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After 20 Years, I Can Now Enjoy Flexible Hours and Bigger Income Through Freelancing

April 14, 2021
by Jason Dulay 
Jason is the founder and CEO of Work from Home Roadmap and VA Bootcamp. Aside from teaching Filipinos how to succeed working from home, he likes traveling, playing board games, and drinking coffee.
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We're all hit by the pandemic.

No question about it.

And that includes our JasSuccess guest tomorrow — Narben.

She's a private employee for almost 20 years.

When the pandemic strikes last year, she looked for another earning opportunity.

"Hindi ko na naituloy pa ang ticketing services ko dahil bawal na bumiyahe. So naghanap na ako ng paraan how can we survive these tough times, nasa bahay lang kami. Paano na ang day to day living namin."

And that's where she discovered freelancing.

So how did she started from scratch?

How did she find her first client?

What are her challenges?

Find out on this replay.

 

Introduction

After 20 years of working in a corporate company, Narben decided to take the early retirement to start a new venture and have more time with her family. She created a ticketing business that lasted for eight months. But later on, she was introduced to freelancing.

Notable Quotes

  • Kailangan pala malakas ng loob at madiskarte ka kasi may ibang way aside from the usual course.
  • May pag-asa pa, huwag mawawalan ng tiwala sa sarili kahit nag-uumpisa ka pa lang.
  • First job to work as a Virtual Assistant kaya ibinuhos ko ang lahat, kasi binigyan ako ng chance at hindi ko dapat sayangin ang opportunity at tiwala nila.
  • Dapat kapag i-introduce mo ang sarili mo, makukuha mo na agad si client.
  • May journey pala talaga sa freelancing. Hindi ka pwedeng mag stick as virtual assistant lang. Along the way, madi-discover mo na may hidden talent ka pala.
  • Kapag may chance or opportunity, huwag ka matakot mag-explore.
  • Maging available sa lahat ng possibilities, huwag maging negative.
  • The law of attraction is very effective, lalo na kapag napapaligiran ka ng mga taong positive.
  • Noong natanggap ako as VAB Intern, naisip ko na may nagtiwala sa akin. Kaya ko pala! Kung gagawin ko or ita-try ko, may magtitiwala din sa akin.
  • Kapag may problema, solusyon agad kasi sasakit lang ang ulo natin kung patatagalin. Kaya ako, gusto ko lagi rin akong may plan on how to solve it.  Lahat ng problema may solusyon
  • Happy and very thankful ako sa VAB. Kasi unang pasok mo pa lang, mararamdaman mo 'yong belongingness and at-home ka agad ang ipinaparamdam nila sa'yo at alam mong hindi ka pababayaan.
  • Kaya sa journey ko sa freelancing with VAB-mates, kahit hindi natin sila kilala mararamdaman mo talaga yung care from them.

  • Ang pagiging thankful sa lahat ng bagay at maging grateful sa kung anong mayroon sa iyo, napakagaan nang dating ng blessings.  Lahat pwede mong ipagpapasalamat, even may failures dapat ipagsalamat mo pa rin, kasi  'yong tamang blessings mangyayari at mabibigay pa rin sa'yo.

  • Kung nasa freelancing ka, walang tapon since you can work on your own time.
  • For the newbies, normal talaga 'yong kabahan.  Dadagdagan ninyo ‘yong tiwala sa sarili na kaya ninyo.  Kahit may doubt ka pero alam mo na kaya mong gawin, just go for it.

Journey to freelancing 

  • She worked in a corporate company for 20 years.
  • She started as a staff member until she managed to climb up the ranks and became the team leader. The team she handled consists of 15 people all over Zamboanga.
  • Having a lot of long tiring hours and more over time, she felt sad for her family and felt the need to take the early retirement plan due to two reasons:
    • to have more time with her family
    • to start a new venture, particularly online business
  • She searched on Facebook regarding online businesses when she came across VAB ads and tried their free courses. She temporarily postponed this due to a lack of means to purchase the necessary equipment to perform the said work (laptop/computer, Internet).
  • Due to the pandemic, her ticketing business started to fall apart. After the lockdown began, she and her husband were both unemployed, which pushed her to find other means to provide for her family. Then she came across again with VAB ads and decided to re-study the free course. Then realized that she needed more skills and knowledge to become a virtual assistant. The guided step-by-step program attracted her to grab the opportunity and invest in herself.
  • After the course, she decided to try her luck and apply, sending cover letters to different companies, she got rejected five times.
  • She applied for the VAB Admin Internship. Luckily, she got in and learned a lot. After the internship, one of the coaches saw her potential. And through her perseverance, she got endorsed to a company that later became her first client.
  • She also joined the Guided Hustle Challenge and learned a lot that she gained her confidence.
  • She discovered that aside from being a virtual assistant, she can also be a writer. Now, she also writes captions on Instagram and in some blogs.
  • Up to this day, she is still with her first client and continuously growing with each passing day.

