Are you a breadwinner?

If you are, or if you know someone who is, we are urging you to watch and listen to Holly's awe-inspiring story on being a breadwinner for her family.

She'll talk about her motivations on how she stayed focused on becoming the sole-provider and discover how you could also do the same way.

In this interview, you'll learn the following:

✅How she stayed resilient as a breadwinner

✅How she managed her time, juggling her full-time jobs and freelance gigs

✅How she replicated her Flight Attendant income while working from home

And a whole lot more…

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Subscribe to Jason Dulay's YouTube Channel

How did Holly find it in her to stay incredibly resilient despite all the challenges she faced on her path to freelancing? Read on!

Notable Quotes

• Maaga-aga kong nahanap si freelancing--2008 (or 2009), basta oDesk pa yun, noong time na yun. At saka may mga forum din noon, na sinalihan ako--to learn about working from home. And nakahanap ako ng first client ko from, sa forum din.
• Masaya lang talaga ako na nakaka provide ako sa family ko. Alam mo yun, ganoon lang talaga eh, parang simpleng pangarap lang.
• I realized the value in investing in what you want to have. Kasi pwede naman tayo mag tipid talaga. Pero in the long run, it does not serve the purpose eh! Naka tipid ka nga, pero hindi naman na bigay yung best mo.
• I realized na, "Teka lang, I had more control when I was working online."
• Sina kuya driver noon, at sina kuya cleaners ng aircraft--alam mo pumasa sila sa Middle Eastern standards. Kasi marunong naman sila mag English. Techie din naman sila, nasa cellphone nag fe-Facebook. I knew, na if given the right skill, matututo din sila sa online world.
• If given an opportunity to know that there's another option, these people would have a choice.
• Shoutout to VA Bootcamp, kasi we've grown.
• VA Bootcamp is what it is right now, because of the people who believe in it.
• Like everything talaga, na parang na nangyari sa buhay, I always always give it back to God eh. Kasi parang kung iisipin mo, it's pure coincidence, but I believe na in-allow ni God yun for a purpose.
• Yung sinasabi ko lang, is subukan mo muna (mag freelancing). Tulad noon sa akin, learn about freelancing--magbasa basa ka, start ka, try to get a client kahit yung part-time muna. While you're there, just to get a feel of it. Kasi it's not--simple naman yung freelancing--but it's not easy.
• If you're worried kasi madalas sa mga nag wo-work pa ngayon, nag wo-worry na, "Paano yun, paano pag hindi ko sila mapagsabay?" Actually it's a good problem to have, kasi you know na it works for you. You know that you're able to get clients, and it's a good start.
• I'm very self-critical and I think that's the most challenging part sa akin. Alam mo yung somehow--And I think we all have this--somehow alam mong you can do it. But the moment that you're doing it, you have this thinking na "Teka lang, hindi ko yata kaya ito eh."
• It happens to everyone. It happens to Anna girl. Yung self-criticism ko, yung inner critic ko yung most challenging sa akin. And I'm glad to have a community. To have a support group. Kasi it helps--it uplifts you eh.
• You really have online friends sa FLIP and sa students group. Actually mas nagtitiwala pa sila sa skills mo, kaysa sa sarili mo. And pag nakikita mo silang ang lakas ng tiwala nila sayo you also step up and say "Kaya ko, kaya ko kasi nagtitiwala sila sa akin." And then yun, tama nga naman pala. Kaya mo nga naman pala talaga.
• Pag nagshe share kasi ng wins, napu-push ka din eh. And you're like "Wow, ang galing! Kung kaya niya wala din akong reason para ma demotivate."
• If hindi ka tinanggap ng isang client, it doesn't mean na hindi ka tatanggapin ng isa. The thing with freelancing kasi, you don't stop when you get one rejection. You keep on applying until you find the right client.
• Madaming mga freelancers sa VA Bootcamp na dating OFW.
• Introverted kasi nga ako by nature. And I've always been comfy na nagwo-work lang sa backend.
• Be intentional. Be intentional with your choices, with your plans. And syempre kung ano man yung plans niyo na yun samahan nyo ng dasal.
• What's your goal? What's your main goal ba talaga? Isulat mo siya, and then work towards it.
• Whatever your situation is right now, tanungin mo sarili mo, "Is this the situation I want to be in, in the next 5 years?"

