Let's agree that not everyone is born with self-confidence.

Confidence is supposed to be developed, by having a positive attitude, and always believing that you will be able to accomplish things with your skills, abilities, and experiences.

Get ready to be inspired by Liezle Igoy's story, as she shares how freelancing improved her English skills and eventually built her self-confidence.

Before she discovered freelancing, she had low self-esteem because she wasn't able to express herself clearly in speaking and in writing.

But when she decided to work from home, she was surprised how this new career changed her life.

Curious as to how freelancing changed her life? In this interview, you'll learn:

✅ How She Was Able to Succeed after having her Upwork Profile suspended

✅ How She Built Her Confidence and Improved Her English Skills with Freelancing

✅ How Her Biggest Dream Came True because of Freelancing

And a whole lot more…

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FreeLancing In the Philippines (FLIP) FB Page
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Be inspired on how Liezle succeeded and gained the confidence she needed in her freelancing journey plus the perks of a work-at-home mom.

Notable Quotes:

• Search ako ng how to be a freelancer, how to work at home, kahit saan platform. Bigla may nag pop up sa Facebook ko na yung FLIP, basa... basa... basa ako, tapos nag sign-in ako para maging member.
• Kasi gustong gusto ko talaga yung matuto.
• Habang nag-hahatid sundo sa anak ko, nag-a-antay sa school cellphone lang gamit ko kasi wala pa 'ko laptop.
• Sa cellphone nagpapa-load tapos habang nag-aantay pinapanood ko siya.
• Di ako magaling mag-English. Di ko alam kung paano ko i-construct  yung nasa isip ko through English. Alam ko sagutin pero di ko alam kung tama.
• Naboost lang po yung confidence ko nung nag-intership na ko kay Ms. Bong.
• Meron kami 30-day English Challenge. Tapos sabi ko ‘di talaga ako marunong mag-English. Tapos doon po, habang lahat ng sasabihin mo lahat ng isusulat i-English ko.
• Malaki ang tiwala niya sa akin na kakayanin ko kasi yung attitude. Unang-una po talaga tinitignan daw kasi yung attitude. Yung willing ka mag-learn.
• Yung resourceful na nakaka-hanap ka ng paraan. No need na magtanong ng magtanong.
• Sinusubukan ko muna bago ako magtanong.
• Malaking tulong si Grammarly.
• Pag sa freelancing kasi, depende pa rin sa'yo kung gaano ka ka-sipag mag-hanap ng client.
• Ako po kasi every day naghu-hustle challenge pa rin ako mag isa. Kahit may clients ako nag-sesend pa rin ako ng proposals kasi ayoko  kasi mawala yung natutunan ko. Binabasa ko lagi paano mag-construct.
• Dito kasi sa freelancing malaya ka sa earnings. Malaya ka sa lahat.
• Huwag mahiyang mag-tanong. Kapalan ang mukha.
• Mag pray and 'wag mawalan ng pag-asa lagi, tuloy tuloy mo lang.
• Take down notes. Kung meron kang hindi naiintindihan, laging magtanong.
• Time management lang talaga. Mahirap pero kakayanin kung gugustuhin.
• Attitude. Sabi nga nila yung skills natutunan. Nababasa ko rin po yan lagi pag tinatanong ka, “Are you willing to learn? Are you a go-getter?” Yung attitude sa work, ‘di ka nalalate kahit andito ka lang dapat di ka nalalate.
• Ako po kasi may ginagaya akong tao. Laging sinasabi, “Find a person na pwede mo gayahin” and then gayahin mo kung ano ang ginagawa nya at gawin mo siyang guide.

Liezle’s Journey to Freelancing:

• She did office/ secretarial jobs like data entry almost all around Luzon.
• Got tired of doing 8 to 5 jobs, she and her husband decided to go back to Cebu, her province, for good.
• She wanted to work to help her husband with their finances while still taking care of her two kids.
• Though financially struggling, in Jan 2018 she decided to enroll. Then she studied swiftly and finished the course in 2-3 weeks.
• Although she had gained experiences, they were still not enough for her to gain the confidence she needed. She was still having difficulties expressing herself in English.
• She's had several clients.
• Surprisingly, she got a 'final suspension' from Upwork. However, with the help of her clients and much verification, the suspension was lifted.
• Her mentor helped her all the way, as well.
• Upwork, Onlinejobs.ph and Guru are the platforms she is working on.
• Now, she is enjoying her life with her family, taking care of her kids, and enjoying the rewards of being a freelancer.

