Moms are known for their unconditional love for their children.

Sabi nga isusubo na lang nila, ibibigay pa sa mga anak.

If you're a mom, I salute you.

In fact, our JasSuccess guest is a young mother who gave up her job to take care of her child.

Good thing she came to know about freelancing.

The best part?

After going through a lot of challenges, she finally found "The One."

She will share her story with us — bakit sya na-broken hearted sa isang client to the point of already giving up and getting depressed for 3 months.

Watch Anna Marie and get inspired on this replay.

Introduction

Watch this video as Anna Mei Torres narrates her own freelancing journey.

 Despite the heartbreaks and depression from getting declined by some clients, her passion to help and nurture her family kept her going. Find out how she managed to find “The one” and pursue her freelancing career while taking care of her family.

Notable Quotes

• Sabi ko po sa sarili ko, tutulong pa rin ako kahit may own family na ‘ko. Kahit may pamilya na ‘ko. Pero actually nung iniisip ko yun dati hindi ko alam kung paano, wala akong idea. Basta ang sabi ko lang tutulong pa rin ako.
• Ang pinaka naging helpful sa akin ay yung hustle challenge. Sumali po ako sa hustle challenge. Sobrang effective po ng mga method kung paano magsulat ng mga cover letters and proposals. 
• Yun naman po ang talagang nagustuhan ko din kasi nahasa din ang aking english communication skills, which is nagamit ko din sa pag a-apply ko as a  VA. Tapos doon ko rin po natutunan sa 51talk yung mga right ways of teaching kids.
• Wag ninyo nalang ipilit na lahat gusto ninyong gawin ngayong araw na ‘to. Minsan hindi po talaga kaya, so pwede mo siyang hati hatiin.
• Proper time management po talaga. Pero hindi sya laging applicable. Talagang may araw na lahat ng plans mo magagawa mo ngayong araw na ‘to. Minsan magta-tantrums yung baby, okay lang yun, pwedeng ipagpabukas mo na ulit yung iba mong gagawin. Wag mo nalang sobrang i-pressure yung sarili mo. Minsan po talagang mahirap po yung mommy na walang yaya.
• Kapag po kasi hustle challenge talagang masarap sa feeling na marami kang kasabay, na may nag pu-push sayo, may mga coaches na nag gu-guide sayo. Atsaka meron kaming mock interview na nakakakaba din kahit na alam mong coaches lang yung kausap mo, nakakakaba pa din talaga. Ang pinakamasarap sa feeling po kapag nagka-client ka, meron kang T-shirt.
• Sobrang understanding naman ng client ko. Wala yun sa kanila as long as naiintindihan yung point mo, hindi kailangan na fluent ka sa english.
• Thank God naman nahanap ko na yung “the one” client ko. Yun nga po ang sinasabi ko, flexible working hours, so I can work anytime, any day of the week.
• Ang maganda sa ngayon compared sa online teaching, ngayon pwede ko pong i-pause and play yung timer kung may kailangan akong gawin. Pag gabi, dun lang ako dire-diretso naka kapag work. Hindi na po katulad dati na matatakot ka na baka magka penalty.
• Para sa akin po, ngayon talaga priority yung mga bata. Ang iniisip ko hindi sila forever na babies. Yung trabaho ko nandyan lang yan, pero sila, hindi sila forever babies kaya sila parin yung first priority. 
• Pinaka masarap po sa feeling yun naaalagaan ko sila while nakakatulong naman ako sa expenses sa partner ko.
• As panganay, natupad ko naman po yung sinabi ko noon. Ngayon talagang nakakatulong parin ako sa family ko kahit may babies na.
• Never give up po. Mapapagod kayo lalo na yung mga mommies, sobrang nakakapagod. Minsan hindi mo na rin alam kung paano mo pagkakasyahin yung 24 hours, pero magpahinga ka lang tapos tuloy na ulit. Alalahanin nyo lang lagi yung biggest why's ninyo. Family, yung gusto mong maachieve sa sarili mo, yung career mo. Basta wag lang po kayong mawalan ng hope, pray lang po, pray harder, lahat ng gusto ninyo ma a-achieve nyo talaga.