Holly’s Journey to Freelancing:

• She grew up in a middle-class family, with four siblings, where her father was the only one working. She had to sell sandwiches and "gulaman" in school.
• When her oldest sister started college as a nursing student, she had to make more sacrifices by applying for scholarships. She ended up juggling two scholarships and a job in Jollibee.
• But because of all these, she eventually got worn out and this took a toll on her grades. This cost her all of her scholarships. Because of this, she decided to stop schooling with the permission of her father.
• She discovered that the call center industry was booming in Cebu. So she applied there, despite being only a high school graduate. She got the job and started earning 18k/month.
• However, in the year 2008, her father lost his job. Making her the only one earning money in the family. Because of all the financial burden, she had to borrow money and even pawn her ATM card, just to get by.
• At this point, she was living the 'paycheck to paycheck life'. Paying for her parents' medicines and her siblings' schooling, her dept reached 6-digits.
• This is when she discovered freelancing (the year 2008-2009). This was the time when Upwork was still oDesk. She joined plenty of forum sites and eventually stumbled upon the writing niche and getting herself 3 clients.
• Once again, she was juggling many things at once; 3 clients and her call center job to the point where she often found herself doing her writing jobs while it was 'AVAIL' in the call center.
• However, she felt that all of these were still not enough. So she still kept looking for jobs abroad on the Sunday newspaper. She was willing to apply for anything as long as they considered high school graduates.
• She discovered a "cabin crew" position that she was qualified to apply for. So she went for it. During the 'open day' application in Marriott, she discovered that the 'cabin crew' actually meant a flight attendant.
• After seeing the other 800+ beautiful and well-dressed applicants (compared to her during that day), she felt that she wasn't going to get the job.
• Fortunately, she passed the initial screening and made it through the following interviews. Though she was placed on the waitlist for 1 year because of many reasons. During the wait, she learned the value of investing for the things you want to have.
• She finally got the flight attendant job. And she thought that it was a 'lifestyle like no other'. She experienced many new things; from staying in a 5-star hotel to learning about espresso coffees and the many different cultures. She really felt that her life had elevated. 
• Eventually, she realized that it was corporate work. And felt that the job wasn't really that secure and that free, because of the restrictions. That's why she started to save money. Luckily, she was able to stay there for 5 years and achieved her goals.
• During her 5 years as an FA, she realized how lonely it was to be far from your family. Despite visiting a lot of the popular tourist spots, she couldn't shake the fact that it was a very heartbreaking job.
• That's when she realized that she had more control when she was working online. So she decided to attend online workshops to upskill and learn a lot of online marketable skills.
• Months before tendering her resignation, she contacted her friend Jason Dulay--who was already freelancing at that time. Together they brainstormed ideas that eventually led to making free courses to teach freelancing to their curious friends.
• Eventually, the free course was a success and many were demanding a 'guided course'. That's when they finally decided to create the paid course. After which the VA Bootcamp was born, and just kept growing to what it is today.

Q & A Highlights:

Bilang isang 'breadwinner' ano ang pinagdaanan mo bago ka naging freelancer? 

Well, I came from a middle-class family. Sa apat na magkakapatid, Papa ko lang yung nag ta-trabaho, kasi housewife yung Mama ko. My family was okay until magkakasabay na mag college. Actually, papunta palang ng high school, nalipat na kami from private to public school. Tapos, noong third year ako was when I felt na nahihirapan na yung Papa ko kahit hindi niya pinapakita sa amin. So I started na maglako sa school. Nagluluto ako ng sandwiches na spaghetting palaman, gawa ng gulaman, at saka cheesesticks.

