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Name: Salma Jafri
Company: WordPL, a provider of content marketing and social media services
Industry: Marketing & PR
Location: Karachi, Pakistan
Reason for Starting: I had lost my job and learned I was pregnant the very next month. When my child turned 1, I was ready to work again but didn’t want to do an office job and leave her. So I started my business from home. I started with content writing, and moved into marketing, eventually offering the full suite of content marketing services.
How do you define success?: A good day is when I’ve impacted a client’s work for the better and my kids are happy, safe and cared for.
Biggest Success: I helped launch Pakistan’s premiere online shopping portal by providing all the content marketing and social media services. In one year we reached over 100,000 Facebook fans, thousands of newsletter subscribers and exceeded sales targets. I’ve also recently started working with the marketing agencies of Fortune 500 companies.
What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it?: For a while I was the primary earner in the family, which caused immense pressure on me to provide. As a result my business decisions were based more on survival and immediate income rather than developing future products or expansion. However, now our financial situation is loads better and I am looking to invest in long-term earning potential and not just the quick buck.
Now my biggest challenge is to get more work done in less time. I believe in working smarter, not harder. I earn more in 4 hours of work per day than some of my peers earn working 10-12 hour days. So my biggest challenge is to keep that momentum going with the many distractions that I face daily: kids, housekeeping, errands, relationships, social events, etc. To make it work I must have laser-like focus and be able to work in short bursts of concentration – something I have to constantly train myself to do everyday.
Who is your most important role model?: I admire many people online. Most are self-made entrepreneurs, some are women. Here’s a short list: Marie Forleo: She’s helped me see that each one of us possesses a valuable gift and the world deserves to see what we can do. Tim Ferriss: For helping me understand the difference between running a business and owning a business. Marc and Angel: For their inspirational blog which I often tweet from and which sets the positive tone to my day.
Website www.wordpl.net
Twitter @salmajafri
Facebook www.facebook.com/ContentMarketingTips
Read about another Marketing & PR entrepreneur here!
Edited by The Story Exchange.