The Pulkit Rastogi Podcast: Recent Episodes
Pulkit
In this podcast, we hear stories from leading experts and interesting personalities who offer practical advice on business, funding, health, parenting, investing and many things in between. Hosted by Pulkit Rastogi - the co-founder at Daminico and Farmsnation.
You can learn more about Pulkit Rastogi and his podcast at www.pulkit.org
In this episode, I speak to Germanjit Sandhu. German is one of the most successful freelancers I know, as he consistently earns Rs. 5-6 Lakhs per month, working as a freelance Shopify developer. German and I first met on Upwork around 8 years ago and since then we have worked together on dozens of eCommerce projects. I have seen this guy grow very close and very fast. Not only he is good at printing money as a freelancer, what sets him apart from other programmers I have worked with is this guy’s work ethic and his down-to-earth nature.
In this episode, we take a deep dive into his life as a freelancer, how he started as a newbie, how he grew his freelance business to 5-6 Lakhs per month, his Upwork strategy, and a lot more - we seriously covered a lot of ground.
I suggest you listen to our discussion even if you’re not a programmer, as the principles we go over apply to any type of freelancer, whether you’re a digital marketer, writer, graphic artist, etc.
You can German on Instagram
I had a blast speaking to German and I can promise - you will find many hidden gems that you can use to multiply your earnings as a freelancer. So, without any further ado, please enjoy my fun-filled, wide-ranging discussion with none other than our Punjabi jatt boy - Germanjit Sandhu.
Starting and running a digital marketing or technology agency can be hard. You have to find clients, build a team, then build a positive work culture, systems and processes to ensure the machine works as expected to make money. And then you have to also stay ahead of the learning curve. Even if you manage to do everything thing, it’s common to see agency owners paying the price with added stress, sleep deprivation, and anxiety.
In this round 2 of my discussion with Pancham Prashar, you will be reminded how your personal growth contributes to your agency growth and how both things have to go hand-in-hand. Pancham and I take a deep dive into aspects such as the importance of running your agency without losing your mind. We talk about important yet rarely discussed sides of agency business, including – finding good business partners, how to make business partnerships work, how to be more authentic in your sales calls, the books that had the biggest impact on Pancham’s life, and a lot more.
I highly recommend that you also check Round 1 of my discussion with Pancham here. Have questions? Leave them in the comment section below.
My guest for today’s episode is Pancham Prashar @Pancham_Prashar Pancham is one of the co-founders at Cueblocks, a one of its kind technology and marketing agency based in Chandigarh. If you’re an agency owner and looking for ideas to grow your digital marketing or technology agency, I highly recommend you listen to this conversation and also check out Cueblocks.com to get a sense of how this agency is different from all the stereotypical agencies and IT companies you might have seen.
I had the opportunity to work with Pancham closely for close to 2 years and it was a life-changing experience. When I thought of starting a podcast, Pancham was right up there on the list of the people I would like to interview.
The biggest lesson I learned from him is that one doesn't have to be an asshole to do well in life and neither I have to outsmart people to make a good living. I can be honest, ethical, and kind, and still do well for myself.
If I rewind the clock - Meeting Pancham was just what the doctor would have advised me to help me fix many broken areas of my life. It’s very hard to meet him and not be charmed by his simplicity and intellect.
Pancham is a vegan and total health nerd. I have run many half marathons with him - something I hope to cover in my future conversations.
In this part 1 of our discussion, we speak about many wide-ranging topics including how he positioned Cueblocks with his two business partners to charge a high hourly rate of $60 per hour (which btw is at least twice as compared to companies in India), how to build a lasting relationship with clients, what his framework for good decision making, how one can deal with an insult, how he built such a strong company culture, and many other ideas that can help you grow your business and live a happier life.
Without further ado, please dive into my conversation with none other than Pancham Prashar. I hope you enjoy it.
I chose Chhavi Firani to be my guest on my officially first ever podcast. Why did I do that? There has to be a good reason for me to start with Chhavi. No, she is not featured by Forbes. No, she is not a billionaire. No, she is not famous either - probably only a few people outside her relative, friends, and work circle know her. But yet, I couldn’t be more excited to have her as my first podcast guest.
The first reason is that Chhavi runs a Software Development company by the name of Dikonia which she started not long ago. Her company builds software, apps, and custom web applications. Her business was profitable since day one. She is a top seller on Upwork, her software development business is very super profitable. I wanted to ask her - how did she runs her agency business, how she finds clients, how she is managing her business, the daily routines that help her become the person she is.
Secondly, despite being so efficient - Chhavi is one of the most relaxed and chilled people I have met in the business of tech. Whenever I ask her - “Chhavi, do you have time for this?” She always replies - “Yes Pulkit, I always have time”. As a person who is nearly not as relaxed like her and someone who is dealing with at least a dozen monkeys dancing in my brain, it was therapeutic for me to talk to her. And it’s my sincere hope that listening to my conversation with Chhavi helps you put your own monkey mind in check so that you can think more clearly, as you advance towards your own life goals
On a side note, Chhavi used to be my supervisor when I started my career. I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with her, and I couldn’t be more excited to talk to her and relive the good old days of my younger self. How I started and do a quick revision of the things I learned while working with her.
If you’re in the agency business, and especially if you make money by building and selling technology to clients, and wondering how you can grow your web development company, you have to and have to listen to this conversation.
So, get ready to take notes. I am sure that listening to this will help you become a better person, and also make your agency more profitable.
It was an honor talking to Chhavi. I sincerely hope you dig it.