#plan9techhub

[plan9techhub]

Freelancers Of Pakistan - Asim Sohaib

“I’m a freelancer by choice. It’s my strength; it gives me flexibility to work.”

I went to study abroad and studied Management Information System. I worked there for about 2 and a half years as IT Manager but then had to come back for my family. I got a job here, in a software house as the Business Development Manager.

The day I signed my offer letter, I was content. My life seemed to be in place. I joined the place and my first day was easy. Not a lot of work and I thought, it’s just the start. Work will build up, slowly and gradually. Next thing I knew, months started passing and then a whole year flew away and while analyzing my life in the past months, I realized my work was not stimulating my brain cells enough. I felt underutilized. I wanted to do more; I knew I COULD do more! Then followed the thought of being underpaid as well. Of course, when I know I can do more, I am willing to, even, but there just IS not any more work in the place, I felt like I’m wasting myself. So after about 2 years at the company, I decided to make an exit.

Having worked abroad as well as here and that too as a business development manager, I always pictured myself as an entrepreneur. My education had given me a perfect mix of technical as well management skills. Yet the problem was, I didn’t have a team or a client base.

Being a perfectionist, I knew I’m not the person who will just RUN into a business. I’ve been a planner since I was young and I knew if I want to be an entrepreneur, I will plan first and then start. After talking to some friends, I made a decision that I will freelance and start building a client base at least, if not a team, for now.

So here starts my journey. After quitting my job, I cleaned my store room and I set it up like an office. I started by sitting there all day and researching on firstly, which site should I make a profile on. I am proud to call myself that person who has read the terms and agreement of every famous freelancing site. Yes, those LONG documents that nobody bothers to read and just presses on “I agree” and moves forward. I wanted to be sure that if I start free lancing, I should do it in a very proper manner. So after days of research I decided to start from Elance.

I would be lying if I say, I wasn’t scared to bid. I was, yet, I started bidding for only those project that I knew I could deliver. I would make sure, I understand the requirements clearly. Luckily, I got my first work on the second day of bidding. I feel I was quite lucky as it was worth $600. Ecstatic as I was, I started working hard. I started doing well and projects started rolling in. I would spend days and nights in that store room working. After a few months, I realized that I was doing great but I started feeling extremely lonely.

Being a business development manager, I knew I was a people’s person. I liked interacting and working WITH people. This, on the other hand was completely the opposite! So I decided to start working from a library in my residential vicinity. After a few days, due to infrastructure issues, my work started lagging and that was frustrating. I started researching for co-working spaces and I found one newly opened space which looked like a blessing. I went to check it out and I found out that I’m one of the first free lancers to acquire the space.

After a few days infrastructure issues were faced there as well and again frustration started building up. Being a freelancer, I’ve realized, time is your biggest asset so again, I started looking for another place. After researching, I found out about Plan9- TechHub. Having a bad experience already, I wanted to test it first and then become a part of it. So I came here and I asked the manager to allow me to sit in their area for about a week so I can test. A considerate guy that he is, he allowed me. After a week, I felt like THIS finally is what I’ve been looking for, since so long!

I gave no second thoughts and acquired the space asap. After this, I believe there was no looking back. I started adjusting here. I met new and very successful free lancers who were topping their game. I had people around me who could relate to me and who I could relate to. If I got stuck somewhere, I had people to take help from. I started getting the feel of an office here. I started falling in love with free lancing.

Coming to the challenges faced in my work. Well, as already mentioned my first gain was my first project worth $600. I would also call that gain of mine, a struggle. Since I was wearing so many hats, doing so many things at the same time, I sort of neglected my earnings. When I received the first payment in my Elance account, I did not take it out instantly. I knew I will have to look into the procedure and I JUST DIDN’T have the time. So I kept stalling it and after about a few months when I finally did, I was a bit lost. Paypal does not work in Pakistan and I had to figure out an alternate way to receive money. Being new to all this and knowing no freelancer, I didn’t have anybody to ask from. So after about 3 months, I received my earnings. The procedure was complicated and this also eventually led me to change my portal of free lancing.

Moreover, once I took more than one project I started getting really tired. Work was getting harder and harder to manage and I was getting worn out. So I started thinking of alternate ways. I made a plan. I started going to university career offices and got in touch with students. My personal belief says that students are the best people to get the work done from because their knowledge of the subject is fresh and projects make them use the knowledge in real. So yes, I started outsourcing work and in that way I started building a team too.

