Struggle ba gumising on time to get ready for work?

Iniisip mo pa lang yun trapik at commute, pagod ka na?

Those are the common struggles and issues facing call center agents. Isama mo pa ang walang kamatayan na overtime.

Most call center agents also face high job stress levels, competitive work environments, and schedule conflicts.

Relate na relate ka if you’ve been working in the BPO industry for a long time na.

Struggles seem to be endless and there seems to be no way out.

But in today’s internet era, there will always be more options available to us.

One only needs to be persistent, patient, and resourceful.

Complaining and whining about it will not get you anywhere.

Be committed to your goals and take ACTION.

Just like our JasSuccess guest tomorrow.

Meet Marielle Buban.

She used to work in the BPO industry.

Not anymore.

She has successfully transitioned into freelancing...

...and is now earning Php120,000-Php160,000 per month.

She even raised her rates and hired part-time workers.

Now, she can focus more on what she does best and have more time to spend with her family.

Be inspired by her journey — her struggles, motivation, and success.

Watch and learn on this JSU replay.

• INTRODUCTION

She started her career in the BPO industry as a call center agent. She felt that she was unaligned and unconnected with the job she has before that’s why she explored more until she decided to jump into another industry and do what she loves, and that’s graphic designing. 

Her main goal was to use her creativity to step out of her corporate job but now, she is earning six digits in her freelancing career.

Let us all find out how she jumped from her full time job into her high paying freelancing career now.

• NOTABLE QUOTES

• Although I know that it is good paying and I can live by being a call center agent, it’s a good job, right? It's decent work. But, yung creativity ko hinahanap siya ng katawan ko.
• June or July 2020 came, narealize ko na, no, hindi na talaga eto yun. Like, I know na Call Center industry is not going to be my end game. So, dun ko nakita na there’s another industry wherein I can put all my creativity. I love doing my job and then getting paid higher than my previous salary.
• Wala talaga sa isip ko yung kumita muna. Like yung promises na “oh magiging 200K a month yung sasahurin mo pag nag freelancing ka”, it was not the thing that was in my mind when I jumped into freelancing. My goal lang is to use my creativity to help out other people and that’s how I started. Doon ko na realize na I love what I am doing.
• I did not build my portfolio, connections lang muna yung iniisip ko. Maka-connect lang sa mga clients na may kakilala pa na pwede kong maging clients in the future.
• Ayoko ng magsayang pa ng oras nandun ako sa bagay na hindi naman talaga ako masaya. Kasi, what’s gonna happen is that mahihirapan ako. Mahihirapan lang din yung company kasi I am not producing great work. Kaya sabi ko sa sarili ko na, sige, I’ll take this risk.
• When you love something, and you’re very passionate about something, you would really find ways to help other people. And in return, it’s gonna go back to you.
• Yung first few months na nag f-freelance ako, I (never) thought na mali yung ginagawa ko, I just thought of it na this is a lesson for me. This is not a failure, this is a lesson for me to grow. And that’s how I scaled my business.
• I started freelancing charging about 8 dollars, although it’s good, now I am already charging 1 thousand and up per package.
• I am just so happy that I am in this position kasi I am able to help out other people na din, not just my clients but I also now have a team with me that I am helping out.
• As I grow my team, I am helping more people.
• When it comes to scaling your business as a freelancer, ang masasabi ko lang is to find something that you are really passionate about kasi whatever you do, you’re not gonna fail if you love what you’re doing.
• You will always find ways to survive or get the most out of it kasi gusto mo yung ginagawa mo eh.
• Find what you love to do and focus on that. Lagi kang mag-upskill. Lagi kang magre-invest sa sarili mo. Kasi the more na nagrere-invest ka sa sarili mo, the more na nagiging confident ka sa binibigay mong service sa clients mo and the more na pwede kang mag charge ng mas mataas.
• Everything comes in practice, the more that you practice, the more that you treasure your work, the more everything comes easy to you.
• You really have to be dedicated and to love what you do.
• Happy clients refer you to other clients.
• It’s the value that I provide, hindi nila nakikita yung pricetag because they see the value that I am providing them. And the more that you love what you do, makikita yun sa work mo eh. That’s how you can charge higher.
• I am not positioning myself as someone who is taking something from my clients, I am positioning myself as someone who is giving something to my clients. You’re not taking their money, you’re exchanging it for your service, you’re giving them what they need.
• Not knowing something doesn’t mean that you’re weak or something else, it only means that you are willing to learn.
• When you are open and honest with your boss, especially when you are in a progressive environment, it really helps.
• Follow your heart because that’s the only thing that's gonna keep you alive in Freelancing.
• Find someone you know that you can help. I know that there are a lot of clients out there. Maybe, hindi lang sa Pilipinas. Think outside the box, think outside the Philippines. Even if let’s say sasabihin mo na, Marielle, I am not confident enough. Feeling ko hindi ko pa kayang mag english-english. No, going back to what I said, think of it as you are giving or serving people, not taking something. You are giving them the peace of mind that they need when it comes to their business. For them to take the time off. For them to focus on their business, makapag build sila ng business.
• How can you find your clients? Follow your path, isipin mo yung mga bagay na alam mong magaling ka na or passionate ka. Let’s say you love baking. Reach out to people, reach out to business may be in the US or outside the country na in the baking industry. Reach out to them, kapalan mo lang yung mukha mo. There’s nothing wrong with that and wala namang mawawala if you message them.
• Whenever something is really hard, don’t give up. Kasi I’ve seen kapag may mga freelancers na first few months nag-gigive up na sila, don’t. Before you do that, ask yourself, “Have I really done enough?", so, if you haven’t done enough, if you feel like di mo pa na pu-put yung effort mo. Then, try it out.

