I earned my first ₹400 by walking into a shop with zero experience
myquals: 1st year college student, currently working as a software engineer
In my 1st year of college, I earned my first ₹400.
Not from coding.
Not from an internship.
Not from freelancing on some fancy platform.
I literally walked into a local shop and told the owner:
“I can make videos for your shop and help with social media marketing.”
That was it. No portfolio. No agency. No followers. Just confidence and willingness to try.
He agreed and paid me ₹400 for making a video.
I still remember how happy I was holding that money. It felt unreal because for the first time, I realized:
Skills can create money.
That small ₹400 changed my mindset completely.
After that, I stopped waiting for “perfect opportunities” and started experimenting with everything I could:
video editing
social media marketing
coding
content creation
automation
startups
Now I work as a software engineer, but honestly, trying different things early taught me more than college ever did.
Most people in 1st year are waiting to become “ready.”
The truth is nobody is ready.
You just try.
You fail.
You improve.
And sometimes a random ₹400 opportunity changes how you see your entire future.