Mommy Ginger
Let's talk about Business, Beauty and Babies!

15 Freelancing Tips You Should Know About


Advertisement

After knowing how to “fear-proof” your freelancing journey, I think it’s about time that we talk about the realities of freelancing. Obviously, this article was not written to scare you (or was it? Haha! Just kidding!). But, I really thought about writing this, because more and more people are interested to try out freelancing in the Philippines.

More companies are also open to hiring independent contractors. Also, a lot of people have been asking me about freelancing tips, especially from those who are thinking of shifting careers.

I’m sure you’re at that point in your life if you’re reading this article today. It’s either you’re in the process of becoming a freelancer or creating some changes in your freelancing career. Or maybe, you’re just curious about what freelancing really is or you want to get into freelancing, but you’re feeling a bit lost and unsure of how to start.

Whatever the reason is, I’d like to share 15 things about freelancing that you should know about. I’ll talk about the harsh realities and all the exciting things that make freelancing such a thrilling career option.

 

  1.    It takes a brave and courageous heart to be a freelancer.

Some people say online freelancing is easy. All you have to do is sit back and do things your own way.

But the truth is, it takes a brave heart and a courageous soul to be a freelancer!

It requires dealing with people coming from different countries, societies, and cultural backgrounds.  Yet as a freelancer, you have to surpass all of those barriers and differences to do you work and deliver world-class work.

And this is not an easy task.

 

  1.  Technological Limitations are real.

A recent article from Cosmo.PH says that the Philippines is one of the worst places in the world for freelancers. The factors they used to measure this included average internet connection speed, free Wi-Fi, and the average cost of a cup of coffee.

This is sad and true. You would hear a lot of freelancers complain about their internet service providers and the speed that they’re getting. There are also co-working spaces and good coffee places where you can get work done, but a freelancer’s budget is limited.  

As freelancers, we rely a lot on these things. If internet drops intermittently, then it’s game over for us. If any of your gadgets break down, like your laptop, all else will. With this, you always need to come up with a back-up plan in case these things happen while you’re working.

 

  1.    Avoid possible miscommunication between you and your clients.

You and your clients may have different beliefs and ideas. When you have clients from other countries, this is more likely to happen since you come from different countries and are brought up with different sets of values and grew up in different cultures.

Miscommunication may also happen because of differences in perception and intention (as I mentioned during my PayPal Freelancer Community Workshop). It can also be due to the differences in intonation or the words that you chose when communicating with a client.

So, as much as possible, try to keep this in mind and seek clarity with everything that you do for the client to avoid miscommunication. Write down how you understood the task and document everything. Send minutes of the meeting to your client so everyone is aligned.

 

  1.  We may feel that we’re alone (most of the time).

All freelancers would agree that they spend more time facing the computer than meeting an actual human being around them.

They barely go out because they are busily working at home. They don’t have co-workers to speak of, but if they do, these co-workers are all virtual co-workers. So, oftentimes, they feel alone.

But this feeling is something that can be addressed. There are a lot of meet-ups, workshops, and training sessions that you can attend. If you really need someone to talk to, join “offline” activities like the PayPal Freelancer Community Workshops. If you’re online, you can also get some support and reassurance by interacting with other freelancers in the PayPal Philippines Freelancer Community Group. We can all share our challenges and our triumphs in this group, as well as be updated on the latest workshops when they’re announced!

 

  1.  Contracts end and clients move on.

One thing to expect is that change is a reality. At any moment, the person or company you’re working for may end your contract or close down. If the client would like to try another service provider, you do not have the right to complain (legally) unless you have a contract that says so. In this kind of work, there is no such thing as “employment contract” that guarantees tenure or at least a 30 day notice from either party.

You client can end your contract any time — if they feel that they have no need for a freelancer. You have to live with it and move on.

What you can do about this is to plan ahead. Look for ways where you will have a steady stream of clients. Continue to build your net worth, so that you can charge and demand a higher rate. This will help you manage your finances well (you will need fewer higher paying clients than getting a lot of low paying clients). You can keep and build relationships with higher paying clients.