So now this was time to turn my dream “being an Entrepreneur” into a reality. I had a client base and a team, all I needed was a technical co-founder for Software Development Outsourcing Company. I would be wrong if I say, I turned my focus to finding a “co-founder”. I kept running my projects the way they were. I knew a couple of people in Tech Hub now. Not just professional relationships but made some amazing friendships as well. So while discussing life with someone in Tech Hub I realized that there is someone who has the same aims in life like I do. I shared with him my future goals, my entrepreneurship dream and we both realized that we were sharing a very similar dream. We started discussing details. Started planning and we decided to join hands and put our dream to reality. I had a team in mind and the clientele base and he had the technical skill set.

After months of planning together we finally decided upon a vision for our company. Perfectionist as I call myself, we planned each and every bit of our business, aligned our future and career goals. So much so that if you ask me right now where do I see myself in a year’s time, I’ll be able to tell you exactly and so will my co-founder. =)

So now we’re working towards our entrepreneurial goal. We have the website ready and we are now working around the formalities. I would conclude by saying that Tech Hub has played a key role in helping me achieve my entrepreneurial dream come true. =)

Website: www.softicks.com LinkedIn: https://pk.linkedin.com/pub/asim-sohaib/67/529/a86 Twitter: @AsimSohaib

[plan9techhub]

Freelancers of Pakistan - Yasir Salman

It all started when I was in school passionate for cricket. I was an ardent fan of cricket players and wanted to make a career out of it. In spite of my passion for cricket I used to earn good results in my exams. This led me to a point where I was at cross roads deciding whether I should choose my studies or go for cricket, and I chose the latter one, subsequently bidding farewell to my studies.

I wasted the next two years and could not get hold of a path which would lead me to become a professional Cricketer. I was left severely rejected and returned to my old way which I should not have abandoned  at the first place. By the end of this high turn in my life, I realised that in order to be something in this country you must have a reliable reference, which unfortunately I was devoid of.

I belonged to a Middle-class family, and I had seen my parents work hard to make ends meet. After my return to the “real life,” I requested my parents to support me with studies. But considering my negligent behavior prior to this they were not ready to trust me.

I was left alone with my mental turmoil, thinking of ways through which I can stand up on my own two feet. That year was a lesson to me, and a step which ultimately changed my perspective towards life. I worked hard,  to pay my fee in order to clear my lower-secondary exams. This included working in brick kilns and several other low-ranking jobs just so that I  can give my examination.

I was supposed to give two years of papers in a month, which was again a hefty task. It required me to study day and night, and it paid off with my result; I had passed my exams with flying colours. It was a milestone I achieved, which earned me the respect of my parents and family members. By then I had realised that nothing is impossible with hard work and determination. Keeping these two things n my mind I continued my journey and was able to pass my I-COM exams as well with straight A’s. These two years were agin tough for me because of my family’s financial situation, and I had to earn for myself to pay my fee. I believe all of this aided to strengthening my faith In my God and increasing my will power.

One of my teachers suggested that I should apply for Hailey Collage of Banking, which is one of the finest facilities in the country and is known for its high merit and significant results. Adhering this thought, I started working hard for the entry test, making this an ultimate mark for my final goals. I succeeded in getting  myself admitted in that vicinity.

I was high on ambitions when I started my studies to be a banker. But what I realised as months passed by, was this emptiness which I felt while cramming all the rules of interest and banking. These concepts somehow went against my personal beliefs and very passing day made me realise how unsuitable I am for this career.

That feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment was nowhere near to my heart. One fine day I came across the concept of “how to make money online.”  It was quite alluring for me, and I continued searching for possible ways of achieving this. My first job was to post a few links and market them on individual platforms which I completed over a period of 6 Months, earning a total of 6 dollars!!!

I had created my blog and even though I had worked hard for more than six months. One of my friends once came across my blogs and mocked me  a lot. His observations were not wrong, but in spite of that, his remarks were enough to leave a deep gash in my heart. I wondered why he was so harsh, he should consider that I have worked very hard to achieve this. This friend of mine introduced me to Odesk, but even then I paid no heed to it and continued working on my blog producing nothing but zilch!!