 Tapos, nung college ako, since second ako sa family namin. My sister, chose nursing. Eh diba ang mahal mahal ng nursing noong time na yun? Kaya sinabi ng Papa ko noon na “Kung kaya mong makakuha ng scholarship, kasi uunahin muna natin yung ate mo." Kasi pag nakatapos sya magiging okay daw buhay namin.

 Nakakuha ako ng scholarship sa Iligan MSU. I was also a working student. Nagtatrabaho ako sa Jollibee. Tapos pinasok ko parin yung ROTC scholarship.

 Hindi ka naman aarte kung kailangan mo talaga. So highschool until college, raketera na talaga ako, ganun. Until siyempre, yung mga nagpatong-patong na stress. It took a toll on my grades. Na-incomplete ako sa major subject ko, natanggal ng automatic yung academic scholarship ko. Atsaka hindi na rin ako qualified doon sa ROTC scholarship. So on my third year, kinausap ko yung Papa ko. And I decided to stop schooling. Then I heard na booming ding call center industry sa Cebu. Nag barko ako, inutang ko pa yung 1k na pamasahe papuntang Cebu. Just so I can go to this call center na opening sa Cebu. 

Paano mo naisip na pwede ka mag call center? Magaling ka ba sa English or confident ka naman na kahit hindi ka graduate, matatanggap ka dito?

Kasi booming siya noong time na yun. They were telling us na kahit high school graduate, basta marunong mag English at pumasa sa interview, pwede mag call center agent. So naisip ko na bookworm naman ako dati. Tsaka mahilig ako mag 'English English'. So hindi din ako nahirapan mag apply. 

Nakapasok ka kahit high school graduate ka lang?

Yes, luckily pumunta ako noong pagka open ng 9am. Tapos pag ka 5pm, natanggap din naman ako. So very thankful kay God din talaga. 19 years old ako when I started working. Ako yung pinaka bata saamin noon. Yung sahod noon was 18k. So ang layo nya sa sinasahod ko sa Jollibee. And I was super happy natapos. Kasi parang ang yaman yaman ko, mas mayaman pa ako sa mga kaklase kong nagaaral pa. 

Hindi ka nagsisi na hindi ka na nagaaral at nag wowork ka sa call center?

Siyempre pinlano ko din namang bumalik ng pag aaral after mga 1 or 2 years pag nakaipon. Kaso noong 2008, nawalan ng trabaho yung Papa ko. Noong nawalan siya ng trabaho, ako yung naging 'breadwinner'. Ako din yung parang nag papatuloy na mag paaral doon sa nursing na kapatid ko. Siyempre, yung sahod ko ay ubos. Doon ako natuto mag sanla ng ATM. Kasi, rent; tapos yung mga medicine din nila Mama; nag papaaral ng kapatid; college; isang high school noong time na yun; tapos isang elementary. Tapos monthly expenses and all. Kulang and umabot din sa 6 digits yung utang ko. 

Ano ang ginawa mo, nung nag ca-call center ka? Naghanap ka ba ng ibang raket noon?

Yes, that's when I found freelancing, actually. So Maaga-aga ko nahanap si freelancing – 2008 or 2009. Atsaka may mga forum din noon, na sinalihan ako -- to learn about working from home. And nakahanap ako ng first client ko from, sa forum din. Pilipino din siya -- naghahanap sya ng writer. Somehow, I stumbled upon the writing niche. Kasi hanggang ngayon related parin sa writing yung ginagawa ko. So habang nasa call center ako, mayroon akong up to 3 clients noon.

Nasa call center ka, tapos mayroon ka pang 3 clients from freelancing--paano mo siya pinagsasabay?

Sa call center, may shifts diba? Sa opener shift 9pm to 6am. Pag naka uwi na ako ng mga bandang 8 o'clock. Tulog hanggang tanghali. Then I start working from 1pm. Usually ginagawa ko, kapag madaming isinusulat-- sinusulat ko na sila, pero kapag feeling ko malelate ako sa trabaho, dinadala ko na siya sa call center. 