 

  1.    Hone your Time-management skills

Clients are coming from all over the world.  Because of this, you would need to track timelines and deadlines based on their location. This way you won’t miss any deadline or fail to comply with the client’s requirements. Make sure that as a freelancer, you have the “world clock” working on your phone most of the time.

You also need to learn how to manage your time effectively.

Working from home or remotely may mean that you also need to do housework or take care of the kids. You also need to have your ‘me time’ to keep your sanity in check.

There are free online tools you can use to maximize your time. One of the tools that you can use is called Tomighty, a free online pomodoro app that lets you do tasks in 25-minute intervals.

 

  1.    Practice being Organized!

As a freelancer, it is necessary for you to learn how to organize things around you. Organize your desk (a clean desk brings clarity of thinking!). List the things or duties that you have to do. I have seen that “To-do-lists” work especially well.

Use tools that you are comfortable in using. If you are comfortable with writing in a notepad or notebook, then do it. If you feel more comfortable using Google Calendar, then use that. Online tools like Google Docs recently integrated calendars, notes, and a to-do-list tracker so you could take control of your tasks all in one place. And guess what! This is absolutely FREE! All you need to have is a gmail account to get started.

Another thing that I often miss is to send invoices on time. Do you know that PayPal has an invoice creation functionality? You can easily create invoices and easily send these to  your clients.

Check out how you can create and send an invoice:

If you don’t have a PayPal account yet, you can sign up here: http://bit.ly/GA_O_PayPalSignUp

 

  1.    You need to have Clerical Skills, too!

The administrative functions are tasks that we can’t do without. As a freelancer, we need to know how to send emails, collate data, do follow-ups, schedule events, and do all clerical tasks. You would also need to understand how to do basic accounting and bookkeeping in order to run your freelancing business.

You can use technology to make the most of your freelancing career.

Apps like Quickbooks and Freshbooks can help you track income and expenses easier. You can also use PayPal’s Report feature to keep track of your financial statements. This will give you insights, financial reports, and other information and help you create strategies to grow your funds, too.

 

  1.    Online Visibility Matters

As a freelancer, you need to have a strong online presence.

You need to learn how to market yourself and your services. You should be easily found by your potential clients.

You also need to be visible and available online. Your clients might contact you for different tasks at any time of the day. Remember, no client would like to send a message and receive a response the following day, except if it is a Sunday or an official holiday.

Based on experience, the more active you are online and the more you interact with others, the better it is when you’re still looking for clients.

 

  1.    Know how to market yourself and your services

As a freelancer, you are marketing your skills and the things that you can do.

The way you market yourself will be a testament to your marketing abilities as a freelancer. You are your own “portfolio”. Make sure that you let them know who you are, what you have done in the past, and what you are capable of doing. Continue to learn more about marketing.

 

  1.    Gain respect and trust.

Clients look at two things: your skills and expertise and your past performance. One way of looking at your previous performance is by looking at the posted feedback on your profile in different freelancing sites. Another way for them to see if you are a serious freelancer is if you take your craft seriously (if you are running a legit freelancing career with business documents, if you are using trusted payment methods like PayPal, etc.). I talked about this in a recent blog post. You can read this: https://mommyginger.com/mythbuster-why-you-need-to-pay-your-taxes-as-a-freelancer.html

You win respect and trust over time, so you need to be consistent in delivering amazing work.

 

  1.   Be Ready for Possible Stressors

Expect that as an online worker, you will most probably face a lot of stressors related to communication, internet connection, deadlines, and the like.

You need to learn how to adapt and manage things properly despite all the bumps along the way. A strong support system is also crucial. Surround yourself with people who understand and who will help you during these times.

 

  1.    Be cautious of scams

A lot of online predators nowadays are waiting for those people that they can scam. They would offer scam investments to try to get your hard-earned money. It is best to study every so-called opportunity before grabbing it. Protect yourself and your money by researching well and doing due-diligence before jumping into any “legit” investment or opportunity.

This is why contracts are important. It protects you from scams and other dubious deals. It’s also essential in ensuring your financial stability as a freelancer.

Never work on projects without having at least a 50% down payment. Even if you’re working with friends, it’s best to ask for down payment when dealing with projects.

PayPal has an option for creating invoices to make it easier for you to collect payment from clients. You can also set up invoices for recurring projects and even create templates for the services you offer.

