Starting Freelancing in Pakistan: Notes From a Goldsmith

On November 12, 2019, I earned two certificates, one in graphic design and one in freelancing.

By then I had been running a jewellery business in Lahore for almost twenty years. My hands knew gold. They knew very little about software.

People still ask me how to start freelancing in Pakistan, usually with a worried look, as if the door closed a few years ago. It didn’t. But it does have a few steps that nobody puts on the poster.

Pick one skill first, not five

I didn’t follow this advice. I learned design, video editing and WordPress more or less at the same time, and it worked out, slowly. If you want faster results than I got, pick one skill and get good enough that a stranger would pay for it.

Good first choices are skills where the client can see the result quickly: graphic design, video editing, WordPress websites, writing or virtual assistance.

Learn properly, and cheaply

You don’t need an expensive academy to begin. Pakistan has free, government-backed training such as DigiSkills.pk, and YouTube has more tutorials than any of us will ever finish. Pick one course, finish it, and build something real at the end of every module.

Build three samples before you open a profile

Clients on Upwork or Fiverr can’t see your potential. They can see your portfolio.

Make three samples for imaginary clients: a logo set, a product video, a small business website. When I set up my early gigs, I made example videos for gigs that had no orders yet. Those samples did the selling for me.

Sort out the business side early

This is the part that feels boring until it costs you money.

Getting paid. Decide how you’ll receive payments before your first order. Compare fees carefully, because small percentages add up.
Records. Keep a simple spreadsheet of every payment from day one. Future you will be grateful at tax time.
Registration. Look into registering as a freelancer with the Pakistan Software Export Board and understand what it means for you.
Power and internet. Load-shedding doesn’t care about your deadline. A UPS and a backup internet connection are business expenses, not luxuries.

Work in your client’s time zone

My first clients were in Australia. Later came the United States, and now Canada, where I live. Each one taught me the same lesson: the client’s clock is the one that matters. Reply during their working day, and confirm deadlines in their time zone, not yours.

Communicate like a professional

Write short, polite messages. Say “please” and “could you”, not “kindly do the needful”. Confirm what you heard before you start. Tell the client about a problem before they discover it. Honesty about a delay earns more trust than a perfect excuse.

Stay long enough to get lucky

Freelancing rewards people who keep showing up. The first review is the hardest one to earn. The tenth arrives without you noticing.

People ask if they are too old or too late to start. I started after twenty years in another trade, with a business degree and a goldsmith’s eyesight.

The bar is lower than you think.

Shahzad Sadiq