We've known a lot of women who are successful in their own careers.

But usually, when they become moms, things change and everything else will be focused on their children.

Hear Honey's story of courage as she made a major decision to quit her 13-year career and work from home to be with her son. Learn how she was able to make this decision and how her passion kept her from achieving her goals for her family.

In this interview, you’ll learn the following:

✅ How She Used Her Training Expertise in Freelancing

✅ How She Manages Her Time with Family, Friends, and Clients

✅ How She Deals with Freelancing Struggles

And a whole lot more…

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How did Honey bounce back after getting broke, getting back again, lose clients and getting back again? It’s like a roller coaster ride right, sometimes you’re down and sometimes you're up. But this situation doesn’t stop her from keep going. Interesting? Keep reading!

Notable Quotes

• It’s not just online platform to find a client. Your willingness to learn and help out clients, mahahanap mo rin talaga ang the right one for you.
• Huwag ka talaga aasa sa mga platform, like sa mga newbies naiinis sila kasi hindi sila ma-approve sa Upwork. Di lang yan ang source of clients.
• Noong time na magreresign na ako sa work and daming nagdidiscourage sa akin, kasi hindi naman daw stable ang pag wowork from home. Isa sa mga co-trainer ko and number 1 na nag didiscourage sa akin. Pero after ko ipakita sa kanya ang sinusweldo ko sa Upwork, he said, “Parang may bf kalang na nagpapadala sa’yo ng pera.”
• The best part of having salary in Upwork is ginawa ko siyang savings to save it for rainy days kasi I was preparing myself to resign that time.
• Dumating ang Masterclass, sabi ko I wasn’t ready pero my mentor Jason D. said that I was ready na daw. I was really interested about it. I believe also na babalik rin ito ng doble doble at sobra sobra pa. 
• Kinulit ko si Anna na mag-enroll kami sa Masterclass para may kakilala ako pero that time wala kaming budget kasi ang mahal. Pero naka-enroll rin kami under installment payment. 
• Pero kapag walang wala ka talaga at maglalabas ka ng 7990 ay parang ang laki laki na.
• Pero kapag natapos mo naman ang courses at kumita kana maiisip mo ay barya lang pala ang pinang enroll ko.
• I learn how to raise my salary from $8 per hour to $15 per hour kaagad. So nagstart ako sa isang client for $15/hour.
• Pero my internet that time was very slow at nakaapekto ng sobra to the point that I let go of my low paying clients, but I only did not let go of one higher paying client. Because I was thinking na I’m going to close high paying clients. Nagsisi ako pero I stand up with my decision. 
• Sobrang demotivated ako and took a break from freelancing for months.
• Just to let the viewers know, I lost my biggest client, ito iyong bread and butter client ko. Nadown ang finances ko kasi ang dami kong bayarin. Sa sobrang nasanay ako sa buhay na malaki ang kinikita, super adjust na naman ako and at the same time I have also have VA employees, so I make sure na inuuna ko ang sahod nila. Hindi pwede na hindi ko sila binibigyan ng sahod kahit a little bit nalang matira sa akin. It was okay, as long as binibigay ko ang para sa kanila .
• It took months noong nawala siya, so I just recently got back on my feet. It was a trying time pa for me pero “Your only hope is in the Lord, prayer, and friends.”
• I’m happy na hindi ako ang taong madaling sumuko kasi kung talagang heartbreak ay babalik nalang ulit ako sa call center kasi it was easy for me to go back.
• Karamihan kasi talaga na didishearten kapag kumikita na ng malaki tapos bigla nalang bumabagsak.
• Pero normal  lang naman talaga yan kahit nasa corporate job ka. Hindi mo rin naman alam kung kailan ka matatanggal.
• Pero dito sa freelancing kapag nawala ang isa pwede agad agad gawan ng paraan para makahanap ka ulit ng kapalit.
• Kayang kaya natin kumita ng 6 digits sa freelancing.
• Their main excuse, ay sabihing hindi naman stable yan. Pero lahat naman guys hindi stable, kapag nagtayo ka ng business it could shut down. In corporate job your accounts could close, OFW pwedeng ma lay off, anywhere is not stable.
• Advantage natin sa pag wowork from home is you have full control of your time.
• The beauty of freelancing  is that, it can build up your character on how you treat rejections, if you lose one client you can bounce back right away and find another one.
• Test of your character to your will dito sa freelancing.
• Listen to yourself sometimes, kung pagod na pagod kana sa kakatitig sa computer mo, rest.
• Don’t push yourself to work because it will kill your energy and your creativity.
• Kapag first time mommy ka you are super excited kasi nandiyan na finally ang pinag  pepray mo na baby, but you also know na kailangan mong kumayod
• Don't wait for inspiration. Create a framework for it, I tell you this because if you're waiting for inspiration maybe it might take you time to get back. You have to get into the rhythm hanapin nyo ang rhythm na applicable sa iyo. 
• Inspiration will come, yes but you really need to push yourself. 
• We have different type of learning curve hanapin ninyo mismo kung saan kayo babagay, what your work style, what is your routine, create a framework around it and that how you will commit yourself and discipline yourself to put in the work. 
• Work proactively rather than reactively.