 

  1.    Trial and error

We all make mistakes. If you lose a job, all you have to do is look for another. Learn from past mistakes to better your craft. Focus on the long game. Never lose hope and always aim to be better every day.

 

  1.    Keep the passion and the fire burning!

Remember that you’re doing something that gives time flexibility. Do things that you love doing! Money will come once you’ve found that sense of purpose.

In cases when you feel tired, just remember that we are all human. Obviously, we get tired at times. This does not mean though that it’s time to give up! Just think of why you’re in this kind of career and why you chose this. Remembering your purpose can help you realign your focus and meet your goals.

 

So that’s it! I hope all these freelancing tips helped you get more realistic view of what to expect when your start freelancing.

Do you have any questions about freelancing? Let me know in the comments section below.

FEAR-Proof your Freelancing Journey

First of all, I’d like to thank the hundreds of people who have attended The Freelancer Fair. I am deeply moved by your support. I hope that The Freelancer Fair will be a milestone in your freelancing journey. As I’m excited to write about the fair, I found myself thinking about the industry and things that stop freelancers from achieving their dreams. I’ll probably write about the fair in the days to come. I decided to download all of my thoughts into this blogpost.

I’ve seen this industry grow and thrive since 2010. This was the year I started my own freelancing journey. The freelancing industry is definitely a colorful industry. This is what I find most appealing about it. There are a lot of things happening, a lot of events and workshops, a lot of online courses being offered and a lot of live videos, and a lot of inspiration. There’s enough variety to make someone from the outside curious about what’s happening on the inside.

In this industry, there are people willing and able to help you start freelancing. They will help you when you’re stuck in a rut and don’t know what to do. There are big brands, like PayPal, who support you every step of the way (BTW, if you don’t have a PayPal account yet, you can click on this link: PayPal). We have more than 20 communities in the Philippines. Each of these communities have their own advocacies and each one captures their own segment of the industry. All of these support are readily available for anyone interested to be a freelancer.

So I still wonder why there are still aspiring freelancers who are scared to get into this fun-filled, super caring and supportive industry? Why can’t they start their freelancing journey? Why is one disheartened (after a few months or a year) to continue freelancing? Why do some people fail while others succeed?

A big factor is FEAR. We are scared of a lot of things.

I talked to a lot of long-time freelancers and those who are thinking of jumping into this industry and I have grouped the “fears” that they have encountered into 6 FEARS.

Fear #1: Lack of skills
Being new to this industry, we hear things like Virtual Assistance, Online Business Manager, Email Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Content Marketing, SEO, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Artificial Intelligence, Media Buying, etc. Most of these things are words that we haven’t heard before. We often feel that we may not be able to grasp and fully understand any of these things. We think that we may not have any place in this freelancing world, but this is not true!

IMHO: There will always a place for you in this industry IF you REALLY, REALLY want to be part of it. You just need to discover your own strengths and weaknesses. After which, focus on your strengths and develop skills that are aligned with these strengths. Note that if you discover in the future that what you really love is not in this industry, there is nothing wrong with that. The most important thing is that you live a life doing the things that you love.

Also, we need constantly be curious about different things. We always need to strive to learn something new every day!

Do you feel like you’re not spending enough time with family?

Fear #2: Lack of Time Management Skills

A lot of people who start in this industry juggled family life, maintaining a day job and doing side projects. With this, some people feel like they will fail because they don’t have time management skills.

IMHO: The way to face feeling this way is to accept that you will never have the perfect balance of time spent for each aspect in your life. I, too, still feel guilty that I don’t spend time with my family as often as I want to. On other days, I feel useless for some projects that I’m involved with. And in other days, I feel guilty that I could have done better in a freelance work that I delivered to a Client.

But this is not how I feel each and every single day. In days that I feel guilty about not spending time with family, those are the day that I excelled in my freelancing career, and vice versa. So no matter how good your time management skills are, juggling all of these is a fact of life so there is no need to fear it — just be ready for this kind of life.

Do you feel like your missing out on the things that your friends have?

