“When the pandemic hit the ground, I have no choice but to close the business”

This is exactly what Analyn did.

She had to because she still has a senior high and grade 6 students to send to school.

She needed to find ways to earn additional income from her existing real estate business.

Good thing she discovered freelancing.

Right now, she’s making 6$/hour.

More importantly, she can work while taking care of her children.

She need not worry about what clothes to wear, or what make-up to put on.

Let’s get to know Analyn more on this replay.

Introduction:

The pandemic came and her business closed. With their savings dwindling, she did not know what to do to support her family. She’s 52 years old and she thought of going back to the corporate world.

But freelancing answered her prayers…

Notable Quotes:

• Halos yung expenses the same pero walang savings na pumapasok so ang hirap. At the back of my mind, talagang hindi ko na alam kung ano yung gagawin ko. Humuhugot lang ako ng lakas ng loob sa mga anak ko kasi ayokong ipakita sa kanila na nahihirapan ako.

• Actually yung husband ko, ayaw niyang sumabak ako sa ganito. Siya yung isa sa naging critic ko, yung isang destructor ko, kasi sabi nya, “Hindi mo na kaya yan. Wag ka na diyan. Hindi na para sa’yo yan.”

So, sabi ko, “Hindi. Laban lang. Kaya ko yan.”

“Matagal ka nang wala sa accounting. Hindi mo na alam, marami nang bago ngayon.”

“Kaya nga ako nag-aaral,” sabi ko. “Nagjo-join ako nga mga communities na makakatulong sa akin.”

• Yung mga ka-age ko, wag kayong titigil. Since nasa bahay lang kayo, you have all the time na mag-apply. Wag pong matakot sa rejections. Ang dami po talagang rejections. Katulad ko, yung family ko pa lang, yung husband ko lang, rejections na kaagad yun. Pero hindi ko sya sinukuan. 

• Maraming struggles, challenges, kung magpapadaig tayo sa failures, hindi tayo makakapag-move forward towards dun sa goal natin. Kasi habang nabubuhay tayo, marami pa tayong goals so kailangan nating kumilos especially nowadays, talagang mahirap po ang kumita ng pera. Nandito ako sa bahay ko, comfortable, working. Nakikita ko yung mga anak ko habang nagtatrabaho ako.

• Alam nyo yung nauusong term ngayon, yung “Sana all?” Actually, hindi ko ginagamit yan kasi feeling ko po parang negative impact kasi hindi naman lahat pupuwede, hindi naman lahat kaya. Kaya ako hindi ako nagsasabi, “Wow, sana all!” HIndi ko sinasabi yun. Pero ang sinasabi ko, “Wow! Kaya ko din yan!” Make it more on the positive side kasi hindi naman lahat yan gagawin ni Lord na pare-pareho tayo. You have to work on it. ‘Di po ba? So kailangan, pagtrabahuhan natin yun.

Kasi pagka-sinabi mong, “Wow, sana all!” parang sana ako din. Kung hindi mo gagawin yung part mo, hindi rin naman ibibigay ni Lord yan. 

• YouTube is my best friend and of course, Google. Kailangan mo lang silang hanapin kasi nandiyan lang sila. Hanapin mo lang kasi hindi naman sila lalapit sa’yo so kailangan tingnan mo kung saan ka magbe-benefit. Take this for your own advantage. Madadala mo yan sa magiging cilent mo and of course, lakasan ng loob. Kasi ako, from zero experience sa online so talagang inilaban ko na lang kung ano yung naging actual experience ko.

• Yung accounting process is just the same. The debits and credits are all the same kasi accounting is an international language of business. 

• Sa mga newbies, wag po kayong matakot na mag-try ng new learnings. Continue learning kasi it doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.  Kasi dapat tuluy-tuloy po yan kasi pag nag-stop yan, yung momentum ninyo, mawalala. Just keep on going (kasi dapat po tuluy-tuloy).

