Qasim Umer

freelance e-commerce media buyer

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Qasim Umer is a media buyer for e-commerce and a freelancer. He has run paid ads on Facebook, Google, TikTok, Pinterest and Snapchat. He and his two brothers became full-time freelancers after leaving a company where all three had worked.

Early life and background

Umer completed his high school and schooling in Quetta. He has said that all of his education has been in Quetta. [1]

Education

Umer enrolled in first year at a college. He said he took ICS, a computer science course, because he did not like chemistry. He said he got five F grades out of seven in his first year of college. He also said he did not understand his books and could not prepare for exams. He later passed his first and second years together in one year at a different college. [1]

Umer moved to Islamabad for higher education. He applied to a university through two tests, one for BSCS and one for BBA, and was offered admission to the university. He dropped out of university and holds no degree. [1]

Early career in Quetta and Islamabad

Umer moved back to Quetta and took a job installing security cameras with friends. He described the Quetta camera work as a partnership with friends rather than a job. He said he personally installed security cameras at National Bank branches in Quetta. [1]

Umer said his sister mentioned that many societies were being built around Islamabad. Umer and his father moved to Islamabad. He took a data intern job in Islamabad researching the contact details of real estate brokers and agents. He was referred to a Canadian who was opening an agency in Pakistan. [1]

Agency work in Islamabad

Umer said the projects were from the USA and Canada. He said he completed a course he needed to take in a single night and received a certificate. He said a CEO gave him a new course on Salesforce, a CRM. Umer said the CEO let some staff go and placed a sales team of eight people under him. He said he managed the team for six months and called it the best time. [1]

Umer said company hiring went through him. He said he called a friend from Quetta, gave him a job and set up a home for him. His brother joined him at his company the next day, and Umer said his elder brother was a project manager. He said he and his two brothers all worked at the same company. [1]

E-commerce and freelancing

Umer said that in '17 e-commerce drop shipping was booming in the industry. He described drop shipping as selling products sourced from China and shipped to the US, with the seller acting as middleman. [1]

Umer said he reached out for projects on LinkedIn, Upwork and Fiverr. He said the first project he got paid $1200 for setting up a store and doing email marketing for it. He and his two brothers left the company on the same day. Umer said he remains on good terms with the company's CEO and its employees. After leaving, Umer and his brothers became full-time freelancers. He said the company stepped back when COVID arrived. [1]

Media buying

Umer describes himself as a media buyer for e-commerce. He said he has run paid ads on Facebook, Google, TikTok, Pinterest and Snapchat, and that media buying stays relevant whichever ad platform is popular. He said that before running Facebook ads for a client, he makes sure ten things are in place on the client's website or store. [1]

Umer said TikTok was banned in Pakistan at the time he and his colleagues were ready to start offering services. He said he now offers TikTok services and gets clients from them. [1]

Twitter and LinkedIn

Umer said he began using Twitter in August 2021. He said he began putting content out on Twitter and LinkedIn, and that he offered free audits of ad accounts and ran a $5 ad for the offer. He said writing content is one of his weakest skills. Umer said he offered his services for free early on to earn a client review. [1]

Team and brothers

Umer said most of his long-term staff now work as independent freelancers who also work with him. He said he tells people that their salary ends after three months and that they then move to a project basis. He said he goes out to find the youngest people, aged 18 or 19, to hire. He said the qualified, well-settled people he hired lacked drive. [1]

Umer described the job of CRO as figuring out why 95 people are bouncing back from the store. He said his older brother is a CRO and his younger brother is creating content. He said he and his two brothers together cover the full e-commerce funnel. He said he attended a conference held shortly after Pakistan began giving a push to freelancers. [1]

Views

Umer said freelancing is a business and should be approached from a business perspective. He said every business owner is effectively a freelancer. He said it is very important that a person actually knows what they are doing, and estimated that 70 percent of people would say they had found a hack. He said people should put in a year of hunting for work, and that freelancing cannot be sustained for 40 years because people get tired. [1]