Fear #3: Fear of Missing Out on Corporate Success

Jumping into a new territory always makes us feel like we’re missing out on the world that we left behind. I remember the first time I went full-on freelancing. During the first three months of my freelancing journey, there wasn’t a day when I wanted to go back and work again. I felt bored, depressed, and discouraged. I felt that I was missing out on a lot of things. My friends were going up the corporate ladder, while I was starting from scratch. I had nothing. All I had was my dream and my skills and talent.

IMHO: You don’t need to be scared that you’ll miss out on things that your friends are experiencing. You have your own journey. Each one of us have our own mission in life and our purpose to accomplish. Stop comparing. You’ll miss out on a lot of things when you spend time comparing and sulking. Focus on growing, achieving and helping!

Fear #4: Fear of not having Income stability

Fear #5: Understanding Taxation

Fear #6: Lack of Client Projects or Lack of Skill in Handling Clients

I have much to say about the last three fears. These are the ones that came up more often when I interviewed aspiring freelancers. I will discuss these three during the workshop that I will have with PayPal (Take the Dare: Fear-Proof Your Freelancing Journey). This will be the 10th PayPal Freelancer Community Workshop on September 8, 2018!

The key topics that I will talk about for the Fear-proof your Freelancing Journey are the following:

– What are the challenges to income security and how to overcome it?
– Why it’s important to pay taxes and how it can benefit you and your business
– How to deal with tough clients and strictly manage projects

This is an outline of what I will cover.

Fear #1: Income stability

– Know how to secure finances even when projects are pending or hard to find
– Budget management
– Managing monthly projects and gross revenue

Fear #2: Taxation

– Get acquainted with taxation processes that you have to comply with as a Freelancer
– Know the business benefits and perks of paying taxes

Fear #3: Client projects

– Discover strategies and tactics for finding and pitching to clients for new projects
– Managing deadlines and pressures
– How to deal with hard clients
– How to confront rejection from a failed presentation
– Setting up an invoice system for recurring payments

If you have time to join me, please do sign up using this link: https://bit.ly/10thPayPalFreelancerWorkshop

There is a $100 surprise for a lucky attendee!


Having a PayPal account will really make things easier. PayPal is a trusted payment service by Clients from any country. This will make collecting payments easier for us, freelancers. Sign up for a PayPal account HERE!.

I’d really love to get to know you and let’s see how we can jointly overcome your fears and fear-proof your freelancing journey!

The Freelancer Fair 2018 — My Welcome Remarks

It’s been a few days since The Freelancer Fair 2018. I wanted to share my welcome remarks, since there are three things that I want to impart to this community. I love that I am part of this industry and I will do whatever it takes to keep us united and bonded.

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to the 3rd year of The Freelancer Fair! Wow! I can’t believe how amazing our turnout for this year is. From the bottom of my heart, thank you! Manila Workshops thanks you!

Before anything else, I’d like to thank the Department of Trade and Industry (DICT) for consistently supporting us. USEC Mon Ibrahim, Miss Emmy and the rest of the DICT team, thank you very much for supporting us for the three consecutive years that we have been running this. Also, I would like to thank the Digital Career Advocates of the Philippines (DCAP), especially to my dear friend and the president of DCAP, Genesis Reonico. I’d like to thank all of our speakers who took time out to share their knowledge with you all here today.

I’d like to thank all of the freelancing communities who are here today. I would have liked to mention you all, but you’re already too many to mention! I’d like to thank all our brand sponsors who have stuck it out with us for three years and to those who have supported us this year. Thank you, too, to my team, team Manila Workshops who tirelessly put up this event for all of us and to the attendees of this year’s The Freelancer Fair. May you pick up new ideas, learnings, gain new friends, and even new love today! Haha!

Kidding aside, I really wanted to start this welcome speech with a lot of thank you’s because my heart is truly filled with gratitude. I am so blessed to be part of this community.

Last year’s theme was Rise of the Free. And yes, we have truly risen and have made our voices heard. We made everyone know that the freelancing industry exists. And this year’s theme is Up Your Game. The reason why we thought of this theme is because we see what is to come, we see so much talent and we see the unlimited opportunities that await the Filipino Freelancer. We all need to be ready and pumped up to take on the world, Filipinos.