Question and Answer

How many months did it take before you realized na you need to move on?

Almost a month, simula noong lockdown naramdaman ko agad ang pag-down ng ticketing business namin.

Despite your experience and despite that, you already studied why self-doubt?

Iniisip ko noon, kailangan kapag freelancer ka, dapat marami ka nang alam at equipped ka na bago ka magapply. Kaya pinanghinaan ako ng loob, nandoon 'yong hesitations lagi kasi nga sa isip ko newbie pa ako.

What factors made you think na, “Pwede na siguro, akong mag-apply nang sarili ko” What made you get to that point from self-doubt?

Noong tinanggap ako sa VAB as Intern. Sa Isip ko, “May naniwala na mag work ako ulit” with that chance na binigay ng VAB. Nandoon 'yong drive na ang sarap lagi umattend ng shift kasi nga alam ko marami akong matutunan.

From self-doubt to solving problems, is this a character of yours, or did you learn this during the process?

Kapag may problema, hanapan natin ng solusyon agad, kasi sasakit lang ulo natin kung patatagalin. Kaya ako, gusto ko mayroon na laging plan on how to solve it.

Wala ka ba agad na napili na i-specialize?

Ang gusto ko talagang maging niche ay Web Designer, but along the way, parang dinadala talaga ako ng journey ko sa Social Media Management.

Wala ka bang mai-aangal sa journey mo?

Exciting po ang work kasi minahal ko 'yong work ko and lahat nang binigay ni Lord ay blessing.

Happy and very thankful din ako sa VAB, kasi pag pasok mo pa lang mararamdaman mo 'yong belongingness and at-home ka agad kasi mapi-feel mo na may nag-aalaga sa'yo.

Noong na endorsed ka, did you ever expect that to happen to you?

Ang pagiging thankful sa lahat ng bagay at maging grateful sa kung anong mayroon sa iyo, napakagaan nang dating ng pumapasok na blessings.  Lahat pwede mong ipagpapasalamat, even may failures dapat ipagsalamat mo pa rin, kasi along the way 'yong tamang blessings mangyayari at mabibigay pa rin sa 'yo.

What is the biggest thing you can share with our audiences that they think they will learn from you?

Iyong curiosity ninyo, hanapan na ninyo ng sagot. Decide now and take the action. Use our time para sa makakasagot sa anumang katanungan in terms of living a life in times of pandemic.

Kung nasa freelancing ka, walang tapon dito. You can do more things kasi mas marami kang time dahil nasa bahay ka. Pero kahit nasa bahay ka, mas maganda na nag-e-earn ka pa din.

And for the newbies, normal talaga 'yong may doubts at kabahan.  Dadagdagan ninyo ‘yong tiwala sa sarili na kaya ninyo.  Kahit may doubt ka pero alam mo na kaya mong gawin, just go for it.

Una mong tatanungin sa sarili bakit ko ba ito ginagawa at para kanino ko ba gagawin ito?

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by Jason Dulay 
Jason is the founder and CEO of Work from Home Roadmap and VA Bootcamp. Aside from teaching Filipinos how to succeed working from home, he likes traveling, playing board games, and drinking coffee.

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101 comments on “After 20 Years, I Can Now Enjoy Flexible Hours and Bigger Income Through Freelancing”

  7. Biblically, all are created in pairs and with equal opposites. There are Problems and so there are Solutions. There is Failure and so there is Success...

    Reply

  10. Ilang beses ako nag self doubt, kasi sa aming magkakapatid ako lang hindi nakapag aral ng college, ni hindi ko alam paano gamitin laptop, I pero simula nung may kakilala ako na nag introduce sa akin about online job at naniniwala syang kaya ko, makakaya. Ngayon almost 4 years na ako nag online and ang laking tulong sa buhay ko lalo na sa sarili ko kaya ko pala ang ganitong trabaho.

    Reply

  42. New Normal brought us together here in the virtual workspace and appreciate life and work balance with opportunities to develop self love and fulfilment. Home has been literally Home.

    Reply

      1. Narben Lasola hello po.. thank you din po. I really wanted to improve on freelancing.. land to a job which in time can save me time and earn me more po..

        Reply

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