The Journey So Far

The Beginning

I started my development journey in December 2025. For months, I put in serious effort trying to land my very first client — cold calling clinic after clinic, sending cold WhatsApp messages, and even preparing free demos on spec. Nothing worked. Every attempt ended in silence.

The Last Call of the Day

After yet another exhausting day of cold calling with zero results, I decided to make one final call before giving up for the day. I found a number for Al-Fazal Hospital on Google Maps and dialed it — thinking of it as my last attempt of the day.

The call lasted barely 10 seconds. The person on the other end simply said, “WhatsApp me the details.” I didn’t waste a second — I sent everything over on WhatsApp immediately. To my surprise, I got a reply the very same day: “Okay, prepare a demo.”

Building the Demo

I got to work right away, building the demo as fast as I could. It needed to be ready by Sunday, when we’d agreed to meet and discuss it. I put in the hours, refined it, and had it ready in time.

The Meeting

On Sunday, I presented the demo to Dr. Yasir. He was genuinely impressed with what he saw — and that’s when the real conversation about the project began.

Sealing the Deal

We moved into negotiating the project. I proposed building a custom frontend website, with domain and hosting to be handled on the client’s side. What followed was a quick back-and-forth on price:

• I proposed 30,000 PKR
• Dr. Yasir countered with 25,000 PKR
• I came back with 28,000 PKR
• He met me at 27,000 PKR
• I agreed.

The Build

Once the deal was sealed, I got straight to work on the dentist’s website. Development moved quickly, and I completed the entire project by the 17th of the month.

The Outcome

After the website was completed, Dr. Yasir paid me the full 27,000 PKR as agreed. As a gesture of goodwill — and to go beyond what was expected — I also provided the website hosting to him for free, as a gift.

This project became my very first paying client. And it didn’t end there — over time, this relationship grew into an ongoing partnership, leading to significant additional work on the platform.

View the live site

The Lead

I kept up the cold calling and cold WhatsApp routine, still with no results — until April 10th, when I messaged another solar company. He asked for a demo, so I put one together and shared it with him. He liked it and said, “Let's set up a meeting.”

The Scheduling Back-and-Forth

Setting up the meeting itself turned into a small ordeal. He suggested 3 PM — I messaged at 3 PM, no response. Then he messaged back at 9 PM. We chatted a bit and agreed on a new time. I messaged at that time — again, no reply. Then he called around 6 PM, catching me off guard, and asked if I was free to talk. I said I'd be free at 10 PM. When I called at 10, he said he was busy and suggested a video call at 8 AM the next morning instead. I agreed.

The Video Call

We finally had our video call on April 14, 2026, where we discussed everything in detail. Since this was another solar company — and I had already built a solar company's website before (Al-Noor Solar Energy) — I had a good sense of the scope going in.

Negotiating the Price

Because I already understood the solar business website requirements from experience, I initially quoted 80,000 PKR. Since he was pushing back on price, we negotiated down and settled at 74,000 PKR.

• I quoted 80,000 PKR
• We settled at 74,000 PKR
• Advance received same day 44,000 PKR
• Final payment 35,000 PKR

Getting Started

Before anything else, I bought the domain so I could get some basic website files live early. Matching his business name, I registered: zmsolarelectric.com

I got the initial site live, and by 3 PM I had built on it further. That same day, at 9 PM, he sent me an advance of 44,000 PKR.

A Complication Mid-Project

As I kept working, his cousin — who was also a developer — got involved in the project. Every meeting we'd had up to that point suddenly had his cousin inserted into the middle of it, and he started trying to get more work out of me beyond scope. I kept working through it, but it kept escalating.

Eventually, I spoke directly with the real client (the actual business owner) to sort things out. He told me: “Just hand over the website files/server access to my cousin.” I agreed, confirmed with him directly, then sent the IP/files and transferred the domain to his name.

The Final Payment

The owner then sent me the remaining 35,000 PKR, completing the full 74,000 PKR payment.

The Outcome

After that, he never contacted me again for further work — this was my only client where the relationship ended after a single project, likely due to the cousin situation. Every other client I've worked with is still connected with me and comes back for more work.

View the live site

The Idea

After completing the backend for Dr. Yasir's website, work with him kept growing. One day, I personally suggested to him: “Do you use any software to manage your clinic?” He said no — everything was still being handled manually. With the reception getting 60–70 patients a day, I felt he genuinely needed proper software. So I pitched him the idea of building a custom CRM.

He said, “Sure, give me an idea.” Within a day or two, I built a mobile app demo and shared it with him. He liked it, but said he had some additional ideas of his own. I agreed to incorporate them too, and we kept discussing the requirements back and forth over WhatsApp for the next 3–4 days — sometimes he was busy, so it moved slowly.

Deciding to Go In Person

Since I'm based in Multan and he's in Lahore, and I rarely travel outside my own city, doing this remotely was getting difficult. Around this time, I happened to be at a friend's place — someone who had studied at UET Lahore and topped his class there. I told him about the situation, and he offered to come along with me, since my family normally wouldn't let me travel alone.