Umer said that if the eight hours were spent on their own work, they could do much more. He said e-commerce and digital were the things that were booming. He said that of 10 lakh freelancers, he expects 2 lakh to be smart enough to know how to scale themselves up. [1]

Umer said he wants to build a SaaS product and that the work he does for clients can be automated. He said one could launch a subscription model at $30 a month through which a customer gets everything done. [1]

Umer said the government projects 5 to 7 billion dollars of IT inflows into Pakistan by 2025. He said the official figure of 2.3 billion dollars understates IT inflows, which he said are upwards of 3.54 billion dollars. He said Pakistan must focus on its education system or it will stay in the same loop. He said Pakistan is a young country whose youth must be used well. He said he has great hopes for the current setup in Pakistan. [1]

Umer quoted his father saying that spending money well is an art, more than earning it. He said he does not invest in the stock market or mutual funds. He said bank savings are losing value and that Pakistan has investment opportunities. He said he would like to invest in a vacation resort in Gwadar if the opportunity arose. [1]

Personal life

Umer said his family has seven brothers and sisters. He said he booked a full coach with 28 people to travel from Islamabad to Quetta for his marriage. [1]

Timeline

2021
Began using Twitter[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2021-12-17 Freelancing is a business, not a passive income Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Qasim Umer?

Qasim Umer is a media buyer for e-commerce and a freelancer. He has run paid ads on Facebook, Google, TikTok, Pinterest and Snapchat. He and his two brothers became full-time freelancers after leaving a company.[1]

What does Qasim Umer do?

Qasim Umer describes himself as a media buyer for e-commerce. He said he now offers TikTok services and gets clients from them. He also said that before running Facebook ads for a client, he makes sure ten things are in place on the client's website or store.[1]

Where did Qasim Umer study?

Qasim Umer completed his schooling in Quetta. He later moved to Islamabad for higher education and was offered admission to a university. He dropped out of university and holds no degree.[1]

Which advertising platforms has Qasim Umer worked with?

Qasim Umer said he has run paid ads on Facebook, Google, TikTok, Pinterest and Snapchat. He said TikTok was banned in Pakistan at the time he and his colleagues were ready to start offering services. He said he now offers TikTok services and gets clients from them.[1]

How did Qasim Umer become a full-time freelancer?

Qasim Umer said he reached out for projects on LinkedIn, Upwork and Fiverr, and that the first project he got paid $1200. He and his two brothers left the company where they worked on the same day. After leaving, they became full-time freelancers.[1]

What does Qasim Umer think about freelancing?

Qasim Umer said freelancing is a business and should be approached from a business perspective. He said every business owner is effectively a freelancer. He also said freelancing cannot be sustained for 40 years because people get tired.[1]

What does Qasim Umer say about Pakistan's IT industry?

Qasim Umer said the government projects 5 to 7 billion dollars of IT inflows into Pakistan by 2025. He said the official figure of 2.3 billion dollars understates IT inflows, which he said are upwards of 3.54 billion dollars. He said Pakistan must focus on its education system or it will stay in the same loop.[1]

