Self Employed

I write long-form content for finance brands to help them:

- Educate and inform the audience
- Build credibility and trust
- Create awareness for their financial products

Some of my clients include:

🔹 Planergy (Spend Management Software - Europe)
🔹 Phocas (Business Intelligence and Data Analysis Software - Australia)
🔹 Avalara (Complete Tax Compliance Software - India)
🔹 ClearTax (Tax & Investing Platform)

My USP: Subject matter expert interviews, deep dive into data, research, and a killer intro that focuses on the problem of readers

Content Writer

Keeping LinkedIn untreated in 2024 is like leaving a pot of gold on the road!

But you might not have enough time or expertise to consistenly share your thoughts on LinkedIn or build a community.

That's where I come in!


[1] I use a 5-step framework to interview you each fortnight, create a solid content strategy, write posts that ooze your personality, and increase the followers base! 

[2] I use the SHARK approach to repurpose your existing content from other platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.

[3] I use the EAR approach to align the content to your unique personality and voice - as if you're talking in real with a friend/ client sitting in Starbucks!

🏆 “I’m grateful to Hardik for all the research and writing he has done to help me in my LinkedIn journey. What is most commendable though, is the effort he has taken to listen to what I had to say, discerned and distilled ideas that have characterized my career, and given them a voice that represents me.” ~ Shibani Adani, Founder at Hyjiva - A Leading D2C Brand

Ghostwriter

Jaipur Toastmasters Club

Vice President Education

Rajshamani.com

I create content for Raj Shamani's LinkedIn and Twitter account on personal finance, wealth creation, and money management.

Besides, I also create Twitter threads and LinkedIn posts to help him get more listeners for his podcast.

Copywriter

LinkedIn Local Jaipur

Successfully organized 3 editions of LinkedIn Local Jaipur

Co Host

President

Verbys

During the role, I was responsible for curating the content and ensuring its optimum quality. I also used Linkedin to promote Verbys and drive traffic to the website.

Editor In Chief

Finance brands and busy founders kidnap (often hire) me to create long-form content and social media copy that build trust, outbeat competitors, and improve customer loyalty | Financial Content Writer | Ghostwriter

Gaining customers’ trust, as a finance brand, has become increasingly difficult.

Remember the good ol’ days when you could 

• slap your offerings on the front page of newspaper 

• purchase followers for your Instagram or Facebook profiles

• stuff your blogs with keywords to appear on the first page of Google 


Well, It’s 2024! And these tactics are as outdated as landline phones. 


So, what’s the solution? 🤔

1) Long-form content:  Well-researched, high-quality articles that cover everything from top to bottom of the sales funnel and offer actionable insights. 

2) Founder’s LinkedIn Profile: When people see you as a founder consistently sharing your thoughts and helping others out, it builds trust like nothing else. [Eg. Ajinkya Kulkarni → Wint Wealth, Nikhil Kamath → Zerodha]

But but but....you might not have enough time or expertise for these!!

That’s where come in! 😎😎


• I write long-form articles for finance brands 

→ Clients - Planergy, Phocas, Avalara, ClearTax, and Open Neobank) 
→ Objective: EDUCATE and INFORM without sounding salesy
→ USP: SME interviews, deep dive into data and adequate research

• I ghostwrite LinkedIn posts for busy founders

→ Objective: Build thought leadership, create trust and visibility
→ USP: Content that oozes your personality and makes your audience feel connected 

............

“But why you, Hardik, when there are millions of other content writers and ghostwriters?”

1. I have a Chartered Accountancy background, so I understand complex financial topics. No regurgitating the information from the first 5 Google search results.

2. I spend 80% of my reading time on Quora, Reddit, and other forums, soaking in your audience’s pain points and making the content relatable.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A happy client (Certified Financial Planner) said this:

“Hardik is natural when it comes to finance. His level of research is deep and his understanding of finance concepts is exceptional. The best part is that he can write according to anyone's tone, which makes him a very dynamic writer.”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Content Lead of a leading Spend Management & Accounts Payable Software based in Europe said this about my blog intro:

“I really liked your intro. It seems to be applying the Storynomics approach quite well. Connecting the data inaccuracy to space travel (a general interest for many people) was really great. Well done!