Those days were hard for my family and myself since we were facing a financial crunch. I had no money to pay for the internet even.  At that time, this friend of mine took me to a person who had an opening in his office for an Internet Marketeer. I met him, in crucial circumstances where I had no money to pay for my conveince even while returning home. After that, I started searching for SEO services and several blogs observing how they incorporate SEO in their internet profiles.

This is how eventually I go hired on my first job. My compensation per hour was $1, and I distinctly remember working for 30 hours a week for that company. After getting my first payout which was 60$ for that month, I continued spending my time reading about SEO educating myself on how Blogs work and researching. My second payout was $150 which was a ray of hope for me.

Interestingly the person who had hired me had given specific instructions to my colleagues to “not introduce me to Odesk.” But I being the usual curious cat continued to educate myself more about these sites till the day I made my profile. Apparently my boss was under the impression that if somehow I got to know about odesk I would stop working for them and will start growing. His insecurities fueled his behavior which was quite evident every time he would come to me.

The day I won my second contract which was for about $250, my boss went all out on me, rejecting me in the worst possible way. My boss conspired against me in several ways to bring my reputation down and to kick me out of the company, which they eventually did.

I felt disappointed but slightly content since my work at odesk had kick started. I focused on my skills, developing them with ever chance I got. I would stay online for 13 hours shaping my work, struggling to balance myself on substantial grounds. I ended up straying away from my studies, my university. My peers made fun of me saying I wouldn't make it big outside in this big bad world. But I had faith in my God and myself.

Finally, My Way to Success

My curiosity and urge to succeed led me to polish my skills even further. I reached out to various top marketing personalities such as Steve Webs, Brian Deane and they guided me in ways I could not have imagined. But my motivation was Niel Patel. I saw myself in him, how he endured success with hard work.

I have successfully complete almost 4700 working hours on Odesk, with a rating of 4.9 and at this point I am working on several fronts.  In inclusion to that  I have successfully completed more than 600 projects privately.  Odesk itself was ready to hire me in order to improve their SEO Testing system, however I had to excuse because of my busy schedule and multiple goals. In addition to that Odesk also asked me to Join  their enterprise solutions, but I had to reject that too.

I have managed to build my own abode, get a car, and multiple gadgets with my handwork and determination. I started off with one laptop which was given to me by the government as a part of their program to help hardworking students. Now I own multiple laptops and lead a team of workers who are extremely loyal to me.

My clients directly reach out to me from different countries and I successfully manage to wow them with my knowledge and skills.

My Introduction to Plan9 TechHub

There is a famous IT center in Lahore I was highly fascinated with by the name of Plan9 TechHub. They saw my profile and appreciated me for my hard work and consistency. I was immediately invited my them to join their premises. This was my real foray to a whole new world; a professional environment where I got a chance to meet various professionals from different fields. I used to attend their conferences, and it won't be wrong of me to say that the TechHub officially groomed me.

The best part about this facility was the never ending support of their officials. The Program Manager was someone who made me believe in myself in the darkest of times. I got hold of several projects, several chances with the guidance of Plan9 TechHub.

I would request and suggest all the freelancers in Pakistan to join such a platform even if you are a pro in your field. I believe you can learn from several different things and dynamic institutes such as the TechHub.  From the intricate details of how to create a professional Skype profile to the larger goals.

I can be reached via my official Facebook page or through Twitter. You can also find me showcased in the list of Freelancers of the Plan9 TechHub Website. 

[plan9techhub]

Want to be a better freelancer in 2015? Start with these eight habit-forming tips!

The worst part about being a freelancer is that it’s virtually impossible to know whether you’re doing it right.

Well, that and the unpredictable, bone-dry weeks on end, staring at the mail slot wondering whether you will ever receive a paycheck again or will just have to go on shooting follow-up emails into the void and racking up credit card debt and eating oatmeal and saltines for the rest of your life. And the feeling when a big project is about to end and you are going to lose a massive chunk of your income and you have absolutely no clue where your rent is going to come from next month and maybe you will finally have to give up and take a desk job.

8. Forgetting about invoices

Look, I get it. You’re juggling a billionty-seven projects right now. Or maybe you’ve got a side hustle, or a full-time job. But there’s no excuse for fudging it. Say it with me: organization. Figure out a ledger system that makes sense in your brain. Color-code your business files, and regularly keep track of when you filed your invoices. Follow up often. If the delay gets nuts (like, two months or more), become annoying. It’s your money; your clients are not doing you a favor by giving you work. The more you allow even the small stuff to fall through the cracks, the easier it is for clients (who sometimes are big corporations who don’t give a damn about you, you miserable, insignificant content worm) to pay you at their leisure.

