Ways to Earn Online in Pakistan Without Investment

I remember reading about people who have already done what I wanted to do. Reading about it gave me the confidence that “if they can do it, then I can do it too!” I share my stories with you in the same manner – to show you it is possible, and then to show you how it is possible.

When I was at college, I had a very simple reason to earn money. I wanted to make money so I can spend it. Revolutionary I know.

But there was a challenge, that if you want to earn money in Pakistan, you are told that you have to cheat and lie to do that. That was my biggest fear. I wanted to earn money in an honest, ethical manner. I saw some people following the easiest ways of earning money in Pakistan, but that was based on dodging or downright cheating.

But God is Kind, and I was able to find teachers and entrepreneurs who were doing it right.

It is only God’s Grace that I was able to make money as a student in Pakistan. I was in University between 1999 and 2004, and during that time, I was earning 30,000 rupees per month average. Back then, you could buy one tola of gold for about 6,000 rupees. Compared to today (in 2024), this is equal to earning a million rupees per month, and that as a student! This still sounds ridiculous to me, but you can read about my earning money as a student story on that detailed blog post.

This gave me the confidence that it is possible to earn money in Pakistan, and do it in an honest, ethical manner. So by God’s Grace, this money-making business ideas list is different.

How to Earn Money in Pakistan, the Unusual List

This is not your usual list of earning money in Pakistan.

This is different. And hopefully more useful because I have actually done each of the listed businesses. And none of them as such were “easy”. They are simple, yes. As you will see in this detailed post, many of the businesses you can still start today, many from the comfort of your home… and be ethical and honest and very profitable at the same time. InshaAllah.

Some of the business ideas answer the question: how to earn money online in Pakistan? And other business ideas are offline businesses that you can start.

I have tried to be brief and helpful, but these are 15 ways of earning money — and it is packed with actionable ideas for you to start (or improve) your journey of making money in Pakistan.

Note: One can easily make a full-time income doing any of these projects. Some of the ones listed here still contribute to my bottom line one way or the other, by God’s Grace.

The idea behind these offline and online business ideas is not to get rich quick, in fact, it is not even to get rich the way we understand rich to be.

The idea is to creatively start projects, explore different opportunities and see which one might stick, which one suits you and your choice of lifestyle. That’s actually a very high level of freedom one can work towards. InshaAllah.

So, in no specific order, here are the 15 projects you can start to make money…

1. Sell Website Design

I have earned money by selling website design to local (Pakistan-based) companies.
This is first thing I did, while still at college.

I would just walk into stores and such, and ask if they want a website. Many a times, this approach did not work (I now know why it didn’t work), but sometimes, it did. I made my first website in the year 2000 I think. Never looked back, as they say.

How you can start selling website design (in Pakistan and anywhere else for that matter) will be easier for you if:

• you dress up like a bloody CEO – no one wants to give money to this kid in a t-shirt and flip flops. You’ll be a kid even if you are 40 when you go to client meeting wearing a t-shirt and flip flops
• if you think you can finish the project in say 7 days, then tell the prospect that you will finish the project in 21 days. Yes, don’t double it to 14, triple it to 21. Then deliver it in less time and you’ll get yourself a very pleased customer. Also you get to say “I/we overdeliver in our services”!
• Make sure everyone knows that you are now making websites; your first few customers will definitely come from within your close network of friends, so ensure they all know.

2. Make Money with Freelancing

Nowadays (in 2022), earning money from freelancing in Pakistan is the “in” thing, and a lot of college students from different universities across Pakistan are trying their hand at freelancing. Which is great. But back in the day, I had a large group of friends (Alhumdulillah) and none of them were doing freelancing!

I guess back then being an entrepreneur (or even just a freelancer) was not considered as cool as it considered now – I was considered unemployed, not self-employed! 🙂

In those times (between 1998 to 2002), the biggest marketplace for international freelancing projects for Pakistanis was Elance. It was later merged into Upwork, which is of course now the biggest freelancing marketplace in the world.

My Experience as a Freelancer from Pakistan

I got a total of 2 projects, totaling a whopping 600 US$ – that was a decent bit of money for a student in Lahore.

Both projects were web applications (back in the day, we’d call them databases or software, surprise, surprise – now they’d be called apps!).

And it seemed to take forever for me to actually start bidding on projects, as I would only stalk other contractors/providers, see their earnings stack up, telling myself one day, I will earn as much.

Turns out I didn’t want the sheer level of commitment and time it takes to open an office, manage a team, and run a business. This was my first experience with knowing the difference between running a business and owning one; I know now that I don’t want to run businesses, I would rather own a business that somewhat doesn’t need me to run (to know more about this owning and running thingy, check this post).

How can you earn money with Freelancing from Pakistan

I will tell you both ways of earning money with freelancing, one method is the online one, and the other one is where I feel the most money can be made!

Online Freelancing from Pakistan

• You can sell a lot of different services on Upwork or Fiverr.
• There are just tons and tons of different categories to choose from, from accounting, to writing, to graphic designing, to software development and a whole lot more. So whatever your current skill, or whatever skillset you want to develop, you can try your hand there.

PRO TIP: Focus on writing a winning proposal. This means you have to learn selling and you will have to learn copywriting. I am not kidding but this will be the number one difference between you and the others bidding for the same projects – your ability to write clearly and powerfully is a super-power, trust me!

Too many creatives – writers, designers, coders etc – think selling is beneath them; it’s sleazy or something. Well, ever heard of a best-writing author? NO! We only hear of the best-selling authors. I really want to drive this point home for you: learn how to sell ethically, honestly and with your words – because those folks are making all the money with their creative expression.

The Best Type of Freelancing in Pakistan

This type of freelancing is something that you are probably overlooking right now.

I am getting more and more convinced about the best type of freelancing that you should focus on.

That is, while building your profile, make sure you are building your brand as well! Building a personal brand is one of the best long terms strategies you can have.

Freelancing in Local Markets Vs International Market(places)

In this interview of a successful freelancer (4000+ Fiverr clients alone!), we talk about focusing on the local market as well.

Way too many students and professionals from Pakistan are now focusing on freelancing on international marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork. What does that mean? That means there is a lot more competition.

Think about it like this: say you want to get a website made, and you post a project on a site like Upwork or Fiverr. You have immediate access to top talent from across the world! Not just Pakistan, but from countries across the world!

Now imagine if you don’t post your project on Fiverr for your website project, but you ask your friends, or other shopkeepers and store owners for references (like it used to be before online marketplaces).

Now the people bidding on that project are extremely, extremely low. If you are in that group of freelancers, you have a much, much higher chance of getting that project.

That’s why I always encourage people to sell locally! Visit 10 shops or stores, ask them if they need website design services or social media marketing services or graphic design services. Present yourself properly and follow up. You will be absolutely stunned by the response you get.

In 1998, I was earning an extra 30,000 rupees per month as a student doing just that (click here to read my exact journey of earning money as a student). I still had access to Elance etc, but I was getting better business from the local, Lahore market!

Please do not write off the local market, because you know what, so many talented freelancers ARE writing off the local market and bidding on international projects. This leaves a lot of room for you to start growing your freelancing business in Pakistan, inshAllah.