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A Person With Disability Turned Upwork Agency Owner - An Interview With Cherylene Azuela

July 18, 2018
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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Watch another tear-jerking #JasSuccess with Host, Anna Soriano as she interviews Cherylene Azuela, a person with a disability.

Cherylene is solo parent of 2 children and a former call center agent in Singapore and in the Philippines.

In this interview, Cherylene share a lot, including;

✅Her struggles and triumphs as a freelancer for 1 year and 5 months
✅ How she found her niche in E-commerce
✅Why she decided to outsource and build an Upwork Agency

And much more inspiring and interesting stories.

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Notable Quotes:

  • Yun bang matuto kang magsimula sa maliit parang ramdam mo yong tagumpay.
  • Ang mahalaga kailangan ang confidence mo, kailangan laging nandyan yan.
  • Nag-start na akong mag-outsource dahil gusto ko ring makita nila kung ano ang kagandahan nang pag-work from home.
  • Masaya, kailangan lang may goal ka.
  • Alamin ang mga platforms.
  • I-update ang sarili sa mga skills na kailangan, watch Youtube.
  • Mag-join sa mga group para may help kayo or support na makuha.
  • Tiwala sa sarili, di kailangan na perfect ka eh. Kasi ako sa interview, di naman ako ganon ka galing mag english. Nakikita nila ang kagustuhan mo na makatrabaho sila, makatulong sa kanila at may matutunan ka.
  • Open ako sa negotiations. Kasi, what I am after is yong matutunan kong bago sa company nya, kasi magagamit ko yan sa susunod na ma-applyan ko.

Cherylene Azuela  struggles before freelancing:

  • She is a graduate of Business Management.
  • She worked as a call center agent in the Philippines.
  • She got pregnant and was then separated from her boyfriend.
  • She experienced to take a pre-natal check-up at public hospitals since she has no work, and has no money to pay for.
  • Sold barbeque to sustain her basic needs.
  • She went back to work again as call center agent.
  • She fell in love again, and got pregnant and was separated from her partner again.
  • She needs to take a bed rest for 6 months that warrants her to stop working.
  • 1 week after giving birth, she went to apply for another work but unluckily she failed to get a job.
  • She went to Singapore and work in BPO as a Senior Customer Service Officer in an Appliance Center.
  • While in Singapore, she was diagnosed with having a thyroid nodule that forms a lump in her thyroid gland.
  • She went back to the Philippines for another BPO employment and took advantage of the HMO benefits.
  • Eventually, the thyroid lump worsens and made her decision to undergo an operation.
  • After the operation, she was not allowed to work and was recommended to take a rest.
  • While she was not allowed to work, she took units of Education and passed the LET Exam.
  • She then took Masters Degree in SPED but failed to finish it.
  • After 2-3 years after her operation, she went back to Singapore for work.

Cherylene Arzuela on the way to freelancing:

  • In times, her employer questioned her why she needs to take a leave of absence to attend to her children.
  • She believed that being a solo parent she has benefits to give time to attend to her children especially when health issues arise.
  • Spending more quality time with her children drives her to try to submit at Upwork.
  • Monday submitted, and by Wednesday got a reply.
  • Although, she has limited knowledge to some of the exam/assignment from Excel, she was eager to study and learn by doing research, asking from the group and also with the help of her sister.

How Cherylene Arzuela found her niche...

  • Although she was hesitant to accept job offers, thinking if it was scammers, but Cherylene yields to her instinct. As she said, "trust your instinct".
  • While working, Cherylene is learning new things.
  • Eventually, she had more client.
  • Some client trained her and some learnings came from her experiences.
  • Logistics, Fulfillment Center (Pick & Pack) and E-Commerce these are her field of concentration.
  • From then on, she already has several clients to serve.

Why outsource?

  • Humble beginnings started to create her agency.
  • Because she wanted to help some of her friends, she started to outsource the work at 50 Pesos/hour.
  • She wanted them to see how nice to work at home.
  • Cherylene shared her skills by teaching/coaching her friends.

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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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108 comments on “A Person With Disability Turned Upwork Agency Owner - An Interview With Cherylene Azuela”

  77. Grabe te ngayon ko lang nalamn na bengi kapala sa tagal ko ng work sainyo dati sa canteen ng mama mo,,d ko tlga napansin normal lang nmn u,,nakaka inspired nmn kwento mo te,,kinaya mo lahat

    Reply

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