So last time, we talked about freelancing fears.

And when I say that almost all of us have gone through them, I mean it.

In fact, our JasSuccess guest tomorrow has also faced his own fears.

"Rejections - a lot of them. It's frustrating and depressing at the same time. Nag-self Hustle ako after I finished the Accelerated Course. Every day I sent out cover letters, got interviewed a few times and hoping to get onboard.

Challenging din yung makahanap ng posts which matches my skills."

But the perks are much bigger than this.

No need to worry about being late because of the traffic.

No need to skip breakfast or any meals.

More time for rest.

Watch his story in this replay.

INTRODUCTION

Watch this video as Kim Ascutia tells his success story in Freelancing career.

Find out how he survived during his difficult times when his job as a training specialist in a BPO company was abolished and how he landed as a successful General Virtual Assistant for a company doing free audit work, transcribe or prepare summary notes, set up meeting calls, research various topics, prepare documents, and presentations.

NOTABLE QUOTES

• Sa mga hindi pa nag-eenrol sa VA Bootcamp, grab the opportunity, kasi that time wala pa ang promong lifetime access. Kaya kung nag pa-plano kayo ng complete or accelerated package, do it so. Imagine bukod sa may lifetime access, meron pang support group. 

• I suggest po na i-streamline nyo ang resume ninyo. Iba po yung resume’ natin when applying online jobs. Remember we're not applying as an employee but as a contractor. Yun po ang tatandaan natin. Ano po yung services na ipoprovide natin? Hindi yung mag re-render tayo ng service.We are providing the service according to the set of skills that we have.

• Minsan ang focus po natin sa success ay malaki agad.It doesn’t go that way. Sa mga nagsisimula, success can be a small step. Magsimula po tayo sa small step, and once we are there, i-challege ulit natin yung sarili natin to take another step, and then another step, until we reach kung ano ba yung success para sa atin.

• Once you enrolled either sa accelerated or sa complete package,may ini-ooffer na Guided Hustle Challenge. Take advantage of that. 

• Kailangan merong kang script for the interview. Ano yung usual question? Kagaya ng mga naunang newbies, magiging kaibigan nyo rin si Google. All you need to do is to type what are the common questions, and from there kunin nyo yung questions. Sagutin  nyo sa Tagalog and then translate them into English kasi mas madali yung sa lengwahe natin. Kung nasa province ka naman answer them sa dialect nyo. Once nasagot nyo na ang questions, translate them into English then polish them. Ayusin nyo yung grammar at yung flow. Since sagot ninyo yun, madali syang ma- imemorize.

• Isa sa mga natutunan ko sa BPO company, kasi we're dealing also to clients from UK. No matter how vague yung itatanong nyo, itanong nyo parin, kahit nakikita nyo na common sense na yung sagot. You ask for clarifications. You ask for confirmation. You ask for a confirmatory answer.Kasi they would appreciate it.

• Build up your emergency fund.  You'll never know! Baka as an employee bigla nalang mawala  yung trabaho mo. Lalo na ngayon, nararanasan natin ang pandemic, lahat po tayo ay apektado!  May mga kapwa tayong Filipino na all of a sudden, nag period kaagad ang trabaho. You have to build up your emergency fund, kasi doon mo kukunin yung gastos mo sa araw araw.

• If you are thinking of taking any of the packages,kahit wala kang skills,mag start ka parin. But if you have the skills already na katulad ko, mag level up ka. Kasi iba yung virtual world. Yung hinahanap dun ay mga skills. 

• Be more! Hindi lang dahil may skills ka na ok na. You have to be a better version of yourself.  Nasa information age na po tayo.Lahat ay halos napapanood na sa Youtube at nababasa online. Come up with a new skill or new skills na kaya ninyong gawin and then inspire success.

• Yung makakuha ka ng client is a success already. 

