Wahmderful life Archives

Ginger Arboleda October 16, 2014

The Work-at-Home Me!

I remember the time when I was contemplating about leaving the job that I had. I was (how I felt) at the height of my career. I knew that I could have really been one of the top executives of the company that I worked for. My job was easy to love. Even if it was in a financial institution, my job was really product management and product development. I loved it because I got to practice and use my strengths, which was marketing and to some extent, sales. I also have this innate passion for innovation and a love for learning about technology which made my job easy for me. The work environment also helped me love every single day. I had friends who I loved dearly, a very supportive boss and people from other departments who were easy to work with. So you see, everything was going great for me.

I know a lot of you have that little voice inside your head telling you that you need to start your own business and you need to take that leap. But also, you are in the same situation as I was in — good job, great friends, great life! Well, although my personal advocacy is to help people create and build successful businesses, I would not jump the gun and tell you to go ahead and make that leap! On the contrary, I will advise you to check if going into business is really something for you. The same goes with working from home or freelancing. You have to check if freelancing or working-from-home in general is for you.

I won’t tell you how great my life is when I decided to work-at-home and be an entrepreneur (since I freely and openly share that in other posts in this blog), but I will tell you how I came to that decision of finally working from home and starting my business.

My decision was such because it was really because I wanted to spend more time for myself (I didn’t want to be stressed, since I was giving birth) and more time for the baby. Yes, we, as a couple went through those logical things that you do when you’re weighing things, like listing the pros and cons in each side of a notebook, doing a spur of the moment budget and spending analysis, doing an immediate check and inventory of assets and liabilities, but then again, the decision was made really because I wanted to be there for my daughter during the first years of her life.

And how was it like for me? It was really scary at first. I didn’t know if this business (ManilaWorkshops.com) would fly. I had businesses prior to this one, but of course, at that time, I had my stable job to help me sustain those businesses. But with this leap, I had nothing. I only had my blogging career, which I didn’t think I could rely on to sustain my expenses and the business (knock-on-wood if it went bad).

What really helped me establish and help my business succeed is the support group of work-at-home-moms in the WAHMderful Life Community. I owe a lot to the ladies in the community. They were there supporting the workshops, for moral support and for marketing support. I love how the WAHMderful Life Community has grown and had really become the support group for women who have decided to take that leap towards working-at-home.

Before you make that decision, think about it and expose yourself and hear from the ladies and gentlemen who have made that decision. See if this is what you want for yourself. See if this is the life that you want.

This is the reason why we created the Workat-Home Weekend Expo. This is for you to be able to learn from the experts. And I’m not just talking about technical know-how, but I want you to learn from what they have gone through. I want you to be open and I want you to mingle with these speakers and freely approach them. I will be there, too, so I want you to approach me and let’s talk. I might be busy in setting up the event, but I’m sure I will have the time to talk to you and listen.

If you haven’t signed up for the Work-at-Home Weekend Expo, please do so at this link:
http://manilaworkshops.com/2014/07/the-work-at-home-weekend-expo-2014.html

Thank your to these companies who have supported this workshop as co-presentors:
Insular Life
Unilab
Uber
VOffice
88db.com

Love lots,
The Work-at-Home Me (MommyGinger)

The Work-at-home me!

Ginger Arboleda June 11, 2014

The WAHMderful Life Community and The WAHM 101 Workshop

I just had a meeting with Sally of http://thebinondomommy.blogspot.com/ and i just learned that she just resigned from her job. I told her that I clearly remember the first few months that I resigned from my job to be a work-at-home-mom (WAHM as the online world calls me). I was really scared. I know that I have this aura that can fool a lot of people that I know what I’m doing and I always look as if I’m in control, but the truth was, I wasn’t. I wasn’t sure about what I leaped into. I wasn’t sure if I could bring in money to help my husband with the expenses. I wasn’t sure if my business would fly. I wasn’t sure about my capabilities and my skills. Every day, I doubted myself.

I always encourage others to try to make risk, but I really know that once your in THAT PARTICULAR SCENARIO, your knees would shake and you’d always feel like fainting just by thinking of that thought of not having a steady income when you go into business. It’s a tough world and venturing into business is a tough road, that’s why only a few take that path. But the rewards are great when you start seeing the fruits of your labor. The stakes are high, but once you stay on board, the benefits are numerous, too.

But during that time when I started, looking back, I know I couldn’t have done it without a group of people who supported me in each and every step of the way. Yes, I had my family, but more than that, I needed the support of individuals who could tell me that what I was going through was but normal and part of the big picture. I am thankful that I had the WAHMderful Life Community, a group of 1200+ (to date) ladies, mostly moms, who are all working from home or who have experienced how it is to work from home.

