Omkar sent 40 cold messages and got his first ₹15,000 project

Omkar Patil joined the Freelance Developer Bootcamp in his final year of BSc Computer Science. Eight weeks in, he had his first paid client. We asked him to describe it without rounding off the awkward parts.

The list

"I made a list of 60 businesses in Sangli that had no website or a broken one. Gyms, coaching classes, two clinics, a catering business, wedding photographers. I found them on Google Maps and Instagram."

The message

He sent the same short message on WhatsApp, in Marathi where it fit:

"Namaskar, I saw your Instagram page. You are getting enquiries in DMs but there is no booking page. I build websites — I can show you what a booking page for your business would look like, free, and you decide after. — Omkar"

"The important thing sir taught us: do not ask for a meeting. Offer to show something."

The numbers

• 40 messages sent over five days
• 6 replies
• 2 asked to see the mockup
• 1 paid

"The other four ghosted me after the mockup. That felt bad for two days and then I stopped caring."

The project

A booking page for a fitness studio: class schedule, a booking form, WhatsApp confirmation, Instagram feed embedded. Two weeks of evenings.

Quoted: ₹15,000, 50% upfront. Delivered: on time. Collected: all of it.

"Asking for 50% upfront was the scariest message I have sent. He paid in ten minutes. I had been imagining the argument for three days."

What he would change

"I quoted for the website. He kept asking for small changes after — a new photo, change this colour. I did them free for two months. Now I write in the quote: two rounds of changes included, after that it is ₹500 per change. Nobody has ever objected."

Where he is now

Four months later Omkar is at roughly ₹38,000 a month across three retainer clients, while finishing his degree.

"The course fee was ₹18,000. The first project covered it. I tell everyone this and they still do not believe it is that simple. It is not simple. It is just not complicated."