In this #JasSuccess interview with AJ Garay, a 100k Masterclass student, we tackled a lot, including:

○ His life as a corporate slave.
○ Why he has no social life then.
○ How he learned about working from home.
○ How he transitioned from Corporate Programmer to a Freelance Course Developer

and a lot more...

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Notable Quotes:

• Kung ikaw ay nasa expressway, bakit ka nag-tollgate? Kasi gusto mo ng express. Ayaw mo nang pagdaanan ‘yung hirap na dinanas mo sa bayan.
• Kailangan mo ng mentors kung gusto mong maging successful. Ang hirap nang wala. Kasi, dapat laging may pupokpok sa’yo na “Huy, mali ka na.” Lagi kang may natatanungan.
• Wala namang masamang magtanong. Na-hire ka nga nila diba. Ibig sabihin, tiwala sila sa’yo.
• Hahanapin mo ‘yung passion mo. Hindi kasi puwede kung saan ka lang magaling at kung saan ka lang masaya.
• Kahit gaano ka na ka-successful, may magiging roadblock ka pa rin.
• Stay humble ka pa rin. Doon ka pa rin kung saan ka nanggaling.
• Keep on learning.
• Try n’yong maghanap ng isang tuturuan. Mas mabilis kang matuto kapag tinuturo mo.
• Never neglect the small things.
• Improve at least one percent(1%)  a day.
• Magkaroon ng daily routine!

AJ Garay’s Journey to Freelancing

• AJ is a computer engineering graduate.
• After graduation, he decided not to pursue his programming career to take good care of his mother who's sick by that time.
• But because of unsustainability, caused by the unending list of bills, he then took a job from the corporate world.
• On his first assignment, he travels not less than two hours from his home to work and another two hours from work to home. A devastating reciprocal exchange of his life.
• Even before freelancing, AJ is already a man of all trades. He tried selling insurance to sustain their needs and even peddled siomai around transport terminals and internet cafes.
• AJ will always try to sell anything that has value and anything that can meet people's needs. As a programmer, he was able to convince students to reach out to him whenever they're in need of assistance, especially in thesis making. Apart from that, he was also able to secure projects from small business establishments like canteens or cafeteria.
• As he progresses, he realized that being an employee for corporations is taking a huge toll on him, not only physically but financially as well.
• He then decided to reroute his career to become a freelance programmer, not just as an alternative but for good.
• From research, he learned about "work from home" offering courses for aspiring freelancers.
• Just like any other freelancers, AJ's transition from being a corporate slave to a full-time freelancer was overwhelming. From drafting cover letters to jaw dropping jargons, name it. "The struggle is real!"
• As he struggles, AJ's drive to success is also increasing drastically as he never thought twice about it. He enrolled to Work from Home's Road to P100k/mo freelancer masterclass. A program designed for aspiring freelancers who want to hit their One-Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100k) monthly goal, especially for Filipinos.
• With God’s grace, and AJ’s clear motivation and passion for programming, he managed to finish the course. He was able to skyrocket his rates and now creating offers and proposals that his clients can't resist. He also attributed his success from his mentors and their never-ending support.
• AJ is now one of the successful course developers in the country, and can now differentiate his passion as a developer from his career as a developer.

Q&A Highlights

How did you get started? What are you doing before you went into freelancing?

 Computer Engineering graduate po ako. After graduation, hindi po agad ako nakapag-work. Kasi parang may sakit po ang mother ko noon, diagnosed na at ilang months na lang. So I decided na, not to work nga. Hintay na lang muna. Then after noon, siyempre madaming bills, siyempre katatapos lang, kailangan ko nang mag-work.

‘Yun ang naging “emotional WHY?” ko, na ‘yun nga. Na kailangan namin ng pera kasi… yung mother ko nagkasakit at parang hindi na enough yung funds namin to sustain. Kaya nag-corporate ako to sustain.

 What was your hourly rate before?

Before 100k (Road to P100k/mo freelancer masterclass), around five (5$) lang ako (per hour.) Tapos nag-fi-fixed rate nga ako ng around twenty(20$) lang sa isang website.

How much did you raise it to?

Sa Road To 100k diba may certain level, tinaasan ko ng parang five (5$) tapos ginawa ko ng fifiteen (15$). Natanggap naman ako tapos nakakuha ako ng job. Noong una, bina-bargain ako. Kung gusto ko raw ba ng hourly or fulltime na talaga, pero 10 dollars lang.

Malakas ang loob ko noon, nag Road To 100K ako. “Know your value.” Kaya sabi ko, “hindi, ito lang talaga ang rate ko.” Biglang pumayag.

How many months did it take you to raise your rate from 5 to 15, then 15 to 25?

After ko nung Road to 100k, tinaas ko na kaagad. Hindi pa ako nag twenty five (25$). Ang masakit lang kasi, nag-try ako mag twenty five (25$). Pero wala pa ‘yung portfolio. May mga nag-i-invite sa akin, actually araw-araw meron. Ang nakakainis kasi, wala pa ako nung proof. Kailangan ko i-decline ito kasi nakakahiya. Sinasabi ko na lang na punung-puno ako ngayon.

Why didn’t you do programming when you went into freelancing?

Nagkaroon kasi ako ng trust issues. Sa LinkedIn, nag-apply ako sa isang scottish. Gusto niyang magtayo ng isang company sa Pilipinas. Nakuha ko yung project. Tapos lima kaming mga programmers din, mga hardcore programmers din sila. Noong nalaman nila na milyon yung halaga nung project, bigla silang nababaan doon sa kikitain nila, which is malaki na talaga! . Dalawang beses na ako na ganun ng mga ka-team ko. Kaya hindi ako gaanong magaling makipag-socialize sa iba, pero ngayon inaayos ko na s’ya.