Convinced, eh?

Let's discuss how we can make your brand shine and rise in 2024 and beyond! 

DM me right away or send me an email at hardiklashkari6@gmail.com with your requirements.

While reading Hanuman Chalisa in the morning, I realised something fascinating.



I devote half an hour daily to worshipping god and reading Hanuman Chalisa and Ganesh Stuti.

Both these holy books give me the strength to kickstart my day on a high note.

However, today, while reading Hanuman Chalisa, I realised something amazing.

By reading Hanuman Chalisa, we praise Lord Hanuman for all his achievements and recognitions and then pray to him to look after us.

Even Ganesh Stuti sing praises of Lord Ganesha and then requests him to accept our prayers and bless us with success, prosperity, and happiness.

I’m sure other devotional and religious texts, such as The Quran, Bible, and Guru Granth Sahib, follow a similar pattern. 

Praise first, then request.

When even God needs praise before it listens to our pleas, how can you slap a sales pitch as soon as your ideal client or hiring manager accepts your connection request?

How can you expect anyone to reply to your cold email if it’s entirely about YOU, not them?

Learn it from religious texts and books—you need to praise God to make him listen to you.

And you….you’re dealing with humans who sometimes consider themselves even above the god!


Hardik Lashkari

While coming downstairs from my office, I encountered a girl who looked lost and nervous.


“What happened? All good? I asked.

“I have come for an interview but can’t locate the office.”

Her sweat-filled face told me how nervous she was. 

I suggested, “Why don’t you call HR and ask for directions? She’d guide you to the right location.”

“Umm, I told HR during the telephone interview that I’d figure out the place myself. I thought it would be easier, but now I’m lost. I’m running late, so I doubt I’ll make it to the next round anyway.” 

Just imagine the weight of expectations the girl is carrying, even before stepping into the role.

All because she thought asking for guidance is a sign of weakness.

She could have simply asked for help and avoided this situation. 

“Hey, I’m lost. Can you help me figure a way out?”

And this isn’t just about an HR-candidate relationship. 

It applies across the board - with friends, your partner, family, and colleagues.

Let's not put unnecessary expectations on ourselves.

Why not just say, “Hey, I’m lost. Can you help me figure a way out?”

I’m currently working with an Australian bookkeeping firm.

From my little experience dealing with their clients, I have realized many people, particularly admin staff, assistants, and mid-level workers in Australia, don’t have access to laptops or high-speed internet.

Most of them still prefer pen and paper over desktops and don’t know how to use basic-to-intermediate-level apps.

If a developed country like Australia is still grappling with this digital shift, how can you expect countries like Africa, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka to do that?

Forget ChatGPT. 

90% of the world’s population doesn’t even have access to basic necessities.

We might talk about ChatGPT and AI as much as we want, but the world isn’t going anywhere. 

There will be enough jobs. Enough opportunities. Enough problems and issues. 

Enough people are begging for your skillset.

So, whenever you feel overwhelmed about ChatGPT and AI, log out of LinkedIn and step into the real world.

You’ll realize how not even 0.0001% of people talk about it in the real world.

Because ChatGPT isn’t solving real problems. Or the issues that the masses are facing. 

Freelancers and solopreneurs: confused between sole proprietorship vs pvt ltd company?

A detailed analysis 👇


Types of business registration:

• Sole proprietorship
• Partnership firm
• Pvt Ltd Company
• One-person Company


You could form sole proprietorship and one-person company alone. 

But partnership or pvt ltd company require at least one more partner/ director. 