And for the love of god, save your stuff in the cloud. I’ve heard and experienced way too many computer-crash horror stories to allow us to continue this way.

7. Asking to ‘pick [another freelancer’s] brain’

Starting out as a freelancer is utterly terrifying. I can’t even imagine what it must be like to have the courage to quit the comfort of your full-time job to do this traumatizing thing. (My own entry into our profession was, shall we say, less voluntary.) However. This sounds harsh, but it needs to be said: stop emailing other freelancers with vague or general requests for advice. Unlike staffers with salaries and 401(k)s, these freelancers – like you! – measure time as directly proportional to their income, and as much as they likely want to help you, the more they do this for baby freelancers, the less time they have to make a living. It’s painful and awkward, and you don’t want to be put in this position later on, either, so let’s realign now.

When you’re floundering and you need help and you absolutely cannot find it elsewhere first, it’s best to make your requests specific, brief and few. If you have to, ask questions that show you’re doing the work on your own and simply need a tiny, itty-bitty bird’s-leg up from someone who has been doing it longer than you. Like with any job interview, coming to this person prepared and minimizing the amount of work he or she has to do to help you will maximize both your own takeaways and – even better – your relationship with that person.

6. Accepting these two words: ‘for exposure’

I know the dilemma you’re facing painfully well, first-timer. Do you work for free or for low pay, thus devaluing your work and incurring the scorn of your fellow freelancers for cheapening your profession’s worth, in the service of getting your byline out there? Or do you flop around like a flounder, trying desperately to get paid work and kickstarting your career without much professional clout? It’s a painful catch-22.

Luckily, there’s a happy medium. A good rule of thumb to follow is that if a client is asking you to work “for exposure”, he or she is probably a horrible person to work for, and the client or publication you’re pitching is probably not one that will actually do much for you. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but if you’re going to go down that road, do so extremely sparingly. Believe it or not, there’s plenty of paid work out there; maybe it doesn’t pay more than, say, 25 bucks a pop, but it’s better than nothing.

The more you let yourself be exploited, the more employers will exploit you, and it will leave you wasting away in Baristaville forever.

5. Doing work without first hammering out the details

This is one I had to learn the hard way (repeatedly, I might add), so I’m hoping you will fare better by taking heed and maybe avoiding this nightmare altogether. Always, always, always nail down exactly what will be expected of you and exactly what you will be paid in return for your services before you take on a new freelance project. Get it in writing – don’t take a rate over the phone.

If parameters seem vague, Murphy’s Law will definitely come into play and you are probably (definitely) going to get screwed down the line. Ask for clarification immediately. If you’re a writer, or you’re in a similar industry where the clients name their own prices, a quick “What are your rates like?” email shows you mean business. By the same token, if you’re naming your own rate, make sure your client knows exactly what they will be receiving from you – how many hours you will spend on this project, how many edits you will field and, most importantly, where the project has to end.

4. Sinking into your hobbit hole

It doesn’t matter whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert – nothing maims a freelancer’s career (and, by proxy, her spirit) like hibernation. Holing up, as nice as it is to work from home and mainline X Files episodes while you type (and never having to brush your hair), means you’re estranging yourself from the working world and, eventually, losing touch with reality. As obnoxious as it sounds, you have to be in it in order to keep working.

Get yourself to a cafe once a week. Go outside – adopt a dog or, if you can’t, look into dog-sitting or volunteering. Take drinks meetings with your clients. (I can’t stress that last one enough – putting a face to your emails is one of the only ways employers will remember you over someone else when new work comes up.) I’m not a doctor, but I would bet that seasonal affective disorder is five times as bad if you don’t leave the house. As a friend of mine put it recently: “If you hide in a cabin in the woods, it turns out more like Joss Whedon’s movie than great American literature.”

3. Pitching like a masochist

Depending on where a freelancer is in his or her career, and depending on what level of neurotic he has become since he decided to hitch a ride on this crazy train, he has one of two problems: either he is not pitching enough, or he doesn’t know when to quit.

If you’re the former, keep a notebook on you at all times (or Evernote on your phone if you’re fancy) to jot down snippets of ideas for new projects big and small that you can come back to when you’re freaking out about having no pitches. Come up with ideas that have staying power, ones out of which you can churn more than one assignment. Home in on your expertise, and make sure you’re exploiting that to the fullest.

