Hira Saeed

06/25/2024

Or let’s say the art of identifying your own pitfalls but choose to dance around them instead of breaking free. Do you often do that?

05/29/2024

Motherhood is a beautiful journey filled with chaos and joy. Team CaterpillHERs has setup an online webinar where Faiza Yousuf and expert speaker Tahira Bano will share their insights and experiences to help you embrace being a real parent, not a perfect one.

Sign up here: https://shorturl.at/WVunE
📅 Date: Saturday, June 1, 2024
⏰ Time: 3PM-4PM PST

09/22/2023

CaterpillHERs built Pakistan's leading freelance career accelerator training hundreds of women to make $$$ with their laptops and also placing them into different organizations where they're killing it.

The times are constantly changing and we need your help in reshifting things and repainting a picture of the digital skills landscape in Pakistan. Your insights will help us understand what's in demand and what people are eager to learn and excel in.

It will take only 5-10 minutes of your time can make a world of difference!

Link to survey: https://lnkd.in/dm2EQgPj

02/15/2023

Pakistan is the land of delicious biryani, beautiful landscapes, and surprisingly good WiFi. Yes, you heard that right - Pakistan is not just a country of cricket-loving, chai-drinking folks but also a hub of talented remote workers who are ready to tackle any job thrown their way, as long as it doesn't involve waking up before 10 am.

So grab a cup of karak chai, sit back, and let's explore why Pakistan is ready for the remote jobs revolution:

Young Population: Pakistan has a large and growing population of young people who are highly educated and tech-savvy, making them ideal candidates for remote work.

Improving Internet Infrastructure: Over the past few years, Pakistan has made significant strides in improving its internet infrastructure, including the rollout of 4G and 5G networks. This has made it easier for people to work remotely from almost anywhere in the country.

Growing Freelance Market: Pakistan has a growing freelance market, which is expected to reach $2 billion by 2025. This is largely due to the increasing number of highly skilled professionals in fields such as IT, engineering, and graphic design who are looking for remote work opportunities.

Cost-Effective Labor: Pakistan's labor costs are much lower than those in many other countries, making it an attractive destination for businesses looking to hire skilled professionals for remote work.

Government Support: The Pakistani government has recognized the potential of remote work and is taking steps to encourage its growth. For example, it has launched a "Digital Pakistan" initiative aimed at promoting digital literacy and increasing the country's technology infrastructure.

In the picture: Attabad lake, Hunza Valley, Pakistan.

02/14/2023

Working remotely for me has been both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, I get to avoid driving and work from the comfort of my home.

On the other hand, I risk becoming a hermit who talks to plants more than other people.

Here’s how I stay sane in the process:

Dress up for work - Just because you're not in the office doesn't mean you should wear your pajamas all day. Dress up in your favorite work attire to feel more professional and motivated. Plus, your pets will appreciate the effort.

Take breaks and move around - Sitting at a desk for hours on end is not good for your physical or mental health. Take frequent breaks to stretch, do some yoga, or even dance to your favorite song. Your pets might think you have lost, but they don’t pay rent and don't have a job either so you shouldn’t care.

Set boundaries - It's easy to work all day and night when your office is in your living room. Set specific work hours and stick to them. Don't answer emails or take calls outside of those hours. You need time to relax and recharge.

Talk to someone other than your pets - It's important to socialize with other human beings, even if it's just through video calls. Schedule virtual coffee breaks or happy hours with your coworkers. Share a funny meme or story to lighten the mood.

Embrace the weirdness - Working remotely can be strange and surreal at times. Embrace the weirdness and find humor in the absurdity. Wear a funny hat to your next video call or make a silly face when no one is looking. Laughter is the best medicine, after all.

Remember, working remotely doesn't have to be a lonely or stressful experience. Change your scenery and trust me any scenery is better than the four walls you used to stare at in your cubicle.

02/11/2023

Do you EVER get good at networking?

My answer is NO. You just learn to regulate your anxiety.

The notification is when I was at a networking event and my anxiety went through the roof causing my heart rate to increase.

Over the years, I have been on the stage countless times. Have spoken at Netflix (freaking dream come true!). Have sat on multiple panels.

Every single time, it IS the same.

The spotlight is on me. What do I say? How do I introduce myself?

Oh, all these people are WAY more successful than me. I should just leave.

Millions of similar thoughts run through my mind.

I have severe social anxiety and COVID made it worse. Here are some tips for you if you struggle with striking the conversations at networking events.