Today’s program is filled with a lot of amazing speakers who will give you the practical things that you need to be ready, and you will also be inspired by stories from freelancers who have succeeded during the past years.

So the things that I want to impart to you today are just three simple things that may be beneficial for you to take your freelancing profession to the next level.

Competency is useless without human decency.

Always treat others with respect and consideration. In the years that we have worked hard, we have all undergone hardships and challenges. Look at the person beside you. Nothing makes you superior enough to be granted a pass to disrespect your neighbour. We should all keep in mind that

Don’t mistake complacency for contentment.

This was actually mentioned to me by EJ, my better half and the CEO of Taxumo, while having a conversation on what would make this nation great again. We should constantly strive to be the very best we could be. We should seek for knowledge, know not only things that we are capable of doing, but get out, see the world. Learn about different things, and explore. Learn about other nations, but learn more about your nation. Strive to be a better version of yourself everyday.

No one rises without failing and falling.

When you stumble and fall, pick yourself up. When you see others fail and falter, help them pick up the pieces. When players quit, there’s no game to speak of. And this freelancing game doesn’t have to be one where there are losers. In this game, everyone CAN win. Everyone can win, because we make the rules.

I hope that today will be truly memorable for all of you. On behalf of the Manila Workshops team, welcome to The Freelancer Fair 2018 – Up your Game!

Joining The Freelancer Fair 2018? Here’s What To Expect!

Sitting here at CBTL on a holiday, working. But hey, I’m happily working! This week, my focus is on The Freelancer Fair 2018! First of all, I thought we could never ever top the number of attendees that we had last year. But we did!!! So my heart is filled with gratitude. Last year, we had 450+ paid sign ups, and reached around a little over 500 attendees. But this year… WOW! We already have around 617 attendees who have signed up online! I’m super excited to meet everyone! We still have slots available so you can register online until 11:59 PM, August 23, Thursday. For those who do not make the cut-off, walk-ins are welcome, but only regular rate tickets (Php 1000 each) will be available. We won’t have group rates anymore and promo codes will not be applicable.

I took time out to write this post so that we will all be guided on what will happen during  The Freelancer Fair 2018. We all know that The Freelancer Fair 2018 will be on August 25 at Metrotent in Metrowalk, Pasig City. Here is the map to the event: https://goo.gl/maps/TBG3f8ngnsx Registration will open at 8 am and the program will start at 9 am and end at 5pm. We highly encourage you to come early so that you will have ample time to network and meet new people! That’s definitely one of the benefits of the fair. We also highly encourage the community heads and the sponsors to be done setting up by 8 am so that you’ll all be able to entertain guests and talk to our attendees. I’m super excited because we have so many partners and community involvement this year! There will be a lot of promos and surprises from our sponsors, so please check your email! Please also save these email addresses in your contact list so that emails from us don’t go to your spam folder (these are the email addresses to save: contact@manilaworkshops.com, manilaworkshops@gmail.com and ginger@manilaworkshops.com).

What is The Freelancer Fair 2018?

For three years now, we at Manila Workshops have ran The Freelancer Fair to gather, support and promote the freelancing industry. We gathered and gather not only online freelancers (virtual assistants, social media managers, content writers, etc.), but we have opened the event to offline freelancers like photographers, fitness professionals, videographers, event coordinator, etc.

Since we have started, we have seen this industry grow and prosper. We, at Manila Workshops, specifically chose the theme UP YOUR GAME, because we feel that the Filipino freelancers need to get ready to compete globally! We have talented freelancers here, and we need to help encourage and inspire one another to continue to learn and to be the best that we all can be.

What are the Official Hashtags?

The official hashtags are #UpYourGame, #TheFreelancerFair and #FreelancerPH. Kindly use these hashtags when posting. Also, please follow and like the new page that we have created on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefreelancerfair/

Do I need to bring anything to The Freelancer Fair 2018?

Aside from the details mentioned above, there is paid parking in Metrowalk and it can accommodate a lot of cars 🙂 The venue is walking distance from Robinsons Galleria. The event will start at 9:00 am, but registration will open at 8:00 am. We highly encourage you to purchase food from our food concessionaires! Let’s help our fellow entrepreneurs and freelancers!

