u/akhtar_btw

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so i was broke, no clients, just refreshing my email hoping someone would reply.

i started posting in communities, engaging with people, sharing free value and slowly things started moving.

first client came from a random comment i left on someone's post. second from a dm. third from a referral.

now i have a small system running, building websites, doing outreach for clients, managing their online presence and my calendar is actually filling up.

the biggest thing i learned — stop pitching, start helping. people hire you when they trust you not when you spam them.

if you're just starting out drop a comment, happy to share what actually worked for me

so last month i was doing manual linkedin outreach, creating multiple accounts, sending connection requests one by one, spending 3 to 4 hours daily and barely getting any replies.

someone told me to try a linkedin automation tool, i was skeptical honestly but i tried it anyway.

first week i got 23 replies, second week i got 5 clients. i literally just set it up and let it run in the background while i was doing other work.

if you're still doing manual outreach in 2026 you're just hurting yourself.

what tools are you guys currently using for linkedin outreach? would love to hear what's working for others 👇

so last month i was doing manual linkedin outreach, creating multiple accounts, sending connection requests one by one, spending 3 to 4 hours daily and barely getting any replies.

someone told me to try a linkedin automation tool, i was skeptical honestly but i tried it anyway.

first week i got 23 replies, second week i got 5 clients. i literally just set it up and let it run in the background while i was doing other work.

if you're still doing manual outreach in 2026 you're just hurting yourself.

what tools are you guys currently using for linkedin outreach? would love to hear what's working for others 👇

so last month i was doing manual linkedin outreach, creating multiple accounts, sending connection requests one by one, spending 3 to 4 hours daily and barely getting any replies.

someone told me to try a linkedin automation tool, i was skeptical honestly but i tried it anyway.

first week i got 2 replies, second week i got 5 clients. i literally just set it up and let it run in the background while i was doing other work.

if you're still doing manual outreach in 2025 you're just hurting yourself.

what tools are you guys currently using for linkedin outreach? would love to hear what's working for others

I'm 18, based in Kolkata, India, and I'm at a crossroads with my career. I need honest advice from people who've actually been in the trenches.

Here's my background:

\- \*\*Sales\*\* – 5 months experience. I actually enjoy talking to people and closing deals feels satisfying to me.

\- \*\*Marketing\*\* – 8 months experience. I understand the basics but it didn't excite me as much.

\- \*\*Freelancing\*\* – Done 1 project. Like the independence but don't have enough clients yet.

\- \*\*Tech\*\* – Never worked at a company. 2 years ago I was learning Android dev. Recently I've built 2 apps using React and Next.js (vibe coding style). Haven't touched it seriously since.

My situation:

\- I need to start making real money in the next 1-3 months (not someday, NOW)

\- Long-term I want to be an entrepreneur, but I don't know which path leads there faster

\- I'm willing to work hard but I need to pick ONE thing and go all in

My gut says Sales because I naturally enjoy it, but I keep second-guessing myself because "Tech pays more" and "Freelancing gives freedom."

For those who've started their career in any of these fields in India:

\- Which one gave you income the fastest?

\- Which one actually helped you build towards running your own thing?

\- What would YOU pick at 18 with my background?

Be brutally honest. I'd rather hear the hard truth now than waste another 6 months confused.

Thanks 🙏

I'm 18, based in Kolkata, India, and I'm at a crossroads with my career. I need honest advice from people who've actually been in the trenches.

Here's my background:

\- \*\*Sales\*\* – 5 months experience. I actually enjoy talking to people and closing deals feels satisfying to me.

\- \*\*Marketing\*\* – 8 months experience. I understand the basics but it didn't excite me as much.

\- \*\*Freelancing\*\* – Done 1 project. Like the independence but don't have enough clients yet.

\- \*\*Tech\*\* – Never worked at a company. 2 years ago I was learning Android dev. Recently I've built 2 apps using React and Next.js (vibe coding style). Haven't touched it seriously since.

My situation:

\- I need to start making real money in the next 1-3 months (not someday, NOW)

\- Long-term I want to be an entrepreneur, but I don't know which path leads there faster

\- I'm willing to work hard but I need to pick ONE thing and go all in

My gut says Sales because I naturally enjoy it, but I keep second-guessing myself because "Tech pays more" and "Freelancing gives freedom."

For those who've started their career in any of these fields in India:

\- Which one gave you income the fastest?

\- Which one actually helped you build towards running your own thing?

\- What would YOU pick at 18 with my background?

Be brutally honest. I'd rather hear the hard truth now than waste another 6 months confused.

Thanks 🙏

I'm 18, based in Kolkata, India, and I'm at a crossroads with my career. I need honest advice from people who've actually been in the trenches.

Here's my background:

- **Sales** – 5 months experience. I actually enjoy talking to people and closing deals feels satisfying to me.

- **Marketing** – 8 months experience. I understand the basics but it didn't excite me as much.

- **Freelancing** – Done 1 project. Like the independence but don't have enough clients yet.

- **Tech** – Never worked at a company. 2 years ago I was learning Android dev. Recently I've built 2 apps using React and Next.js (vibe coding style). Haven't touched it seriously since.

My situation:

- I need to start making real money in the next 1-3 months (not someday, NOW)

- Long-term I want to be an entrepreneur, but I don't know which path leads there faster

- I'm willing to work hard but I need to pick ONE thing and go all in

My gut says Sales because I naturally enjoy it, but I keep second-guessing myself because "Tech pays more" and "Freelancing gives freedom."

For those who've started their career in any of these fields in India:

- Which one gave you income the fastest?

- Which one actually helped you build towards running your own thing?

- What would YOU pick at 18 with my background?

Be brutally honest. I'd rather hear the hard truth now than waste another 6 months confused.

Thanks 🙏

I've been deep in development on a focus and task management app for a while now, and before I go further, I want to stop and actually listen.

I've used Forest, Focusmate, Todoist, TickTick, Notion, and a dozen Pomodoro timers. They all work — technically. But I keep feeling like something fundamental is missing, and I suspect I'm not alone.

So I'd love honest answers to a few questions. No agenda, no pitch — just trying to build something that doesn't suck.

What actually frustrates you about the focus apps you currently use? Not "the UI could be prettier" — I mean the stuff that makes you abandon a session halfway, or uninstall after two weeks, or go back to a plain sticky note.

Do you feel like your app understands how you work? Or does it just record what you did without ever giving you anything useful back?

What time of day do you feel most productive — and does your app help you protect that time, or is it completely blind to it?

Have you ever avoided a task for days while it sat in your list staring at you? How did your app handle that? Did it do anything, or just sit there silently?

What would make you actually look forward to opening a focus app — not out of obligation, but because it gave you something genuinely useful?

I'm particularly curious about people who've tried multiple apps and still feel like nothing quite fits. What's the gap that nobody is filling?

Drop anything — a rant, a single sentence, a specific feature you've wished existed for years. Everything helps.