How my whole year went — honestly
This year was less about money and more about learning, clarity, and reality checks. At the start of the year, I was connected with a friend whose only focus was networking. Daily events. Meetups Conferences. CEO dinners. Founder circles. My goal back then was simple: local clients. I didn’t have a clear plan, so I kept saying yes. Wherever he said, I went. I spent a lot on events, petrol, food, roaming around. I did meet many big people in the industry CEOs, founders, decision-makers. The connections were real. The conversations were good. But none of them became clients. So yes, it was a great time for networking… but a bad time for earning. I was spending, not earning. Alhamdulillah, my father was supporting me. I had some clients too, but no real income, because I had only focused on skills, never on leads or sales. Then came Ramzan. In Ramzan, something unexpected happened. I created a sample template and sent it to 3–4 companies. I was mentally tired of asking money from my parents even though I was asking less than before, it still hurt. That thought used to hit hard:“Kab tak paisay maango ga? Kuch to karo.” Then suddenly, I got a call from a company. Honestly, I didn’t even know much about them. They asked about my salary expectations. I said, “I don’t know, let’s meet and discuss.” Later, when I followed up, they said: “You said you’re asking for 90k.” I was shocked. I never said that. But I still went for the interview without knowing much about the company, with a freelancer mindset. They offered a 2-day trial. I said yes. I started going to the office during Ramzan. This was the first Ramzan where I was waking up at 10 and sleeping early because of work. After the trial, they offered me 45k salary. Market-wise, it wasn’t great. But for me who was earning very little 45k felt big. Later, I found out they hired me mainly because I fit their budget. Still, I’m glad I joined. Why? Because my skills grew a lot there. I worked there for almost 8 months.