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Kaya bang kitain ang 80K per month kahit nasa Pinas ka lang?

Pano yan?

Throwback muna...

The year was 2017, it has been 9 months since Martin left his job. Like any young man dreaming of providing a good life for his future family, Martin worked hard but he didn't find what he was looking for in his previous job so he resigned.

While many Filipinos dream of working abroad to earn high income, Martin didn't really consider it as an option. The pay may be good but the application process is costly and risky. Besides, he wanted to have a job that will allow him to stay with his family and give them the attention that they need.

Those 9 months that he was unemployed, he upgraded his skills and started looking for online opportunities.

One day he came across this advertisement which directed him to a free course, and it got him intrigued:

"I earn 80k/month working 5 hours per day from home."

That's what the ads said. (Sounds familiar?)

So he bookmarked the page and continued his quest. Eventually he got hired as an email customer service representative in a BPO company, but after more than a year with them, he resigned and became a full time online freelancer.

*His BPO job allowed him to earn enough income without going abroad - what made him decide to take his chance in the freelancing world?

*He was already a regular employee - why would he take the risk of having an "unstable" freelancing career?

*He was already skilled and he knew how to follow Youtube tutorials - why did he choose to invest in the VA Bootcamp course and what did he do to get out of it?

Watch his story on this replay.

Introduction

Watch the whole video as Martin Tolentino, an eCommerce VA, explains why he took a risk on quitting his stable BPO job with Google-like environment.

Listen as he teaches us how to research and filter the noise, what are the shortcuts on finding online jobs, where can you find proper guidance and specific information, and Why “How po/” is not advised as a question to learn about freelancing.

Notable Quotes

• I decided magpahinga muna  sa pag apply apply na yun. Maghanap ako ng alternative na opportunities since IT graduate then naman ako. I have some technical skills lalo na sa web design and development kasi yun yung hobby ko.

• After graduation ng college nag research ako tungkol sa web design and development and other stuff related. Research lang wala po akong ibang ginagawa. Hindi rin ako nag-aapply.

• Since nagsesearch ako ng freelancing, yung ad ni Sir Jason nag pop-up sa news feed, due to my curiosity clinick ko yung ad napunta ako doon sa website ni Sir Jason and then as part of my research clinick ko lahat ng links doon to verify kung legit nga ba yung ganoong klaseng offer.

• I joined fb groups and nuod-noud pa ng iba-ibang videos and then doon nabuo ang idea ko about  freelancing.

• Magtatake ako ng risk para maexplore yung freelancing. I set up a plan para magswitch sa freelancing industry.  And after few months nag resign na talaga para mag focus sa freelancing at mga study ko.

• Ayoko pang pumunta ng abroad gusto ko dito lang. Para pag may Family na ako, dito lang ako sa tabi nila.

• Hindi ko kinonsider yung pagpunta ng abroad, nagfocus ako sa skills ko and yung opportunity sa freelancing.

• I have list yung mga possible skill, list na gusto ko or pwede kung i-offer sa mga clients. considering na may technical skills ako. With the help of AIDA sa VABootcamp module, nakuha ko po yung job. Yung pagiging E-Commerce Customer Service.

• Sa  freelancing journey ko po ang naging trial and error ko is yung skills na i-offer ko.  

• May advice din po ako sa mga how po kasi if you asked how po. There are 3 things na  pwedeng mangyari sa question nyo.Number 1, maooverwhelmed po kayo kasi ibibigay namin lahat ng links na alam namin regarding freelancing. Number 2, mauunderwhelmed kayo kasi links lang yung ibibigay namin and you will do the readings kasi and hindi niyo alam kung ano ang uunahin and then number 3, mai-ignore yung questions niyo kasi madami yung nag-aask and hindi namin alam kung ano yung ibibigay na information.

• There are a lot of opportunities. You just have to research and open your mind for possibilities.

• Looking forward lang po sa future, actually hindi ko din masyado iniisip yun but ,looking forward lang ako sa future. Anong mangyari doon, anong mga possible problems na mangyari, so ginagawa ko na siya ngayon pa lang and, then research. Walang humpay na research.

Martin Tolentino’s  Journey to Freelancing

• An IT graduate and in 2017, he landed his first job in a BPO company in Tarlac. He earned Php10,000 per month with a 6 months contract. Due to the low salary income and probationary employment status, makes him feel frustrated.

• He decided to resigned and find an alternative opportunity. Since he is an IT graduate, he focused his research on web design and development.

