The story of Muhammad Haris’ success is any freelance software developer’s dream. The company he co-founded (ThemeFusion) has made over $4 million dollars from selling a single WordPress theme: Avada. The narrative is quite powerful in its message, focusing on the three-storey house that this venture’s earnings have allowed Haris to build. The purpose of documenting this success is to encourage other freelancers to innovate and develop more revenue generating ideas. We’ll focus on what there is to learn and apply.
Connecting Across Borders
The internet has allowed us to be connected to the world at all times and through various platforms. What this also means is that no one is too far away as long as they are connected to the internet. Haris found his US-based business partner, who he still hasn’t met in person, on the internet. An initiative on his part to contact a person whose WordPress designs he liked – turned into a collaboration which turned into success. Had Haris limited himself to his current network or tried to do everything on his own, he might not have been able to meet the same fortune that he did.
It is important to collaborate, and your location shouldn’t limit you in terms of who you reach out too. Collaboration can bring great results as combining different skill sets and creating synergies often results in a sum that is greater than its parts.
Working From Home
ThemeFusion’s team is spread all over the world and work remotely from their home offices. The video capturing Haris’ story shows him sitting in bed with his laptop and working away. This means that once you have the right tools, the lack of availability of a proper working space shouldn’t stop you from pursuing your dreams and working to your full potential. Working from home can work wonders in the freelancing world – and it allows you the kind of flexibility and comfort that office-commuting peers would give anything for.
International Platforms
Haris found his success on an Australia-based marketplace for html templates and themes: ThemeForest. His story has been filmed and featured by Envato: the online company that powers ThemeForest. If you have a great idea or excellent skills, tapping into these open-for-all platforms that reward you based on merit and performance, can help you progress greatly.
The Product Isn’t Everything
Another lesson to be learnt from this story is that the product, in this case the WordPress design, alone is not enough to ensure success. Customer support is key, and has played a significant role in spreading the world about the design. Satisfied customers benefit the business by spreading the word and sharing their positive experiences within their networks. The opposite is true for dissatisfied ones. It takes a lot of dedication to make sure that all your customers are satisfied and are delivered a service that exceeds their expectations.
User Friendliness Is Key
It’s not just customer support that needs to be focused on, the product should take the first step by being everything that the customer wants. The user experience is crucial – you might have a great idea but if you are unable to get through to the user, the idea is lost. This idea could be for an app, game, website or any other product – you need to think from the user and customer’s perspective in order for it to succeed.
Hard Work and Passion
While ThemeFusion might sound like a one-hit wonder that got lucky with this one WordPress theme – that would be the wrong conclusion to make. Envato has captured the account this way to encourage WordPress and html developers to seek the same success via their platform so they, too, can make more money.
What it really is, is the result of years of hard work and passion resulting into well-deserved success. A passion for web development and working hard to produce a great product led to ThemeFusion’s success. It is great to see Pakistan-based developers contributing to the international markets and making a significant mark with their work.
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