And then what?

Well the first assignment actually happened with just one phone call. 15 hours of work at 50$ an hour, completed within a week, paid for in 15 days. Not a great rate but a decent beginning given that we were just a week old. Then got two strong leads at a local insurance companies that sort of fell through when the competition pulled the rugs from beneath our feet. Next three months taught actuarial science at local university on Saturdays and spent the remaining week focused on marketing, business development and lead generation.

The university teaching paid for fuel, consumables, cab fares, printing costs and other expenses but it was clear that going head on to compete with the current four consulting firms in Pakistan was not going to yield dividends any time soon. Time for a quick rethink

An introduction at a traditional accounting and consulting shop happened through a close friend. Two partners knew me from my earlier days in Karachi and were more than happy to talk about how we could all work together. After a month of conversations, in May '03 finally agreed to share office space on a trial basis and see if it would work out in the long run. Within ten days closed on our first assignment together for 3000 dollars. We now had access to space, stationary, phone lines, profiles, daylong internet connectivity, laser printers and websites.

Erum had joined us in February on a temporary, "I will work from home, just like you do" basis. She had taken the lead on our first shot at developing an inhouse actuarial valuation solution. With our new deal she got a cubicle and we started thinking about what we could possibly do with out new found wealth. (After five months of zilch, that is what 3K US looks like)