Honey’s Journey to Freelancing:

• She is raised up in Africa with her family but her dad decided to send her back to the Philippines when she was 18 years old. This is why she is very confident to speak in English. 
• She was a trainer at the call center for 13 years. It was really fun for her back then.
• But the traffic she faces every day, night shift schedule and rainy days drive her to quit her career.
• She tried online jobs from 2010 to 2011. She got into a VA agency then she got a client from them for 6 months. But she missed her call center days and she got back as a trainer and enjoyed it again.
• She got pregnant and had a miscarriage and took leave of absence for about 3 months. But she wanted to have a baby back then, so she decides to rest from the call center job for a year, then she got pregnant.
• They have gone to his husband place in General Santos City to have a conducive environment. They sell their house in Montalban to be able to buy a house there until their funds are not enough for their needs.
• So they decided to go back to Manila and find work again. She taught it will be easy for her to get a job since she has a lot of experience. She couldn't find a job because of her pregnancy.
• After she gave birth to her son Jarred, She worked again in the call center. But she felt the burden of not having to be with her newborn to work and earn.  Her husband that time is struggling to find work because he doesn't have call center experience, so she’s the one who is successful in finding a job. It worked out for them for 3 years and that was her last job. She felt that it is not healthy anymore.
• Her husband was able to find a job that same year she decided to pursue her freelancing career.
• She started to find lessons online, saw several dollars paying courses and saw peso paying courses. One of them is Work From Home Roadmap (WFHR), now Virtual Assistant Bootcamp. She started to join the group first but did not enroll right away. She took a while for her to decide on enrolling. She likes the feedback from the community, so she said to herself, "This will be the way for me to learn online skills.” Then after she received her 13th-month pay, she used that to pay for the enrollment fee.
• On the first week of learning the courses, she already got a premium client. She went straight to $8/hour. Her client asks her, "Are you sure this is the rate you really want?" so she thought "Really I could bid a bit higher than $8?" Sadly, it didn't work out for her and that client because she made a lot of mistakes. She booked a flight without knowing that her client doesn’t want the airline she booked, she’s very slow for the task given to her by this client. She thought that time “Am I stupid?” She felt like she is really stupid. Knowing that she succeeded as a trainer for years, facing, and first to speak with the foreign clients. Why on this client she cannot do a great job? She even said to herself, “What is wrong with me?” That time her confidence was demolished.
• She used Facebook and started to stalk a person on Facebook who became her second client. She messaged her if they have a job opening and she said none, after a few months she messaged her again and offered that she is willing to be an intern for free. The client agreed but told her that she cannot allow her to work for free and offer a small payment, it worked out for them for almost a year. That client pushed and encouraged her to become a Social Media Specialist. She gained momentum to keep going and had another client for $8/hour.
• Then, the Masterclass came. She was hesitant to enroll because of the enrollment fee which is a big amount for her. Although she had a client at that time, still not enough to pay for the enrollment fee. She enrolled under an installment plan.
• Eventually, the Masterclass gave her the opportunity to have higher-paying clients and reach her goals. Be able to raise her salary from $8 per hour to $15 per hour.
• Masterclass courses helped her to reach 6 digits earning then.

