Nothings beat a mother's love?

Do you agree?

Lahat gagawin para sa anak.

Not only will she work hard, but she'll also make sure that she gets to take care of her children.

And thanks to freelancing which allows moms to do both.

You'll meet one of our supermoms in this JasSuccess interview.

She'll share with us how she manages her time doing client work and at the same time take care of her growing children.

Not to mention that she also does other important stuff like church obligations, self-improvement, pursuing other hobbies, and activities.

Be moved and inspired by our supermom VA. 🙂

Watch this replay!

 Introduction

Kathleen, A single mom, Callcenter agent for 10 years, thrives to become a freelancer to be with her 2 adorable kids. She spends her last income on a computer without knowing how to start her freelancing journey.

She shared the struggle of working in a corporate job while her kids grow with a nanny, shared the growth of being an e-commerce virtual assistant, and she enjoyed the freedom in time and money as a freelancer in just 4 years.

 Notable Quotes:

• I'm enjoying my time more, I've no longer get full-time clients. I work at a flexible time.
• There's no limitation in learning and as long as there's an area of improvement, keep taking it, and take action.
• Make a daily rhythm to avoid procrastination.
•  Alagang Parent is different from Alagang someone else.
• We are the boss; you can fire the client when you don’t want to work with them.
• Find a good client that matches your soul, your personality, your work ethics, and your schedule as a working parent.
• Always remember to have no 0 days Kahit na napakaliit lang ang achievement mo for today as long as di ka tumigil. That 0-day one day will become a hero. That 0 to hero

Journey to Freelancing

•  She was a Callcenter agent employee for around 10 years. Started as CSR, Telemarketer and got promoted. She also becomes a Medical Representative.
•  She has No idea about freelancing and she just googled “How to earn from home”. It's difficult to manage your time as a single mom. That’s why she needed a set up that will work for them. She spends her last pay from her previous company to buy a computer.
• She became a Work from Home Mom starting last quarter of 2016. She’s already familiar with OnlineJobs.ph and started applying. Her first job as an online tutor. Since coming from a BPO she said that being an Online tutor is the easiest work you can get.
• She became an Online tutor that lasts for 1 and a half year that pays P150/hour. She works more than 8 hours to cover the expenses in the 1st 6 months then decided to set up her Upwork account. She met a client at Upwork that offered her a position in Sales which covers telemarketing and Customer Service.
• She’s a full-time Online Tutor and a full-time sales job at the same time. Eventually, she lessens her time in tutoring and focuses on sales, and got promoted to Sales Manager. But due to a lack of growth, she decided to explore other opportunities like E-Commerce.
•  She enrolled in an E-Commerce course. In just 3 weeks upon enrollment, a client reached out for the role that started the E-commerce journey. She handles several roles like Customer Service, Product Researcher, Inventory Manager, and recently, as a Supply Chain Coordinator.

 Question and Answer:

Difficulties you encounter in transitioning from a Corporate Job to a WFH job?

 There are Pros and Cons. Pros - less stress commuting. It took me 5-6 hours a day traveling to and from work. Cons - Maninibago sa set-up.

 How to manage to be a single mom?

Very Chaotic. You will lose your sanity but every time I struggle I list the pros and cons of working in a corporate and working from home. I set up a playroom for the kids so they can play there when I need to attend important meetings or calls.

Speaking of enjoying, gaano katagal before you were able to say okay I'm happy as a mom, and as a freelancer.

After a year ko siya na feel na okay this is my career. From now and moving forward. The 1st year andun ang transition phase. Andun yung magbabayad ka ng bills. Aayusin mo lahat. Aayusin mo ang skills mo. Foundation mo talaga andun lahat ng pagsasaayos mo in terms of WFH. Ma feel mo slowly yung benefit of WFH.

Looking back in your life and in your journey as a freelancer, is there anything you would like to change?

I wish I had known freelancing earlier than 2016. I wish I had enrolled in the VA bootcamp course earlier than I did, I wish I had joined the freelancing community earlier than I did do that mas maaga ko na enjoy yung WFH. Yung Freelancing. Yung time freedom, money freedom. Financial stable.

Describe to me what money freedom is?

Yung di ka lang nagta trabaho para magbayad ng bills. Kase di ba as a single mom wala ka katuwang sa bills. Wala ka namang parents na pwedeng takbuhan. I have my family of course pero di ko naman pwede sabihin sa kanila na kayo muna magbayad ng bills. I take care of that. At the same time, I have growing kids. I also need to take care of myself. Meron pa rin naman akong ME time while working from home. Marami ka kailangang asikasuhin in terms of money matters.  So when you are wfh maaachieve mo din pala yun not only time freedom. You have the option to save money.

What is your message to the audience?

To all those aspiring freelancers, not only single moms, anybody who’s looking to start freelancing. Wag matakot sa transition phase. Baka sayang yung iniwan kong opportunity sa corporate, Baka ma miss ko mga co-workers ko, Baka yung kaya ko ba yung adjustment na from being around too many people at work versus working alone. Mga simple adjustment, Mga transitions sa una di siya madali pero pag inisip mo yung goal. Ano ba yung goal mo bakit gusto mo mag work from home. Bakit gusto mo maging freelancer. Lagi mo isipin ang deepest why mo. Pag naisip mo na ang deepest why mo bakit gusto mo mag freelancing? Huwag I overwhelm ang sarili niyo, andaming courses na pwede kunan. Take things one step at a time. Di kailangan marami ka maachieve. A little achievement is already a success. Baby steps. Focus sa anong gusto mo simulan.