Today in this story, we’ve Maryam Ehsan, the CEO and Founder of Market Pro, one of Pakistan’s fastest-growing hybrid digital marketing agencies. Maryam is a true example of “where there is a will, there is a way.” For her childhood vision, she struggled and worked hard to disrupt the market and do something big, eventually launching Market Pro to accomplish her dream.
Market Pro started with a team of few people and has now become a company of 50+ members. Maryam’s vision, dedication, and hard work made her an inspiring personality to everyone, especially women who wanted to do something big and disrupt the market. Today, we’ll shed light on her journey behind Market Pro.
Her professional life started in 2019 when she completed her Master’s in Banking and Financial Economics. Aside from her educational background, she chose marketing because of her interest. From childhood, Ms. Ehsan dreamed of building her own company, but she knew learning was key before starting a business. Following her dream, she kicked off her career as a content writer at Programmers Force. In 2019, her journey took a big turn; after showcasing dedication and outstanding performance, she ascended to Team Lead for the Content Marketing department in the same company.
For two straight years, she focused on her career in digital marketing and learned team leadership. Her life was going fine in the PF, but Maryam knew there was no growth in her comfort zone and she decided to follow her dream of running her own company. In July 2021, after dedicating two years to Programmers Force, her life’s pinnacle moment emerged when she founded Market Pro.
Ms. Ehsan aims to develop leaders in the nation and instead of taking the boss title, she works with her team, shows them the way, trains them, and helps them to become market leaders. For that purpose, while many companies focus on a remote approach, Maryam stands apart; her ideology focuses more on an on-site work model that she believes will help employees develop leadership qualities. In her own words:
“We’re very much focused on building an on-site company. I think the level of growth that Market Pro is accomplishing and inspiring to achieve, even though the remote model will work, but I don’t believe that we can build a culture that people need to become leaders.
While you said many companies prefer a remote approach, their “why” might differ, and our “why” is different. I want everyone working in my company to become a leader someday, and that’s difficult to achieve through a work-from-home model by working virtually. We want them to be physically part of a team, collaborate, learn new things, and build confidence, essential leadership qualities.”
Today, Market Pro is one of the leading digital marketing agencies that serves seven international clients, introduced five startups, has run 1,000+ successful marketing campaigns globally, and continues to grow with time.
We also requested Maryam to answer a question about what defines the transition from a full-time job to true entrepreneurship, which focuses on a mindset shift towards scalability, asset creation, and problem-solving. She told us:
“Sometimes, you’re killed by your success. There’s a term:
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with a team.”
Suppose a person earns $5,000 a month from his full-time job. Even after accounting for expenses and savings, let’s say the person retains his 40% of income. Now, he’ll begin to understand that I’m not purchasing luxury items despite having the budget. This will be the moment when he starts making liabilities instead of assets.
Now, what are assets?
Assets are when you hire more team members and invest in your company’s growth to scale the business. That scalability mindset is lacking in most people. If you’re freelancing and earning well, that’s not entrepreneurship; you’re just doing a fancy job.
Entrepreneurship is when you understand that a tree doesn’t grow under the shadow of another tree. You decide to solve a problem, dedicate yourself to what you’re doing, focus on scalability, and prefer asset-making over liability-making; that’s when you become an entrepreneur.
In the last, Maryam wants to advise new entrepreneurs:
“The first rule of success is never to use a shortcut. There’s no shortcut to success. You might see overnight success in movies, but success might take years in real life. I would advise future entrepreneurs that they can do anything if they have passion, drive, focus, and vision.”