It's not easy to work from especially if you have other chores to do.

Lalo na siguro if you're a mom of 3.

But I believe it's fulfilling.

Well, that's what Mahar said.

"Mahirap yet fulfulling ang maging work-at-home mom. (Yung naalagaan mo ang mga anak mo at kumikita ka at the same time, malaking bagay na sakin.)"

Her family's main source of income was closed due to the pandemic.

So it's a big thing that she gets to work from home.

"Nevertheless, nowadays, I am thankful that I have work. Our restaurant is closed which is the major source of our income. I really hope this pandemic ends so everything can be back to normal."

She's one of our successful freelancers. And I'm proud of her.

And we've been asking her for so long to share her journey because we know it'll inspire many.

You know what.

She finally said YES!!!

Woohoo!

Our very own Mahar is finally a certified JSU guest.

Watch this replay to see how hyper she was during the interview! 🙂

Introduction

Let’s find out how a mom of three balances freelancing at the same time performing family duties. You will get a lot of tips on how to perform your tasks and earn effectively without affecting the well being of your family especially your kids. Take note of Mahar’s best practices, strategic work processes, and correct attitude to succeed in freelancing as the new Operation Manager of VA Bootcamp.

Notable Quotes:

• Nahirapan akong makatulog yung problema lang iniisip ko pero sabi ko sa sarili ko dapat hindi ko siya isipin. Maghahanap ako ng solusyon.
• Nag-try akong mag-apply. Ang hirap pala, walang nagrereply sa akin. Kung may nagrereply man ganito sinasabi "I'm afraid I can't hire you. I admire that you're a breastfeeding mom and everything...” Kung mapapansin niyo kaya pala walang pumapansin sa cover letters na sine-send ko kasi kinuwento ko na ang buong buhay ko. I was literally asking for a job, tapos sinasabi ko na I want to help my husband sa finances namin.
• Feeling ko hindi mag-wowork ito kasi tandem breastfeeding mom pa ako. Pero actually feeling ko confidence issues na lang siya.  Siguro sa back ng mind ko natatakot akong mag-apply , natatakot akong ma-reject.
• So VA Bootcamp talagang mapupush kayo. Kung maging student kayo at natatakot talaga kayong mag-apply so doon meron kayong mga kasabay na students and sabay-sabay ninyong ipupush sarili niyo para sa iisang goal na makakuha ng clients.
• Hindi ko ma-imagine sarili ko di ba from Intern to Operational Manager. May nakikita din siguro sila na hindi ko nakikita sa sarili ko.
• Kung tatanungin niyo kung happy ako ngaun, Yes! Happy ako kasi kumikita ako while taking care of my kids tapos yung parents ko they don't have to worry sa bills  kasi kami na nagbabayad ng kuryente tubig at pagkain.
• Hindi man ako kumikita ng 6-digits for now pero happy ako na nakakapag-provide ako sa family ko by working 3-4 hours a day and this time gustong gusto ko yung ginagawa ko.
• For now ok muna saken to, mas importante mas marami akong time sa kids. 
• Sa mga nag-uumpisa pa lang find your biggest “why”.
• Pero sa tingin ko importante din na tanungin mo sa sarili mo if happy ka ba sa papasukan mo. Pag-aralan mong mabuti if mag-eenjoy ka ba sa freelancing. I suggest na i-try mo siya sa right path by enrolling in the VA Bootcamp courses kasi mahirap ma-lost track.
• If you don't like where you are right now, move! You're not a tree. Kung hindi ka masaya na lagi kang narereject, alamin mo  bakit  ka narereject, re-evaluate mo cover letters mo, re-evaluate kung paano ka mag-handle ng interviews. Madaming  blog post na makakatulong sayo.
• Take action! Isa sa mga mantra in VABootcamp is No Zero Days. So kahit maliit na bagay na gagawin mo everyday towards your goal, eh gawin mo siya kasi importanteng maka build ka ng momentum, so paunti-unti hanggang marating mga goals mo. 

Journey to Freelancing

• A graduate of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture at UP Los Baños, Laguna. She worked as a student assistant to help her parents in financing her college education.
• She worked as a Science Research Specialist on the Bureau of Plant Industry for 10 years. It is a good-paying job and has a comfortable working environment.
• She got married in 2011 and blessed with three kids, 2 girls and 1 boy.
• She decided to switch to Network Marketing as she earned more. She struggled with her schedule being a mom and having a long-distance relationship with her husband who’s working as a manager on a farm in Batangas.
• They settled down in Laguna and established a Lechon  business.  They continue to struggle financially due to debts and their business is not doing really well too.
• Her cousin introduced her to freelancing. She tried really hard to apply but received lots of rejections. She found out the VA Bootcamp by Jason Dulay wherein she learned the effective ways of sending cover letters and she gained broader knowledge about freelancing.
• She became fully-equipped with lots of knowledge and best practices to become an effective and competitive freelancer. She had some conflicts in juggling with her tandem breastfeeding-mom career and being an aspiring freelancer.
• She became the FLIP group  community manager.  Due to her dedication, creativity, and experience in managing people from her previous jobs, she got promoted from being a community manager to the operational manager of the VA Bootcamp.
•  She is now a full-time, happy and contented work-from-home mom, a food business owner of the popular Kanochi’s Kilawin  and a bubbly and very inspiring VA Bootcamp's operational manager.

Q&A Highlights

Does your work from the Bureau of Plant Industry help you to what you are doing now in VAB and FLIP?

Nung nasa BPI ako pinapahawak nila ako ng social teams, so ako ang nag-oorganize ng mga trainings, tapos tumatawag sa mga chief directors, at saka pagdating din sa isa kong work sa DOST ganun din so na-develop yung skills ko siguro sa pag-handle at pakikipag-usap sa mga tao.

Is one-on-one coaching still available?

One-on-one coaching noong hindi pa uso ang Guided Hustle Challenge tapos nagpapa-schedule sila sa coaches to feedback the profiles and cover letters. Guided Hustle Challenge, eto na yung todo na yung pagbibigay ng feedback ng mga coaches and kailangan tapos mo na VA Bootcamp courses to lead you and help you find your next clients.

Paano niyo po na  handle stress?

Na-stress ako pag nag-wowork ako tapos biglang mag-iingay mga bata, hindi ka makapag focus sa work. Pinipilit ko  talaga hindi magtrabaho sa umaga, iwas tayo sa stress.

Is VA Bootcamp your bread and butter?

Actually our bread and butter is yung business na kainan after pinanganak si bunso doon nag-boom, dati kung lubog na lubog kami ngaun siya na yung kumikita. So etong freelancing addtional na lang talaga pambayad sa mga utang and expenses.

Are you happy and contented with where you are now?

Yes, contented and happy. Sobrang thank you sa lahat ng bumubuo ng VA Bootcamp dahil sa inyo napagaan ninyo ang freelancing journey ko and dahil sa inyo andito lang ako sa bahay taking care of my family.