Well, you are a student or a professional and want to earn more money. You might be thinking to earn the money through freelancing. I am not only going to tell you how to start freelancing in Pakistan. I will help you with the platforms where you could earn through freelancing. If you are new in freelancing, this is a proper beginner’s guide for you.
What is Freelancing
Freelancer has originated from freelancing. The word freelancer refers to a person who is self-employed. The job isn’t permanent, it is a sort of contract for a specific time period. Moreover, the companies also hire freelancers for specific assignments. There are several benefits of freelancing. In addition to this, there are numerous platforms on the internet, where you could search for the assignments. Although, there are certain factors that play an important role in finding the task.
Current Situation in Pakistan
Well, the whole world is currently covered with the pandemic of Coronavirus. The unemployment rate in Pakistan is ascending on a daily basis. Markets are closing due to lockdown. The government is forcing every person to stay home in order to stay safe. If you are also unemployed, or you were a student and your university is closed for a while. I would say this is the best time to start earning through freelancing.
When to start Freelancing
Well, it entirely depends upon your condition, but there is a specific time to pursue your dream. When there are little responsibilities on you, it is one of the best times to start your dream or idea. In addition to this, you can also make extra money with the help of freelancing while you are on job. Although, time management is at your end. Freelancing does require time. Resources are one of the most important things for university students. If you are a university student, you can also increase your sources with the help of freelancing.
Some of the software houses in Pakistan are earning their resources with the help of freelancing only. These software houses hire a team of professionals and get projects online.
Where does Pakistan stand in freelancer Market
You might have several questions in your mind. The first thing you might be thinking is that what is the scope of Freelancing in Pakistan. Well, the good news for you is that in 2019, Pakistan ranked on 3rd on the freelancers market. There are many reasons for it. Most of the work comes from the USA, UK, Germany, Australia, and Europe. The human resources in these countries are quite high. On the other hand, human resource in Pakistan is quite cheap. The expense of a single person in the aforementioned countries is equivalent to two or three persons in Pakistan. Therefore, the market of freelancers in Pakistan is getting strong day by day. In addition to this, you can generate huge revenue by doing freelancing. The best thing is that you will earn in dollars. When these dollars are converted into Pakistani Rupees, you will get a huge profit.
How can you get earned money
Well, before going any further, we must discuss how can we get the earned money from these websites. Well, most of the websites offer two methods from where you can transfer the funds. You can make an account on Payoneer or Paypal. In Pakistan, Paypal is non-operational. You can make your free account on Payoneer and after that, you can transfers the received funds from the freelancing websites in your Payoneer account. Payoneer will also send you a debit card at your address. In addition to this, you can use this debit card in ATM machines. I would say try to use it in Standard Chartered bank, it accepts the majority of the debit cards.
Learning How to Start Freelancing in Pakistan
Well, most of the freelancing work available on the internet is related to computer sciences. The following are the categories of freelance works that you can find on the websites
- Writing & Translation
- Graphics & Designing
- Digital Marketing
- Video & Animation
- Music & Audio
- Programming & Tech
- Business
- Lifestyle
- Industries
Most of these works are done on the computer, therefore, it is important for you to own a computer before starting the freelance work. There are a lot of courses available on the internet and there are few academies that are teaching the freelancing course. However, I would say all of these are just a waste of time. Freelancing is not something that you can learn. You can learn through experience. You need to work hard yourself. As there is a lot of competition in the freelancer market, it is totally up to you how quality your work is. Some people get work from the freelancer’s platforms within a week, whereas, some take up to months. The more time you spend on working these websites, there will be more chances that you will get good work.
Now we will be talking about the pre-requisites for starting learning how to freelance in Pakistan.
Learning a skill
This is one of the most important and time taking tasks in your journey of freelancing. You need to be an expert in a skill. The better the skill more will be the chance that you can generate quality work. To learn the skill, you can join any institute. However, I would say, it is better to learn a skill for free, rather than paying for it. The Internet is one of the best sources of learning a skill. You can take free online lessons on youtube. One of the best Youtube channels from where you can learn different skills is Digiskills. For example, if you want to learn WordPress, just type Digiskills WordPress on youtube, there are over 150 videos from where you can perfect your skill.
Spend at least 2 to 3 months in learning and perfecting the skill. Once you are master in a specific skill. You can at least bid for the projects in the freelancing websites.
Build Your Network
This is the second most important thing if you want to start freelancing. You need to build and strengthen your network. Offer your excellent services to the customers at quite a low price. Once your seller level is increased, the customers will approach to you by themselves. Remember one thing, never submit under quality material to the customers. This will have a negative impact on your profile. In addition to this, you also have to make profiles on multiple platforms. This will build and increase your network.