Doon ka nag tatrabaho sa call center?

Oo, sinesend ko sya sa company e-mail namin. Tapos kapag avail nag eedit ako. 

Papaano mo na-discover na puwede ka maging isang flight attendant

Noong time na yun, kahit na may freelance clients ako at saka may call center income din ako. Nag hahanap din ako ng racket--so parati akong bumibili ng Sunday newspaper. Tumitingin ako ng jobs abroad. Kahit ano, basta puwede yung high school graduate papatulan ko. 

 Tapos mayroon isa, 'Cabin crew' yung naka sulat. Crew kasi, so akala ko para service crew. Nakasulat lang naman dun, "pleasing personality, highschool graduate is welcome".  Sabi resume submission sa Marriott ng Cebu. Pag pasok kong Marriott, nahiya ako kasi ang haba-haba ng pila, at ang gaganda nilang lahat. Full makeup, full business attire. Tapos yung iba pa kasama nila yung parents nila. Tapos ako naka ponytail lang, and Sunday dress.  Sabi ko, "Ano po pala yung Cabin crew?", sabi noong kasama ko at sabi noong nasa harap ko "Flight attendant for Qatar Airways." 

Ano na nangyari sa next screening? Pumasa ka ba?

Well ayun, na text ako infairness. Kasi yun, may mga screening na-na super tiningnan yung height, tinignan yung everything. Tapos, napasubo na ako, dineclare ko nalang din na hindi 20/20 yung vision ko, kasi malaki grado ng mata ko. Hindi ako marunong lumangoy. At may peklat akong malaki dito sa legs ko. Pero siguro nga God's will yun. 

 Ayun, may mga balakid din naman noon, kasi nalagay din ako sa waiting list for a year. Tapos ilang beses din nila akong pinagpalit palit ng picture. Kasi yung picture ko na 2x2--Hindi ako marunong mag makeup, yung sariling gawa ko lang na bumili lang ako ng mga kung anu-anong make up sa Metro Gaisano. Tingin tingin lang ng tutorial, tapos nag pa picture ako doon sa parang malapit na picturan sa amin. Sabi noong ano na parang "Ay, hindi po ito pasado. Pwede pong ganito ganyan." Yung damit ko daw hindi flaunting, kasi sa ukay-ukay ko lang binili yun. 

Hanggang sa natutunan ko din na after ilang tries--during the wait list--na mag invest na mag patahi ng fitted na damit. At saka mag pa picture sa Great Image. At saka nag pa make-up ako sa salon. 

Confident ka na na mahihire ka kasi willing ka nang gumastos?

I realized the value in investing in what you want to have. Kasi pwede naman tayo mag tipid talaga. Pero in the long run, it doesn't serve the purpose. Naka tipid ka nga, pero hindi naman na bigay yung best mo. 

Naging flight attendant ka na--so ano na nangyari noong lumilipad lipad ka? Na-enjoy mo naman, marami kang napupuntahan, marami kang nakilala. Malaki ang kinita. Diba nag ta-travel ka, ang saya noon. Tapos ang dami mong name-meet na mga iba't ibang lahi. So ano na nangyari, bakit kailangang iwanan ang pagiging FA?

It was fun,--it's a lifestyle like no other--kasi binabayaran ka to fly from one point to another point. At saka international airline siya. So I'm very thankful kay God. Kasi first time ko na-experience kung paano mag stay sa mga 5-star hotels, nakilala ko na yung mga iba't ibang espresso-based coffee. Nag elevate naman yung alam ko sa buhay. I was no longer the Holly probinsyana. Before ako naging FA, never pa ako nakakaapak ng Manila. Hindi ako marunong mag MRT. When I became a FA, talagang step up yun sa akin. It was fun, nakapunta ako sa lahat ng kontinente, aside from Antartica. 

I learned a lot sa mga cultures. I had friends na iba't iba yung nationalities, kasi multicultural yung airline na yun. It was fun, pero hindi sya kasing glamorosa ng iniisip natin. 

