Mommy Ginger
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Make it Work: Unstable Income as a Freelancer or Solopreneur

Budgeting for Freelancers and Solopreneurs

“Pulubi na naman ako, teh, this month” (I don’t have enough money this month). Have you ever uttered these words? Have you ever been in this situation?

Yesterday, I was talking to two blogger friends, Frances and Yuki. Both these bloggers are established influencers and have been blogging for quite some time now. Both of them are go-getters, too, and will now leave anything up to chance when it comes to earning for themselves and for their family. We had a serious conversation, and the topic was earning enough from being a full time blogger and full time freelancer at that.

The misconception that others have about people who work from home, or those who are freelancing or even those who are their own boss is that you hardly spend on anything. Even if we work from home, we still have bills to pay (phone, internet, water, electricity, rent, mortgage… and the list continues). We still have to earn so that we can make it work! Our main concern really is that income as a freelancer or even a solopreneur is unpredictable. Sometimes, you earn really well and sometimes, the only thing that you can afford for lunch is a Php 50 Chao Fan with siomai that you share with your co-founders (yes, that was a real experience).

So what do we do? How can we make it work? How can you truly earn from your passion? Wouldn’t it be such a great year if you can sustain a lifestyle that is fuelled by something you love? 

Lucky for me, I am willing to share with you my secret on how I stay afloat. Actually, my secret is not a tip, it’s a person. For the first time in history, I am sharing with you my husband. Yup, my husband, EJ Arboleda.

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I’m not good at handling money. I don’t splurge or buy anything extravagant, but it seems I only have enough all the time. But man, this guy is amazing and he really makes it work for us. When I met him, at 28, he already had his own condo unit, he had investments here and there and he was able to gift me with my dream wedding and a honeymoon to Europe. What impressed me is that he had all of these, because he worked smart and hard.
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I am really excited that EJ will be conducting a workshop entitled Budgeting for Freelancers and Solopreneurs (brought to you by Manila Workshops and Payoneer) and believe me when I say this (and I am not saying it because I’m his wife) that he if you just follow his tips and tricks, you’ll be on your way to letting go of all those fears and worries about not having a stable income. I know because I have already let go of all of my worries! haha!

I’m not sure why I just thought of inviting EJ to be a speaker for Manila Workshops only this 2017. For those who want to check on his credentials, EJ is the CEO of Taxumo, a tech startup that helps freelancers, professionals, and entrepreneurs with their taxes. He is also the Chief Technology Officer of Wunderman Manila – a digital advertising agency under the WPP group. He is a certified Project Management Professional, ITIL v3 Service Manager, and a SAP R/3 FI Consultant. He has been freelancing since 2010 as a web developer, project manager, and consultant.

This year will be our breakthrough year! This year, we will all let go of all of our worries and start living the life that we want. We will start earning from our passion! Let’s make it work!

P.S. Sign up now: http://manilaworkshops.com/events/budgeting-for-freelancers

The Freelancer Fair BTS: A Post of Gratitude, Learnings and Why’s

First of all, I want to thank all of those who made it to The Freelancer Fair 2016. Thank you so much to all those who signed up (all 350) people and to the 280 plus who made it a point to show up on that day. Thank you to our Major Sponsors: Payoneer, Paymaya, Taxumo and Uber. Thank you also to our Minor Sponsors: Alfox Printing, Ideaspace, A Space, Evolve Yoga, Bean & Barley and Pioneer Mighty Bond. Thank you also to all the booth sponsors that we had. Most of all, thank you to the Department of Information, Communications and Technology team (Sir Mon, Miss Emmy, Merlin and Joy) for supporting us, and to all our speakers, our two lovely hosts (Marv and Jieneb), to our media partners and community partners who were present. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart! This will be the first of series of posts that will highlight or feature the people and brands who have joined us!

*photo by George Buid

*photos by George Buid

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Some of the photos of the event are here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1270331956342924.1073741938.392499244126204&type=1&l=c7c995a670

*Thank you George Buid for the pictures!

The Truth about The Freelancer Fair and our Why

We started conceptualizing and implementing The Freelancer Fair early this year. The Freelancer Fair was supposed to be a project of a big brand and Manila Workshops, but after a few months, we faced our first challenge. Manila Workshops had to shoulder all or the expenses and efforts to build the fair by ourselves. I had the option to drop and just let go of the project, but I decided to push through with it, because I knew that this will really help the freelance industry a lot.

To tell you honestly, I did not earn from this event and lost a pretty big deal of money implementing this event. Obviously, I knew about this a few months back during planning, and yet the team decided to still pursue the project. Why am I telling you this? I want you to know that this is how much we believe in this community. We know that this community will grow and in the future, a lot of individuals will opt to work from home and will start a freelance career. This is how much I want all of those freelancers, solopreneurs and small business owners to have the opportunity to learn more about different things so that they can grow their businesses and freelance careers. This is the reason why I am so proud of my team — Team Manila Workshops.

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People are quick to judge about the little things, but what they don’t see is the time and effort that these individuals in the team give in order to make your dreams come true and in order to give you the opportunities that we know you deserve. I hardly mention my team in any posts, but for just this once, I want to share how amazing they are. All of them know that their goal is to make your entrepreneurial and business dreams come true. We know that we need to provide an avenue and create opportunities for you to pursue your passion. We all want to help you achieve that, through the little things that we do.

To my little team, thank you. Always remember that humility, honesty, and that drive is what will make the difference.  Always be willing to serve and learn from the things that you do. Strive to be better by learning from mistakes. Pursue your dreams and make a mark!

