Watch Maricris Santos aka Rics on #JasSuccess as she shares with Jason Dulay her freelancing success.

Rics is a QBO ProAdvisor specializing in book cleanups. She's also an Affiliate Marketer and a Technical Copywriter.

She's part of WFHR's Road to P100k Masterclass Wave 2 and has been sharing her knowledge with others through Facebook.

In this interview, Rics talks a lot including;

✅ How she was able to explore her different interests from being a call center agent to accounting officer and now a successful freelancer,
✅ How her “kaartehan'’ shaped her to where she is right now and took all the rejections as a way to improve herself in a freelance world
✅ What she thinks about Faith vs Law of Attraction

She also has the mindset that she wouldn’t exchange freelancing for any corporate job because she learned a lot from it. Discover and see for yourself as she introduced the Eight (8) Reasons, you’ll definitely be persuaded that in freelancing “you’re working because you WANT to, not because you HAVE to.”

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Notable Quotes:

• Hindi ko alam kung anong nangyari sa akin nun, 'pag merong biyaya tinatanggihan ko, may kaartehan akong ginagawa. Kapag meron naman akong gustong gusto, yun yung hindi binibigay, dun ako nari-reject.
• Parang may mindset tayo na medyo hindi naman mali pero it would depend kung paano rin natin gagamitin as strength eh, ako kasi yung kaartehan ko. Kung titingnan mo, kung hindi ako naging maarte dati, hindi ako ili-lead din sa path na kung alam mo kasi yung gusto mo tsaka ayaw mo, alam mo na i-filter yung hindi mo dapat mapupuntahan eh, kaya mas madali mo nalang pupuntahan kung ano talaga ang gusto mo.
• Yung sa freelancing kasi mahahasa yung sa rejections mo. So yung rejections sa freelancing natutunan ko, it's a way to improve yourself na mache-check mo yung mistakes mo. Hindi ka yung iiyak lang kasi 'pag umiyak ka hindi naman hihinto ang mundo sa pag-iyak mo tsaka pagri-reklamo. So mag-try ka lang ng mag-try yung parang habang tina-try mo sya kumakapal na yung mukha mo, nasasanay ka na, na-expose ka na.
• Sa freelancing more time for self-discovery and self-improvement. So mas nakikilala mo yung sarili mo. Ano ba yung strengths mo? Weaknesses mo? Ano ba yung negotiable tsaka non-negotiables mo? Yung interest mo nagwa-widen siya. Tapos more time to learn kasi yun na may time ka na magbasa ng books, may time ka na sa mga courses to learn more, ganyan. 
• Tapos, yung third naman is yung self-discipline. Kasi ang idol ko naman diyan si Jason Dulay, kasi sabi ko, 'ano 'to!, every week nalang may interview. Anong gingawa niya sa buhay niya? Hindi ba siya nagsasawa?’ Parang sa akin kasi, ang dali-daling mag-give up pero hindi siya nagi-give up, parang ang strict ng schedule niya sa sarili niya. So yun yung parang matutunan mo sa freelancing. So yun yung third, yung self-innovation, self-discipline, you'll create your own process, productivity mo na nari-realize mo kung saan ka mas productive tapos mas nakikilala mo yung sa sarili mo.
• Tapos, yung fourth one, less fear na mawalan ng work kasi 'pag sa freelancing kasi you are working because you want to, not because you have to. Mari-realize nyo yun 'pag nag-freelance na talaga kayon ng medyo matagal.
• Yung fifth na reason pala, yung smoother transition from niche to another. So unlike sa corporate na parang nakakulong ka sa kung ano yung work history mo.
• Tapos yung sixth reason, you are your own boss. You get to choose who you want to work with either sa client or sa outsource VA. Kapag matagal ka na ring nagpi-freelance, darating sa phase na yung client hindi mo siya boss parang kapantay mo lang siya. 
• Yung pang-seven, maraming ways to upscale yung freelancing. So hindi ka stock lang sa, 'okay, homebased trabaho, ganun lang.’ Pwede kang mag-release ng own ebook mo tsaka books.
• Tapos yung pang-eight, yung pinaka-love ko yung community na na-build lalo yung sa FLIP tsaka yung Blenders. Kasi makikita mo talagang tulungan, family siya. Hindi lang siya yung online community.
  
