"Raise your hand if your life has been touched, nurtured, and impacted by a wonderful teacher!

...

That's a lot of hands! Almost everyone!

...

Now raise your hand if you've had teachers that sold "stuff" to their students because their salary is not enough! (By stuff, I mean tocino, snacks, school supplies, etc)

...

Wow! Interesting!"

Picture yourself in this imaginary audience. Would you have raised your hand twice? I have a feeling that you would, especially if you went to a public elementary or high school back in the day. It wasn't uncommon for teachers to look for additional sources of income to support their families.

Fast forward to the present time. In recent years, there have been some improvements to how public school teachers in the Philippines are compensated. This is a wonderful news, especially when you consider how much burden teachers carry, and how significant their role is in youth development and nation-building. They deserve to be paid well for their contribution to society.

While we should be thankful for these changes, it is also true most of the time, that having a single source of income is not enough to secure a good future for your family and live the lifestyle that you want.

So how can a full-time teacher hustle without resorting to selling stuff in or out of school?

Ask Teacher Creityl and she'll probably tell you to try online freelancing! But why?

"I can earn dollars while at home. Also, I can cuddle with my son, feed him, and be with him while earning. Since my work time is flexible, I can work during recess at school and anytime during weekends. I never thought I could earn this amount of money monthly. It's really a big help to my family."

Hear the rest of her story and learn from her experience so you too can have a side income that can potentially replace your earnings from your current job.

[INTRODUCTION]

Creityl Edar's life has not been easy at first due to the disadvantages and complications she encountered when she was still studying up until she started working as a full-time teacher. Fast forward, she is now earning more as a freelancer while continuing her role as an educator, in pursuit of success and prosperity.

[NOTABLE QUOTES]

• Doon ako nagstart isipin na kapag may trabaho, marami ka ng kinikita. Hindi ko naisip na kapag may pera at trabaho ka, marami ka ring responsibilities na kailangang gampanan lalo na 'yung mga gastos. Hindi pala gano'n katotoo yung expectations ko dahil yung sweldo mo hindi pa kasya sa monthly expenses, kaya naisip kong baka kailangan ko na ng extra income.
•  'Yung iba iniisip nila kapag teacher, malaki daw sweldo pero hindi nila alam marami ring loan.
•  Nagsearch ako about ways on how to earn online at 'yung lumalabas ay mga data entry, copy-paste or captcha. Hindi rin gano'n kaganda 'yung mga reviews kasi you're earning less tapos grabe 'yung time spent into doing those tasks. Kaya parang na-discourage ako mag-apply sa gano'ng klaseng jobs.
• Nag-apply ako kaso wala akong idea kung paano magsulat ng mga cover letters. The usual way is 'yung parang nag-aapply ka formally sa mga jobs. Kaso walang pumapansin kaya naisip ko kung para sa akin ba talaga ito. 'Yung feeling na gusto mo ma-hire at magawa 'yung gusto mong gawin pero hindi mo lang alam kung paano. Kaya 'yung naisip kong way ay mag-enroll sa Virtual Assistant Bootcamp para maliwanagan 'yung isip ko.
• Naisip ko na baka hindi niya ako payagan kaya sinikreto kong mag-enroll, hindi ko talaga sinabi sa kanya. Nung nag-enroll ako, tinapos ko siya ng one week lang instead of one month, kasi gano'n ako ka-excited at gusto kong ma-absorb lahat ng information para makapagstart. Nung natapos ko yung mga videos, nasabi ko na ang dali lang pala and I'm so excited to apply. Then I realized na mahirap pala makakuha ng client at first. Unti-unti kong inapply 'yung mga natutunan ko kasi ang hirap ding i-absorb lahat ng information sa course. Everyday nag-iimprove 'yung cover letters ko at sumali ako sa Hustle Challenge.
• Talagang 'yun ang tumatak sa utak ko na kailangan ko itong i-apply para makakuha ng client. Isa rin po sa mga natutunan ko na - let yourself be open to new information. Kasi as a teacher, may times na naiisip ko while watching the tutorial videos about data entry na alam ko na ito. Pero all the while naisip ko rin na hindi pala siya gano'n kadali, tapos may mga bagay din pala na maaari ko pang malaman nung nag-enroll ako sa Virtual Assistant Bootcamp.
• Yung mga friends and co-teachers ko na sinasabihan kong mag-freelancing at sabi nila "hindi ba 'yan scam?" kasi nasa notion nila na kapag online jobs, 'yung mga nagtitinda o 'yung maraming scam. Sabi ko hindi at ipinakita ko 'yung Upwork profile ko and earnings, then doon na sila naniwala na may online world or freelancing pala.
• Sobrang thankful ako kay Sir Jason, most especially kay Lord kasi nakita ko yung ads na 'yun sa Facebook. Kung hindi dahil doon, wala ako sa freelancing ngayon. Masasabi ko sa mga nanunuod ngayon na nahihirapan din - I've been there. Talagang ang hirap makakuha ng first client. Pero kapag nakuha mo na, sunod-sunod na iyon. Basta keep praying, maniwala ka lang at saka be determined kung ano talaga gusto mo. Find ways para makuha mo iyon, kasi marami akong napagdaanan like discouragement and challenges. I still tried and ngayon, I'm still standing and working as a freelancer.
• Ang masasabi ko lang po as my parting message. Sa mga newbies diyan, naging newbie din po ako before and ngayon masasabi ko din na may experience na konti. Pero sa mga newbie pa, just keep on trying and don't lose hope kasi kung para sayo talaga, ibibigay 'yan. And also, don't forget to pray kasi kapag ipinagdadasal natin, talagang may answer si Lord diyan. Just keep pushing kahit maraming discouragements, like what Sir Phoenix said - just shake it off and stand-up.