Registration and Entering the Venue Proper

Please wear comfortable clothing, but please no shorts and slippers please. There will be different lines at the registration area. We will have the following lines:

a. Paid online – Surname or Last Name starts with A to L
b. Paid online – Surname or Last Name starts with M to Z
c. Walk-ins / Pre-registered
d. VIPS/Bloggers/Sponsors/Communities/Media

Children 15 years old and younger can enter the venue for FREE. Kindly present a proof of their age/birthday at the registration area.We have a play area for kids! Please do not leave your kids unattended. Also, let’s be respectful of other people’s intent to listen and learn. Any behaviour that is not conducive to learning is highly discouraged. 🙂 Hope you understand!

Upon signing up, you will be given an ID, which you need to wear at all times. We will be strict in implementing this as your security is our utmost concern. At the back of your ID will be a copy of the program. You will also be given a loot bag, which you will use to keep all of your belongings and all the freebies that you will get from our partner brands and sponsors. We highly encourage you to go and learn more about each sponsor and community. There are fun games and surprises in each booth! Go and make friends!

For those who asked, yes, it is advisable that you bring water tumblers/jugs, too.

For those who are breastfeeding, please do let anyone from Manila Workshops know. They will direct you to the room where you can breastfeed if you need privacy.

SOME SURPRISES FROM BOOTH SPONSORS!

Here are the list of the promos and surprises from our partner brands and communities! 🙂

LAZADA – Get a FREE Voucher when you sign up as a Lazada Seller!

ALFOX PRINTING SERVICES – Attendees get 30% OFF when you order your business cards from us. Use the promo code TFF2018 on our website www.alfoxprinting.com. For exhibitors, we are offering a special price for pull-up banners, flyers, stickers and business cards.

INVITATIONS BY TEN – Special prizes at Invitations by Ten booth when you like the facebook pages: Be Bizy Business Workbook and Invitations by Ten. Pick a prize when you buy the Be Bizy Business Workbook (limited prizes). Buddy Bundle Discount: 2 workbooks for 1,000. First 10 buyers of the Be Bizy Business Workbook will be receiving a special lootbag! 🙂

FHMOMS – Free Social Media Marketing Online Course when you visit Fhmoms booth.

O2SPACE – Get a chance to win free day pass when you visit their booth.

THE FULFILLED WOMEN – Get P400 off when they sign up and enter the coupon code: TFW400 (https://www.facebook.com/events/262792224452991/ and https://goo.gl/forms/S3SNq3VGLvBNOfuT2)

TAXUMO – Drop by our booth and let us introduce you to our new tax concierge service TAXUMO Premium! We will also be offering a special discounted rate for our TAXUMO Business Starter Package (almost 40% off). Sit down with us for a FREE consultation on how to go about registering your business with the BIR. You can submit your requirements for business registration at our booth. Check out the requirements by visiting: https://www.taxumo.com/business-registration

CODESKITCH –

1. Exclusive discounted price for ALL our digital services for attendees – Web Development Package – Social Media Marketing – Graphic Design / Multi-media – Audio-Visual / Photography Services

2. Drop Your Business Card and Win Selfie Ring Light – one winner every hour from 11AM-5PM – Participants to drop their business card on our fish bowl – Winner will be contacted and should claim the prize on our booth during the event personally and present ID – Winner must follow our Facebook & Instagram account

URBANESSENCE – They are now open for franchise!

SUNLIFE – Those who will visit our booth and register with us will receive a token!

REGIE.PH – From Pen to Pixels: Brush Lettering and Digitizing Workshop on Sept. 29, 2018 Regular Price: Php2000 inclusive of workshop materials Special Rate for TFF Attendees: Php1750 Bring-a-buddy Rate: Php1500 for each attendee Only 10 slots available. We’ll accept a downpayment of 500 pesos today to secure a slot. Visit us at the REGIE.PH booth to learn more. Freelance Life Doodle Shirt, yung prices are 400 for the White and 450 for the Black

ALLCARE – ALLCARE will be giving out raffle prizes such as Php 200 Grab coupons, Php 500 Honestbee delivery vouchers and some free co-working space passes from our partners. All they have to do is come by our booth and sign up for our platform for free. Our platform offers discounted benefits like healthcare, insurance and other items. Each sign-up is one raffle entry.