It was corporate work. Lahat ng dapat mong gawin, subject sya dapat sa rules ng company. Mayroong curfew. Mayroong time na dapat nakauwi ka na, tapos pag hindi mo siya nagawa nasa record mo na. Tapos posible ka talagang ma terminate ng hindi mo alam. Anytime you can just lose your job. Kahit pa ang ganda ganda ng record mo. Kaya nag iipon na ako noon eh. 

Luckily, I stayed there for 5 years, and na-reach ko naman yung mga goals ko. Pero ang lungkot--malungkot. Alam mo yung feeling na--narealize ko yung buhay nung mga OFWs. I realized how lonely it was to be far from your family. Tapos kahit pang sabihin mong nakapunta ako sa yung Statue of Liberty or yung Eiffel Tower, alam mo bang after mong magpa-picture doon, masaya ka lang sa unang picture mo. Pero sa pangalawa at pangatlong balik mo, you would think eh "Ay sana nandito si Papa." It's sad--it's heartbreaking. Pero, baka din naman kasi sabihin ng iba ha na hindi ako grateful sa experience na yun. I was very grateful. Pero hindi ko din tatabunan yung reality na it was very hard to be away from your family, and from your loved ones. 

There's no freedom. Malayo ka sa pamilya mo, also takot ka na in any second it will all disappear. Mafi-fire ka--it's not as stable as people think it is. Parang kahit sa atin, kahit saan actually. 

I realized na, "Teka lang, I had more control when I was working online." So naisip ko lang "I had more control of my earnings when I was writing." Kaya din while I was flying nagaaral na rin ako. I kept enrolling in different courses. Nag u-upskill na ako. Because I knew after my--pag na pagod ako sa paglipad, I would go back to the online world.

Paano kang bumalik sa freelancing?

After a year of flying, at noong nakikita ko na yung stress, yung mental issues, loneliness and all. Nasabi ko na sa sarili ko na hindi ako mag tatagal. Actually 2 years lang yung bond namin. So sabi ko, 2 years, pero noong dumating ako ng 2 years, hindi pa ako tapos sa mga binabayaran kong utang. Nagsabi ako sa sarili ko na 5 years yung extend. So in that time span, pinlano ko kung ano yung gagawin ko--courses that I'm gonna learn--nag aral din ako ng online business. I planned ahead, everything was intentional in those 5 years. Nagbigay ako ng 1 month na notice.

Paano nabuo ang VA Bootcamp? 

Noong 5 years right before resigning, nagbakasyon ako sa Cebu--I knew Jason back then, freelancer din siya and nag i-start din nga siya ng online business. We talked about starting a business together. Tapos we were thinking kung ano yung offer--maraming mga ideas, pero naalala ko yung mga kabayan namin mga OFWs. Sabi ko turuan kaya--kasi pumasa sila sa Middle Eastern standards. Kasi marunong naman sila mag English. Techie din naman sila, nasa cellphone nag fe-Facebook. I knew, na if given the right skill, matututo din sila sa online world. If given an opportunity to know that there's another option, these people would have a choice. So naisipan kong i-suggest kay Jason na "Bakit hindi freelancing ituro natin? Since freelancer ka naman ngayon, ako nakapag freelance din dati. Yun kaya muna ituro natin?" Nagconcide din sya, kasi may mga friends din si Jason na nag wowork, asking him--kasi kakabalik nya lang from States-- kung "Bakit ka ba bumalik dito, bro?" Eh nasabi din nya na "Alam mo, ganun lang din naman kasi kinikita ko. Like kung nasa States ako or nandito ako, I can still earn in dollars. Dito nalang, kasi mas mura yung cost of living dito." 

Kaya before pa man ako nag resign na draft na namin yung free course--yung five day free course ng VA Bootcamp.

