Who would have thought that a simple chat from a friend would change someone's life?

Alona got introduced to freelancing because of it.

She's a former OFW.

An ex-call center agent.

And now enjoys spending time with her family, while still providing for their needs.

But of course, it doesn't come without any challenges.

She'll share with us her journey — how she got her first client, how she got dumped, lost her Top Rated badge, and what she did to get back to the groove.

Watch this replay.

Introduction 

Find out how a former OFW found the direction she was looking for. 

Discover how she has leaped being a freelancer. 

And found success in trying to freelance the second time around.

Notable Quotes

• Noong nakuha ko yung mga lessons sa VA Bootcamp, sabi ko, "ay eto pala yung mga lessons, eto pala ang usual ko na ding mga ginagawa." Kaya lang ang kagandahan lang non, mas marami kang nalaman na mga applications na kailangan mong gamitin.

• At yung preparations mo galing sa office-based tapos pupunta ka sa freelancing, marami ding adjustments.

• Pero yun ang maganda, mayroong mga guidelines tapos may mga tasks na kailangan mong gawin.

• Para sa akin medyo madali naman siya kasi galing ka nga sa ganoong work. So, ang naging mahirap lang talaga actually is yung pupunta ka na sa platform. Kagaya nung “making my profile” na. Hindi rin ako agad naapprove. Ang sabi ni Upwork, marami na daw VA, ano daw ang kaibahan or anong pwede ko pang ioffer. Dinagdagan ko lang siya ng Graphics Designing, at naapprove din naman.

• Nung nasa Qatar ako, nag-aapply ako doon, tapos dito sa Upwork nag-apply din ako. Hindi ganun kadali na matanggap agad. Nag-apply ako ng nag-apply at hindi naman ganon kabilis matanggap. Sabi ko parang hindi ito possible sa akin. So, noong nasa Qatar ako, inistop ko talaga siya.

• Ang ginawa ko ay nag focus ako sa pag-aapply doon. Sa aking palagay, mas mabilis ang possibility ko na makapagtrabaho habang nandoon ako. Ganoon ang thinking ko, kaya inistop ko siya, hindi muna ako nag-aaply kasi puro rejections ang natanggap ko.

• Dahil mahirap makakuha ng long-term na trabaho noon sa Qatar, what I did was I prayed, "Lord, bahala ka na."

• After that, nagkaroon ako ng blessing. I got pregnant, kaya I decided na bumalik na lang dito sa Pilipinas.

• Pag-uwi ko dito, masaya ako, may blessing ako (si baby), pero parang yung dream ko ay baka hindi ko na makuha.

• After that, nadisappoint ako kay Upwork. Though marami namang platforms, pero kay Upwork, parang last 2018 and 2019, hindi ko na talaga siya binalikan. Yung profile ko pinabayaan ko lang, nawala na rin yung confidence ko that time.

• After ko makapanganak, natuwa po ako kasi nakareceive na lang ako ng notification sa email galing kay Upwork, may invitation daw ako.

• Dumating na yung isang blessing na isang client, ininvite niya ako. Ang gagawin ko lang babasahin ko lang yung 30 e-books niya, makikinig ng 15 audio books. Kailangan ko lang magfavorite ng 5 books, and then, mag-iwan ng reviews. Yun lang ang pinagawa sa akin. Ok na rin sa akin kasi naka first client na ako. Hindi naman ako nag-apply pero ininvite niya ako for that.

• Yung kapatid ko pinush ako na mag-apply na. Lagi niya ako chinachallenge kaya itinuloy ko na ulit. Noong July, nag-apply ako sa Upwork, Onlinejobs.ph, nagtry din ako sa Fiverr, kaya lang may mga scams na dumating sa akin, kaya inalis ko na siya, tapos ay sa LinkedIn. Pero ang sumagot sa akin ay mostly sa OnlineJobs.ph at Upwork.

• Good thing, by July 2020, nagkaroon na ako ng client. At nakakatuwa po yung naging client ko na yun kasi until now basta may project siya lagi niya ako minemessage.