[JOURNEY TO FREELANCING]

• She came from a poor family and she struggled a lot during her time in studying. She thought of being unable to attend college because of her life status.
• She tried harder and with the grace of God, she was able to finish high school and college through scholarship. She was able to graduate with a degree in Elementary Education major in Special Education.
• After finishing studies, she worked in a call center company for 3 months only then had to go home to study and prepare for the upcoming board exam.
• Having passed the board exam, she started to apply for private schools then got accepted to a public school where she is currently working in the present.
• She realized a lot of things when she was working;
  •  Earning money also comes with great responsibilities.
  •  There are a lot of expenses and bills to pay.
  •  Her family goals are being set aside because of other priorities at home.
• That's when she thought of having an extra income aside from teaching full-time.
• She didn't consider to do online selling at that time. Instead, she surfed the internet to look for a lot of opportunities and that's when she found out about online jobs like data entry and others.
• At one point, she saw a Facebook ad regarding a work-from-home opportunity that is advertised by Mr. Jason Dulay and took advantage of the free courses offered.
• There came a chance where she was able to enroll in the paid courses where she kept it a secret from her husband due to personal reasons.
• Getting a client seemed really challenging for her and she felt demotivated a lot of times, as she observed other freelancers succeeding in just a short amount of time.
• With the guidance and help of the VAB team who gave her an opportunity to do a Virtual Assistant task, it significantly contributed to her profile and boosted her morale and confidence, which allowed her to get her first client from UK.
• There are drawbacks along the way which greatly affected her work/life balance. But she held steady on what she believed and prayed, waiting for God's perfect time to give her what she truly deserves. Fast-tracked, she's now earning more than what she expected and continues to produce great results, which will then lead to achieving her family goals.

[QUESTION AND ANSWER]

Have you ever considered going full-time in freelancing?

Naiisip ko siya, pero sa ngayon parang hindi muna, kasi hindi naman gano'n ka-stable ang freelancing. Clients come and go, may dumadating at mayroon ding umaalis. Pero naiisip ko siya in the future kapag nakapag-ipon na. Kasi honestly, I am earning more than my daytime job as a teacher in school.

Is that a bit comfortable na may nag-aalaga sayo?

Yes po. Kasi dun sa DepEd, parang regular na talaga like until you retire may job ka.

How were you able to explain all these to your husband and your family?

Nung na-hire na ko, dun ko na po sinabi sa kanya. Nagulat siya kasi hindi ko sinabi dahil baka magalit at hindi pumayag. Kaya after a year saka niya nalaman. Masaya naman siya kasi nakakatulong. Sabi nga niya: "baka may mga jobs diyan na kaya kong gawin at pwede kong i-pass sakanya. Sabi ko maghahanap ako.

How do you balance your life? Where do you find the time?

Para lang po sa kaalaman ng mga nanunuod, I am a multi-grade teacher which means dalawang grades po yung tinuturuan ko in a classroom. Like I am handling grade three and grade four. Kaya po siya naging multi-grade kasi konti lang po yung students. This year, grade three has ten students while grade four has six. Overall, my students are 16 only. In terms of workloads, I can find time to do it in school and as much as possible, I will not bring schoolwork at home to focus on freelancing.

How do you find the brain cells and patience?

Minsan sumasakit po 'yung ulo ko and sinasabi ko sa client ko - all these things are really hard to comprehend because they are difficult. The client understands how complex the tasks are and the cost of hiring might not be cheap in their place. I just hope the tasks are more suitable for me as a virtual assistant instead of those things that only accountants do.

What should we look for Creityl in the future?

The first thing, my dreams and goals for my family might have come true. Kasi for now we're planning to build the house since nakabili na po kami ng lote dahil sa freelancing. Being able to stand up on my own while not relying on just one source of income. And freelancing is really an answered prayer for me to earn an extra income aside from the things that I cannot do. I'm very thankful right now to Virtual Assistant Bootcamp sa mga naitulong nila, especially the templates AIDA and ROPE to appear more interesting to clients.