References

  1. Freelancing is a business, not a passive income . Thought Behind Things , 2021-12-17.
Show the source passages (79 statements)
  1. Qasim Umer completed his high school and schooling in Quetta. Ji, maine high school aur schooling wahin se Quetta se ki.
  2. Qasim Umer has said all of his education has been in Quetta. Actually all the education I have, it's from Quetta.
  3. Qasim Umer enrolled in first year at a college. After that maine FG College mein admission liya first year mein
  4. Qasim Umer said he took ICS, a computer science course, because he did not like chemistry. Computer sciences maine start kiya tha because I don't like chemistry, so that's why I picked up ICS.
  5. Qasim Umer said he got five F grades out of seven in his first year of college. in the first year I got five Fs out of seven.
  6. Qasim Umer said he did not understand his books and could not prepare for exams. Mujhe books toh bilkul bhi door se mujhe guzarti thi aur mujhe samajh nahi aata tha aur main papers ki tayyari kar hi nahi sakta tha.
  7. Qasim Umer later passed his first and second years together in one year at a different college. Second year, dusray college se attempt kiya aur Allah ka shukr hai, on that one year I passed first year and second year together on that one year.
  8. Qasim Umer moved to Islamabad for higher education. uske baad I shifted to Islamabad for higher education.
  9. Qasim Umer applied to a university through two tests, one for BSCS and one for BBA. Islamic University mein maine do test mein apply kiya, BSCS mein and BBA mein.
  10. Qasim Umer was offered admission to the university. aur mujhe Islamic University mein admission mil gaya.
  11. Qasim Umer dropped out of university and holds no degree. Main university se drop out ho chuka hoon, koi degree nahi hai
  12. Qasim Umer moved back to Quetta and took a job installing security cameras with friends. main wapas Quetta chala gaya aur wahan pe dost yaaron ke saath yeh ek choti job thi, security camera installation thi.
  13. Qasim Umer said he personally installed security cameras at National Bank branches in Quetta. ke National Bank jo Quetta mein hain saaray, un sab mein security cameras maine apne haath se install kiye hain.
  14. Qasim Umer described the Quetta camera work as a partnership with friends rather than a job. It was not kind of a job, it was like a doston yaaron ke saath partnership thi.
  15. Qasim Umer said his sister mentioned that many societies were being built around Islamabad. Toh in between meri behn ne refer kiya ke Islamabad ke gird-gird kaafi societies ban rahi hain.
  16. Qasim Umer and his father moved to Islamabad. Toh main aur abu aa gaye Islamabad.
  17. Qasim Umer said his family has seven brothers and sisters. ab hum log saat behn bhai hain mashallah se
  18. Qasim Umer took a data intern job in Islamabad researching the contact details of real estate brokers and agents. It was a job of data intern. The job was basically to search up data of real estate brokers and agents
  19. Qasim Umer was referred to a Canadian who was opening an agency in Pakistan. that CEO referred me to another guy which was from Canada, opening an agency in Pakistan.
  20. Qasim Umer said he completed a course he needed to take in a single night and received a certificate. Mujhe woh course karna tha, maine woh course poora kiya, ek raat ke andar complete kiya, certificate liya
  21. Qasim Umer said a CEO gave him a new course on Salesforce, a CRM. That CEO called me again, gave me a new course, Salesforce is a CRM,
  22. Qasim Umer said the CEO let some staff go and placed a sales team of eight people under him. unhon ne unko farigh kar diya aur mujhe mere upar unhon ne sales team daal di aur sales team ke andar aath log thay.
  23. Qasim Umer said he managed the team for six months and called it the best time. Woh chhe mahine jab maine unko manage kiya, was the best year, was the best time.
  24. Qasim Umer said the projects were from the USA and Canada. lekin the project was from USA and Canada, us side ka tha.
  25. Qasim Umer said company hiring went through him. jab koi hiring hoti thi toh it went through me.
  26. Qasim Umer said he called a friend from Quetta, gave him a job and set up a home for him. Quetta se bulaya usko, usko job pe di, usko ghar setup karke diya.
  27. Qasim Umer said his brother joined him at his company the next day. Aur next day mera bhai jo hai woh mere saath meri company mein aa gaya.