ANN/NINA – Freelancer Fair weekend promo They will be selling their e-book bundle for P997. Nina’s Basics ng FB Masters – 5995 yung price, 40% off Promo will be from Friday to Sunday

JASS ONLINE SOLUTIONS – Build Your Freelance Website in 5 days for Php2,000.00 only! Avail Domain + Hosting Package and Get A Free Tutorial on How To Build Your Own Website For more information, please visit this page: http://www.jassonlinesolutions.com/why-you-need-a-website-for-your-freelancing-career/

SOCIAL MEDIA ACADEMY – Games and Activities:

– Spin the Wheel of Social: Get a chance to win amazing prizes (books, gadgets, courses) by trying your luck and spinning for your favorite social media platform

– #SMAisLyf Photo Contest Take a photo with the official Freelancer Fair Hashtag of Social Media Academy to win surprise goodies!

– Special Social Media Academy Batch 4 Launch SMA will be launching Batch 4 at the Freelancer Fair and we are offering a special, on-the-day only discount and payment plan to enrol in the leading social media marketing school in the Philippines And more! Simply hang out in the Social Media Academy booth to chat with mentors and other SMA alumni. You can try to hustle for some stickers and exclusive shirts that will be available ONLY in their booth.

Healthy Baby Food Ideas PH – We would like to promote an online webinar called “FAQs to FACTS” where we will talk about the most asked questions by working moms about Complementary Feeding, Healthy Baby Food Ideas and Baon Ideas. There’s no time and date yet but it will be exclusive to members only so they need to join the group Healthy Baby Food Ideas Philippines

LaVie Essentials – For the first 20 customers they get 5% discount in leather goods and 20% on beauty products plus free cable snaps!

UNIONBANK EON – UnionBank EON will be giving away an EON card to 5 lucky winners! Giveaway: Post in your Facebook or Instagram “Let’s talk a selfie at The Freelancer Fair” and use #SelfieBanking #TheFreelancerFair. Winners can pick up the prize at the EON Booth at the Freelancer Fair.

BRING CALLING CARDS OR COPIES OF YOUR WORK (JUST IN CASE)

Network, network, network! It’s good to be prepared with calling cards. Alfox Printing Services will have a special discount for those who order during The Freelancer Fair. Also, be sure to use the hashtags when posting, since a lot of the attendees will follow the event by searching for the hashtags. They might find you and your services by going through the hashtags. Also, update your Facebook, Linked-In, and other profiles prior to The Freelancer Fair 2018.

BE SURE TO INTERACT WITH THE SPEAKERS AND PANELISTS!

We have an interesting line-up of speakers, and these people are very open and willing to help you jumpstart your freelancing career. Don’t be shy to approach them!

The list of speakers and their pictures are on this page: http://thefreelancerfair.com. Some of the speakers will offer great deals for attendees of the Freelancer Fair. I will also drop my consultation rate from $100 dollars per hour t $50 per hour. You can book a consultation here: https://www.gingerarboleda.com/consult  This will be available only until the end of September.

This event is about building relationships and focusing on personal development.  I’m excited to meet you all. I’m also excited to see friends and reconnect with past attendees. We really hope that you enjoy your time at the fair.

Let’s start living the life we want to live!

Love,

Mommy Ginger

 

 

 

 

P.S. For those who haven’t bought a ticket yet, you still have time! Please visit this link: http://thefreelancerfair.com ONLY PREPAID ATTENDEES THOUGH WILL GET LOOTBAGS 🙂 🙂 See you!

P.P.S. Please join our newly created The Freelancer Fair Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thefreelancerfair/

 

Mad Hatter: Freelancing Demands Many Hats!

Few and far in between are the freelancers who do just one thing. Because we are essentially one-man (or one-woman!) companies, it means that whatever our specialty, we often are required to do other things, perhaps as additional services for customers, but also marketing our services to potential clients, making bids and proposals, doing our own bookkeeping and accounting, accepting payment for services rendered, and so on.

