Using their talent and hard work to make the country proud, four Pakistanis have made it to the list of Forbes 30 under 30 and we couldn’t be more excited for them!

Included as honorees in the list for North America, the four champs chosen out of 600 young entrepreneurs, activists, scientists and entertainers featured in the 10th annual issue, have given everyone motivation to defy the odds, build their dream businesses and reach new heights.

Also Read: Ammar-pervez-how-he-became-a-digital-entrepreneur-from-nothing

Appearing in categories such as Marketing and Advertising, Education as well as Games, here’s a little info about the rockstars:

Sanaa Khan – Games

29-year-old Sana is a Program Manager at Google, where she leads go-to-market strategy and hardware planning for the tech giant’s cloud gaming service Stadia.

Khan spearheaded initiatives such as ‘Stadia’s Free Play Days’, enacted during the pandemic for financially constrained gamers, as well as drives a scholarship program for women developers, making her the only Pakistani woman to feature on this list.

Also Read: Arif-malik-one-of-top-freelancers-in-pakistan-tells-how-he-became-millionaire

Asad J Malik – Marketing and Advertising

Having done his Bachelor of Arts/Science from Bennington College, Asad J. Malik moved to the US from Pakistan in 2016 for higher education, and has since then been a pioneer in using augmented reality for the purpose of storytelling.

In his breakout project, Terminal 3, Malik featured young Muslim immigrants and collaborating with Magic Leap, explored the personification of Artificial Intelligence through A Jester’s Tale.

The 24-year-old CEO of Jadu AR, an app that creates holograms and immersive 3D performances (with TikTok stars and musicians) to make them seem realistic and interactive for listeners, he currently resides in Los Angeles, working with Verizon to build educational AR experiences with 5G.

Danish Dhamani – Education

A Pakistani native who grew up in East Africa, Danish Dhamani was terrified of speaking in classroom presentations and job interviews when he moved to the US. This motivated him to find a speech-coaching app, Orai (for “oral AI”) with his Drexel University classmates, Aasim and Paritosh Gupta in 2017.

From corporate clients including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Comcast and IBM and individuals who pay $10 per month, Danish found 5,000 active monthly users record themselves speaking and receive feedback such as how many times they say “um”, through his app.

The Philadelphia-based startup has raised $2.3 million in seed funding and expects to become profitable in 2021.

Also Read:  Small-business-safety-success-stories

Faizan Bhatty – Marketing and Advertising

Student at the University of Pennsylvania, Faizan Bhatty along with his mate, Kenan Saleh co-founded Halo Cars in 2019 as a way to create new ad space on rideshare vehicles and a way for Uber and Lyft drivers to earn more money.

“Smart digital screens sit atop cars enabling the display of hyper-targeted ads,” said Forbes, adding that startup-competition awards funded prototypes and a pilot and $500,000 from angel investors followed. Bhatty’s company sold to Lyft within a year of its inception.

Also Read:  Pakistan will have 30pc electric vehicles by 2030

Online marketing can be even more challenging. As there are many websites and competing businesses in just about every niche imaginable, using marketing to stand out from your online peers can seem to be an incredible challenge. This is especially so if you don’t have that much money to put into your marketing budget.

But there are plenty of tips which any online business can use to market their business no matter their financial situation. Here are five tips to develop a successful online marketing strategy.

• Don’t forget your audience

This is the simplest, yet most important tip of all as market research is essential to marketing. Are there particular demographics you are trying to attract? What websites does that demographic frequent? What qualities will they be looking for when they look at your product and how can you show your product has those qualities?

These are just a few questions which any online business should know the answer to before they plan a marketing strategy. Come up with a few, good open-ended questions and then conduct your own market research. Be social and ask customers for their thoughts and check what people are saying about your company on social media. This will help you identify your weaknesses and know what your marketing strategy should look like.

• Look into Content Marketing

Instead of buying ads on Google or designing some complicated website, you can set up a simple blog or Instagram detailing little facts about your business. You can take a humanist approach which shows your business as being a warm and friendly place, or discuss the ins and outs of the industry in a more technical fashion. As noted above, you have to know what your targeted audience is like and then create content that will cater to them.