After noong free course, hindi namin inexpect na may mag pi-pitch--actually galing lang din talaga sa mga nag-enroll sa 5-day free course ito eh--yung nagsabing "Wala bang guided dyan, yung parang step-by-step talaga?" Kasi parang overview nga lang. Tapos sabi ni Jason, "Actually kung magtuturo ng fulltime, mabibitawan natin yung ibang clients”, mawalan ka din ng source of income. So what if gawin nating produkto, mag package tayo tapos ibenta natin? Para din naman, habang nagtuturo tayo, mayroon din tayo-- we don't need to get as much clients--kasi mahirap magturo ng ibibigay mo lang, kailangan may support? Which is what's really good about VA Bootcamp, kasi we built a community, hindi lang siya course. Magkakaibigan tayo halos lahat doon, pwede mag tanungan. VA Bootcamp is what it is right now, because of the people who believe in it, super thank you talaga. At saka proud kami na lahat sa team ngayon ay mostly students eh. So nakita natin silang nag-grow. 

Like everything talaga, na parang na nangyari sa buhay, I always always give it back to God eh. Kasi parang kung iisipin mo, it's pure coincidence, but I believe na in-allow ni God yun for a purpose. 

Yung sinasabi ko lang, is subukan mo muna (mag freelancing). Tulad noong sa akin, learn about freelancing--magbasa basa ka, start ka, try to get a client kahit yung part-time muna. While you're there, just to get a feel of it. Kasi it's not--simple naman yung freelancing--but it's not easy. So if you're worried, kasi madalas sa mga nag wo-work pa ngayon, nag wo-worry na. "Paano yun, paano pag hindi ko sila mapagsabay?" Actually it's a good problem to have, kasi you know na it works for you. You know that you're able to get clients, and it's a good start.

What's the most challenging part that you've encountered being a VA?

My own self. My self-criticism, I'm very self-critical and I think that's the most challenging part sa akin. I think we all have this—somehow alam mong you can do it. But the moment that you're doing it, you have this thinking na "Teka lang, hindi ko yata kaya ito eh!" And I think yun yung hanggang ngayon struggle ko siya. It happens to everyone. Yung self-criticism ko, yung inner critic ko yung most challenging sa'akin. And I'm glad to have a community. To have a support group. Kasi it helps--it uplifts you eh. Kahit pa sabihin nilang work from home ka lang, and wala kang mga kasama, wala ka nang ka-office chikka. You really have online friends sa FLIP and sa students’ group. Actually, mas nagtitiwala pa sila sa skills mo, kaysa sa sarili mo. And pag nakikita mo silang ang lakas ng tiwala nila sayo you also step up and say "kaya ko, kaya ko kasi nagtitiwala sila sa akin." And then yun, tama nga  naman pala. Kaya mo nga naman pala talaga. 

It depends on the client eh. Kasi if hindi ka tinanggap ng isang client, it doesn't mean na hindi ka tatanggapin ng isa. The thing with freelancing, you don't stop when you get one rejection. You keep on applying until you find the right client. 

Anong mga tip ang maiiwan mo sa mga newbie, lalo na kung OFW din sila--mga nasa ibang bansa at namamasukan? 

Be intentional with your choices, with your plans. And syempre kung anu man yung plans nyo na yun samahan nyo ng dasal. Kasi si God naman talaga yung parang ka-partner natin--business partner, life partner natin. Kasi kahit--gaano pa kaplanado yung mga plans mo, if hindi according sa will niya, hindi naman mangyayari yun. 

Yung to be intentional with your life, i-define mo: What's your goal ba talaga? Isulat mo siya, and then work towards it. What's your main goal sa income mo? How are you gonna do it? Kasi madalas sa atin, we just live life blindly. Na parang "Yes! Sahod na, gusto kong kumain ng ganito, kakain ako!" Tapos maya-maya wala ka nang money. Or minsan nagtrabaho ako dito sa abroad, tapos I'll stay here--hindi ko alam kung gaano katagal dito. But if you start reflecting sa self mo. Whatever your situation is right now, tanungin mo sarili mo, "Is this the situation I want to be in, in the next 5 years?"