  28. Qasim Umer said his elder brother was a project manager. my elder brother was a project manager.
  29. Qasim Umer said that in '17 e-commerce drop shipping was booming in the industry. At that time it was 17 and e-commerce drop shipping was booming a lot in the industry.
  30. Qasim Umer described drop shipping as selling products sourced from China and shipped to the US, with the seller acting as middleman. Drop shipping is you get product from China and you ship it to US, there you are the middleman.
  31. Qasim Umer said he and his two brothers all worked at the same company. hum teeno bhai us company mein ho gaye
  32. Qasim Umer said he booked a full coach with 28 people to travel from Islamabad to Quetta for his marriage. main 28 log ek puri coach book karke first time Islamabad se Quetta gaye. Achha. To attend my marriage
  33. Qasim Umer said he reached out for projects on LinkedIn, Upwork and Fiverr. main LinkedIn pe ja, projects throw kiye, Upwork pe throw kiye, Fiverr pe throw kiye
  34. Qasim Umer said the first project he got paid $1200 for setting up a store and doing email marketing for it. the first project I got was for $1200 for setting up a store and doing email marketing for that.
  35. Qasim Umer and his two brothers left the company on the same day. Aur same day all of three brothers we left that company with a good stance.
  36. Qasim Umer said the company stepped back when COVID arrived. Jab Covid aa gaya toh woh company khud step back lena shuru ho gayi
  37. Qasim Umer said he remains on good terms with the company's CEO and its employees. Kya aaj bhi uske CEO ke saath meri achi achi dosti hai, bahut achi unke employees ke saath badi achi dosti hai
  38. After leaving, Qasim Umer and his brothers became full-time freelancers. after that we became full on freelancer
  39. Qasim Umer said that if the eight hours were spent on their own work, they could do much more. agar yeh 8 ghante apne upar laga rahe hain toh we can do so much more.
  40. Qasim Umer said e-commerce and digital were the things that were booming. lekin e-commerce and digital was the things which were booming.
  41. Qasim Umer describes himself as a media buyer for e-commerce. for me, I am a media buyer in e-com for e-commerce.
  42. Qasim Umer said he has run paid ads on Facebook, Google, TikTok, Pinterest and Snapchat. So I do paid ads, Facebook ads, Google ads, TikTok ads, I've done a lot, Pinterest ads, Snapchat ads
  43. Qasim Umer said media buying stays relevant whichever ad platform is popular. jo bhi platform hoga, marketing and media buying is always there.
  44. Qasim Umer said TikTok was banned in Pakistan at the time he and his colleagues were ready to start offering services. and the time we were ready to start offering services, Pakistan TikTok ban ho gaya.
  45. Qasim Umer said he now offers TikTok services and gets clients from them. we are back now and I am offering TikTok services right now, getting a lot of clients from there.
  46. Qasim Umer said he began using Twitter in August 2021. I started doing Twitter um in in the August 2021
  47. Qasim Umer said he began putting content out on Twitter and LinkedIn. Lekin maine put out karna shuru kar diya Twitter pe, LinkedIn pe, throw karna shuru kar diya.
  48. Qasim Umer said he offered free audits of ad accounts and ran a $5 ad for the offer. doing free audits of your accounts, of your ad account for free. And maine us pe $5 ka ad chala diya.
  49. Qasim Umer said writing content is one of his weakest skills. Mujhe content likhna mera bahut weak hai.
  50. Qasim Umer said it is very important that a person actually knows what they are doing. But it's also very very important that you actually know what you're doing.
  51. Qasim Umer estimated that 70 percent of people would say they had found a hack. There will be 70% of the people will just go and say ki yaar yeh hack mil gaya hai
  52. Qasim Umer said freelancing is a business and should be approached from a business perspective. Freelancing is actually a business. You need to think about from a business perspective.
  53. Qasim Umer said that before running Facebook ads for a client, he makes sure ten things are in place on the client's website or store. before doing Facebook ads, these are the 10 things we need to make sure are there on your website, on your store, then we do that.
  54. Qasim Umer said every business owner is effectively a freelancer. Every single person doing business is a freelancer because they are offering something to someone and getting paid out of it.