Content marketing is more inexpensive compared to traditional approaches, but it is challenging. You will need to update your content regularly, think of interesting things to say all the time, and create well-crafted blogs or videos to attract people to your website. 

• Get active on social media

Even if you create the greatest blog post ever, it does not matter if no one actually reads it. Places like WordPress are a good way to set up content marketing, but content marketing must be tied into a social media marketing campaign to get it out to potential readers.

But an active social media strategy does not mean creating a business account on every social media website. Focus on one of the major social websites and slowly spread out to the others, once you have a reliable following on your first website. Facebook is probably the default choice, but you can use LinkedIn if your business is more formal and professional and Instagram or Pinterest if your business is more casual. And avoid Twitter.

• Understand the importance of SEO

A sound social media strategy is very important, but Google remains one of the biggest tools which new customers can use to discover your business. For that reason, it is important to have a good search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.

Remember that Google tracks and ranks websites by how many other pages are linking to them. This means that you want to link to other pages so that those websites may link back to you. You also need to update your content regularly. If you do, then others will link to the new articles and videos you produce, getting your website higher on search rankings.

Dieter Hsiao, CEO of Mezzologic, believes that companies must take a holistic approach to link building, which means collecting links from multiple channels.

While there are small tricks you can use to improve your SEO rating like links and consistently using major keywords, understand that the best way to get high on a Google search is to come out with consistent, quality content. I cannot emphasize enough how important content and content marketing can be for any online strategy.

• Cater to mobile customers

We know that people are using their mobile phones to go online and conduct business more than ever, but we still underestimate just how much. An April 2016 report from comScore indicates that 65 percent of digital media time is now spent on mobile.

Consequently, any business must have a mobile strategy. This means that it is necessary to design your website so that it is easily navigable by mobile users. It may be a good idea to create a separate website for mobile users, especially if your small business is a retailer or restaurant. Also look at getting less information in every web page – while people may be spending more time on mobile compared to desktops, they still spend less time per page compared to desktops.

Article published at:::https://www.lifehack.org/456769/5-marketing-tips-for-a-successful-online-business

Related Articles:

Ammar Pervez; How he became a Digital Entrepreneur from Nothing

Arif Malik: One of top freelancers in Pakistan tells how he became millionaire

Complete interview published at: https://www.morenews.pk/

Arif Malik complete interview published at: https://www.morenews.pk/

I had this strange idea — People who are failing, fail at something because they don’t know what is the right thing to do. They have not indulged in other people’s positive online business success stories and then they fall in despair, they give up all-together. But how do others find their right niche and turn it into an online business success story?

This guy has found it and will tell you in their online business success stories that only after you have failed so many times, you will be able to find the right mix. Indeed, perseverance is the key to success. Get inspired in these online business success stories.

Here in Pakistan, we make mention of people like Abdul Wali who hailed from a very humble beginning, who never made it to college and who has been selling biryani or even handbags for women for many years; but, kept on learning. Now, he’s a millionaire, a top instructor at Udemy and he has traveled to more than 20 countries of the world.

As much motivating and death defying these stories are, all success stories are not like them. At least Arif Malik’s story is not a “rags to riches” success story, but still, it is a very interesting and encouraging one. For the readers of More News, here is an interview with Arif Malik.

How did this all start?

Well, I was always interested in design and online business. After completing my basic education in the discipline of computer sciences, I came to know that it was not enough for me. I always wanted to earn money online, and my skills were already ahead of the people of my age.

However, to better slake my thirst for knowledge, I opted the Web and Design Diploma from Nicon, which was a big name in the field of I.T. education and training then. Here, I would like to mention this that I self-taught myself, ferreted through tutorials on YouTube and the internet in general and polished my skills by constant practice and implementation of whatever I learned.

Very soon I realized that I knew and exhibited better than what was included in the course and after the completion of course, they offered me a job, but a job was never what I wanted to accomplish in my life.