Previously, I talked about the importance of (and how to find) your niche market and the skill set to succeed in it, which forms the core of your business as a freelancer. But there are also other, auxiliary, aspects of your business that you can’t afford to ignore or neglect if you want to become a successful self-employed professional. And there are skill sets you need to develop to supplement that core business and make it more profitable.

Let’s take my life as a blogger for an example. Apart from MommyGinger.com, I also blog for ManilaReviews.com, so one way or another, I’ve been blogging for several years now. It’s all too easy to think that setting up a blog only requires that you be a good writer, but you’d be wrong about that. Here are a few basic skill sets every blogger should have:

  • Writing: You don’t have to have perfect grammar, but having the skill to effectively communicate what you want to say is vital to attracting and keeping readers. You also need to develop a particular voice and style for your blog, one that helps you connect not just with your readers’ minds but with their hearts as well.
  • Photography: In this day and age, not many people will read a solid block of text on a blog without any pictures to speak of, so you’ll have to know what attracts the eye so you can take or select good photos. This becomes even more important for food, travel, fashion, and other lifestyle blogs.
  • Technical: Yes, you can hire a designer or buy a template for your blog, but while you don’t need to learn to code, you still need to know enough to make small tweaks and adjustments to make your blog your own and troubleshoot when need be. It can be time consuming and expensive to go to a designer for every little change you want to make.
  • Marketing: If you want your blog to pay for itself, you’re probably going to be looking at advertisements and sponsorships; for personal blogs, endorsements are great too. If you want to maximize earnings and preserve the integrity of your blog, you need to have the marketing savvy to understand how the content you publish as well as the products and services you endorse fits your brand.

So just from this one example, you can see how I need to wear many hats as a blogger—and my blog is not my only business, so you can only imagine the madness that results if I don’t manage my time and my clients’ expectations properly!

Still, this multi-hatted nature of freelancing presents a two-layered challenge if you’re just starting out. First, you need to determine which skills to hone so they do you the most good and you earn the most money, and second, you’ll need to actually learn and sharpen those skills.

For the first, think of drawing a flower the way we learn it in kindergarten. The center is your core competency or specialization — your niche in the market place. Inside that “center” are the skills you absolutely need to keep your business robust. Then draw the petals around the center. Each can contain a skill set that attaches to that specialization and makes it more appealing to your clients. Now, you may need to focus on certain “petals” over others, but it’s still good to know what those other aspects are—and where to source people with those skill sets should you need them. One way to do that is to expand your network, to talk to people who are experts in those fields, join meet-ups (the Freelance Blend monthly meet-ups are great for these) or online groups.

To get a crash course in necessary skills, you can do your own research or look into workshops. In fact, you may want to check out the PayPal Freelancer Community Workshop series—more on this later. Apart from workshops like these, you can also join online courses such as those offered by Udemy, Coursera, and more. You can also find lots of video tutorials on YouTube as well as informative and inspiring information from TEDTalks and the many, many podcasts produced around different industries and interests. In this day and age, you don’t need to go back to school to go back to school, if you know what I mean!

I will always encourage exploration as a freelancer: Learn a little about a lot of things so that you can make an informed decision about the few things you want to learn a lot about. And you never know when those little bits of knowledge will come in handy when dealing with a new client or business opportunity.

And yes, you may find yourself feeling like the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland from time to time, especially if you’re a mom! We are constantly putting on and taking off different “hats” or roles, sometimes even wearing more than one at the same time.

But one of those skills you’ll have to learn is organization and time management—to find a method to the madness. In the same way you try on many different hats, then settle down with a collection of headgear that complements your looks and personal style, you should also explore the different skill sets that relate to your career, then develop the ones that you are comfortable with (or which you actually enjoy), as well as the ones that help you grow your business.

Advertisement

Do you have any tips or resources you’d like to share with me and other Mad Hatters reading this? If you’re keen to learn more about things that you’ll need to flourish as a freelancer, i’ll be having another session on November 18, 2017 for the PayPal Freelancer Community Workshop series. The details are on this link: http://bit.ly/PayPal5thFreelancerWorkshop

Continue to follow also the other freelance experts Fitz Villafuerte, Abe Olandres, and Liz Lanuzo. Check out the full schedule below, and join the PayPal Philippines Freelancer Community group on Facebook for updates on the venues. Hope to see you there!