If you’re the latter (like me), let’s use this year to identify our limits, shall we? Assess your style – how fast you work, what kinds of projects take you more or less time and, most importantly, how much time you usually take to recover from a project or to procrastinate up against a deadline – and give yourself a per-month project ceiling.

Don’t let it get to the point where you have seven assignments in the air in a span of two weeks and you suddenly feel like Hermione Granger without a Time-Turner. We all need to pay our bills, but we also need to sleep and eat and enjoy life.

2. Taking whatever work you can get

Here’s a secret: it may sound totally ridiculous, and maybe even a little entitled, but I swear to you, the best way to step up your freelance game is to start turning stuff down. You know that whole “dress for the job you want” thing? That Poor Richard’s proverb isn’t too helpful for the self-employed contractor.

Instead of dwelling on attire, independent contractors should internalize this instead: “Work and negotiate for the job you’re trying to build.”

Don’t limit yourself to small-potatoes pitches because you think that’s what you deserve. (More on that self-esteem thing in a minute.) Reasonably assess where you’re at this year: how much freelance work do you have to show for yourself? Enough to send a handful of relevant $75 project clips to a client who will pay you $150 for the same kind of work? If so, do it.

In conversations with other freelancers, I have recently started referring to this concept as “monkey-barring”: using the clips or projects you have already accomplished to gradually sell yourself up the food chain. (OK, technically, a more accurate image would be rock-climbing, but “monkey-barring” just sounds so great, doesn’t it?) If you get that $150 work, it’s time to wean yourself off of those $75 clients (or ask them for more).

Writers, if you keep selling your pitches to publications that pay $50, you will only ever make $50 per piece. Designers and musicians: if you keep underquoting your rates, you’re going to be stuck in that tax bracket forever. The goal is to establish a floor rate.

If you’re still here, alive in the freelance game, by definition you are worth more than that. So at some point you’ve got to stop settling for less.

1. Being awful to yourself

Not to get all Eat, Pray, Love on you, but seriously, make a plan to be nicer to yourself this year. Trust me when I say that I know all about the various forms of self-loathing that come with freelancing: from pre-emptive self-loathing that keeps you from pitching the clients you really want to work for, to the fear-induced self-loathing that sends you spiraling into panic attacks, depressive comas and other various oblivions that arise when you think you’re not doing this right, that you’ll never make ends meet or get anywhere you want and will just be a penniless scrub for all eternity. They will all show up, and they will show up often, possibly forever. Especially, studies show, if you’re a woman and/or person of color.

The trick is to account for that inevitability and fight it. Assemble a freelance posse to gripe to about this stuff. See a therapist as regularly as you can. Spare the expense of a transcriber or an ergonomic chair or a meal out if it allows you to work smarter and with less stress. Treat. Yo. Self. Seriously, give yourself a break. Give yourself many breaks. And try your best not to forget that if you’re doing this full-time, you’re responsible for having acquired every single cent that enters your bank account. You know that every time you write your rent check or pay a credit card bill, you worked your ass off for every dollar. And that is one of the coolest things about this profession. (Also one of the most exhausting, but you know, cool.)

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jan/26/eight-tips-to-be-better-freelancer-2015

[plan9techhub]

The Art Of Never Being Late!

It’s a terrible feeling, we’ve been there. But it changes for us. With years of research and experience with around 35,000 people around the globe, we believe being punctual is an art, and you can master it. Therefore, Kamran Zahid from Timelenders branched out ways to help you be punctual and manage work-life balance.

The art of never being late is very simple. It has two elements:

1. Correct time estimation: The first is to correctly estimate the time for all activities. Of course, we can’t become too scientific in this but a good guess is what we are looking at. So if this is traveling somewhere then how much time would it take from the beginning to the end? Similarly, if this is writing a report or working on a project then how long will it take? All it takes is to sit down and calculate the steps that an activity takes and individually calculate the time for each step and then add it up; the more complex the activity is, the more steps you should divide the task into.

2. Keeping a buffer: “The time incorporated into an activity that accounts for delays that can be anticipated.” For example in the above example, we can have traffic delays or a flat tyre. The length of the buffer differs from situation to situation. For example in the above case you may decide to keep a 15 minutes buffer. This means that you need to start moving at 2:25 pm and not 2:40 pm. A couple of simple exercises in the following pages will help you further solidify this concept.