Let's evaluate sole proprietorship and pvt ltd company since they're most favourable:

1/ Ease of registration

🌸 Sole Proprietorship

 ↳ easy to register 

→ You just need a PAN number 

→ GST number only if your total receipts have crossed Rs 20 lacs

→ No need of Shop & Establishment Act or Udyam Registration  

🌸 Pvt Ltd Company

 ↳ Tedious registration 

→ A lot of paperwork, registrations, and approvals 

→ A separate GST and PAN number for the company 

→ Local and state registrations, too

→ Additional compliance like name approval, directors’ identification numbers, and digital signatures

→ You’ll need at least one more director



2/ Cost of maintenance


🌸 Sole Proprietorship


Think of it like a Maruti Suzuki Car - the maintenance doesn’t cost you much.


→ You have to just file GST returns and an income tax return

→ No other costs 

→ You can easily shut business by surrendering your GST number 



🌸 Pvt Ltd Company


Think of it like a Ford Car - expensive to buy but even more expensive to maintain and sell 


→ Tax, companies’ act, and statutory compliance

→ Several documents to be submitted on monthly/ annual basis 

→ Very difficult, expensive and time-consuming to shut a company 



3/ Flexibility


🌸 Sole Proprietorship

→ Your money is company’s money, and vice versa

→ You don’t have think before withdrawing or transferring money

→ You can do most things by yourself


🌸 Pvt Ltd company

→ The company is a separate legal entity; its money is not your money

→ Restrictions on withdrawal, transfer, or usage

→ You need an expert compulsorily to fulfill compliance


4/ Taxation


🌸 Sole Proprietorship

→ Income tax slab rates applicable - 30% being the highest


🌸 Pvt Ltd company

→ 22% tax rate  

→ but the difference of 8% will be covered by higher compliance and maintenance cost



🌻 When is a pvt ltd company more beneficial to a freelancer/ solopreneur?

→ Income crossed 70-90 lakhs annually 

→ Want to raise funding

→ Want to productize services



🌻 What would I do if I were to register a company today?


→ Get GST number

→ Track all incomes and expenses

→ Get accounts audited (hire a CA to maintain books and report actual profits - not 50% under Sec 44ADA)

→ Scale the business

→ Convert it into pvt ltd company when things become unmanageable



I hope that helped you understand the difference between a sole proprietorship and pvt ltd company.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask them in comments 👇


My dad makes 40-50 cold calls every day without using any automation or AI.

He handpicks his ideal clients’ phone numbers from Facebook and dials them.

If the person picks up his call, he shares a quick 15-20 sec intro followed by why he is calling. 

If they show interest, he asks them some questions and talks about his products.

Some of these calls go on for 30-45 mins, too.

While his conversion rates are not world-class, they’re still better than many cold outreach experts 😄

How?

All my dad does is keep things simple and consistent.

His initial pitch is a well-rehearsed melody. Never imposing but always engaging and quick. 

He never gets discouraged by “NOs” or when people hang up the phone in his face. 

He dials the next number with the same enthusiasm.

From him, I have learned the most important yet overlooked lesson in cold outreach 👇

It’s less about techniques and frameworks.

And more about a blend of consistency, discipline, creativity, active listening, persuasion, and empathy.

Master these elements, and you’ll easily increase conversions whether you make cold calls or send cold emails.

PS: How has been your experience with cold outreach? Have you achieved positive results?

Your tax obligation didn’t end on 31st March.

In fact, it has just started.

Now is the time to take some critical steps towards your taxes.

For the sake of discussion, I have divided this post into two parts:


A) Steps to be followed by salaried individuals

• Get Form-16 from your employer

• If you changed jobs during the year, try to obtain Form-16 from all employers

• Make a list of all investments and expenses incurred during the year eligible for deduction

• Collect their payment proofs and receipts

• Include those investments and expenses as well that you incurred but didn’t report to your employer 

• Download your bank statements from Apr’23 to Mar’24 to check savings bank interest and any other income earned during the year that you might have missed

• If you have sold stocks or mutual funds during the year, download their report from the platform where you carried out transactions

• Download Form 26AS and AIS from the Income Tax Portal to check any additional income like interest or dividends earned during the year