On May 19th, at around midnight, I called Dr. Yasir and told him I wanted to visit his clinic in person to build the software on-site. He was genuinely happy and said, “Most welcome, come over.” During that call, we also settled the package — I quoted him around 120,000–125,000 PKR for the lifetime software build, with full ownership handed over to him. He agreed in principle but felt the package was a bit too high.

The Trip Falls Apart, Then Comes Together

I did a bit of shopping to prepare for the trip, since I was going with my friend. But at the last moment, my friend backed out, which caused some tension at home, and I ended up on my own. With Dr. Yasir already expecting me, I couldn't back out either.

So instead, I messaged my cousin — who lives in the city — to book train tickets, since I'd always wanted to experience traveling by train and had never done it before. He booked us tickets for Sunday, with the train departing at 4 PM from Multan Cantt.

The Train Journey

My younger cousin and I boarded the train that afternoon. I sent Dr. Yasir a heads-up that we were on our way. He said, “No problem, I'll try to pick you up myself since I don't have a driver.”

The journey itself was rough — the economy-class seats were the only tickets available (business class wasn't open), and we ended up covered in dust and dirt by the time we arrived. Our clothes, which we'd carefully picked out for a good first impression, were completely ruined.

Arriving Late at Night

We reached Lahore around 9 PM. I called Dr. Yasir a few times, but he didn't pick up right away — both my cousin and I got increasingly anxious, being in an unfamiliar city at night with someone who'd invited us but wasn't answering. After a few more calls, he finally answered — he'd been busy having dinner. He then booked us an InDrive ride to get to the hospital, since I didn't have the app installed.

We showed up at Al-Fazal Hospital looking like a mess — dust-covered clothes, disheveled — while Dr. Yasir was still out at home for dinner (the clinic was closed for the evening by then).

Meeting Dr. Yasir Face-to-Face for the First Time

This was our very first in-person meeting — until then, everything had been over chat, not even a video call. When he saw the state we were in, he understandably thought we looked a bit rough around the edges. Still, his assistant showed us upstairs to an empty patient room where we could wash up and change into fresh clothes.

Around midnight, once things quieted down, I finally got to meet Dr. Yasir face-to-face in his cabin. He turned out to be an incredibly kind person — he treated us like his own kids. Even though I had enough money on me, we hadn't eaten anything all day. Noticing this, he insisted on giving me 1,000 PKR from his own pocket to go get food, despite my repeated attempts to decline. He said, “You're like my kids, just take it.”

We met his wife too, who is also a dentist. Dr. Yasir himself is a gold medalist dentist — and by every account, a genuinely good human being. After he left for home, my cousin and I went out, grabbed food, and got back to the room around 1 AM to sleep.

The Next Morning

We woke up at 7 AM. Since the clinic didn't open until 12 PM, we freshened up and stepped out to find the streets still quiet, with nothing open yet. Eventually we found a hotel that had just opened and had breakfast there.

Back at the clinic, we spent a couple of hours working on some website-related tasks while waiting. This time, we made sure to dress properly in formal wear (pant-coat) — though the “first impression” damage from the previous night's dusty arrival was already done.

The Requirements Meeting

At 12 PM, Dr. Yasir gathered his staff — doctors and nurses — and we had a proper face-to-face requirements meeting. He was very open and detailed in explaining what he needed, and I noted down all the key points.

Building On-Site

Back in the room, I analyzed the existing manual system, mapped out a complete flowchart, and built a full roadmap based on his requirements. I started development using AI tools (Claude's free tier) to help move faster.

Within 2–3 days on-site, I built the complete application in Flutter, exactly matching the concept we had planned out remotely, now fully implemented. At the time, the clinic didn't even have a proper computer — they were using a touchscreen LCD and managing everything through Excel. I built out the full system including WhatsApp integration, automated reminders, and a token/queue system.

Testing & Debugging

A few days later, Dr. Yasir got a new computer and printer for the clinic. When I tested the software on the new setup, several issues came up — errors related to printing, the token system, and the clinic's logo rendering. Fixing and testing these issues took another 3–4 days on-site.

Training the Staff

Once the new computer was set up at the reception, I started training the receptionist on how to use the software. She was fairly new to this kind of technology — she'd previously only worked with Excel and struggled even with basic typing — so I walked her through everything step by step.

Waqas, the clinic assistant who had been looking after us throughout our stay (arranging our meals and taking care of anything we needed), was also trained alongside her, since he would be helping guide the staff on using the system going forward.

By the fifth day, Waqas had a solid handle on how everything worked. By the sixth day, I had completed all remaining tasks and delivered a full day of training. Dr. Yasir was satisfied and gave the go-ahead: “Okay, this is good.”

Wrapping Up and Heading Out

On the seventh day, around Maghrib time (5 PM), it was time for me to head off — I was going to stay at my cousin's place in another part of Lahore, near where my paternal aunt lived.

Before leaving, I met Dr. Yasir's wife, who is a genuinely kind person, and also his nephew — a 6th-semester BS Engineering (IT) student — who came by to see the software and approved of it.

I met Dr. Yasir briefly as he was in the middle of seeing patients. He thanked me and said I was free to go. Regarding payment — he had already given me 15,000 PKR as an advance during the build, and said he'd settle the rest later. I told him not to worry about it.