1. Prepare one-liners Think about some potential conversation starters and make a list of questions or topics you might want to use to strike up a conversation. This can help you feel more confident and in control of the conversation.
2. It’s not about you, it’s about them: When you're anxious, it can be tempting to focus on yourself and your insecurities. Instead, try to shift your attention to the other person and their interests. Ask them questions and listen attentively to what they have to say.
3. Shower Compliments: I LOVE YOUR lipstick shade! That’s a nice tie! Compliments put the other person at ease and can help lighten the mood and break the ice. Just be careful to avoid making jokes that might be insensitive or offensive.
4. Small talk is okay: Don't feel pressured to jump into a deep, meaningful conversation right away. You can start by making small talk or commenting on something in your immediate environment. Then, as you become more comfortable, you can gradually steer the conversation toward more meaningful topics

Happy awkward networking, you introverted kittens!

02/10/2023

Companies, International Women's day is coming. Here's what you can do instead of hosting photo-ops and inviting women to the panel asking the same obvious questions on repeat.

1. Implement family-friendly policies such as paid parental leave, flexible work arrangements, and affordable child care options. In many households women still have care work responsibilities despite their full-time jobs.
2. Ensure equal pay for equal work through regular pay equity audits. It may not be an intentional practice in your company, but the more you know, the better you can be.
3. Offer training and development opportunities, including mentorship and sponsorship programs, to help women advance in their careers. We messed up for last few decades and all of this can help leveling the play field.
4. Foster a culture of inclusiveness, free from harassment and discrimination. That includes encouraging women in your company to report ANY form of harassment. Casual, verbal, formal, ANY.
5. Increase representation of women in leadership positions and on boards of directors. Let’s be honest most members there did not do jack sh to deserve that seat and many women in your company have.
6. Provide accommodations for disabilities and different abilities, including physical and mental health. Most important for women who are suffering from postpartum depression.

Women’s day is not the day where you celebrate someone’s passing in their memory. It’s the day to reflect and to be better. We do not want FREE pizzas but equal pay. Do not invest in events that bring no change, invest in the policies.

02/09/2023

Have you ever been on a stage, stuttered for a moment, and then the whole presentation went downhill? I have been through this situation more than I'd like to admit. Here are 3 tips I followed to gain the momentum back and rock it:

1. I start looking at people's forehead instead of their eyes. It may seem funny but the issue is not that you stuttered, the problem is you feel embarrassed because all eyes are on you. To fix that, remove eye contact and look at people's foreheads, they won't know if you're not making eye contact and you will feel less anxious. Tried and tested.

2. Make a joke. This works all the time. Make people laugh before they even understand what happened. It takes their attention away from it and they get a laugh too. It calms your nerves down, gets you attention, and helps you gain your confidence back.

3. Improvise and fix the error later. If you have forgotten a number, year or anything just say whatever comes to your mind and later when you have your rhythm back. Apologize to people and say that it was an error.

I shared these tips with one of my mentees last night because she was super scared of her pitch and mentioned that she cannot get over it once incidence this happened.

Thought to post it here. Hope it helps!

12/09/2022

Join us live and ask questions from these four powerhouse women discussing Product Management 101 here:

Product Managers are responsible for the planning and ex*****on of a product's lifecycle. But what exactly does this role entail? Join us for a conversation ...

11/03/2022

CaterpillHERs has partnered with Atlas Corps to run an accelerator for women entrepreneurs and leaders in Pakistan. Join the announcement here 🚀 will be speaking in 5 mins.

09/24/2022

09/24/2022

Not the type of topic I usually talk on my Instagram but have to say it because it’s so normalized that no one sees through this title 🙏🏾 What are your thoughts?

08/02/2022

From working on Upwork to working with Upwork.

CaterpillHERs has partnered with Upwork, the world's leading work marketplace. We will be working with their team to help women accelerate their freelancing careers on the platform. Probably the only company in Pakistan right now doing this. (Correct me if I am wrong)

Press release: https://propakistani.pk/2022/07/29/caterpillhers-partners-with-upwork-to-coach-women-on-freelancing-careers/

Two years ago when CaterpillHERs was started, it was a women's entrepreneurship BootCamp that I wanted to run alongside my full-time freelancing career.

In 2020, we raised some money and became entrepreneurship acceleration for women 100% remote to reach cities where Govt. funded centers were not reaching.

In 2021, Faiza and I reached out to corporate partners and started Pakistan's first career acceleration program for women, and expanded our work in upskilling women in professional careers. No Govt. funding, no grant, just a handful of yes from random people and supporters.

2022 gave us terrible unit economics. Still struggling with pipeline and scalability issues but giving 100% to each customer (women in our case). No one graduates from CaterpillHERs feeling we didn't support them enough. I know we will find a way.

What keeps us going? A hope that it's needed. That the work we are doing is important and partnerships like these just make us hang in there for longer. Truly excited to announce it here and looking forward to working with Upwork on keeping this hope alive.

If you have ever supported CaterpillHERs, even if by sharing our posts on socials, THANKYOU!

Two exciting partnerships are underway for this year. Watch this space to stay updated on our journey!