• JOURNEY TO FREELANCING

• She was a former call center agent for six (6) years. She started working at the age of 17 and now she’s 24. 
• As a young individual, being in a call center provided her with basic needs. She was also able to help her sister out and do whatever she wanted because she has money through her salary.
• Since she started working young, she was not able to discover herself.  
• As she turned into an adult, she started looking for a path to take in her career. 
• She felt that she was unaligned and unconnected to her work although it was a good-paying job, it was not enough because it was not her passion. Her system is really looking for something that she really loves to do.
• Before the pandemic, she was in her comfort zone and almost forgot about her passion for creativity. She was not thinking about jumping into another industry that she really loves because she has enough money to use for traveling. She can go wherever she wants and have time to go out with her friends. She was really content with her life until the pandemic came. 
• She was deprived of the ability to go outside when the lockdown started. When she was inside her house doing nothing, that’s when she realized that there were a lot of things she was missing to do which is her passion. 
• She started selling pastries and then she handled and managed the social media accounts of that business. But that business started to lose its customers that’s why she gave it up given that she still has a full-time job. 
• When July 2020 came, she decided to really quit her job because she knew in herself that it was not her end game. 
• Marielle opened herself into a new industry where she can do what she loves and be paid more than what she’s earning in her corporate job. 
• At first, she was offering Graphic design to other people for free and that’s how she started her freelancing journey.

• Q & A HIGHLIGHTS

Q: Do you credit luck or do you credit more yourself, and your skills and your tenacity and creativity?

A: I think I am just grateful. Not that I feel like I am lucky but I’m just grateful that I have clients that are really interested in what I do pero I’m not in any way lucky. This is all hard work. In the first few months na nagf-freelance ako, I was working non-stop. Wala akong weekends, wala akong ganun. You can do freelancing without doing that, pero I started like that kasi wala akong guidance eh. I was self-taught. I was doing research and everything sa freelancing. I don’t have any course na masusundan ko or anything na wala kang support, basically, so, yun I was really pushing myself so hard. Everything comes in practice, the more that you practice, the more that you treasure your work, the more everything comes easy to you. I don’t think na based on luck lang talaga yung ginawa ko. It’s all hard work. 

Q: Was there a timeframe or a track where you recorded kung kailan ka nagsimula na paghihirapan mo, magpupuyat ka, on sundays magta-trabaho ka, to the place na masasabi mong “eto na, pwede na akong magpahinga?.”

A: Nagpakahirap talaga ako para maging flawless yung process ko when it comes to getting my clients. Ginawan ko ng paraan para makapag-upskill ako even before starting freelancing. The moment na narealize ko na hindi na lang to basta system or organizing. That’s when I started hiring people. When I hit six figures consistently, that's when I decided I’m gonna hire someone.

Q: Could you tell us your timeline and your growth?