Q & A Highlights:

What happened afterward when you got back to Manila from General Santos City? How did you bounce back?

Sabi ko if babalik ako ng Manila, it will be easier for me to come back. Nag try ako pero struggle kasi pregnant ako that time. First nila consider kapag pregnant ka di ka pwede mag work. So I couldn’t find jobs sa call center, so I looked for jobs online. I did research tasks one time projects lang. Like research, email management. Pero parang hanggang doon lang ang alam ko. Kinikita ko minsan $50 on one project. It was tough because it cannot meet our daily needs. Both June and I had no job so our funds is depleting then. I remember the days, our budget for the day is 50 pesos lang even less than that. Nag try kami magbenta ng barbeque sa labas ng nirerentahan naming apartment, pinakamataas lang na kita per day is 200 pesos a day on a good day pa yan and very rare, once or twice a week lang. That time I cannot even afford to buy folic acid, milk, my checkup fees kasama pa ang rent ng apartment, kuryente pa. I struggle so much because we don’t have much money. I was just crying when I was lying down. Another problem occured when I was on my 7 month of pregnancy, nag-aattempt si Jarred lumabas and I was admitted to prevent that from happening (damage na naman yon sa budget). My siblings took care of our bills sa hospital. As much as ayaw ko sana dahil mataas ang pride ko. Sabi ko sa sarili ko right after ko manganak mag wowork ako ulit. Believe it or not, noong November 29 nag-apply na agad ako. I got an interview December 20 and I was about to start January 6. The following year, I started working then. But you know the struggle yung hindi ka pa naka rest ng fully?

Nabawi mo ba ung pinanang enroll mo na 30K sa  masterclass and did you ever reach the Road to 100K?

Sobra sobra, bawing bawi to the point na we were able to buy a house inside exclusive subdivision. Hindi ko pinagmamalaki pero I’m really happy. I feel like appreciative kay Lord na binigyan niya ako ng ganon klaseng blessing na kinaya kasi dati sa call center di ko maafford yon.

What are your niche?

Instructional design, I create courses for businesses.

Ilan na ang clients mo ngayon?

After ng dry months ko, slow internet speed only 1 client left. I started client 1 after another 11 all in one go. But I don’t have that 11 clients na ngayon.

You’re a first time mom and your son is almost 3 years old, nakita namin kung gaano siya kalikot that time. How did you manage being a full time mom with 11 clients? 

Ito iyong time na nag break away ako from freelancing for a couple of months. Ito ang process na kung ano ang gagawin ko. How is my frequency of work going to be like in a day? Then after clients come in parang pumasok na lang sya sa framework ko. Ang maganda rin kasi sa mga clients ko is that they never gave me a fixed hour of work, “I’ll do want I want to do as long as I deliver.”

Hindi ka raw ba natutulog? 

Natutulog ako, bonggang bongga nga eh.

So anong sikreto kung paano matulog pag may 11 na clients?

This is what I always tell to those who were asking, “All the bulk work, do it from Monday to Wednesday pagdating ng Thursday to Friday minimal work nalang yan.” Ginagawa ko jam pack ko ang mabibigat na work from Monday to Wednesday. Walang mangiistorbo sa akin niyan, walang Facebook, walang Netflix kahit adik ako don, para pagdating ng Thursday pwede na ako sumingit ng Netflix at kain sa labas. May rule rin ako na hindi ako mag wowork ng Saturday to Sunday. If mag work ako that time, it’s my fault, kasi hindi ko ginawa at the early days ang mga dapat kong gawin.