You've probably seen her as one of our Lodis.

A coach to many aspiring freelancers.

But not everybody knows that she used to be...

Online seller.

Raketera.

Frustrated CPA.

Meet our very own Anna Soriano.

All she wanted is to provide for her family while staying at home.

Thanks to her sister in law who led her to freelancing.

Fast forward today.

She's an Upwork agency owner for 2 years already.

The best part?

She's able to be at home while earning, seeing her kids everyday especially now that she has
to breastfeed her baby.

No need to commute and leave the house.

She can work anytime and anywhere if there is a need to travel.

Get to know her challenges (yes, marami!) and how she dealt with them on this replay!

Introduction

A frustrated CPA, former bookkeeper, business owner,real estate agent and online seller. Anna Soriano is a wife and mother of 5. She had a dream of working at home and now she is a successful freelancer and agency owner.

Notable Quotes

• Nakita ko talaga na hindi siya parang corporate na mag stay ka lang sa isang client,  ok ka na. Kasi na experience ko nag come and go lang ang clients. Hindi ka dapat mag settle sa isang client kasi mahirap talaga. 

• Gumawa din ako ng client profile sa Upwork. Kung client ka sa Upwork paano ka kaya mag hire? Ano ba yung nakikita ng client? Paano ba yung hiring process dyan?  So, doon ko nalaman dapat maging client din muna ko, para malaman mo yung technique. Doon na nag start, nalaman ko kabisado ko na yung platform. Then nakahanap din ako ng client for may Upwork agency.  

• After kong matapos yung road to 100K, natutunan ko mag charge ng mataas. Kayang-kaya naman pala talaga walang magsasabi sayo na “hoy ang taas ng rate mo”. Tapos yung niche ko hindi na bookkeeping yung normal lang na VA. Tapos chinecheck ko yung mga profile ng mga top rated na profile sa Upwork, bakit sila nakakapag charge ng ganito? bakit ako hindi? nag try ako . Labanan lang din sa cover letter at confidence level mo sa interview. 

• Kailangan talaga kung gusto mong maging online freelancer mag aral ka ng iba’t- ibang skills. Mag join ka ng iba’t- ibang groups, magbasa ka ng mga comments kasi matuto ka din sa ibang tao. 

• Kapag sa Upwork, makikita mo yung history feedback from different freelancers. So, dun ako kumukuha ng idea  kung mataas ba siyang magbayad? Kung premium client  ba sya? Kung ok ba sya? Tapos may mga information dun, name ng business. Halimbawa, kung ano man ang task na nakasulat sa job post iyon ang isulat mo. Kasi may mga keywords, may makikita ka na name ni clients, kung meron pwede mo nang search sa  linkedin or google, para may idea ka dun sa tao para during interview, may masagot ka sa kanya. Minsan kapag nakita mo na yung mukha ng tao mas kampante ka hindi ka na kakabahan kasi nga mayroon ka ng idea sa mukha ng tao na kakausapin mo. 

• Sa interview din mag prepare ka na din ng sarili mong question. That way ma-distract si client dahil ang dami mong tanong, yung tanong nya hindi na nya matatanong kasi nga ikaw na yung tanong ng tanong. Tapos malalaman din nya na interesado ka talaga  dun sa job na inaapplayan mo, kasi ang dami mong tanong . Mas maraming tanong more chances of winning. Sa guided hustle yun din ang tinuturo ko na maglagay ng tanong at the end of cover letter. Para may chance na magreply lalo nasa Upwork yun kasi dapat para magkaroon ng conversation sa messenger para yun makakapag follow-up. Kaya dapat may tanong para mapapasagot mo sya, tamang tanong lang talaga. 

• Mag start talaga sa sarili mo muna. Kailangan talaga I feel mo yung sarili mo, kailangan ko ito magugutom na kami, kailangan tibayan ko yung loob ko, kailangan makapag hanap ako ng trabaho kasi wala namang ibang maniniwala sayo kundi ang sarili mo. Mag fa-follow na lang later on na may ibang magtiwala sayo kapag natapos mo na yung task.  Ang nagpadagdag ng confidence mo na  kaya ko pala, tama pala si Miss Anna. 