[plan9techhub]

“Let’s keep in touch”: how to stay connected to former clients

When you were working for Client X, communication was simple! You emailed them, they emailed you; they gave you assignments, you finished on deadline. The rules were clear.

Then you finished up your work with them, submitted your final invoice, and wrote a “thanks for everything” email. They, in turn, thanked you – and said, breezily, “Keep in touch!”

And now here you are, hunched over your keyboard, sweating neurotically. It’s like writing to an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend that you want to reconnect with; how do you sound sane and friendly, while also expressing your interest?

Savvy freelancers know that the best clients are repeat clients – and that it’s much easier to reconnect with a previous contact than it is to establish a completely new connection. But “keeping in touch” is easier to say than do; how often should you check in with old clients? How do you touch base without sounding desperate?

Here are a few tips for keeping those overtures breezy, relevant, and productive:

Do your research

Before you write to Client X, snoop around Google, their website, and LinkedIn pages. Find out what their company’s been up to, and (if you can) if there’s been any staff turnover; nothing’s more awkward than asking your contact to “say hello to Bill!” if Bill was fired a year ago for verbally abusing Santa at the holiday party. If there’s been positive news, that’s an excuse to write to your client – and a good way to show that you’ve been keeping track of their work: “Congratulations on the Hoover Dam project! I wondered if you might need help plugging the leaks?”, etc.

Use the excuse of special occasions (or new offers)

Have you expanded your skill set since you last worked with Client X, you clever creature? Do you now do social media as well as web content, or coding as well as graphic design? That’s a great excuse for sending out a friendly little update email to your former client. Think of it this way: you’re just informing them that if they happen to need an editor who ALSO moonlights as a juggler, you can now fulfill both needs!

I also like to take special occasions, especially major holidays, as an excuse to stay on a client’s radar. Nobody objects to a nice “Happy Holidays, thanks for a great year!” message. If no major holidays are forthcoming, you can also invent your own special occasion – a kind of freelance event. What’s a freelance event? Why, it’s a special deal on project pricing you are offering to select clients, for a limited time – and wouldn’t you know it, they’re on that list?* You’re just writing to let them know about it! Aren’t you considerate?

*The point with this is not so much that they take advantage of your (modest) one-time deal; it’s to remind them that you exist. Don’t undercut your own prices, and make sure that you build in a deadline for clients to take advantage of any discount.

Keep it short

How many emails do you get a day? How often do you closely read the long ones?

Keep it short (3-5 sentences), keep it friendly and casual, keep it germane. Again, you’re just reminding Client X that you’re alive and that your services are available. You’re not sending out a digital newsletter – that’s a whole ‘nother animal. Newsletters are perfectly viable tools with their own tricks and traps; these strategies are for personalized emails to select clients.

Don’t expect a response

Sometimes you’ll send a carefully-crafted, researched email into the ether… and never hear back. Sometimes you’ll get a two-word blurb in response. Sometimes you will be deafened by the silence.

And sometimes, they’ll offer you a gig.

Don’t wait on tenterhooks for a response (and don’t take it personally if you don’t get one at all). It’s not necessarily a rejection! The point is more to keep in long-term contact than to land a short-term project. Make sure the email you send gives Client X your most current contact information and an invitation to get in touch; the ball is now in their court.

https://www.freelancersunion.org/blog/2015/01/05/lets-keep-touch-how-stay-connected-former-clients/

[plan9techhub]

Plan9 TechHub would like to wish you a prosperous "Happy New Year'2015" :) #HappyNewYearEverybody

[plan9techhub]

Pros and Cons: Working with Remote or Physical Team for IT Startups

Written by Janshair Khan - Mobile Freelance Developer & Entrepeneur housed at Plan9 TechHub. 

The original blogpost can be read here - http://janshairkhan.blogspot.com/2014/12/pros-and-cons-working-with-remote-or.html

The need of technology is increasing these days and machines are taking place of humans and this people are entering into this business. I am also the one who is managing an IT start-up and providing services to clients related to Mobile apps development and web development. So, sharing my experience in this article.

First, you need to decide about your preference for getting your work done? In brief, there are two possible ways.