• Make a folder of all these docs and receipts

• Do tax calculations based on Form-16, bank statements, Form 26AS, and other docs

• File your ITR carefully based on these calculations

• Start your tax planning for the FY 24-25 on time

• Figure out your financial goals and start investing 



B) Steps to be followed by freelancers and solopreneurs

• Obtain Form-16A from all Indian clients who deducted TDS

• Download bank statements from Apr’23 to Mar’24 to calculate the total income earned from foreign and Indian clients and also check savings bank interest

• If you use any billing or payment software like PayPal or Wise, download the annual report to cross-verify bank transactions.

• Make a list of all major business expenses incurred during the year

• Note down all investments and expenses incurred during the year eligible for deduction

• Collect their payment proofs and receipts

• If you have sold stocks or mutual funds during the year, download their report from the platform where you carried out transactions

• Download Form 26AS and AIS from the Income Tax Portal to check any additional income like interest or dividends earned during the year

• Make a folder of all these docs and receipts

• Do tax calculations based on Form-16A, bank statements, Form 26AS, and other docs

• File your ITR carefully based on these calculations [ITR-4/ ITR-3]

• Start your tax planning for the FY 24-25 on time

• Figure out your financial goals and start investing 


Don’t wait till 31st July to carry out these steps.

Tick them off as soon as possible so you can focus on this year’s tax planning.

Any questions? The comment section is waiting for you 👇


How to analyze your bank statement at the time of filing your ITR? 💹

I’ll take you through the exact process of analyzing bank statements for my clients 👇

Let’s start:

💱 Download the bank statement for the relevant FY. If you’re filing your ITR for FY 23-24, download the statement from 1st April 2023 to 31st Dec 2024.

2. Create a new column for remarks.


3. Firstly, filter out the DEPOSITS side 💰

You’ll find certain types of transactions: 

▶️ Client payments: this is your income from business or profession. Write INCOME in the remarks column.

▶️ Payments from Paypal or Upwork: again, this is your income, so write INCOME in the remarks column

▶️ Salary + bonus + reimbursements + allowances: these are “income from salary.” Write SALARY in the remarks column.

▶️ Transfers from family: these are tax-free. You don’t have to do anything. 

▶️ Transfers from friends: you don’t have to do anything if you repay during the FY

▶️ Saving bank interest: taxable if more than Rs 10,000. Write INTEREST in the remarks column.

▶️ Payment received from selling of stocks or mutual funds: you’ll need to calculate capital gains/losses, so note them down carefully

▶️ Misc deposits: look at the remaining transactions carefully. 



4. Now analyze the WITHDRAWALS side 🤑

▶️ Personal Expenses: ignore them.

▶️ Business expenses: if you’re a freelancer or self-employed, write BUSINESS EXPENSE in the remarks column since you can claim them.

▶️ Transfers to friends and family: ignore these.

▶️ Premium payments: some might be tax-deductible. Double-check each one.

▶️ Investments: again, some might be eligible for a deduction. 

▶️ Withdrawals: ATM withdrawals, IMPS, and misc transfers - ignore them.

▶️ Misc payments - check remaining transactions carefully. 


Many people miss important incomes and expenses because they ignore their bank statements 😢

Even if you don’t have an active bank account, don’t forget to download its statement and follow the steps mentioned above. 

You’ll reduce your tax headache to a great extent 😀

I started my career as an accounts executive before switching to full-time content writing.



I had just dropped out of CA and was taking up some freelance projects. 

However, I still wanted to make a career in accounting or auditing, so I began searching for job opportunities for semi-qualified CAs.

After some struggle, I got a job with an Australian bookkeeping firm.

It was a fully remote job (Good ol’ pre-COVID days when you could flex about a WFH job).

I was the company’s first employee in India.

It was a mixed feeling - my first job, a fully remote position, online meetings, and the freedom of not having a boss nagging me every minute. 

I worked with the company for about 1.5 years before taking the leap of faith to quit my job and become a full-time writer.