The Payment Comes Through

I left for my aunt's/uncle's place and stayed there for a day. The next day, my cousin and I went out to a park, then decided to visit Minar-e-Pakistan since we were already in Lahore. From there, we went to Anarkali Bazaar, where I did some shopping — around 50,000 PKR worth, including some formal wear.

Right around that time, Dr. Yasir sent me 55,000 PKR via WhatsApp, saying: “Umair bhai, take this — my work isn't running smoothly yet, the software isn't fully in use, nothing's really moving.” I reassured him this was normal — transitioning from an old manual system to a new software system always comes with an adjustment period, and his receptionist would get the hang of it with time. He accepted that and sent the payment anyway.

Heading Back to Multan

On the eighth day, my cousin booked our return tickets, and we headed back to Multan that night, arriving around midnight. My older cousin picked us up and dropped us home, where we had a late dinner around midnight before finally getting some sleep.

The Outcome

With that, the on-site CRM/software project for Dr. Yasir was complete. This remains one of my strongest, longest-running client relationships — starting from a single cold call to a full end-to-end digital transformation of the clinic.

• Phase 1 — Frontend website 27,000 PKR
• Phase 2 — Backend, admin & WhatsApp 40,000 PKR
• Phase 3 — Flutter CRM (15k + 55k) 70,000 PKR
• Grand total — still active 137,000 PKR

View the live site

The Decision to Build Something of My Own

After coming back from Lahore with decent money from Dr. Yasir's project, I realized something important: I couldn't just keep providing services to clients forever without building something of my own — some kind of backend/product I actually owned. So I decided to invest that money into building my own SaaS idea.

Finding the Idea

I called up a developer friend, and we spent an entire day together — browsing the internet, social media, grabbing food, and even brainstorming with AI — trying to land on the right idea. Eventually, we landed on one: a platform where people could come and hire local service providers — plumbers, engineers, and other everyday local workers — all in one place.

Planning It Out

I spent the next 2–3 days on research — building out a flowchart, preparing documentation, and writing a full README/MD file along with several other planning documents.

Building DoorSkill

I named the product DoorSkill — the idea being that every kind of worker/skill would be available on the platform. I got to work and spent about 15 days building it out.

Around this time, budget became a concern — I didn't have any other paid client work coming in, so this became my main focus. I pushed through and completed it: doorskill.com

A local service marketplace connecting customers with everyday service providers — plumbers, engineers, and more.

View DoorSkill

The Long Follow-Up

This lead actually came from a Meta ad I ran back in July — but it didn't convert until September, after a lot of persistent follow-up. Dr. Asad Zeeshan is a senior dentist running Zeeshan Dental Clinic in Peer Mahal. Initially, he felt my rates were too high, so I held off, but stayed in touch since he seemed like a genuinely good person to work with.

Understanding the Requirement

He needed clinic management software. I listened to his requirements, and after some back-and-forth on pricing, quoted him roughly 20,000–25,000 PKR. We had a full one-hour call on the night of September 5th (around 8 PM) where I understood his needs in detail. He agreed to move forward.

Building the First Version

I started building on a Friday and shared the first version with him by Monday. He appreciated the work but said he wanted to move forward with a proper in-person meeting first before finalizing anything.

The In-Person Meeting — September 11th

We agreed he'd travel to Multan for a face-to-face meeting on September 11th (a Friday). Since I don't usually go to hotels or unfamiliar places, I suggested a small hotel near my home instead of the location he initially proposed, and he agreed to come there.

I went on my bike with a friend, and he arrived by car. We sat down, ordered pizza and cold drinks, and had a long, detailed discussion — about 3 hours total, from 2 PM to 5 PM.

Being a senior, experienced professional, he tested me with a few technical questions during the conversation — at one point I blanked on a term and got a bit nervous, but managed to steady myself and get back into a clear explanation of the concept and how the system would work. We worked through his requirements together in detail.

At the end, he ended up paying the bill himself before I could — which left me a little uncomfortable, since as the host, that was meant to be my responsibility. I followed up afterward to acknowledge that and apologize for not treating him properly as my guest.

Finalizing the Price

After the in-person meeting, once I understood his full requirements in more depth, we revisited pricing. The initial quote had been 20,000–25,000 PKR, and he'd already sent 5,000 PKR as an advance before the meeting. After the meeting, we finalized the total price at 35,000 PKR.

• Initial quote 20,000–25,000 PKR
• Finalized total 35,000 PKR

Building the Software

After the meeting, I got to work building out his full application — covering printing, custom layout requirements, and automation features he specifically needed.

Payments So Far

On September 19th, I reached out asking for an urgent partial payment, and he sent an additional 10,000 PKR.

• Advance (before meeting) 5,000 PKR
• Sent on Sept 19 10,000 PKR
• Received so far 15,000 PKR
• Remaining balance 20,000 PKR

Current Status

As of September 21, the build is about 95% complete. I shared an updated version today — the last remaining issue is a print layout that isn't rendering correctly yet, which the client is now reviewing.