We got a lot of feedback from participants that going to the Freelancer Fair was worth it. Some of you even approached me, and thinking of those people make me tear up (haha! yes, I am a cry baby!). I was deeply touched and moved  by your words. These moments make all of these things worth it!

We also know that we have lot to improve on. First of all, we will find a more accessible venue. Yes, the venue was too big. A really intimate venue would have made it more conducive for interaction.  If you have other comments and suggestions, please do email me directly at ginger@manilaworkshops.com.

For the brands and people that truly supported us and genuinely helped us build this event, thank you! I will mention a few of them here, because I really saw something that needs to be highlighted. We can all learn from how they did it!

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First of all, Miguel from Payoneer, thank you very much! You truly are the embodiment of what a brand partner should be. I saw Miguel going around and genuinely talking to people and learning more about their business. This is what I love about the people behind Payoneer. They don’t think about metrics alone, but they really find ways to help build the industry and use these events to learn more about us — the people. Thank you also for that well crafted presentation. I learned so much about transferring payments. So on the 29th, for the Payoneer Forum, we will definitely be there. Everyone, please sign up here: http://register.payoneer.com/register-payoneer-forum-manila-29nov-kat/

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Next shoutout is for JP or Orbitrr! I really love your booth and the activities in the booth were really engaging. I love how the team took time to talk and engage everyone in a conversation! Plus, I really love your stickers. Please share your supplier with me. haha!

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For Marv, thank you so much for all the help! Thank you for even offering to lend your clicker. These small things matter!

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To the communities, especially the Online Filipino Freelancers or OFF, thank you for the unwavering support! Thank you for always being there to support events for the community. Thank you to CJ, Althea, Liberty, etc. I love you all!

Thank you to DM, Sherry and the Yuneoh team! Thanks for all of the tips and the pro-activeness. You also embody what a media partner should be!

But still, to all of our partners that made this event happen, thank you so much! Again, thank you to our Major Sponsors – Payoneer; the easiest way to receive Cross-Border Payment at the Lowest cost, Paymaya – PayMaya is your app to pay online so you can buy the things you’d love to have, without a credit card; Taxumo – making it easy for every Filipino small business owner and professional to prepare and pay for their taxes! and Uber – the safest way to get around the metro!

Thank you also to our minor sponsors, Alfox Printing (Thank you so much, Abby!), Mighty Bond, Ideaspace, A Space, Evolve Yoga, and Bean and Barley. This event also wouldn’t be possible without our our media partners: WheninManila.com, POP Inquirer, Yuneoh, Manila Bulletin, Voice of the Youth Radio, Creativoices, and MommyGinger.com.

Thank you also to our community partners: OnlineJobsUniversity.com, Freelancing.ph, Freelance Blend, Tycoon.ph, Zarangola Media, Online Filipino Freelancers, The Virtual Nomad Podcast, Bloggers ng Pinas, Raket.ph, Work in Freedom, and Graphic Artists Philippines!

This is our first big event for the Freelancing community and I promise you that this will not be the last. We will continue to help this industry grow. We will continue to support and connect freelancers and clients. Manila Workshops will continue to create learning events and networking events for you!

Again, thank you everyone! I’ll be sharing the lessons that I have learned this week on Freelancing and starting a business. Watch out for it!

Payoneer: It’s about TRUST and FAMILY

Hello from Tel Aviv! I apologize for not updating my blog for the past few days. It has been a busy week for me. I am now in Israel for the DLD Tel Aviv Innovation Festival, and everything has been amazing. This is my first time traveling alone to another part of the world. I love it! I think moms should do this more often. It’s so empowering! Haha!

What I have noticed is that we really have a lot of Filipino “kababayans” scattered all over the world (W-O-W!). Case in point, I was tasked to deliver a pitch during the Cities Summit here in Tel Aviv and amongst the audience was a college friend, whom I have not seen for the longest time! How cool is that? It was surprising to see a fellow Filipina. Also, while leaving the Intel Exhibit in DLD, this other woman talked to us in Filipino from out of the blue, and we chatted after. She worked for Fujitsu and she was there for the conference. So, yes, we Filipinos are everywhere!

I am so proud of all of the Overseas Filipino Workers that we have. I’m just here for a week and staying here, away from home, feels completely different. I know that all of us are trying to make ends meet and trying to build a better life for our families. I salute all of the OFWs and the Filipino workers all over the world.

That hard earned money should aptly go directly to the hands of our loved ones in the Philippines. Most of us use our social connections or MTOs or use wire transfers to send the money to our loved ones. But let me give you another option. I have tried using Payoneer and it’s fantastic. This is how it works!

So all you need to do is ask your loved ones to open a Payoneer account and transfer money via Payoneer. It’s also way cheaper than the current options that you have. The also have the lowest conversion rates and a low total processing time.

ltp-philippines-847x1084The reason why I use Payoneer is not only about these advantages and benefits. It goes beyond the stuff that you already know by reading other blogs, like Cath’s article: http://www.freelancing.ph/payoneer-making-the-most-with-lesser-fees/. It’s about TRUST. It’s about family.

I have met the people behind Payoneer for more than a year; They have been nothing but supportive. I consider them as family. From experience and interacting with them, I have gotten to know them. I have trust the brand and the people behind the brand. If I were to make payments or to send / receive payments, I would definitely want to course it through an entity that I TRUST. This is my hard-earned money and I very much want to interact and deal with someone (or a brand) that can guarantee me that it gets to my family on-time. I know that Payoneer can and will deliver.

Give it a try! If you want to learn more about Payoneer, this is their website (CLICK HERE) or you can visit The Freelancer Fair on November 19, 2016 (CLICK HERE). Payoneer is one of the Major Sponsors of The Freelancer Fair 2016.

 

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