• Siguro ang sasabihin ko lang yung about sa Faith and Law of attraction. It’s almost the same din, parang term lang si Law of attraction para sa mga hindi believers kasi sa bible nakalagay na rin yan eh, sa Santiago 1:6-8, sabi dito,"Subalit ang humihingi ay dapat magtiwala sa Diyos at huwag mag-alinlangan, sapagkat ang nag-aalinlangan ay parang alon sa dagat na itinataboy ng hangin kahit saan. Huwag umasang tatanggap ng anuman mula sa Panginoon ang taong pabagu-bago ang isip at di alam kung ano talaga ang nais niya." So yung dapat alam mo kung ano yung ayaw mo tsaka gusto mo para ibibigay sayo, kasi hindi niya alam kung anong ibibigay kasi ikaw mismo, hindi mo alam kung anong gusto mo.

Maricris “Ricsei” Santos Journey to Freelancing

• She was overprotected by her parents when she was a kid due to her sickness. Her friends were books so she became an introvert, loner then brought it to High School.
• She learned a lot from her grandmother when it comes to business and savings of money.
• She got confused about what courses to take in college. She wanted Fine Arts, Music and being an Engineer but she took Psychology, however, her parents wanted her to shift to Accounting due to her weird attitude but she learned to like Banking and Finance.
• She stopped studying and tried to work in a BPO (Amazon US) just to save money for her studies. 
• She continued her studies and graduated with a course of Banking and Finance, with the help also of her Aunt.
• She applied to different banks in Makati but she refused to take those jobs due to her 'kaartehan' since she just graduated from college and didn’t know what she really wanted.
• She applied in another BPO (Coffee Account) that she felt like fulfilling when she hits her goals. But due to shifting schedule, she got sick and needed to be treated immediately.
• She tried to apply in a BDO bank but due to her 'futuristic' attitude, she wasn't able to get the job.
• She worked again in a BPO (DSL Account) and it was an unexpected turn for her that she became an SME and got promoted to TL and she stayed for almost 3 years to the point that, for being a workaholic she encountered different health issues and decided to quit from her job.
• She heard a lot about freelancing but she waited for the bookkeeping course and then got enrolled.
• She worked in a start-up company as Accounting Officer, so she had to learn everything on her own.
• As she started her freelancing journey, she encountered a lot of rejections. She has the mindset that she wouldn't exchange freelancing with any corporate job because she learned a lot and that’s how she introduced the Eight (8) Reasons on how to overcome a lot of rejections and to become a successful freelancer.

Q & A Highlights

How do you get started if you wanna focus on Quickbooks and Xero Bookkeeping?

I started don talaga sa course ni Sir Jason, yung bookkeeping course niya. Kuripot kasi ako, kaya mura yung pinili ko, siguro alam kong ayaw ko ng VA kasi alam kong multi-tasking yun, parang luging-lugi naman ako. So sabi ko, mag-specialized na ako agad. So, kinuha ko yung bookkeeping tapos from there nung nakabag ako ng client, yung hindi ko alam, na hindi pa na-discuss sa course nagri-research nalang ako tsaka I did my own experiment dun sa books kasi ‘pag alam mo naman yung pwede mong gawin sa books. 

What hourly rate range ng Quickbooks Bookkeeping?

Ang una ko kasing nilagay sa Upwork ko 20, tinanong ako ni Ms. A nun, 'Ano ba kasing hourly rate mo ngayon?' '20', 'Baba mo sa 10', so yung first gig ko yun yung rate niya $10 per hour. Okay naman siya kasi pag nag 20 hours ka per week magkano na rin yun, pag nag 40 hours ka per week magkano na rin siya.

Do you have clients that use Quickbooks Desktop version o puro Quickbooks online?

Wala akong QBD, kasi diba pag-QBD kelangan pa ng server tapos ang bagal-bagal niya. So, QBO lahat pero meron din ako ngayong Xero ang gamit, ngayon ko pa lang na explore si Xero, tama si Sir Jason na halos parehas lang. Navigation lang talaga ang aaralin mo within the software.

Anong mga specific task or areas sa bookkeeping na hinahanapan ng most clients?