• Nag Top-Rated na po ako sa Upwork, 100% Job Success. Kaya lang mayroon akong 2 clients na magkasunod. Yung unang client, masyadong busy at hindi makapagsend ng mga trabaho. Nakapagtrabaho ako sa kanya ng mga 60 hours. Sabi niya hindi pa siya ready maghire ng VA so naclosed yung contract.

• Yung isa naman, naghanap ng bookkeeper. Sabi ko kay client hindi pa ako nahire sa ganyang trabaho. Ang experience ko lang ay yung sa VA Bootcamp training. Ang expectation pala ni client ay kailangan mabilis na mabilis. Binigyan niya ako ng mga 20-30 photos na kailangan ko i-encode, inabot ako ng 3 hours. Hindi nagustuhan ni client kaya sinabi niya na iba nalang daw ang ihahire niya, ini-end niya yung contract at yung Job score ko ay bumaba, naging 86% nalang.

• Nagtry ako sa LinkedIn, ang ginawa ko ay pinadami ko yung connections ko. Nagsign up din ako sa Premium Account na may 1 month free trial at sa pang 4th day, I got hired na. Hindi ako nag-apply, nagmessage lang sila sa akin na kailangan nila ng mag-eedit. Ini-add nila ako sa group chat in Slack, nainterview sa chat then hired agad at 1st-day ko na mamaya.

• Upgrade your learnings, do not be afraid to invest in learning. Just always remember, this is an investment, so you can expect something in return.

• To those who are struggling to get their clients, don’t give up, try harder. When you feel like giving up, it’s the sign to try harder. In your hardest time, hindi kayo nag-iisa, I felt that too, naging ganoon din ako. And in my hardest time, I always pray to God. Lagi namang may miracle si Lord. I would like to share a bible verse, Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you, when you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.” Kailangan mo kasing malampasan yun.

• Please do not forget 2 Chronicles 15:7, “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” The world is upgrading, kaya dapat ay hindi tayo naiiwan. Upgrade yourself. Read pa more, practice pa more, sign up na, apply pa more, and promise you will get the results.

Alona’s Journey to Freelancing

• Alona started her career as a Production Operator in Laguna. She also became a Data Encoder. Then a Call Center Agent for 3 months. And an Admin Assistant in a Transport Company.

• In 2016, was the first time she heard about Upwork. She signed up and her Upwork Profile got approved and had one client. But it didn't work out.

• She was not ready to freelance at that time. She has no idea how freelancing works. No tools to get started as a freelancer such as a laptop and stable internet connection.

• She decided to put it aside and got out of Upwork for a while to focus on her job as an Admin Assistant.

• After six years, she decided to quit her job and got married. A year later, she went to Qatar in the hopes that she will have a better future there.

• But working as an OFW is not always perfect. She struggled to get a stable job and working visa. She managed to have 3 jobs in Trading Companies but still without a working visa.

• Stayed in Qatar for a year and like any other OFW, she experienced being homesick.

• In 2018, she heard about her relative transitioned from her call center job to a freelancer. She got interested and asked her niece to share more about it. That’s when she learned about VA Bootcamp.

• Currently, she has 3 clients as VA with Lead Generation and Graphic Design tasks. 

• Now, she relishes the freedom of having full control over her time. She enjoys motherhood and family time while earning online. 

Q & A Highlights 

Anong year ka nag-enroll sa VA Bootcamp?

2018

Student pala yung pamangkin mo ng VAB? Inaffiliate ka niya? 

Oo. Hindi ko alam kung inafilliate niya ako, mahalaga makaenroll ako.

Bakit nasuspend yung old Upwork Account mo? 

Nahire kasi ako ng isang client dati pero hindi ko siya natulungan kasi hindi ko talaga alam ang gagawin. Maybe that’s the reason why they suspended my account.

Magkasama ba kayo ng husband mo sa Qatar? So, nung nabuntis ka, bumalik ka na lang ng Pilipinas para dito manganak or para magstop ka na rin magwork? 