• When I was in college, pagpumupunta ako sa registrar office, I saw this slogan na nakapost po doon sa divider at nakaharap dun sa window para nakikita ng mga estudyante, and it said, "If you think Education is expensive, try ignorance" 

KIM ASCUTIA ‘S JOURNEY TO FREELANCING

• Kim Ascutia is a graduate of Computer Science. 
• After his graduation he worked as an office staff doing administrative work while working as a social worker to a non-profit organization.

• In the year 2000 many BPO companies arose in many parts of the country so he tried to work in a BPO company focused on content management. He started as a graphic specialist, and after several years he became a design specialist, a team leader, and later on a training specialist. 

• Yearly, the BPO company where he was working had its management review. In 2018 there was a restructure in that company and his position as a training specialist was abolished. 

• When he left the job, he decided to unwind for a few months to rest himself from stressful work and planned to find a job, but not as a BPO.

• When he came back, his friend Francis who was working as a Freelancer, helped him and recommended reading and watching Jason Dulay’s Blogs. At first, he was not interested so he tried another online course. But because of lack of support system and the slow response of the program, he decided to quit that online program. And that’s the time that he enrolled in VA Bootcamp.

• While studying at the VA Bootcamp, he set a goal to finish all sessions by October so he can join the Guided Hustle Challenge in November. He did not reach his goal to finish all the sessions on time, so he decided to do the Guided Hustle Challenge by himself . He printed out the Guided Hustle Challenge calendar and contract then signed it even though he’s not inlcuded. He followed the schedules and submitted 3 proposals each day to different Platforms. For the whole month of November, he never received any message from these applications,so he was so disappointed. But he never gave up. He improved his cover letter, resume’ and took screenshots so he can review them from time to time. 

•  One day, he received a message from a Filipino client and he was interviewed but the client said that he will just call him up soon. But Kim was so eager to reach his dream so he tried the power of “Follow-up Message”. Until on December 2, the client hired him and he got his first client. And that day was the start of Kim’s success as a Freelancer.

QUESTION AND ANSWER

What do you use to screenshot easily?

I'm using Light Shot

What is the most difficult question you encountered during the interview?

"Why would we consider you amongst the other applicants?". Challenging talaga sya kasi mapapaisip ka, ano nga ba isasagot ko dito? Yun po yung isang challenging question.

What brought you, What energized you, What are the things that happened or you did that help you keep the courage and keep the faith?

Syempre yung mga life goals po natin. Kung ano yung mga nais pa natin ma-achieve sa buhay materially at kung ano yung gustong mabili. Ano yung gusto kong maitulong financially or monetary sa bahay, sa family and outside ng family. Syempre yung pagtulong hindi naman yan within sa fence lang ng bahay natin. When we go out, marami dyan. Yung parang gusto ko syang matulungan kaya lang limited lang ako, and limited lang ang funds. Kailangan gawan ko ng paraan kaya napapaisip ako kung ano yung dapat kong gawin para madagdagan ko yung knowledge ko at present.

What comes in the future?

In the future, I’m looking forward na makabingwit po ng clients that can provide higher pay.  Para syempre we have the leniency to provide more for the family, to extend help to relatives, friends or charity works.

Ano po yung mga naging struggles ninyo noong nag-uumpisa ka sa Freelancing and how you overcame those things?

Yung cover letter, kasi template lang yung meron tayo. it's a good thing that you are blessed with a template already. All you need to do is to revise the template, polish it bago nyo i- send dun sa clients. So you have to do it in a way na ano ba yung kailangan nya? I-aalign nyo. Yung isang struggle ko is how to align my cover letter kasi hindi nga ako umabot sa Guided Hustle Challenge. 

In your recent experience looking for work, what is the skill that employers most look for?

Being responsive and communicative. Ibig sabihin ng responsive, you respond at the expected time frame kasi we're dealing here with foreign clients, whether they are from Uk, US, or Australia, kailangan responsive ka. And then maging communicative ka. You take initiative by asking questions.