Everyone remembers their first income. Mine was not a salary or a proper job. It was a small online order from a stranger who trusted me through a computer screen. But the story behind that moment started many years before my first 100 dollars.
I grew up in Usta Muhammad, a small town in Balochistan. After school, I used to work for 5 rupees a day. Yes, five rupees. That was when one dollar was around one hundred rupees. So you can say I earned almost five cents for a whole day of work. My monthly income was around 150 rupees. That means one and a half dollars in a month.
That was my start.
Small income.
Small tools.
Small world.
But the dreams were never small.
Around 2010, I discovered the internet. It was slow, noisy, expensive, and very limited in my hometown Usta Muhammad Balochistan, but it still felt like magic. There were no YouTubers teaching freelancing, no online courses, no mentors, (or i was unable to find) and no one to guide us. We only had one thing. Curiosity.
I spent hours in internet cafes trying to understand how people made money online. I searched for anything related to blogs, writing, translation, or online work. I tried many small things. I failed many times. I tried again. I failed again. Something inside me always told me to continue.
During that time, many people around me did not believe in online earning. Some friends laughed. Family members said I was wasting my time. They asked how someone could earn money just by sitting in front of a computer screen. I heard all of it. I learned to ignore it. I kept going because my heart knew I was building something.
My first earning was not a salary or a job. It was a small order from a stranger sitting somewhere far away who trusted my skills through a computer screen. I started by offering writing and translation services on Fiverr. Slowly I learned how freelancing really worked.
I did this for almost four years without any big reward. I learned, I failed, I tried new things, and every mistake taught me something.
Then in 2016, everything changed.
I received my first 100 dollars online. A single order. A single client. One hundred dollars.
My first $100 in PayPal
At that time, one dollar was around one hundred Pakistani rupees. So 100 dollars meant ten thousand rupees. For many people it was not a huge amount, but for me it was life changing. Because ten years before that moment, I was working for five rupees a day. Only five rupees. About one and half a dollar in a month.
And now I was earning ten thousand rupees from one project, using my laptop, from my hometown, in a place where people still believed online earning was a joke.
I still remember the moment when the PayPal email came. My hands were shaking. My heart was fast. It was not about the money. It was about the belief. That day I finally knew it was possible.
The funny part is that in Pakistan, PayPal was almost impossible to use. Even EasyPaisa was new at that time and many people believed mobile money was a scam. But there I was, living in Quetta, receiving international money through PayPal. I still remember how I smiled at that moment. Because sometimes people laugh at you until the same people start learning from you.
Even today, PayPal is not directly available in Pakistan. But there are legal ways to use it by forming a company or a small legal entity in the US, UK, or UAE. It takes some effort, but nothing is impossible if you want to build a digital career.
Today everything is easier. You have free resources. Free courses. Free mentors. Free AI tools. Even this newsletter you are reading is free. You do not need to spend four years like I did. You do not need to sit in internet cafes. You do not need to guess what to do.
If I could earn my first 100 dollars in 2016 with slow internet and zero guidance, then you can do much more today with all the tools available.
Your first earning may not be big. It may not come fast. But when it comes, it changes everything.
Believe in small starts. They lead to big futures.
If you want to learn more real experiences, simple tips, and step by step guides for earning online, you can join my free newsletter at khalidgraphy.com/subscribe.
Let us grow together, one step at a time.