• Kahit na may client na ako, I never stopped learning kasi I want to upskill para magkaroon ng additional value sa client, para magkaroon pa ng additional clients kasi kapag nasa freelancing, magiging reluctant ka na kung iisa yung client mo or dalawa. Kaya halos lahat ng nakikita ko nagfi-freelancing, nag-u-upskill sila. So sabi ko, “Kaya ko rin yan. Makikipagsabayan ako.”

• I’m into another learning para at least magkaroon ng upskill. Kumbaga sa corporate world, gagawa ka ng paraan para ma-promote ka. Ito yung way mo para ma-promote ka, madagdagan yung kita mo. Kapag nagpahuli ka sa online world, yun na lang. Bakit hindi ka magkaroon ng additional knowledge para mai-share mo rin sa mga katulad mo na mga newbies ngayon? Para at least magkaroon pa sila ng mas magandang future sa freelancing. 

• When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let it go.

• Magkaron po kayo nga mga motivational/inspirational quotes. Paulit-ulit ko siyang binabasa para at least ma-uplift ang sarili ko. Down ka na nga, bakit magbabasa ka pa ng hindi (uplifting). Magbasa ka ng mga success stories, motivational quotes para ma-enlighten ka. Plus, yung determination to move forward. Yung end goal mo, kasi at the end of the day, ikaw pa rin yan. Ikaw pa rin yung magiging sandigan ng family mo, no matter what, ikaw pa rin yung sasandalan ng pamilya mo.

• Ito pa yung isang gustung-gusto ko na sinabi ni Col. Sanders ng KFC, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” Yan po yung talagang hinuhugutan ko kasi sabi ko, hindi naman ako ganun ka-mature so puede ko pang i-change yung direction ng buhay ko so eto nga po, nabago talaga lahat. So another part of my journey yung freelancing, another part of my life so eto in-embrace ko na siya, yung sa online world. 

• Sabi nga nila, “If your business is not on the internet or not on the online world, you are left behind.” So sana po talagang mag-change na po kayo sa freelancing.

• Hindi ko naman totally sinasabing i-change nyo; why not try? Test the waters first. Wag nyo munang i-give up kung may corporate job kayo. I-test nyo kung yung freelancing is for you. Mata-try nyo naman po kasi there’s nothing to lose. Wala naman pong bayad. Wala po kayong ii-invest kaagad. Just try.

• Marami po tayong mga free webinars, maraming community diyan na makakatulong sa atin, so just choose the best community na makakatulong sa inyo. Kung saan po yung niche ninyo, yun po yung pasukin ninyo kasi makakatulong po talaga nang malaki yan. 

Talagang grateful ako na natagpuan ko (ang communities) kaya kayo po diyan, surround yourself with people na makakatulong sa inyo like a community na ganito. (I am) very grateful and thankful for joining sa ganitong community. Maraming natututunan sa inyo.

• At the end of the day, talagang kayo pa rin ang gagawa ng script ng buhay nyo. 

Analyn M. Eneria’s Journey to Freelancing

• She was a former music lounge business owner. Her business existed for 14 years until the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Her business meant everything to her and her family. It was their bread-and-butter. She also had her real estate rental properties for students. Due to the pandemic, all income from both businesses ceased.

• Seeing her savings dwindling so fast, she went back to Facebook. She looked up freelancing… again. Yes, it was 2018 when she first heard about freelancing from her daughter and her daughter’s friend, who, at that time were already in the freelancing world. At first, she was skeptical about it. She thought it was a scam.

• But seeing the proof from her daughter and her friend’s experiences, she started to believe that online freelancing is possible. She researched freelancing and found the Freelancers in the Philippines (FLIP) Facebook Group. During this time, she enrolled in VA Bootcamp. She finished the courses and got her certifications but feeling the weight of her age (she was 50 years old then), she found it difficult to cope with online learning because of a lot of technical information.