READ ABOUT ITS BEGINNINGS HERE…

No one really understands that invisible bond that this group has. We don’t all know each other personally. We don’t get to see each other often. We only get to see each other during workshops and events, but being a part of the group (even if we just get to interact through the Facebook group) made me stronger and assured me that I wasn’t alone… that I am not alone.

Aside from the support, I got to gain friends, business partners, really great suppliers, acquaintances, blog readers, etc. that helped me make my life and businesses easier. Yes, working from home doesn’t make you a loner (I think I even know more people and my network grew exponentially when I worked from home and had my own business).

For those thinking of working from home or starting your own business, whether married, married with children, or single, I highly recommend that you join us on June 28, 2014 for the WAHM 101. You will learn a lot of things from the speakers or even just from the people who will be attending as participants, too. You will get to network, get to validate your business idea or even share a tip or two to people who will become your friends (probably forever).

So please do sign up and spread the word. BTW, we would like to thank Insular Life, 88DB.com and Unilab, our co-presentors for making this event possible!

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I’d love to meet you and talk to you! Feel free to approach me!

Love lots, your WAHMderful Life Sister,

Ginger Arboleda August 10, 2013

Learn how to be a Virtual Assistant! Sign up for Real Ways to be a WAHM

If you want to work from home, another ‘job’ or ‘career path’ that you can consider is to become a virtual assistant. The concept of being a virtual assistant is so broad that we had to create a separate WAHMderful Life: Real Ways to be a WAHM session for it. I’m sure a lot of you, my readers, would want to know what a Virtual Assistant (VA) is and how do you actually become a home-based Virtual Assistant.

With this, we at Manila Workshops (my little business) and at WAHMderfullife.com, would like you to join us on this fun-filled day of learning and lots of networking with fellow or soon-to-be or even for those who are ‘still deciding’ to be a work-at-home professionals on August 31, 2013, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at co.lab, Unit 301 3/F #3 Brixton St., Brgy. Kapitolyo Pasig City.

During this workshop, you can expect to learn about branding yourself as a freelancer or a mom-preneur, as well as the realities of the virtual assistance business and how to cope. You will also get to learn about the different real VA opportunities – Social Media and Community Management, and Transcription.

This workshop is brought to your by Manila Workshops, WAHMderfullife.com and Unilab! Aside from a day filled with awesome insights and learning, you will go home with a Php 500 worth of goodie bag from Unilab!

So hurry and sign up now!

To register, please visit this page: http://manilaworkshops.com/2013/07/wahmderful-life-workshop-real-ways-wahm-aug-31.html

Ginger Arboleda January 4, 2013

It’s a WAHMderful Life Workshop: Real Ways to be a WAHM

Hurray! This is my first workshop for the year and it’s looking to be a successful one, too! After the first workshop that we organized last October 2012 for the WAHMderful Life Workshop Series, we are bringing you yet another educational and very useful workshop this coming January 26, 2013. This is the It’s a WAHMderful Life Workshop: Real Ways to be a WAHM! This will be held at the Studio SnR at the 3rd Floor, Millenium Place, 17 Meralco Avenue, Ortigas Center
Pasig City. The venue is not hard to find. It’s the building with the Office Warehouse and the Brother’s Burger store at the ground floor. Just take the elevator to bring you to the 3rd floor.

We will have breakout sessions in the afternoon. Group one will discuss Freelance writing while group two will tackle virtual assistance.

If you haven’t signed up yet, here is the registration form:
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Sharing with you the schedule of the workshop:
9:00 AM: Registration
9:30 AM: Welcome Remarks (Ginger Arboleda)
9:45 AM: Intro to the Workshop Program and Intro to Guest Speaker (Martine de Luna)
10:00 AM: WAHM Tips: Starting Small as an Investor (Gus Cosio)
10:15 AM: Q & As on Gus Cosio’s talk
10: 40 AM: WAHMderful Life: Support Through the WAHM Sisterhood (Martine de Luna) and then Q & As/Open Discussion
11:30 AM: Lunch Break
12:30 PM: Intro to Break out Sessions: Real Ways to Be a WAHM (Martine de Luna)
01:00 PM: BREAK OUT SESSIONS
– Break out One Option: Virtual Assistance (Marge Aberasturi and Jenn Tan)
– Break out Two Option: Freelance Writing / Editing / Proofreading (Martine de Luna)
03:00 PM: Merienda Break
03:30 PM WAHM Case Study: The Story of Indigo Baby (Featuring: Denise Gonzales – Bernardo, owner, Indigo Baby)
04:00 PM: Open Forum
04:30 PM: Wrap Up, Picture-Taking, Certificates

We would like to thank those who have signed up and paid for their attendance. For more information on the workshop, please go to ManilaWorkshops.com or to DaintyMom.com.