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From $100 to $3000 a month

Elbow grease and patience is what brought me here

Sunday May 01, 2016,

4 min Read

Back in 2010 when I got admission in University, my father had to borrow some money to pay for my first semester fee. I had to rent a hostel since my family lived in a different city. The hostel, at that time, cost me $50 a month whereas the total money I got for my monthly expenses was $80.

My Financial Background 

I didn't belong to a wealthy background. My parents brought up their 5 kids and they did their best to provide us with healthy food and quality education. My father never quit when it came to spending on our education. The maximum salary my father got during his entire career was $200 a month. My mother worked as a teacher and her maximum salary during her career was $250 a month. With a maximum income of $450 a month in 25 years, my parents brought up their 5 kids with extreme patience and devotion. They have been through every thick and thin but the good thing is that they never quit.

Education

When I started university, I had already realized that I should not be a burden on my family and instead do something of my own. The first 6 months of my university were very tough as I had to run with $30 for the whole month. It wasn't enough though, but that was it and I managed it somehow.

Luckily, I got a chance to offer private tutoring to a student close to my home. He offered me $100 a month and it was a great relief. I was very thankful for this opportunity and my lifestyle started to get better. Meanwhile, I invested $100 in a business and it turned out very good. The business was to import party supplies that were not available in local market. The item we imported were sky lanterns which were quite hot back then. One of my friend joined me in this venture and I placed our first order. 

It went great. We got a lot of sales and made around $4000 in 1.5 years. Slow, but we enjoyed it. After all, we had just invested $100. We had to discontinue the item as it was readily available in market by the end of 2013. I started looking for another opportunity again. There was this Ad posting thing which started during 2013 and I heard about it. I got an account for $150 and successfully met failure. It was a total waste of money. 

Turning Point

After few days, one of my friend told me about a website named LivePerson where experts would offer assistance to students and professionals from different fields. I signed up for an account and this was the turning point of my life. I was lucky enough to get my first client within a week. And that first client still works with me as I write. It started to get better day by day and I started getting more work from that website. The first payment I received from that website was for $4000. 

Amazing. Right? But I burned midnight oil to reach to that level. I was working with American market where I would have to stay awake all night long because of the time difference. I would work all night and literally go to university in the morning without a single minute of sleep. It was hard, but the fruit was sweet. I started to enjoy working and making money for me and my family.

I graduated in June 2014 and got a job right away. However, I had to quit that job in December 2014 as it was becoming hard to manage both things simultaneously. Now, after 2 years have passed, I have made a lot of loyal clients from that website who come to me every time they are in need. I have made my reputation and I am earning it now.

My message to everyone out there struggling in their life:

Work hard, and be consistent. You will see success one or the other way. Don't get disappointed with failures. If you quit, you lose a chance to succeed. If you keep trying, you will succeed one day, FOR SURE.

I am currently working as an IT consultant, a freelance web developer and a blogger. My new blog talks about basics of blogging and make money blogging. You can find the link to my blog at the end of this post. I am also blessed with a beautiful wife recently who is my source of motivation. I am, and will always stay, thankful to my parents who brought me up in such hard circumstances that I could never imagine of.

Link to my blog: http://aqibnazir.com