  55. Qasim Umer said that of 10 lakh freelancers, he expects 2 lakh to be smart enough to know how to scale themselves up. in 10 lakh mein se 2 lakh aise honge jinka itne smart honge ki woh apne aap ko scale up karna jaante honge
  56. Qasim Umer said most of his long-term staff now work as independent freelancers who also work with him. jitne bhi mere mostly mere employees hain jo mere saath long term kaam kar rahe hain, they all are now independent freelancers
  57. Qasim Umer said he tells people that their salary ends after three months and that they then move to a project basis. 3 month ke baad tumhari salary khatam ho jayegi aur tum project base pe aa jaoge.
  58. Qasim Umer said he goes out to find the youngest people, aged 18 or 19, to hire. I go out and find people who are youngest, 18, 19
  59. Qasim Umer said the qualified, well-settled people he hired lacked drive. Jab maine unko qualified log aur well settled logon ko hire kiya na toh unke andar drive nahi thi.
  60. Qasim Umer said people should put in a year of hunting for work. Saal lagao aap. Saal lagao, hunt karo.
  61. Qasim Umer said he offered his services for free early on to earn a client review. I started offering my services for free just to get a review, a feedback from a client.
  62. Qasim Umer said he wants to build a SaaS product. I want to build a product, a SaaS.
  63. Qasim Umer said the work he does for clients can be automated. jo kaam main kar raha hoon na is time for people, this can be automated
  64. Qasim Umer said one could launch a subscription model at $30 a month through which a customer gets everything done. ek subscription model launch kar do ki yaar if you buy this for $30 a month, you get everything done.
  65. Qasim Umer said the government projects 5 to 7 billion dollars of IT inflows into Pakistan by 2025. the numbers that the Government of Pakistan is giving is ki by 2025 we're looking at 5 7 billion dollars coming into Pakistan through the IT industry
  66. Qasim Umer said the official figure of 2.3 billion dollars understates IT inflows, which he said are upwards of 3.54 billion dollars. abhi is waqt government ne jo number diya hua hai woh 2.3 billion ka diya hua hai, halanki it's upwards of 3.54 billion dollars.
  67. Qasim Umer said Pakistan must focus on its education system or it will stay in the same loop. if we don't start putting focus on our education system, we will be in this loop
  68. Qasim Umer said Pakistan is a young country whose youth must be used well. ek jawan mulk hai, ek youth ka mulk hai aur agar hum is youth ko properly utilize nahi karenge
  69. Qasim Umer said he has great hopes for the current setup in Pakistan. But I have really great hopes with the current setup we are in the country.
  70. Qasim Umer quoted his father saying that spending money well is an art, more than earning it. mere abu kehte hain ki paisa kamana art nahi hai, paisa kharch karna art hai.
  71. Qasim Umer said he does not invest in the stock market or mutual funds. You don't do stock market or you don't do mutual funds or I don't do that until now.
  72. Qasim Umer said bank savings are losing value and that Pakistan has investment opportunities. Bank to devaluate kar raha hai bilkul paisa. Pakistan mein opportunities bilkul hain.
  73. Qasim Umer said he would like to invest in a vacation resort in Gwadar if the opportunity arose. So agar mujhe opportunity di jaye, so I want to invest in Gwadar for uh in in a sense of vacation resort and something like that.
  74. Qasim Umer described the job of CRO as figuring out why 95 people are bouncing back from the store. So CRO's job is going to be to figure out why these 95 people are bouncing back from the store
  75. Qasim Umer said his older brother is a CRO. So my older brother is a CRO.
  76. Qasim Umer said his younger brother is creating content. So the younger brother is creating content.
  77. Qasim Umer said he and his two brothers together cover the full e-commerce funnel. So we three brothers are a full funnel of e-commerce.
  78. Qasim Umer said he attended a conference held shortly after Pakistan began giving a push to freelancers. Main us conference mein tha. Pakistan just recently started giving push to freelancer. Right. They had just a conference in PC Bhurban.
  79. Qasim Umer said freelancing cannot be sustained for 40 years because people get tired. You can't do freelancing for 40 years now. Yeah. Aap thak jaoge.