• Sa paggawa ng cover letter, dapat mag focus ka kung ano yung task na pinapagawa sayo, iyon ang resulbahin mo wag mong ipakilala ang buong buhay mo sa cover letter. Yun na talaga yung una kong ginawa. Alamin mo yung problema ng client yun ang ilalagay mo sa cover letter paano mo sya matutulungan.  

• Sa mga newbie mahirap talaga sa umpisa. Kasi ako nga nahirapan talaga ko ng bongga, nandyan yung wala kang self confidence. Lagi kong sinasabi ikaw lang talaga sarili mo lang ang kalaban mo dito , ikaw lang din ang magpapa motivate sa sarili mo.

Journey to freelancing

• A graduate of Accountancy and took the board exam, but unfortunately, she failed not once but twice.

• After she graduated, her family started to experience financial problems.

• She decided to work in the corporate world as a bookkeeper. She was also the breadwinner at that time.

• After a year of working, she meets Bong. They both decided to get married. Suddenly she felt that this was not the life she wanted when she was studying. Because when she was with her parents, she almost had what she needed.

• They were both working at that time and built a water station business when they had two children. They also had a lot of debt because the money they used for their business came from her brother. When they had three children, she already had different sidelines, like a  real estate agent. Her mommy and siblings also help with the finances for the education of her children.

• In 2015, she also tried to go abroad with her child Andrew. They just lasted two months before they got back to the Philippines again. That same year her sister-in-law introduced her to Odesk. She told her to create a profile because she had a friend who did data entry and earned 50K.

• She created an account then applied for a job. She did not get lucky in finding a client at that time.

• In the year 2016 month of May, while searching and scrolling on Facebook, she saw the ads of Jayson about Work from Home Roadmap before and now the VA Bootcamp. She reached out to her brother and asked for help to enroll in the course. In August, she took the enrolled course for almost one week. Then after three days, she had her first client. The rate is $5 fixed, but she felt she won in the lotto that time. She asked the client if there were more tasks, but her rate rose from $10 to $20.

• She shares every win she had related to finishing a task for her clients in the student group. From there, Jayson noticed and asked her if she wanted to be a moderator. She said yes since it was also an additional income. Since she already knew the difficulty of finding clients, she shared her experiences and what she did to win clients to help others.

• She had three clients after she finished the course, and then she earned 8K a week, 32K per month. That was the time she wanted to sell their water station business to help with their bills.

• In the year 2017, Jason introduces to her the Road to 100K. After she finished the course, she changed her profile to bookkeeper/virtual assistant/admin support. She immediately found a client, and her rate was $15 per hour.

• After she created a freelancing profile, she also then created an agency profile in Upwork. She had no idea at all. She just did it to know how it was.

• In 2018, she experienced having no clients or being back to zero. Then she was having a hard time because, in 2016 and 2017, she always received invites. She decided to apply again. Afterward, she received a reply from her former clients that gave her a test job, and she got 2nd place. The client said that he would come back to her if the first hire did not perform well. But she decided not to wait any longer. She applied for another job and found one. She earned $20 to $25 per hour using the things she learned from the Road to 100K course.

• When she learned that it is possible to charge a higher rate, she had thought of having an Upwork agency. The client refused her because she was 2nd placer at that time, and asked her if she was still interested in the job. That was the time she had a lot of bills to pay. So, when the client came back it was a lifesaver for her. She had regular work 40 hours a week. After a month of working, her client needs people for customer service. She mentioned that she had an Upwork agency. She asked the client if she could use her agency.  Her client approved it.

• She hired her friend working in the BPO at that time. After a year, she already has seven hires in her agency. Because of her agency, she can now pay all her bills and debts. Also, she can now save money.

