Making millions online from Pakistan not so difficult!

Following article appeared in The News on July 18th, 2010

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=251448

When I talk to my nieces and nephews, Pakistan’s millennial generation, I feel rejuvenated and perplexed, at the same time. I get excited because these young children are so creative and worldly. The minute I log into Skype, Gmail, or Facbook, my young buddies tell me about some technological experience or an epiphany they had on how to change Pakistan. I am invigorated listening to their ideas.

I am at a loss, however, when these bright young kids tell me how they struggle to find a job. I am baffled because they are looking for job the same way I did. Trust me it was a long time ago.

In 1985-86 when I was entering the job market with my peers, we had a routine. We would review all the vacancies announced in the daily ‘Dawn’ every week and mail our resume (we used to call it bio-data) to prospects. And, we waited. Like other struggling middle class families we did not know ‘people’ at the right places. But we applied for positions and prayed for an interview and all of us finally found work. Not necessarily doing what we wanted to do, but jobs that paid enough to make us get up in the morning.

That was 25 years ago. Men and women in India, Bangladesh and other developing countries were looking for work in the same way as we were in Pakistan. There was parity.

Now when I talk to people in India and the Philippines, Ukraine and Russia, Brazil and Poland, I find that unlike Pakistan, a growing number of employable youth in these countries are not looking for a job. They are interested in gigs. And that reflects the structural change in the post-modern job market across the globe.

The millennial generation across the world prefer being self-employed instead of becoming an employee. They can do that because of advances in computer and telecommunications technology. But these successful service providers (individuals) at portals such as eLance, Guru, oDesk, iFreelance had to change their attitude towards work.

Taking advantage of the rapid pace of technological change, a globalised market place and a boom and bust economy, millions of workers have found security in the idea of free agency. And, this spirit of enterprise has produced workers around the world that are more resilient, adaptable and entrepreneurial than their predecessors.

I personally know hundreds of successful individuals around the world who have traded in careers for gigs.

In the US this trend is pretty established. According to the Online Talent Report, more than 100,000 businesses listed 300,000 new jobs last year. Last month alone, the number of jobs posted grew by 30 percent from the previous month. And that trend isn’t exclusive to the United States and Europe. Data shows that there are online and self-employed workers all around the world with India leading the curve.

Demand for certain types of jobs such as mobile application programmers and social media management is far outstripping supply. So far, small businesses are the first to look for talent online. But larger enterprises are following, as well. AT&T, IBM, Cisco, Novartis, P&G and Kimberly Clarke are among a few that you will find posting transactional opportunities through their contractors or directly. Many more are expected to follow the suit.

Test this: go to craigslist.org for Pakistan and look for jobs/services offered and than go to any of the large Indian city and you will find that entire country of Pakistan has less than 10 percent postings compared to any Indian city. I am always told not to compare us with India because we are ‘special’. OK, just compare Pakistan and the Philippines and there is a difference in order of magnitude.

After speaking to several people in Pakistan, I realise that there are some real challenges that make it rather difficult to work from home. I will address that below. But I want to first dispel some established myths about the online marketplace first:

MYTH No 1: All jobs are posted by American and European employers and they don’t want to hire Pakistanis for several reasons.

Reality: Online hiring is not asymmetrical. It is a misnomer that service providers are from low-cost destinations and all buyers are from the United States and Europe. Some basic research will show that employers from across the world are taking advantage of a flexible workforce. With the Internet, the search for talented employees is no longer limited by geography. And, the same tool allows professionals to find work from anywhere, as well. I live in New York and I have provided services to employers in Indonesia, the Philippines and Brazil. And, I am just an individual.

Also, I have yet to find an American who will refuse a talented resource from any part of the world. Money transcends national boundaries and religion. Any Indian and Israeli employer will be happy to hire someone from Pakistan if the service is good and priced competitively. It is all about adding value.

MYTH No 2: Online jobs are for programmers only.

Reality: You don’t need to be a programmer to work online. Whether you are skilled for sales and marketing, finance and management; administrative or legal; engineering or manufacturing, you can work remotely. A majority of jobs today can be outsourced except those require a physical presence. Many of us have a full time administrative assistant (Executive Secretary, as they are called in Pakistan) sitting thousands of miles away.

There are several MBAs from leading institutions who provide management or marketing or sales-related services. Project Management work is pretty much done remotely. My brother works for IBM and he could be sitting anywhere in the world to do his job, and do it well.

I know several individuals in India and the Philippines who provide writing services to employers all around the world. And, you don’t need to be Mark Twain to find online gigs for writing. On an average, an individual who works eight hours a day can easily earn $600 to $2,500 per month, depending on their skills.

Accounting and legal services are also quickly emerging. I know several bookkeepers in Brazil and Argentina who provide accounting services to small businesses around the world. I know several lawyers who have paralegals sitting in India to do research and prepare court papers. The opportunities are endless.

Now let’s talk about some real challenges that an individual from Pakistan will have compared to their peers from across the border.

Challenge No 1: Many young middle class men and women do not have a credit or debit card and, thus, cannot sign up for services such as eLance, Facebook, iFreelance. There are at least two ways to address this; open a checking account with a global bank that has branch near you and make sure they will issue a debit card that can be used internationally. Or open accounts where you don’t need a credit card such as oDesk or post your services in places like Craigslist.

Challenge No 2: There is so much power outages that even if we get work (which is easy to find) we can’t deliver on time and, therefore, get negative feedback from employers.

I know this is real. We have more power outages than India, for example. I have no magic wand, but I will tell you if my livelihood was dependant on electricity, I would make secondary and tertiary plans to have minimum power to run a computer. I get a push back that we don’t have enough money to buy a UPS or generator. What about setting up small cooperatives with your friends and neighbours? Why don’t four or five of you get together and make it happen? The return on investment is so rapid and it will change your life. So what are you waiting for?

Challenge No 3: How will I get paid? Open a bank account or PayPal account (or other similar services). Of course, there may be a time when you put in several hours, and may not get paid, but there are ways to mitigate that risk. When you work with an established service you are pretty much guaranteed about the payment. These services charge a couple of points to cover your risk. But you will get paid.

Here is a challenge that many learn after they start offering services online: not everyone can work from home. You need lots of discipline because there are plenty of distractions when you are working from home. But I know several individuals in Pakistan, as well who do it really well. Setting up a place of work at home is a serious matter and requires careful planning. You must be comfortable to produce good quality work. You must be able to get up, take a shower (or not) and go through the routine as if you were going to work outside. Once you get to your desk you must be able to tune out your family and surrounding.

It is not that there are no Pakistanis. I see a few firms as top tier providers on oDesk, eLance and Guru. But there are a very small number of independent Pakistani individuals.

Here is my challenge to you: if you are educated and unemployed (BA, BCom, BSc at minimum) establish your practice online and make your first $100 and post a comment to let us know that you are on your way to making millions.