1. Physical Team (In-house)  2. Remote Team In House work:  So, you own an office and people are coming at physical place to work. Finding Talent:

You can use local job portals to find people. i.e. indeed.com Pros:

1.       Everything will be happening in front of you.

2.      You can track your employee’s activities.

3.      You can maintain and get work done within schedule.

4.      Your code will be secure, after spending additional bucks on systems to ensure security. It includes purchasing legal services. Copying code for developers is not a difficult task, as couple of Giga bytes that your code contains can easily be sent on their personal computers.

Cons:

1.       It is possible that best web developers are living far from your office or they are not willing to relocate unless you offer them more than what they are currently earning.

2.      You will be bound to incur different expenses except salaries, for instance utility bills and maintenance cost.

3.      Physical office setup may require large sum of money.

4.      You may need to provide some stuff for staff entertainment e.g. food & drinks, television, or on-site games.

Best practice to manage In house work This may be an advantage if you are a technical person yourself. You have done programming in past to ensure that things are going on a right path. So, if you are not? Hire a project manager, whom you can trust. He / She should have strong technical background with liability to manage and deliver all your projects on time. Finally, securing your code. Remote Work:  Getting work done from people sitting at their home or offices or outsourcing your work to agencies. In short, not present in front of you. Finding Talent:  You can find talent from LinkedIn.com with titles like, IT consultant, Project Manager or freelancing sites like odesk.com or elance.com Pros:

1.       You can find the best talent as market will be global. 

2.      On freelancing sites, it will be easy to determine the best candidates by looking at their ratings and client feedback.

3.      No expense except salaries or you can pay them on project basis. 

4.      Programmers, Testers, Developers etc. can cost less if they are based in Asian countries.

Cons:

1.       Nothing will be happening in front of you. 

2.      Your code is not secure; the remote worker may use it and sell his own product.

Best practices to manage remote work Following these practices, you can overcome the issue of keeping track 1. Before starting a project, always sign an NDA (Non-disclosure agreement) to ensure that your product will not be used or idea won't be stolen. 2. Keep the code in sync, so you have everything in your hand, use team version tools such as SVN or .git 2. To keep track of their activities, use project management tools such as Asana or basecamp. Break down tasks and assign deadlines to be followed strictly. 3. If you are offering hourly jobs or fixed salary jobs. Then websites like Odesk (Odesk team) and Elance (Elance workview) provides software that monitors remote worker’s computers and takes screenshots. 4. If you are dealing with them directly, then take membership of sococo, i prefer this option because it provides you an option to share screen that helps monitor your employees. Freelance sites take maximum 6-7 screen shots in an hour but sococo is like video sharing of computer screen. Bottom Line:  I tried my best explaining this question on basis of my experience. I would suggest if security is main concern and you have enough budgets then go for in house development. Otherwise, remote working has many advantages. I am also managing my employees remotely because my findings suggest security issues will always be there. Securing your code is just like securing your bank. You can maximize the security as much as you want but there is no limit of talent on this planet and you are not sure if a smart geek is learning to benefit him. If you have got more questions, i will be happy to help you guys. You can find about me on LinkedIn: pk.linkedin.com/in/janshairkhan/ Or you can reach me via elance: https://www.elance.com/s/janshairkhan Skype: janshair.khan1 Email: [email protected]

[plan9techhub]

Career Management For Freelancers by Jazib Zahir

Jazib Zahir, Adviser Plan9 TechHub, Serial Entrepreneur, Educationalist and COO (Tintash Co.) spoke about guidance- career counselling for freelancers, finding the right path to grow and make a secure future even while staying as a freelancer. He spoke about expanding your skill set “You have an edge when you’re an expert in more than one area e.g. mobile and web development, project management is important, create opportunity for yourself, build profile, and enhance skills by education.”

Furthermore, networking is the most important thing you learn, connect and grow with people. Network effect that you get when you work at Plan9 TechHub is what makes you unique as you work with likeminded personnel. Have quick mental mapping when you meet people, discuss opportunities when you get to meet people, find ways to grow your career.

Moreover, Jazib spoke about how to communicate to the world about your expertise: have a profile, market yourself, use forums like:

LinkedIn- portfolio, explain your work experience, skills, concrete tasks, recommendations are very important from the people you’ve worked with, testimonials make you get noticed, your profile should help you take a step further, make it detailed- the more detailed the better.

Quora- use it to project to the world that you know everything, share your expert knowledge, digital economy.

Jazib Zahir can be contacted through the following:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jazibzahir

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/jazib-zahir/3/951/b62