Become a Brand
Always think like a brand. Never compromise on the quality of your work. The more customers will be happy with your work, the more will be the chance that you will get online work.
Best Freelancing websites in Pakistan
The freelancing industry in Pakistan is gaining much fame. Here are some of the best freelancing websites through which you can earn while sitting home.
Upwork
This is one of the best marketplaces for freelancers. It is usually for professionals where they can collaborate with other professionals to enhance their own business. It is slightly difficult to get work on Upwork, you might need to spend a lot of time and do a lot a struggle to get work. In addition to this, your quality of work must also be excellent.
Fiverr
This is also one of the best marketplaces for Freelancers. It is relatively easy to get work in this website. You just need to make a profile and create gigs which are based on the specific keywords. The starting price of the gig is 5 USD. When your seller’s level increases, you can also increase the price of your gig. The Fiverr will deduct a little percentage from your total earning, however, you can generate good revenue from here.
Guru
Just like Fiverr and Upwork, Guru is also a freelancing website for professionals. There are over 1.5 million professionals who offer their services to customers. Although, there are few requirements on this website make sure to check them.
99Designs
This is one of the best marketplaces for graphic designers in the world. It connects over 1 million talented freelancers who are graphic designers.
Toptal
This is an American based website that offers the project to the freelancers. Most of the projects on this website are related to software engineering and graphics designing.
Freelancer
Freelancer is another famous marketplace for freelancing. It is among the oldest marketplaces on the internet. The scope of work includes writing, data entry, accounting, etc. In addition to this, it also has long and short term projects.
Peopleperhour
It is one of the simplest websites from where you can earn money online. There are over 2 million users on this website and they have earned over 13 million pounds.
Craigslist
It also offers a variety of services to people through freelancers. It is one of the best places for students.
College Recruiter
Just like other websites, it is also best for college students. You can earn along with your studies and increase your income.
Famous Pakistani Freelancers
As mentioned earlier, Pakistan ranked on 3rd number in the freelancer market. There are tons of freelancers that are working in Pakistan. Few of the freelancers have made this as their profession. In addition to this, they are earning a huge amount of money from it. The following are some of the famous freelancers from Pakistan
Aaliyaan Chaudhary
Meet Aaliyaan Chaudhary which one of the famous and top-rated sellers on the Fiverr. He is graduated in Business administration and was unable to focus on a 9 to 5 job. Therefore, he started his freelancing career in 2010. With the span of a few years, he became one of the top-rated sellers on the Fiverr. You can check Aaliyaan Chaudhary Fiverr profile by clicking here. He started with WordPress and SEO. Moreover, we can find over 20k reviews on his profile.
Hisham Sarwar
Hisham Sarwar is also a famous Pakistani freelancer. He started a creative designer in an American based company. Sooner he found out that his expertise is letting him behind in his career. So he started to work as a freelance. With the passage of time, he became a bestseller on multiple freelancing websites which includes Guru and freelancer. Currently, he is running his own setup for web development and graphic designing. In addition to this, he also hired around 20 employees in his company.
Danial Shah
Another famous Pakistani entrepreneur and freelance. He studied Computer sciences from the University Of Central Punjab and started his own startup which is called Phonebox.pk. It is one of the best platforms where you could sell and purchase used certified mobiles. Furthermore, he is also the owner of Mushwarah and StartUPX. In addition to this, he is also one of the best freelancers in the community. Make sure to check out his Danial Shah’s Fiverr profile.
Read Also: How to Set-up a retail business in Pakistan
Muhammad Kashif
He is also a famous Pakistani Freelancer who is developing the websites on WordPress for almost 8 years. you have to pay him 75$ per hour if you want to hire him. Check out the Upwork profile of Muhammad Kashif.
Arif Malik
Arif Malik is also a famous Pakistani freelancer. He learned the skills through Youtube and polished it with constant practice. Currently, he is running a small company with over 25 employees and the name of his company is Guru communications. He was invited by the government of KPK to Digital Youth Summit 2017.
Conclusion
Well, we can finally assert that. It is never too late to start anything. If you want to be a freelancer you must start working on it instantly. Develop and perfect the skills and there are several platforms where you can work. In the aforementioned section, we have told you guys how can you start freelancing in Pakistan. In the coming years, the freelancing industry will also gain more strength and there will be a lot of opportunities for the freelancers as well. I would again say, go for your skill first and start Freelancing in Pakistan. Nourish it as much as you can through practice. Once you have mastered your skills, there will be several doors that will be opened for you.
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