• In the year 2020 month of February, she found out that she was pregnant. She still thinks that was a blessing. She almost started buying things for their house. Until the pandemic came in March, there was a lockdown. Her work was continuous aside from the Upwork agency. She still has clients in transcription, bookkeeping, and part of VA Bootcamp on the side.

• So, now she can still relax even if she takes care of baby Hanna. She doesn’t need to work focused on the laptop because of her Upwork agency. 

Question and Answer

May long term client po ba kayo na hanggang ngayon client ninyo pa rin sa niche ninyo na bookkeeping? kung meron po gaano na po katagal?

Meron pa din, pero iba na ang gumagawa para sa akin. So, alam ng client ako ang kausap niya pero pinasa ko ang work sa iba. Kasi  nga ayaw ko ng mag bookkeeping.

Nakatulong po ba yung unang job mo sa Upwork para makuha ang $15/hr na work Miss A?

Nakatulong kasi meron na akong feedback. Continuous ang clients ko kaya nagkaroon ako ng badge na top rated. I guess Nakita ni client na top rated na ako so, feeling niya alam ko na ang ginagawa ko. Alam niya na yung rate ko worth ko.

Ano ang dapat kong alamin during sa interview? Di ba may chance tayong magtanong sa client? And then kung ako naman po ay na hired na ano naman ang mga dapat kong alamin at i-negotiate sa client para naman ma avoid ko ang scam or mistake na pinagdaanan ninyo or napag daanan ng iba na beginner, hindi na sana namin pagdaanan?

Kapag  alam mo ang name ni client and business niya pwede ka mag search sa Linkedin or Google. Para magkaroon ka nang idea about sa taong kakausapin mo. During interview may mga masagot ka. Mag prepare ka ng mga questions that way ma-distract si client dahil ang daming tanong. Tapos malalaman niya na interesado ka talaga sa job.

How would you inspire and motivate newbies like me to believe that freelancing is a rewarding career? Kasi is a completely new experience ko talaga siya, then self -confidence ko nasa low pa talaga. So how do you inspire and motivate us?

Low din ang confidence ko bago ako mag start sa VA Bootcamp. Nag set ako ng mindset na kung magpapatuloy ko i-down ang sarili ko hindi ako makakahanap ng client. Kaya naman naghanap kaagad ako ng job sa Upwork. Ang rate ko $5 fixed price doon ako nagsimula low rate hanggang sa sunod-sunod na ang client ko.  Na build na ang confidence at na increase ang rate ko.

Noong nag start po kayo sa freelancing at magkaroon ng client may limit po ba ang pag accept ng offer or service sa client, ilang client lang po?

Lahat ng nag send sa akin ng invite for interviews wala akong tinatanggihan. I make sure na  pag tinanggap ko paninindigan ko na  magawa ang task. Kasi mahihirapan afterwards mag say ng “No” kung may offer na tapos hindi mo  pala magagawa ng maayos. Magkakaroon ka ng low feedback so, make sure na kaya mo gawin ang task na pinapagawa sayo at natanong mo kay client ang mga dapat itanong bago mag accept ng offer.

Ang question ko po about sa struggle nyo po when it comes noong nag start po kayo sa freelancing considering po na mother na tapos new pa po kayo sa freelancing. You have to  study  po nang course. Ano po yung naging struggle noong  pinagsabay ninyo ang pagiging mother and taking the course?

Ginawa ko kapag tulog sila doon ako nag-aaral ng course may ibang skills na alam ko na pinasadahan ko na lang. Ang hinahanap ko talaga about sa tamang paggawa ng cover letter doon ako lagapak. Nag struggle ako noong nag take ako ng course mahirap pero kailangan kayanin. Ginamit ko lahat ng learnings ko para ma prove ko na effective talaga ang course ni Jason. Naging successful ako sa course ako din ang pinaka pioneer. Effective talaga siya sa akin kaya nag share ako sa iba.