• She joined the courses offered by VA Bootcamp like SMM (Social Media Management). Ms. Mahar was very patient with her and despite her mistakes, she learned a lot in the training. However, she felt that her heart was not in that niche. The technical information became an obstacle for her.

• When the 2020 pandemic came, her business closed. Because she felt she had nothing to do, she joined an ESL company and tutored Chinese students. She stayed with the company for more than a year until she found her niche.

• Her niche was within her all along. What is it? Accounting. Bookkeeping. She was a BS Accountancy graduate. Moreover, when she was in the corporate world years before, she was able to use her accounting skills by making reports as a restaurant manager.

• Although VA Bootcamp was a big help in giving her freelancing information and taught her to niche down, she realized that she could not apply the niching-down concept from the VAB courses. It was 2021 when she reviewed her accounting studies. After learning about her niche and what her heart is aiming for, she started searching for other communities. She found FHMoms and The Bookkeepers’ Secret Academy (TBSA). She was able to learn QuickBooks ProAdvisor accounting software.

• However, her family did not know about her freelancing studies at first. Her husband was very critical of what she was doing and was telling her to not do it, that she cannot do it, and that freelancing and learning accounting again was not for her anymore. But she persevered.

• There were many sleepless nights. She prayed hard to God saying, “Lord, my journey has been long and tough. I pray to have one client maybe at the end of this year (2021) or the beginning of next year.”

• Luckily, she was accepted for December 2021 Guided Hustle Challenge (GHC). She committed to sending 3 proposals or more per day. She was desperate because her savings was depleting. It might not last for the next year.

• Then, two days before the end of GHC, her proposals were accepted by two clients. With Coach Jason and Coach Anthony’s guidance, she prepared for her interviews. Finally, she was hired not by one but two clients!

• Her freelancing job started last January of this year (2022). Now, four months later, she is still with her two clients. One of her clients is an accounting firm, which is her dream company because she learns a lot from handling different industries while practicing her field. Her knowledge of studying Quickbooks and Xero software helped a lot.

• Now, her husband sees the value of all her hardships and sacrifices. He believes in her and supports her fully in her career in bookkeeping freelancing. Moreover, the fruits of her labor now help her start a personal project–the renovation of her real estate rental properties in preparation for the face-to-face classes this year.

Q&A Highlights

Hindi ka ba nagka-interes sa ibang mga niches diyan noong sinabi namin sa inyo na kailangang mag-niche down kayo?

Actually, meron po. Gusto ko po sana ng SMM (social media management), kaso lang talagang hindi po kasi ako marunong gumawa ng mga content. It took me one or two days para makagawa ng content. Parang hindi ito para sa akin. Pero inaral ko na lang siya kasi to my own advantage, puwede ko rin naman siyang magamit in the future.

We talked about what happened in your past. I want to know what comes in the future for you?

Looking forward, mas marami ka pang dreams na gusto mong ma-achieve. Katulad nga ng ibang bookkeepers na nakikita ko, they are now having agencies. Pina-plan ko rin pong magkaroon ng bookkeeping agency in the future kaya nag-u-upskill po ako and para rin makatulong sa ibang freelancers na nahihirapan pang makakuha ng clients.

Ano ang reaction ng pamilya ninyo ngayon? Would they be interested in joining you as a freelancer as well? 

Actually, ang unang freelancer sa family is yung eldest daughter ko po. Yung friend ng daughter ko, siya yung nagmulat sa’kin na meron palang freelancing world. Kasi akala ko din noon, scam ang pag-fi-freelance. Mahirap makapasok. So noong nakukuwento ang daughter ko na, “Uy, maganda yung kinikinta ni Rona. Sumasahod na siya ng P70,000, P90,000,” sabi ko “Wow! Ang galing naman!” Pero iba kasi yung niche nya. More on editing videos so malaki yung kinikita talaga niya, kaya nag-try ako.