Filipino Freelancers: You are meant to THRIVE not just survive.
Everyone who has the passion, drive and is hardworking is meant to thrive and not just survive but I would like to target this blog post to filipino freelancers especially to ONLINE filipino freelancers and newbies.
Before we continue, early warning: This post is highly personal and opinionated. If you are simply looking for facts you may not find them here because what I share here is purely based on my ideals and what I feel as well as based on my experiences. Feel free to contact me to discuss, agree or disagree.
I am both an office based worker and a part time freelancer and being part of both industries I know and experience the struggles of both. I would like to address the hardships that online freelancers face most especially when they are just starting out in this blog.
Freelance work is not easy, although the internet has opened up a lot of opportunities for people to earn money online, it also opened up pit falls of people who want to take advantage of you. There are tons of online scams which victimize innocent internet users and online job scams are also continuing to increase so you must be vigilant. Pricing is especially tricky, some people would say that it is okay to start low, especially if you are inexperienced but how low is low? How long will you stay in that “low” bracket and how will you rise from it?
People work in order to earn money and to buy the things they need. Some of the lucky ones gets to earn enough money doing what they love so even if it isn’t much it was fine with them as long as it was sustainable. Some workers who are tired of being chained down by office based job venture in freelancing to become their own boss and to gain freedom but if they can’t break even or even earn a profit from doing it what is the point?
That is why as a newbie you’d want to do your research and also reflect on yourself, know your needs, know your worth.
Plan for success. It is attainable. If you are currently a student, take a moment to write down what your favorite subject and activities are. Write down the things that you are doing related to this things. If you enjoy researching a lot in class and is a master of using google search then maybe being an online researcher can be for you. If you like researching and writing then you can be a blog writer.
If you are a college student specializing in the arts there are all kinds of clients looking to commission you, just practice and be good at what you do and you can get clients who will pay you fairly. If you are a communications student there are a lot of jobs involving communications and as long as you worked and study hard you do not need to underprice to find a client. Build a free portfolio and use Social Network to create your own portfolio. Create an FB page to showcase your copywriting skills.
If you are a call center agent looking to work from home, you aren’t a complete newbie if you have call center experience. You have already dealt with customer complaints as long as you handled them gracefully and you have the right attitude you definitely deserve to thrive and not just survive.
If you are a housewife with an experience managing a sari sari store (grocery store) and want to earn money online as a filipino freelancer then learn drop shipping, start an online store. If you know how to use a computer and can type, start with data entry jobs, if you’ve got a mother’s absolutely amazing managing skills apply to be a virtual or remote secretary.
This list can go on but the secret in all of this, the secret in growing yourself is in investing in yourself. Don’t jump into freelancing cluelessly, when you are clueless you are most vulnerable to being taken advantaged of and nobody likes that except the evil person who takes advantage of you.
To answer the question “how low is low?” My answer to that is for entry level, In the year 2018, if you are going to be a filipino freelancer paying for your own bills, health insurance, your own equipment, and other basic cost of living, then anything under $3 per hour is LOW. TRAIN Law has already been enacted, taxes for minimum wagers may have decreased but many basic grocery items has increased in price again, the cost of living has increased. Philippine Inflation is on the rise. Employers will try to say the Philippine minimum wage is only ₱512.00 for 8 hours of work daily but in my opinion, honestly Philippine minimum wage doesn’t do work from home justice because you pay for your equipment, you pay for your own electricity, you pay your own health insurance, your own social service and your other Government insurances.
Maybe I am idealistic but I have hope that someday in this world, people realize that they don’t have to settle for less. That hard workers deserve more and that information will be widely available for those who are looking for it.
Speaking of information, I’ve just joined a new Facebook group that aims to help aspiring filipino freelancers. The group is called Shela’s Work At Home Geeks (#SWAHGTEAM). You can also view their FB Page here: Work at Home Geeks. Currently it is free and the founder seems to be genuinely passionate.
Here is the original post:
If you want to learn Social Media Marketing Here is also a list of groups you can join:
For Graphic Design, Graphic Artist Philippines on Facebook is a great community to join.