines, its not just an expression, its also serves as a starting point to those who wish to do something great, but are bound by challenges. Its your signal to get up, and start working! Who knows, you'd be writing another such article next year?