A: I started as a VA. Basically, I’m just doing tasks and hindi ako nakakapag step up kasi binibigyan lang ako ni Client ng idea and then ako lang yung gumagawa. Then my client grew a lot because she already has this audience na malaki talaga. And habang VA ako, nag-u-upskill ako. Natututo ako about Illustrator, Photoshop, Adobe Xd, Premiere, andami kong ginagawa. Religiously, nag-aaral ako ng social media. That’s when I told my clients that I wanted to help more by taking over Social Media and they allowed me. I actually charged a little lower than what I charge now kasi I was not confident at that time. I also realized na I only have one client and sabi ko kailangan ko ng maghanap ng isa pang client, then naghanap ako ng panibagong client. Nung na-realize kong madami na akong clients by March last year and I am already hitting 100k per month. Feeling with 3 clients I can charge higher kasi I’m doing a lot and they are growing. After 6 months, I wanted to hire people and get clients to focus more on the strategy side of Social Media Management. So sabi ko I will charge more and that’s 30% more of what I charged before. Nagulat lang ako because they are OK with it. Last year I just hired one person in my team and now I am hiring more people. By this month, I am going to on board more clients and then hire more people in my team so I can grow my client roster and my business more.

Q: How were you able to come up with your pricing when you increased it?

A: I'm still in the process of charging more and more. Gradual lang, hindi biglaan. Now, I am more comfortable and more confident in charging more kasi I am not positioning myself as someone who is taking something from my clients, I am positioning myself as someone who is giving something to my clients. No, you’re not taking their money, you’re exchanging it for your service, you’re giving them what they need. Whenever I think about giving or serving my clients, mas madali akong nakakapag decide sa amount na ic-charge ko sa kanila. 

Q: When you started your team and hired freelancers, what was your purpose?

A: First of all, my goal in the future is to hire more people. Second is to bring back employment to the Philippines. At the same time lessen my workload. It doesn’t mean na meron kang team mababawasan na yung work mo or wala ka ng gagawin kasi actually for me mas marami pa kong ginawa during that time na naghahanap ako ng tao kasi I don’t want to just load tasks to my team, I want them to be included, I want them to be involved. This is why I actually offer bonuses for learning and for education. If they want to learn Copywriting, our team has a budget for that. That is something that I take pride in because I value education. I also hire people who are passionate about what they do. I’m investing a lot of money in my team because I know that they are valuable enough. Hopefully, in the future magkaroon pa ako ng maraming team members. 

Q: What does it take for somebody to be part of your team?

A: Currently, we are hiring Graphic Designers. Hindi ako masyado tumitingin sa natapos nilang course, I’m looking into their passion. What they are passionate about. I’m also looking at how they are willing to learn kasi learning is such a big thing for me. In freelancing, di porket alam mo na gawin to ngayon, same pa rin sya ten years from now. Who is willing to work hard to learn. With graphic design, I just need someone who knows basic Photoshop, Illustrator and they also know how to navigate Adobe. I also offer my current team when they’re done with their work, they can clock out. The reason is, I don’t want to punish someone for being productive, so if you are productive, if you are willing to do the work, halimbawa, natapos mo na within three hours then you’re good. I also want someone who has the voice like if they feel like something is not good, they have the courage to tell na “Marielle, this is not good, this is better.” So if you have that courage, then I'd love you to be part of my team. 

Q: What if a person only knows Canva? 

A: I am willing to train them naman with Adobe. We can sign up for a course but right now gusto ko talaga yung at least may alam man lang before on board. With me naman kasi I’m very hands-on din. If they have questions, even with my team now, ako yung madalas nilang tanungin. We created this environment in our team na you can ask questions, not knowing something doesn’t mean that you’re weak or something else, it only means that you are willing to learn.  

Q: Where do you find the patience and the time? Sabi mo nga hands-on ka and they can talk to you, you are willing to train them, so where do you find the patience and the time to do that?

A: Contrary to beliefs na super bait ko. I always tell them na yes I am very lenient and I am progressive when it comes to things but I also have my own limits. May boundaries tayo as a team and the moment na when you are stepping another person’s rights or something like that, then I am also an advocate that work should be a peaceful environment so, even if two years ka na sa team, if you are that person who is toxic to other people, I would not be willing to take the risk na maging toxic yung environment kasi that’s the reason why I left my previous job.