Opo. Mahirap kung doon kasi first time ko mabuntis. Doon kasi maiiwan ka lang mag-isa sa bahay habang nagtatrabaho ang asawa mo.

Saang platform ka nagconcentrate?

Hindi na muna ako nagfreelance noong time na yun.

Naiwan yung asawa mo sa Qatar?

Opo, hanggang ngayon ay doon pa din siya nagwowork.

Ano yung inenroll mong course sa VA Bootcamp?

Accelerated Package

Noong natapos mo yung VA Bootcamp course, hindi mo ba muna siya inapply agad kasi nadisappoint ka kay Upwork?

Opo.

Nabigyan ka ba ng feedback ng first client mo?

Hindi po siya nagfeedback, 5 stars lang binigay niya. Yun lang ang maganda dun.

So, timing din na pandemic, nasa bahay ka lang at the same time kumikita ka?

Opo.

Sa ngayon, ilan ang clients mo sa Upwork?

Actually, mula nung nagstart ako last year (2020) nakakuha na ako ng 9 clients. Pero dalawa na lang silang natitira ngayon, flexi-time.

Yung dalawa mo bang clients, mga full-time naman?

By project.

Nahirapan ka ba kasi may maliit ka pang anak or flexi-time ka naman sa clients mo?

Flexi-time. Mahirap talaga kapag may baby pero may tumutulong naman sa akin.

Anong rate ka nagstart sa Upwork?

$5 per hour.

Natapatan na ba ang sweldo mo sa Qatar ng pag-oonline mo?

Ay, nalampasan na po.

Pwede ninyo po ba ishare yung nagiging income ninyo per client?

Hindi ko na matandaan. Siguro yung pinakamatagal nasa $2,000 at most.

I'm graduating this June, okay bang i-push mag-enroll for VA or mag-apply muna ako sa mga office-based?

If you have the budget and you have the will, try ninyo po. Kasi kung mag-eenroll ka, makakaadd sa iyo yan. Kung mag office-based ka naman, maganda din, parehong makakatulong. But nowadays, mostly work from home, mas maganda kung makakapag-enroll po kayo kasi maraming guidelines at tutorials. Yung mga tutorials doon, hindi mo basta mahahanap kung saan-saan. Ang gaganda kasi ng topics sa VA Bootcamp course, kaya worth it po talaga na mag-enroll.

Naapprove na po ang account ko sa OnlineJobs.ph, ano na po ba ang next steps ko? 

Wala naman pong approval sa OLJ. Apply na po kayo kaagad basta mataas ang ID Proof.

Meron bang bayad ang mag enroll sa inyo and how much ito?

Meron po, kung gusto ninyo po talaga na maenhance kayo. Kung gusto ninyo i-work out ang freelancing na pagtatrabaho, mas mainam po na mag-enroll kayo. Upon enrollment ay mayroon pong payment. Nag-avail ako ng Accelerated course P7,990. At dahil gusto ko pa matutunan ang maraming bagay, just recently, nag-upgrade po ako ng Complete Package at doon ko po natutunan yung Bookkeeping, Facebook Ads, Email Marketing, at madami pang iba. Pwede siyang balik-balikan since lifetime access siya.

What are the basic skills that a Virtual Assistant should have?

Ang usual kasi na hinahanap ng clients, kung Virtual Assistant, yung marunong ng Admin tasks, Email Management, Calendar Management, Microsoft Office Applications. Kayang-kaya po, basta nag-aaral at nag-uupgrade ng learnings.

Kapag sinabing "flexi-time", ilang hours po yun? 

Depende po, kagaya ko flexi-time pero 40 hours a week. Kung kailan ka free magwork basta matapos mo yung specific task, as long as mai-submit mo yung work on time.

Wala po akong experience. Isa po kaya yun sa dahilan kung bakit hindi ako makakuha ng client?

Magtry kang gumawa on your own ng sample presentations and gawin mo yung portfolio.

Possible din bang magkaroon ng client kung magtake ng free trial? May certificate po ba ito? 

Yes, it's possible. Pero walang certificate sa free courses. Pero meron kaming mga free webinars na may certificate.