Hindi ko alam pero lapitin ako ng clean-up jobs kasi ang daming bookkeeper na hindi nila alam yung ginagawa nila. So ako yung nagku-correct nung mga mali. I even spoke to one foreign bookkeeper na kinudos ako, sabi niya, 'Wow, you have must have a lot of patience in doing clean-up', kasi sila raw mismo ayaw nila yun. Wala silang patience yung mga foreign bookkeepers, so I think it’s something na pwede nating gawin kasi ang Pinoy pasensyosa at matiyaga. 

Can you take that course even zero knowledge in Bookkeeping or Accounting?

Yung course ko related siya dun, siguro I'm not the person who can answer that, parang baka sabihin kong, 'Oo, kaya mo yan!', tapos mamaya 'pag nandun na sila mahirapan sila. May VA before na tinry ko i-help kasi nadalian ako so parang sabi ko, 'Madali lang 'to, sige ganyan turuan kita', tapos nung nadun na siya nahirapan siya. So, I think it would depend kung passion mo siya, kasi 'pag passion mo naman yung isang bagay kahit ano yan ta-tyagain mo rin siyang aralin. 

Ano yung job title mo sa Upwork?

Sa Upwork, nakalimutan ko na eh, hindi ko tinitingnan yung sarili kong profile. Na figure out ko yung title sa Upwork during Masterclass, tinuruan din kami ni Sir Jason. Sobrang effective ng natutunan ko sa Masterclass about doon sa Upwork, kung paano mag-build ng profile. 

Do we still have employers that accept applicants that don't have experience with the certain specialty? And also if we do not have experience yet who use any training courses that we took as an advantage experience?

Create your own experience, your own portfolio. If it requires, let's say Canva images and create your own to show the client on how to do it.

How long ka naghintay bago nagka-client at the Bookkeeping course?

Yung Bookeeping course tinake ko siya ng April 25 last year tapos nag take ako ng QBO Cert ng May 22 last year, nagka-client ako ng June. Hindi ko na nabilang pero meron kasing days yun na depressed na depressed ako, heartbroken ako sa rejection. So nagtamad-tamadan ako, wala akong ginawa. Nahiga lang ako, umiiyak ako lagi. Pinagdaanan ko talaga yun, so from the time siguro na minotivate ako ni Ms. A from the time on, bumilang ng 3 days nagka-client ako agad nung apply ako ng apply, send ako ng send ng cover letters. Tsaka ni-review ko sa Upwork yung working na cover letter tsaka yung hindi working na cover letter. Kung ano yung nagkakaroon ako ng response sini-save ko siya sa computer parang yun yung style na gagamitin ko.

How do you answer a client who criticizes your ability to do the job when you don't have experience yet with the client and QBO?

Depende kung paano ka niya kini-criticize eh, kasi merong criticism na okay, merong hurtful talaga. Malalaman mo kapag okay yung criticism if you can learn from it, parang may advice siya for you to improve, pero kapag yung parang ininsulto ka lang na parang 'bobo mo naman', hindi yun criticism, ano yun, ininsulto ka lang niya talaga so pag mga ganun layasan mo na yun kasi hindi ka matututo, pero doon sa parang may matututunan ka, you can learn something from that client, kasi yung relationship ko rin with my client which eventually just recently pumayag siya na mag-long term na kami ng contract. Hindi din start lahat ay okay, meron din kaming away-bati na pinagdaanan. Meron kaming sagutan na pinagdaanan pero para kasing nagustuhan niya yung style ko kasi assertive ako pag may kailangan akong sabihin, sinasabi ko sa kanya pero not in a way na parang nagbabangayan na kayo.

What final advice you have for your audience Rics?

Take time to discover, yung self-discovery. Alamin mo kung anong gusto mo. Wag ka papadikta. Pangit din kasi minsan nagpapadikta tayo, 'Pangit yan, dito ka, ay maganda 'to, ay trending 'to, ay ito yung uso, dito tayo', kasi pag ganun yung sistema mo sa buhay, wala kang mapupuntahang gugustuhin mo talaga dapat ikaw mismo kausapin mo yung sarili mo, 'ano ba talaga yung gusto ko?' tapos yun, doon ka mag-focus muna. Yun nga sa Santiago 1:6-8 kanina, parang hindi alam ni God kung anong ibibigay sayo 'pag ikaw mismo hindi mo alam kung anong gusto mo. So alamin mo muna kung ano yung gusto mo talaga, kung saan ka masaya.