Looking back, it was a life-changing decision as it taught me project management, checklist preparation and execution, productivity maximization, and self-regulated working.

All of these skills eventually helped me manage my writing clients better and set the right processes.

If there’s one thing I have learned over the years, it’s this 👇


Every job, every task, every opportunity is an investment in yourself. 


It’s not just about money; it’s about the skills you acquire, the experiences you amass, and the lessons you carry for a lifetime.

Think of it like investing in a blue chip stock that keeps paying you dividends every year—an increment in the stock price becomes just a by-product.


But are you ready to invest in such a blue-chip stock? 

Or would you keep chasing multi-bagger stocks, waiting for them to turn into gold HOPEFULLY one day?

It’s up to you 😀

“Stop calling your company a family. Families don’t do layoffs.”

I recently read this post from a CEO.

I somewhere agree with him but also disagree with this entire notion, “Stop calling your employees a family if you can’t put an emotional angle into your logical decisions.”

Sometimes, we do it in our families, too.

We shift attention from our friends to the new boy or girl who arrives in our life.

We prioritize maternal cousins over paternal ones.

We do everything to protect our siblings, even if it means lying to parents. 

It’s all about PRIORITIES.

And the most beautiful and ugliest thing about priorities is that it changes.

Nobody knows how quickly. How frequently. How badly. How clearly.

But priorities do change.

And when it happens, you think logically, even though emotionally, it might sound counterintuitive.

Now, I’m not justifying CEOs’ decision to mass layoffs over a Zoom call, but think of it like this 👇

They also might not want to announce layoffs like this. 

But they’re doing it because the company’s priorities have changed.

And when it happens, you think logically, even though emotionally, it might sound counterintuitive.

Emotion says, “Be more empathetic.”

Logic says, “If it hurts, let it be. Some decisions will pain, no matter how they’re presented.”

My family, partner, and colleagues know whom to dial when I’m stuck in a problem and need a lifeline.

I have got many people with whom I share a special bond. 

But Shubham is the only person my closed ones will call when they see me entangled in an issue.

He is my closest friend, harsh critic, real advisor, and true brother.

I’ve made it crystal clear to everyone around me, “When in doubt, call Shubham.” 

And I feel we all should have that one go-to person who can be the speed dial for life’s toughest moments! 

So, even if you have many friends in your life, find out those 1-2 people whom your closed ones can call when you’re in a problem. 

And introduce them to every new face in your circle ASAP. 

Consider this your timely reminder. 

PS: Who’s on your speed dial?


Despite hailing from a middle-class background, my upbringing has been nothing short of a prince charming.

My parents have always taught me:

1. Liquor isn’t harmful when you know your capacity. Never drink limitless just because someone else is paying for it.

2. Never wait for someone else to pay for food you ate, things you bought, or a life you’re living, except when you’re with your best friends or family.

3. Never allow a girl to touch your feet, as females are considered goddesses in our culture. Don’t even dare to disrespect them. 

4. Never touch a girl without her consent. She should never feel uncomfortable in your presence.

5. Never speak ill of your clients. They pay you and must be considered next to god.

6. Never hesitate from helping a stranger, donating money, clothes, or other essentials to needy people, or supporting someone in their toughest times. 

I’m fortunate enough to have been born to parents who have taught me to be a good human first, and an engineer, a CA, a businessman, or anyone else later.

Today, I have seen at least 20 people on LinkedIn and Reddit asking for “last-minute investment tools” to save taxes.

This is the worst approach 😡

If you’re waking up at the last minute to invest anywhere just to save some tax, you would rather not wake up.

It’s okay to pay higher taxes.

At least much better than 

→ investing without doing your homework 
→ seeing your money stuck for years

Rather, gear up for the next year.

Start your tax planning early.

Look into options that align with your financial goals and offer tax advantages. 

Start investing in those options ahead of time. 

That way, you won't find yourself scrambling for last-minute advice or tips.

Taplio

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