• He made a research about freelancing and came across the advertisement of Jason Dulay. Due to curiosity, he registered for the free course then joined Facebook groups and watched different videos.

• After 9 months, he applied and got accepted in a BPO company in Pampanga, as an eCommerce Customer Service where he earns Php15, 000.

• While working, he is also doing some research about freelancing and he is looking into the possibility of shifting to work online.

• As time goes by, Martin realized that he is already 25 years old and he is looking forward to having a family of his own. He thought that Php15, 000.00 is good, but not enough to support family needs.

• He invested his savings in enrolling in the VA Bootcamp and after a few months, he decided to resigned and focused on freelancing.

• After resigning, his family encourages him to work abroad but he didn't take that into consideration. For him, you will spend your time preparing your documents and spend a lot of money and you will not know what fate will bring you when you get there.

• He continues to study and he listed the possible skills he can use to offer to his clients.

• And with the help of AIDA in the VA Bootcamp module, he landed a job as an eCommerce Customer Service, the same job when he was in the BPO.

Q and A Highlights

Was it not that risky for you to quit everything, drop everything because you have not started yet?

Yes, I consider it as risky kasi ang ganda nang BPO company na pinasukan ko, and para sa akin yung environment macocompare mo sa offices ng Google so maganda and regular na rin ako doon kaya risky talaga.

What happened to your Freelancing journey?

Noong nag resign po ako sa BPO balik ulit ako sa research and nag focus ako sa WordPress. Nagququote po ako and nag-uupload ako ng mga sample website. Since, enrolled ako sa VABootcamp naka focus ako and nereview ko yung mga skills, lessons and techniques kasi wala na akong work.

What are the errors that you learned from Freelancing?

Sa freelancing journey ko po, yung trial and error ko is yung skills na ioffer ko. I have technical skills, I understand user interfaces po ako madali ko lang yung matutunan ang mga other software environments. Yun po yung problem ko in the past.

What is your Niche and how you be able to determine your niche?

eCommerce Customer Service po ako ngayon same sa work ko sa BPO dati. Meron ding module sa VABootcamp na eCommerce and I was able to focus my skills and develop it.

How were you able to filter all the skills you have in Freelancing?

I have created a board. Bumili ako ng paper, pinost ko sa wall ko. Nilista ko lahat ng pwede kung ioffer na skills at ma enhance.

How did you come up with the idea of listing your skills and posting it in your wall?

Sa part na rin ng research ko, may nakikita ako randomly and due to curiosity. Doon po nanggaling.

What will you advice to those who do not have ideas and skills that wanted to be a freelancer?

Filtering of research. Sa mga newbies, meron po tayong groups, post, blogs, keywords like Freelancing work at home. Research sa Google like Top 20 websites to work from home and top skills to offer. Yung mga top information doon, you can get some information na pwede nyong maobserve. Yun na po yung basic knowledge nyo. Kung hindi nyo po alam yung process sa Upwork or Onlinejobs.ph mag post po kayo doon sa groups, meron po yung sasagot sa tanong nyo at tutulong.

What can you say about your own experience on freelancing? Can it still be penetrated by Newbies since all jobs need experienced?

You can create ng sarili nyong experience. Hindi ibig sabihan na wala kang client is wala kang experience. Research about certain topics, may mga webinars si Sir Jason pwede nyong iabsorb.

How do you keep yourself motivated?

Nanonood po ako ng mga youtube videos about motivations and financial topics. Inaabsorb and pinafollow ko sila and nererelate ko sila sa situation ko.

Did it help your career in enrolling in VABootcamp?

Yes. kung hindi po ako nag enrol, like yung mga tips and best practices, mareresearch mo talaga siya through google and blogs, pero makikita mo ba siya? Do you have the courage to do deep research? Kapag mag- enrol ka sa VABootcamp and paid courses, nakaipon na lahat siya. Hindi mo na kailangan na mag spend ng more hours just to research.

What can you advice to those not so tech savvy mothers to push for freelancing?

For none tech savvy , meron po yung skills na hindi kailangan ng tech savvy. Sa mga task na kailangan ng tech savvy, meron namang mga tutorials sa VABootcamp, Freelancing Groups, yung iba furnished na and specific talaga.  Magconnect din po kayo sa iba’t ibang person para mag ask ng questions. Remember po na maging specific po sa skills na gusto nyong itanong.

Do you advice on people the way you have done in things?

Depende po yung attitude kasi iba iba tayo ng attitude. Take time to research and mag isip kung ano yung situation at paano mareresolve yung problema. Plan for alternatives.