CaterpillHERs — a Pakistan-based company that helps women launch and scale their businesses and careers — has partnered with Upwork — the world’s work

07/03/2022

Today is the last day to apply for cohort III of our career accelerator. Apply today to work with us for the next 12 weeks.

My favorite part of this recruitment campaign is when two buddies apply together and hold each other accountable in the journey!

If you apply with your friend, you both receive an exciting discount and only pay PKR 30k or $200.

Go to the link in my bio and I hope to see you kickstarting your freelance journey with us in July!

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06/24/2022

Faiza Yousuf is hosting a masterclass on YouTube right now! Join in 👋👋

Lots of freelancers are on this hamster wheel of delivering work for pennies and are unable to take a breather just because they are working with clients who...

06/15/2022

I am hosting a FREE masterclass this Friday for all newbie freelancers who are trying to build their portfolio and are not sure where to start. We also give a discount code for CaterpillHERs freelance track. If you're interested in applying, get in asap. There will be 20 mins Q/A in the end.

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/CU8PjvczJb3oGEYKA

06/12/2022

The only way is to trail-blaze. When you’re at the top, look behind and pave a path for others.

Too many people hide out what made them successful and never open about the struggles they had to endure.

Be open. Tell the world how you reach where you are.

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06/12/2022

Spare my conscientiousness 🙏🏾

05/25/2022

If you have reached out to me on Instagram with the question "How can I improve my writing?" I am sure I have shared this with you already. The answer is to keep writing.

No one starts perfect and no one has figured it all out. The most basic advice I can give to beginners is to never forget that you constantly have to practice practice and practice.

I hope you all are doing great!💕🙂

05/16/2022

It’s May 16 2022 and CEO is getting p**p 💩 emoji from - We have come really far in this journey you all thank you for joining 😛😂

05/16/2022

Choices and decisions. They make things happen 🌸

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04/26/2022

I may be biased but this is the most beautiful post you'll see on your Facebook feed today 🥺💝🥰

Women from our CaterpillHERs Freelance Career Accelerator graduation ceremony yesterday. Nearly 45% of the cohort has already landed their freelance gigs and has earned more than 50k just within weeks.

I am so proud of them, our mentors, our experts, and my team to pull this off so successfully and of course our partners Arbisoft S&P Global Stewart Pakistan Private Limited NdcTech Techshaw for making it happen!

Off to the next cohort starting May 🎉🎉

04/25/2022

Hira Saeed is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at CaterpillHERs, a digital platform, and accelerator that helps women build and scale their businesses and careers.

Join us for the Girls in ICT Summit 2022. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CFLh3ZxjThqq8TF2zCprIA

Ananke

04/24/2022

Bitcoin mining is extremely energy-intensive — and that fact is undeniable, no matter if you love it or hate it.

That's because it requires significant computational processing power, which in turn demands tons of electricity. Mining computers become more energy efficient all the time, most without significant drops in their energy use. It could have far-reaching implications for the climate crisis.

Some industry experts say the solution is to mine bitcoin with renewable energy. But a challenge with solar and wind is that they depend on climate and weather: Sometimes there’s not enough, which could lead to brownouts or blackouts. Sometimes there’s too much, and there’s often no good way to store the excess. Proponents argue that cryptominers can help by buying up and using energy that might otherwise go to waste — and, in the best-case scenario, promote clean energy investments by offering developers guaranteed demand.

Others are skeptical. They say the issue is fundamental to how bitcoin mining works. They argue that a solution should aim to reduce energy required to mine bitcoin altogether, not transition it to another energy source. This won’t be easy. Opponents of changing systems, however, say the energy consumed by bitcoin helps secure it.

This story is part of Recode by Vox’s Tech Support series, which explores how tech can battle climate change. Learn more: https://trib.al/aYTbmqt

04/20/2022

Funny how everything we do revolves around making money but no one ever taught us how to 'manage' and 'invest' that money. Biggest blunder our prev generation has made. I can't just keep making money and die in hopes that one day I'll have enough. Sigh!

04/15/2022

04/09/2022

The Masterclass is happening tonight at 9:30pm Pakistan time. We received whopping 380+ applications hence we have to move from Zoom to YouTube stream. See you all tonight.

Set the reminder here:

Join me on Saturday 9.30 PM (Pakistan Time) as I explain the art of Copywriting. In this masterclass, we will learn what is copywriting, the difference betwe...

04/04/2022

Y'alll thank you for your overwhelming interest in attending my FREE masterclass this week. I just made the sign-up form. The details will be shared on the email address you provide here.

Link to sign up https://forms.gle/X4AkCzPRLfMYh35U6

04/01/2022

Who wants to be a part of a FREE Masterclass I am planning to host next weekend after Iftar?

Topic: How to begin your Freelance copywriting career - Drop your interest! 🙏🏾