Speaking of which, I must mention that my father was a government officer of high grade, and I could have easily made my space in public service, but, I had this craze to have my own online business. I had the spirit of an entrepreneur which did not let me settle for anything inferior. Since design and web-related tasks were in my blood, I decided to pursue them.

Tell us something about your success on Elance/Upwork?

Well, after completing my education in 2010 I served at different national and international ad agencies. My first job was as a graphic designer where I got 3 promotions and became an Art Director within a very short period of only 2 years.

To me, Elance was the sesame door. It was a time when all top freelancers in Pakistan were doing Elance. It was one of the most reputable and highly rewarding freelancing websites. In those days, Pakistani freelance community was not as bigger and diverse as it is now.

Most of the top freelancers in Pakistan were either working for Freelancer or Elance/Odesk. My strong graphic designing skill paved the way for my success at Elance.

This unexpected success and the work flow forced me to go from an individual to a team of 4 and this is how Design Guru Communications came into existence. By 2014, my company had received a lot of orders from some big names from USA, Canada, UK, Italy, and India.

2014 proved to be the best year of my entrepreneurial life because my company had won immense fame for a very self-assuring reason. Elance acknowledged us as one of the best companies and we were ranked 38th highly paid Elance Company in the world ranking,

Although my business has gone beyond Elance and I make a lot from the projects that I get from social networks and personal references; however, Elance – which is now Upwork after merging with O-Desk – is still the biggest source of my earning and it has laid the foundation for my success as an internet entrepreneur.

Tell our readers about your company Design Guru Communications?

I started with a small team of 4 people, but very soon the work flow pushed me to have a bigger team. Now, I have my own office in Islamabad with 25+ employees. All of them don’t work from the office. I have also hired people who are no doubt among the top freelancers in Pakistan and get paid via DGCom.

Only on Upwork, we have 400+ completed projects, 300+ positive reviews with a full 5-star rating and we are 97% recommended by our customers and previous clients. We won Elance’s 2014 Performance Award and stood 6 among top freelancers in Pakistan on Elance, while our position among Pakistani companies from Islamabad, was number 1.

Working on Upwork, my company has earned more than $250,000, which even many top freelancers in Pakistan cannot achieve.

I do not like to brag about my earnings (with a grin on his face), although there is no tax applied on digital business, but, I would like to mention that so far we have earned more than half a million dollars. This fact should be motivating for other Pakistani freelancers, that, if I could achieve this, so can they.

As for DGCom; it is now providing very diverse services within the ambit of design. We are providing website design & development, logo design, brand identity design services, graphic design, print and advertising services to a very diverse clientele from all over the world.

What was your biggest success?

I would say that becoming Payoneer’s brand ambassador and getting Elance’s 2014 Performance Award was one of the greatest achievements for me. Also, recently I was invited by KPK’s Government to join their Digital Youth Summit 2017, and I was among the chosen top freelancers in Pakistan who received Digital Freelancer Awards. I always thank Allah almighty, my family and my friends for their support and sincerest wishes.

What was the biggest challenge so far?

A digital entrepreneur’s life is full of challenges. The freelancing sphere is smothering those who are trying to move upwards, making some space for themselves and trying to earn a living.

However, the hardest time that I have been through and which I believe is the biggest challenge for every freelancer is the first 6 months.

It is the make or break time. A lot of people get distracted by other ideas, get discouraged by a few cancellations or bad reviews, leave the freelancing because they cannot wait for the first order. Only persistence, devotion and perseverance help you face the tough time. That’s how all top freelancers in Pakistan have done it.

You just mentioned Payoneer, can you please enlighten us about this company?

Yes. Payoneer is a payment gateway service which is very popular in countries where PayPal does not offer its services and where people e.g. digital freelancers often have to receive payments from their clients abroad.

Wire transfer was the only solution, but I  have tasted bad blood. I had to withdraw thousands of dollars a month from my customers, and once a wire transfer went wrong, I had to wait for too long to chase crumb trail and finally got my money.

