In our next JasSuccess interview, you're gonna meet Marites.

She's part of our content creation team.

She's a former OFW who chose to go back here for good.

Why?

Because like most of us, she wanted to be liberated from the routine life of a corporate employee.

And I believe she made the right choice...

This wordsmith is now a successful freelancer.

-Working with who she wants.

-Having the freedom to set her own working hours.

How did she do it?

Where did she transition from employee life to freelancing?

What are the challenges she encountered?

Where did she find her clients?

Find out on this replay...

Freelance Writer Finds Freedom To Pursue Her Passion After 10 Years Abroad - JasSuccess Interview 05/05/2021

Introduction

Find out how a former OFW achieves freedom to pursue her passion after 10 years of working abroad. How she finds freedom working as a freelance writer, she has the privilege of working with who she wants to work with, enjoying the freedom to set her own working hours and more time for herself. 

Let's be inspired by Marites' journey, from being a former OFW to freelancing.

Notable Quotes

• Sa abroad masaya din talaga pero alam mo yung nag sink in naman sayo yung mga challenges like being away from home, routine life. Ang liit ng Dubai, kaya mo siyang ikutin in a day. So, wala kanang mapuntahan, paulit-ulit na yung ginagawa mo. It was being routinary and at a certain point it felt like being in prison, you're tied to your cubicle, you're lifted in what you do. 

• Sabi ko siguro may iba pang option, tapos dito ko nalaman ang freelancing. Sa kahahanap ko ng opportunities online, nakita ko yung mga nag work from home.

• Sa kaka search ko I was lead to VA Bootcamp. Yung mga JASSuccess episodes talagang fan na fan ako, pinapanuod ko talaga siya, na inspire ako palagi na every time I watch someone na kinaya nga niya, ex-OFW nakaka relate ako palagi kapag ex-OFW ang na interview. 

• Ayun nanunuod and then basa ng mga free courses. I sign up sa mga free courses din, binasa ko yung mga blogs, I thought "hmm.. this is something I could maybe, you know get into wala naman mawawala" 

• I preferred myself, itong mga last na mga sweldo ko ipunin ko na siya para if I'm jump into it. Syempre babalik sa Pilipinas for good, kailangan mo ng savings. So I did that and then aral-aral. 

• I would rather pay for my education, I would rather pay a mentor or a coach or a course that would tell me everything I need to know on how I can get into something. Everything I need to know from A to Z, I'm not gonna waste my time, my resources. I shall go straight and pick the brains of that someone whoever that is. 

• Hindi ako maluhong tao, I'm very minimalist. I don't have enough clothes, enough shoes, enough bags, just a few pero pag dating sa education I would invest hindi ako nag hesitate to buy courses. 

• Mayroon din akong doubts, takot din ako. I had hesitations, I had fears, I had doubts boiling up inside pero I was just overthinking. Mayroon naman palang opportunity, I wast just thinking negatively na hindi naman kailangan kasi andiyan ang opportunity.

• The beauty about freelancing for me is that I don't have to be assaulted by the alarm clock every morning.

• No more dreaded Sundays, no more alarm clock assaulting me in the morning. I get to do what I love and my time ka sa sarili mo. Best of all hindi ko kailangan gumastos ng napaka mahal na overseas calls. 

Journey to freelancing

• She receives a Degree in Bachelor of Arts Major in English because she loves English as a subject. After she graduates from college, Her first job was in a Private Firm. After a couple of years, she entered the Call center industry, when she started applying to the BPO Company she is computer illiterate, but this did not stop her from applying again after some rejections, she was finally hired.

• She works in Call Center for 4 years, but she decided to go abroad for a higher salary to support her younger sister who is studying in college.

• She worked in Dubai for 10 years. After 10 years she thought that she was far away from her family, her routine in life was exactly repeated, she was also getting ill. Therefore, she decided to stay for good in the Philippines.

• As she looked forward to a new opportunity, she learned it was good to work from home and do freelancing. She searched for freelancing, read blogs about those who are already successful Freelancers, signed up for free courses. Then eventually, she enrolled in a paid course of VA Bootcamp, which was one of those that gave her the knowledge, skills, and support to continue freelancing.

• When she first started, she had many doubts and fears. But nevertheless, she continued because of the help of VA Bootcamp who guided and believed in her that she would be successful as a freelancer.

• She is now a successful freelance writer. Currently part of VA Bootcamp content creation team. She has the opportunity to decide who she just wants to work with, embracing the freedom to set her own working hours and more time for herself.

Question and Answer 

How are you nowhere in freelancing? Are you here to stay or are you going to move on somewhere again in the future?

Hindi ko muna iniisip ang future. What is important to me right now is to enjoy the present because this is what it was. Ang sarap mag enjoy sa present kaysa mag worry ka na mag worry about the future. Just enjoy, chill lang, cool lang and do what you need to do, do what you love.

VA Bootcamp and then another opportunity. So right now, I'm fully booked I cannot accept any more clients kasi literally, ang oras ko hindi na kasya at ayoko din masaydong pagodin yung sarili ko. Syempre kaya nga ako nag freelance is to get away from the routinary life na work, work, work. No, I want to have time for things that matter to me. Like nag exercise regularly, meditate, time to communicate with God. Time to just smell the roses literally and figuratively, stop and smell the roses. So ayun, I can do those things right now kasi flexi-time. The beauty about freelancing for me is that I don't have to be assaulted by the alarm clock every morning. 

Now that you are fully book, do you still think that you are doing your passion despite the fact that you kinda feel busy? 

At times nararadaman ko yun pero mas iniisip ko yung advantages more than, you know there's a bit of inconvenience, this is still a work you really have to work hard and think a lot. Lalo na sa trabaho ko parang lagi akong gutom, kakagutom mag isip. I need to eat a lot kaya nag exercise ako kasi hindi ako nag diet. Kasi kapag gutom ako, gutom ako kailangan ko kumain. So ayun nararamdaman ko yun but then again, I look at the bigger wins that I have right now that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. 

Base on your experience, what is the biggest advice that you can give our audiences today?

Yeah, so one of the most common problems that I see by reading, by exposing myself sa FLIP and VA Bootcamp. One of the most common problems that I see is overwhelm among newbies if that's you and you're having a hard time overcoming it. Why not take this so-called Shallow water approach, it's by James Clear. He is habits expert you can check him out, he's a self-development guru. Shallow water approach means start ka lang dun mababaw, you're going to swim in the ocean kung hindi ka ganun ka skilled lumangoy nakakatakot but you can start in shallow waters literally and figuratively, and then I'll master it. Kung komportable ka na doon and just move slowly take baby steps. Like for a few days, your goal is only to practice submitting proposals and cover letters following the techniques taught inside the VA Bootcamp. 

Your goal is not to be hired, set a goal so small mag practice ka lang mag sulat ng cover letters and then submit your proposals, malay mo ma hired ka. One take at a time, take baby steps, swim in shallow waters if you still having doubts about going into the deep blue sea. Having a reliable mentor or enrolling in an online course can help lower your stress and raise your success. Yun yung para sa akin, kasi I wouldn't mind paying someone or investing my money into someone. That mentor and this course will give you everything, yung coach and mentors they walked the path that you're about to take so alam na nila where the rough patches are, they know where you need to go because they've been there. So I would rather do that than waste my time lingering and getting lost in the process, wasting my resources and my precious time. And then, pray about it. Pray before making big decisions because it's going to help you a lot, God will tell you if it is for you or not. How would you know? If you don't have enough peace about it, it is not for you. If you have so much peace about it, the chance is great He's saying "Yes" to your new adventure.