Anna Mei’s Journey to Freelancing

• After graduating from college, she worked in a corporate job that she is not passionate about. However, she continued to work because being the eldest, she is expected to support her family.
• In 2017, she got pregnant with her first child, but she is still determined to help her family.
• July 2018, her friend referred her to 51talk, and she started online teaching. During the first month, she was able to handle 16 classes, working 8.5 hours a day. Eventually, as her baby was growing, sleeping patterns changed and it became difficult for her to continue online teaching. 
• Randomly, she saw a VA Bootcamp ad, wherein a mom holding her baby was working in front of her laptop. She got inspired and thought of the possibility of being a work at home mom. She signed up for a free VA course and since she learned a lot from the lessons and she was able to save money from online teaching, she decided to enroll in the Accelerated package of VA Bootcamp.
• In November 2018, she got her first client for a one-time online research project.
• She pursued the Guided Hustle Challenge despite getting her first client in hopes of getting a long term, flexible job. She found a new client during GHC, which is also a fixed project. Unfortunately, her baby got sick and was confined to a hospital. She felt guilty and thought that her baby got sick because of her shortcomings and negligence as a mother.  She backed out from doing the project for her second client.
•  In February 2019, when things got better and stable for her, she again joined the guided hustle challenge. She managed to get her third client however, due to the time difference, she had a hard time keeping up with her work and eventually quit the job.
• She then proceeded with DIY hustle in search of the long term client she’s been looking for. She gave her best in every proposal that she submitted but still got declined. 
• At that time, she got depressed and was contemplating if freelancing was really meant for her. She took a break in freelancing and was ready to go back to being a corporate employee.
• June 2019, she found out that she is pregnant with her 2nd baby, which means she needs to stay at home and tend to the needs of her first child, as well as her second child in her womb. This urged her to come back to freelancing and to submit proposals again in search of a job.
• Luckily, she found “The One” --a long term client, with flexible working hours wherein she could work anytime and any day of the week. She has been working for her client for more than a year already while taking care of her children and partner, as well as providing support to her parents and siblings. 

Q&A Highlights

 "Ang advantage mo kasi kapag nag english tutor ka, mahahasa ang skills mo sa english.” --Do you agree with this?

-I strongly agree.

Talk to us about the penalties in ESL Teaching.

-Kapag nagka-complaint or penalty ka may certain amount na ibabawas sa total ng sahod mo. Pati kapag na-late ka or absent ka.

Pagkatapos mo mag-aral ng VA Bootcamp, what happened there?

-Two months ko syang tinapos kasi hinabol ko yung Guided Hustle Challenge. Bago ako sumali sa hustle challenge nagkaroon na agad ako ng 1st client.

As a mother, itong hustle challenge na ito hindi kaya dagdag stress?

-Kailangan mo ng proper time management na kapag gising sila (yung baby), kung meron kang kayang isabay na household chores gawin mo na para kapag tulog na sila, tahimik na, mas makakapagfocus ka sa mga kailagan mong gawin online.

May tips po kayo sa mga newbies na walang yaya?

-Nung time na kami lang ni baby, proper time management at aminado ako na Cocomelon show is the key. Habang nanunuod yung baby, gumawa ka ng household chores. Pero dapat may limit kung ilang oras lang sila manunuod, i-mamaximize mo na dun kung ano yung pwede mong gawin.

Saan nyo po nakuha yung 1st client ninyo?

-Sa Upwork.

Kami pong mga newbie kailangan po ba talagang mag enroll sa VAB? 

-Actually, madami sa Youtube na mga free courses and free tutorials. What I like about VAB kasi, step by step na siya. Kapag kasi meron kang paid course mas ma mo-motivate ka na gusto mong bawiin yung pinang enroll mo at saka guided talaga. Ito yung dapat mong gawin, ito yung hindi dapat. So choice nyo rin, kasi kung wala talaga kayong budget for now, marami namang free Youtube tutorials na makikita. Kung meron naman kayo, good investment sya kasi yung knowledge habang buhay na yan sayo. Super motivated ako dati mag aral kasi alam ko binayaran ko ito, so hindi ko pwedeng sayangin yung binayad ko. Kasi kapag free lang hindi ka masyadong ma pu-push kasi alam mong madami namang free dyan. Tapos magpro-procrastinate ka nang magpro-procrastinate.

Are you enjoying your life now as a mom and as a freelancer?

-Absolutely. Ngayon, hindi ko man masabi na super successful ako in terms of salary kasi part time lang. Kung kaya ko syang i-full time, much better, mas madaming income. Pero para sakin po ngayon talaga priority yung mga bata.