Q & A Highlights:

So unpaid internship yung kay Bong? 

Opo, unpaid one month. Iyun po ung kauna-unahan internship din po na pumasok.

Pero unpaid sya, ‘di ba baka mapagod ka walang bayad. Ano yung nag-push sa ‘yo?

Sobrang saya ko po kasi nung natanggap ako ni Ms Bong. Hindi ako makapaniwala. Hindi po siya masungit, friendly sa pag-hahandle ng tao.

Mi-nomotivate ka nya?

Opo. Doon na-boost lahat. Lahat ng sasabihin mo, lahat ng isusulat i- English mo. Tapos tinuruan ako maging confident.

Nahasa ka sa English Challenge mo doon?

Opo. Malaki ang tiwala niya sa akin na kakayanin ko. Kasi yung attitude ko, saka resourceful ako nakaka-hanap ako ng paraan na ‘di na need magtanong. No need na magtanong ng magtanong.

Nag-download ka na ng Grammarly?

Opo. Malaking tulong ang Grammarly kasi nakikita agad kung ano yung mali mong spelling, lahat ng construction. Although may mga lapses pa rin pero sobrang laki ng tulong.

Liezle, noong sa time span na nagstart ka ng 2018 up to ngayon 2019, yung kinikita mo ba dito sa freelancing? Natapatan niya na ba o nahigitan na yung kinikita mo sa corporate world?

Nahigitan po. Triple! Magkano lang yoong sinasahod ko dati sa pag-o-opisina, as in minimum lang. Depende po kasi kung gaano ka kasipag, kung masipag ka talagang malaki ang magiging earnings mo. Pag sa freelancing kasi, depende pa rin sa'yo kung gaano ka ka-sipag mag-hanap ng client. Ako po kasi everyday naghu-hustle challenge pa rin ako mag isa. Kahit may clients ako nag-sesend pa rin ako ng proposals kasi ayoko  kasi mawala yung natutunan ko. Binabasa ko lagi paano mag-construct.

Masasabi mo na lahat ng natutunan mo sa VA Bootcamp nagamit mo? Effective ba talaga?

Opo, na hire po ako.

Di ka umaasa sa invites? Talagang nag-a-apply ka?

Nag-a-apply ako sa OLJ, Guru atsaka Upwork.

Ano yung starting rate mo nung newbie ka?

$3/hr pinatos ko na yun kasi wala naman ako experience saka di ako choosy saka yung trabaho di mabigat at hindi time consuming.

Afterwards nag-increase rate mo? Anong rate ka na ngayon?

Sa Upwork, ine-edit edit ko lang yung rate ko. May 8 to 9 dollars. Until now, meron pa rin akong $3 kasi low budget lang kasi siya. Maganda lang on-going siya.

Paano mo na-babalance ang multiple clients at pag-a-alaga ng mga bata? Ilang taon na kids mo?

4 at 7 sila. Mahirap siya po nung una, kasi halimbawa may ginagawa ka na, kapag naka-upo ka na gusto mo tuloy-tuloy ung ginagawa mo. Kailangan naka focus. Pag may bago naman client, kailangan intindihin mabuti ang instructions para di magkakamali. Pag may ganun instances, sinasabi ko sa kanila na wag niyo muna nila guluhin si mama, mamaya magkamali  mawalan tayo ng client.

How to start po ba as in zero-knowledge as VA? Pwede po ba PWD?

Dito sa freelancing kahit sino pwede, regardless of age. Senior na siya pero nakahanap pa siya ng client. Marami din tayong student na PWD, andiyan yung hindi nakakarinig, high school graduate, college dropout. Regardless of kung ano man yung mga kakulangan mo as long as kaya mong gawin yung task ng client di ka nila i-di-discriminate.

Ano ba ang  pwede mong tips pa sa ating mga newbies lalo na sa mga bagong kaka-join pa lang?

Yung iba hindi agad-agad nagkaka-client. Hindi din madaling mag-aral lalo na kung isa kapag isa kang mama kasi yung oras mo. Time management lang talaga. Mahirap pero kakayanin kung gugustuhin.