Pero pinakamalapit na is, WordPress development. Pero mag-de-develop lang ako kapag magpapaayos sila. Pero ‘pag hindi talaga, focus na lang ako sa Tribe Themes. Sa Tribe Themes kasi, ‘pag may portfolio ka, kaya nang magsimula. Sa programming, ‘pag hindi ikaw ‘yung magaling talaga, hindi ipagkakatiwala sa’yo ‘yun. Kung gusto mo ng malaking client, kailangan may certification ka talaga. Kaya sabi ko, kung mag-start man ako, dito muna ako.

You’ve been through the Bootcamp and The Road to 100k, what’s the difference between the two for you, as a student?

‘Yung Bootcamp kasi, step-by-step talaga. Bigay na lahat. ‘Yung cover letter mo, parang kokopyahin ko na lang talaga. Parang katamaran na lang ang dahilan kapag hindi ka nakakuha ng client.

Sa Road to 100k naman, mas-advanced na siya kasi ikaw na ang mag-iisip lahat ng gagawin. Ang gagawin mo lang, dapat “ganito ang pakikipag-usap sa client.” Pero ikaw na ‘yung mag-execute kung paano ang diskarteng gagawin, hindi spoon-feed. Mahirap kung wala kang experience, hindi ka makaka-relate. “May client kang ganito, ganyan” hindi puwede.

Is it advisable for the newbies to accept the offer first then learn the techniques later in to get experience?

Kilala mo naman ang sarili mo. Siyempre i-google mo agad ‘yun para malaman mo. Para sa’kin, kung may makita naman ako na step-by-step video, kung paano talaga s’ya gagawin, kunwari may free trials naman. Susubukan ko na. Kung na-try ko na at kaya naman, go na agad, kahit bago pa lang.

Pero responsibility mo pa rin ‘yun, dahil ang ibang client nag-hire dahil wala talaga silang alam totally (job task.) Tingnan mo lang kung sa tingin mo ay i-ha-hire mo ang sarili mo, sa level mo, go ka! kung hindi, no!.

Do you think it’s okay to increase your rate in your first month?

If you think that’s your value, I think it’s fine. Ganito, kunwari ang expenses mo sa inyo is around 30k (Philippine pesos). Tapos ang source of income mo ganto, 10k lang. ‘Yung skills mo ang dapat mag-adjust. Kinikita mo 10k lang, saan mo kukunin yung 20k. Lalo kung full time ka pa, wala ka ng ibang puwedeng side-line. Nasa sa iyo naman ‘yun. Wala namang sinabi na kapag nagsimula ka dapat 5k lang, dapat 10k lang. Wala naman ganun na rule.

Why would you enroll in the Bootcamp instead of just researching and asking to hone your skills?

Kung willing ka pa pagdaanan lahat ng hirap o hayaan mo na si Jason ang magpakahirap at hayaan na lang natin na ituro sa atin ang dapat gawin. Si Jason na ‘yung nag-trial and error nung una. Tinuro na lang n’ya na “ito ang tamang practice.”

Kung titimbangin mo kasi ‘yung magagastos mo sa pag-trial and error, ‘yung oras at pagod mo, sa magiging shortcut mo to land a job. Minsan kasi mas okay pa rin mag-shortcut ka talaga.

How do we assess our skills to determine whether we’re good to apply for jobs?

Gawin mo, kunwari gusto mong mag-WordPress. May mga hosting site naman kasi na may 60 days trial. SmarterASP may 60 days trial sila, tapos meron silang app na installer for workers. Try mo, kung nagawa mo, go!.

Kunwari may ipapa-email, papa-automate ng email, mag-register ka sa MailChimp. Libre naman. Nagawa mo ‘yung instruction, edi go!. At least alam mo, screenshot mo pa ‘yung practice mo, portfolio mo na.

Do we need to give our clients documentations like design docs, user manuals, and so on?

Depende. Kung web design usually hindi na. Ako, ang diskarte ko, magbibigay muna ako ng draft - prototype. Huwag ka magbibigay ng manual agad. Ang ibibigay mo ay suggestions kung paano ma-i-improve ‘yung site. Kasi additional income rin ‘yun. Tapos maintenance, ‘pag natapos mo ‘yung site, kunwari “sir parang kulang ka sa SEO, feeling ko mas maganda ‘to.” Tapos na ‘yung project mo pero may upsell ka. Hindi kasi ako nagbibigay ng manual, unless na-i-request.

What’s next for AJ Garay?

Magiging sunod na akong “may sariling online course.” Tutal, may experience na rin naman ako sa programming. ‘Yung kasi, parang hahanapin mo ‘yung passion mo. Hindi kasi pwedeng kung saan ka lang magaling at kung saan ka lang masaya. Dapat sa gitna, dapat sa “gray area.”

Should someone continue his/her Boot camp course despite landing a job already?

YES! One, binili mo na. Sulitin mo na. Ang Bootcamp kasi, dina-dive ka niya sa lahat. Wala pang specialization. Kunwari hindi ka pa makapag-decide kung gusto mo maging social media manager, o kung ano?. Siyempre kung mag-ha-hire ka ng client, ‘yun lang ang magiging experience mo. Sa bootcamp kasi, susubukan mo lahat hanggang sa email. So, at least nakita mo s’ya lahat.

What would be your first course as a programmer? Do you already have a particular course in mind, e.g., app development?

Web lang. Pure web po muna. Kasi ‘yun yung may mga experience na ako at ‘yun na rin ang ginagawa ko.