Payoneer works by collaborating with the top freelance marketplaces such as Fiverr, Upwork, 99designs, etc. and I believe that almost all top freelancers in Pakistan have used it at least once in their lifetime. The company issues a Master Card to a freelancer who applies for Payoneer’s services through any of the affiliate market places. Now, a freelancer using Payoneer can enjoy a lot of services. They can withdraw their earnings through ATMs, transfer them directly to the bank account or simply send a Payoneer link to any customer and receive the payment.

There is no need of PayPal. Freelancers from the countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh who rank higher on the list of countries with maximum freelancers, but who do not have PayPal, Payoneer is no doubt a life saver.

Under the umbrella of Payoneer, I have conducted 50+ Payoneer freelancer meet-ups in many cities of Pakistan, which include, but are not limited to Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Islamabad, etc. We arrange free of cost meet-ups, social networking opportunities and workshops for freelancers.

Pakistan and India are neighboring states as well as rivals. How do you compare Pakistani freelance sphere with Indian?

Well, India is a technology-rich country, and we know that they are taking the lead because of their progressive policies. You talked about Sunder Pichai; he is an American citizen of Indian descent. Indian software exports put to the shame even the most developed countries of the world, let alone Pakistan. Only in the year 2016, their I.T. exports revenues were roughly 5,000 billion Indian rupees.

However, we must not forget that this is a result of their government’s progressive policies and vision. When it comes to blogosphere or freelancing, it trickles down to the individual level, and this is where Pakistan takes the lead.

Pakistani individuals, irrespective of how “I.T. blind” and careless is their government, have the great potential to take the freelancing and digital eco-system by storm. You would be amazed to know that Pakistani freelancers charge more than Indians and they have a better reputation.

When it comes to the number of freelancers, countries like USA and India lead the world, but when it comes to the quality of work, Pakistani freelancers beat India.

So if a Pakistani freelancer charges $1500 for a gig, an Indian or Bangladeshi freelancer would charge as low as $50 for the same gig.

Although Government is not doing much to empower the digital youth, there are now initiatives like i2i and Empower Pakistan. Payoneer events are also focused on empowering, motivating and training Pakistan’s Internet-savvy youth.

What is your message to young freelancers in Pakistan?

I would not say much but stress on a very basic concern. People tend to give up in their first year of freelancing. Don’t! Be realistic! Do know that freelancing is a “free for all” forum and thus competition is very fierce. But please do not give up! Do not hope to gulp the whole pie; show the willingness to take your piece of the pie and leave whatever you cannot take, for others.

I always say something, Pakistan’s freelancing and digital entrepreneurship market potential are more than 1 billion dollars.

Yesterday we discussed the likelihood that small businesses will experience more workplace injuries and illnesses than larger companies. Today we will look at some small business safety success stories. The common denominator for these successes is that the companies took advantage of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) On-Site Consultation Program, which offers free and confidential safety and occupational health advice to small- and medium-sized businesses.

One Word—Plastics

A plastic container manufacturer in Wisconsin reduced its injuries rate by 90% while, at the same time, doubling the size of the company.

Schoeneck Containers, Inc. (SCI) hired its first safety professional in 2000. In 2003, the safety facilitator contacted OSHA On-Ste Consultation Program through the Wisconsin Safety and Health Consultation Program. Two WisCon consultants conducted a walk-through of the facility. They worked with SCI to reduce the noise level through engineering solutions and updated the lockout/tagout program. The consultants also evaluated the managers’ roles and responsibilities in relation to safety practices.

In 2004, SCI was included in OSHA’s Safety and Health Recognition Program (SHARP), which recognizes small business employers that have used OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program services and operate an exemplary injury and illness prevention program. (SHARP requires that the employer have injury and illness rates below the national average for their industrial classification.

Related article: NSC President and CEO Lorraine M. Martin

Tunnel Vision

Jenmar Corporation of Utah is a family-owned business that develops and manufactures ground control products designed to make mining and tunneling safer and more efficient. They have participated in SHARP since 2005 when they implemented a management-based approach to safety.

Jenmar claims success with improving consistent and effective training and new program implementation. In addition, what happens at one plant is carried through to all facilities as best practices. Employee involvement has increased with employees bringing new improvement ideas, safety concerns, and feedback to management. One way Jenmar has improved upon its corrective/preventive action and abatement process is by giving specific time frames for completion of action items from audits and incident investigations.

The numbers tell the story best. As a result of their management-based safety approach, the company has had a 60% reduction over the years in incidence rates of total recordable rate (TRR), and a 62% reduction days away, restricted, or transferred (DART) rate (using 2005 as the base year).

Interesting blog: Rising Star of Safety-2019

Metalmaker Moves on Safety

Innovance, a holding company for three metal and machinery fabricators in Minnesota, contacted the Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA) Workplace Safety Consultation (WSC) for assistance. A WSC consultant conducted a hazard survey at the company’s facility where a majority of its worker injuries were occurring.

As a result of the consultation, the company developed a safety committee composed of employees from all levels of the organization and management representatives. In addition, Innovance offered incentives for participation in a near-miss/safety suggestion reporting program; provided hazard recognition training annually; and documented noncompliance issues, assigned corrective actions, and completed follow-up studies. Other efforts included a monthly inspection program where different employees participated, a root-cause analysis program, and a change analysis and preventive maintenance program. Innovance also partnered with outside agencies, such as the local fire department and an insurance company, to perform inspections of the facility. They also host an annual corporate safety committee meeting where the safety and health management system was critiqued and improvements were designed.

All three of the company’s locations have since achieved Minnesota SHARP status.

Relevant blog: Rae Ann Aldridge-2018

Key Takeaway for EHS Managers

Getting your workers to buy in to your safety program can be tough. According to Innovance’s environmental, health, and safety (EHS) coordinator, the most challenging aspects in building a company wide safety culture were making sure the employees feel comfortable reporting hazards, making safety suggestions, and participating in hazard recognition.

Article first time published @ https://ehsdailyadvisor.blr.com/2017/06/howd-small-business-safety-success-stories/

A lot of the writing and advice about finding your purpose gives you so many things to do: complete this exercise, make this list, seek this project.

What I’ve discovered is that people are just exhausted from doing more things and not getting the results. When it comes to finding—and more importantly living into—your purpose, you’ll need to focus on less DOING, more BEING.

It’s easy to start with do. In the world we live in today, there’s no shortage of tasks, committees and projects to choose from. On top of that, there are so many books, articles and podcasts out there (like this one), pulling us in different directions of doing. We think if we do all of these things now, we can be something else later.

I am finding that is not the case. More and more adults are reaching the ages of 60 and 70 years of age, and they’re realizing: I never became the person I thought I would be after doing all of those things.

I’ve had to learn this lesson myself. As a father, I’ve realized my success as a parent is just as much about me being with my children as it is doing things for them. Being present in a conversation, for example, will lead to more purposeful parenting than reaching into my pockets.

The same is true in business. If you want to build a meaningful career that will stretch far into the future, you’ll need to flip the script and look inward before you turn outward.

Start with be. It starts with getting quiet and assessing: Who am I as a being? What does it feel like to be me in the micro moments of life? What is left when you strip away the titles and social constructs that define my understanding of myself?

Be together. Embed yourself in a circle of friends and family who get you, celebrate you and honor your journey. So often, we fail to stop and acknowledge the sweetness of simply being with others who lift us up and enrich our lives. Who you decide to be with on a regular basis will shape you to your core, so seek other beings who want to be more, and do less.

Be open. When it comes to living with purpose, you need a surround sound of feedback. It’s not all about meditation and collaboration. You’ll also want to find “no” people who will push against the grain, go the opposite way and stretch your thinking. Be open to the feedback that doesn’t make you feel good, but it will make you better.

Simon T. Bailey is an international speaker, writer and personal transformation strategist. He is the author of Shift Your Brilliance: Harness the Power of You, Inc., and Be the SPARK: Five Platinum Service Principles for Creating Customers for Life. When he’s not working, he enjoys rooting for the Buffalo Bills (his hometown team).