T3 (Training Together on Tuesdays)
The Future of Work: Exploring the Rise of Freelancing
This episode dives deep into the booming world of freelancing. We'll explore the stories of inspiring individuals who've found the flexibility and work-life balance freelancing offers. But it's not all sunshine and coffee shops. We'll debunk myths and equip you with the essential skills - from tech know-how to communication mastery - to thrive in this competitive, global marketplace. Join your favorite trainers as we unpack the secrets of successful virtual assistants, the power of self-discipline, and the strategies for building a network and securing clients. This episode is your roadmap to freelancing freedom, with a healthy dose of reality mixed in.
This episode dives deep into the booming world of freelancing. We'll explore the stories of inspiring individuals who've found the flexibility and work-life balance freelancing offers. But it's not all sunshine and coffee shops. We'll debunk myths and equip you with the essential skills - from tech know-how to communication mastery - to thrive in this competitive, global marketplace. Join your favorite trainers as we unpack the secrets of successful virtual assistants, the power of self-discipline, and the strategies for building a network and securing clients. This episode is your roadmap to freelancing freedom, with a healthy dose of reality mixed in.
Hi there and welcome to T3. This is Training Together on Tuesdays. I am Sarge, and with me are Coach Kathy and Sound Engineer Trina, and we're here to learn from each other's tips. Share we can also share our tools, and we will also be sharing our tales, and in this episode, we are going to talk about the exciting world of freelancing and how it has evolved in this digital age. So since Coach Cathy is a first-timer in our podcast, I'd like to ask her first. So, coach, how did you become a freelancer?
Speaker 2:Hi everyone. My name is Coach Cathy and I became a freelancer years ago. And the reason why I decided to shift home base because I want to focus on my kids and my family. So, just like most people who wants to work from home, I wanted to be there for those people who needs me most, and that became my motivation that this should work and this should work.
Speaker 1:Something like that. That's right. That that's right. So it's a matter of um. You know I'm juggling different priorities, but at the same time you wanted to. You know, so to speak, have it all. What about you, trina? How did you start in the freelancing world, honestly?
Speaker 3:well, unlike, uh, coach kathy. Uh well, I guess I can say it's partly a choice as well. Well, I guess everything is always a choice, but I guess the first time I delved into the world of freelancing Was, to be honest, when I ended my corporate stint or corporate career, to be honest, not by my choice I think I've already said this in our previous podcast before. It's not by choice. But when that happened, because I was part of anoy, uh, for my previous company I was part of, like, the redundation program. So in a way that that led me to consider other options in terms of career and, to be honest, I'd always been curious about it because most of my career have always been, you know, as an employee.
Speaker 3:So it, you know, that sort of end of that chapter in my life opened me up to this. You know, this possibility and what's great about it is these days, as compared to the olden days, as you guys would admit, it's really become more mainstream already, right? So I consider myself very fortunate to be living in these times that it's more of an accepted thing Because, like, for instance, you know, when my parents, in my parents' generation or in our parents' generations, usually they would go for the more traditional type of job, you know, 9 to 5, you the more traditional type of job Kailangan, you know nine to five Kailangan may stable kang trabaw Ano yan Swelduhan ka Ganyan-ganyan Kasi nakakatakot kapag ano diba Yung pa-project-project lang. So I'm just really happy and glad that you know, the world we live in now really embraces this kind of parang options or opportunities as well, because definitely of course it has its pros and cons, but I think there's really a lot of positive outcomes as well from this career, as you guys would probably agree.
Speaker 1:No, yeah, yeah, for me. Surprisingly or maybe not surprisingly I actually started my career as a freelancer, so maybe in a different form, because, again, in many podcasts ago and also in several podcasts, I started my career in broadcasting and during that time I was already in the racket economy at that time. So I just really get things per project and what I like about it is the flexibility. I can choose my projects, I can say no to some projects. So that's what drew me to freelancing. But at the same time, like you, trina, I also dealt because I experienced some challenges. So I said, okay, so it's time to have a regular job.
Speaker 1:So I did stay in corporate for many years, I think 20 years in total as well, and then went back to freelancing, but this time, because the pandemic happened, the freelancing happened. It's digital now, unlike before, it's freelancing, but it's face-to-face right.
Speaker 1:So I was doing a lot of side hust. Know, marami akong side hustles Puro side hustles ako before and just like you, trina, hindi maintindihan ng parents ko. So let's say, for example oh, I'm working in production. What's production Factory Exactly? Oh, my gosh, no production. You know, I produce TV shows. But then again I started going corporate and I would say that it has helped me go back to freelancing, as we know now, because now when you say freelancing, it's very synonymous to being a virtual assistant and perhaps we could talk about that. So like, for example, coach, I know that you teach those people who want to become freelancers or virtual assistants. But let's talk about.
Speaker 2:What are some of the common misconceptions about freelancing or becoming a virtual assistant? Some of the common misconceptions, I may say yung feeling n it's easy to transition. Yeah, like if they hear about freelancing, ah, madali lang, yan Yan, yung mga chill, nag-chill-chill Ganyan. So they, they thought na it's gonna be easy, na, tipo, I can quit my job immediately and look for freelancing and freelancing will save my life. Something freelancing and freelancing will save my life, something like that. That's a part of a fantasy and say in the real world of freelancing, of course we need to. We need to be skilled, we need to be open to upgrade, like we need to learn fast because everyone is, you know, wanting to work from home, everyone is looking for side hustles online. So the question is always like, how are we going to compete with our fellow freelancers, not just with Filipinos, but different nationalities who's also doing freelancing? So number one misconception they thought it's easy as one, two, three, but in reality it's not. But the good thing is, once you go into, you know getting out of that comfort zone, then it's gonna be easy along the process already.
Speaker 2:So number one, number two freelancers are rich. I mean, you know that because they thought that, ah, six digit earner, that's the kind of earning dollars you know well. Most probably they um, they're right, because there are really freelancers that you know well, most probably they're right Because there are freelancers that you know they're given the capacity to earn more. Yes, they're given the capacity to get more clients and all that, which is totally okay. But there are freelancers who just chose to become freelancers because of non-monetary reasons, like they want to spend this much and blah, blah, blah, blah. So that's it.
Speaker 2:And then, number three when freelancers say, ah, super flexible, chill, chill, right, and yeah, we have chill time. But when we say freelancer and we work this hour, four hours per day, it needs to be 100% of your time for that four hours. Like, you still need to produce your output without looking at YouTube, without looking at any other sites. You need to really help, you know, the business, or the client's business, to make something productive, so something like that. So those are the three misconceptions about freelancing. What about you three now your thoughts?
Speaker 3:Well, yeah, I completely agree with Coach Cathy's misconceptions. Really, parang ano nga? Eh kasi nga parang iniisip ng mga tao. You're not tied down to a particular employer. That doesn't, you know, doesn't give orders to you. Kumbaga, you're your own boss. Diba, I want to. You know like, give orders to you, your own boss, you know, I want to. You know like, for instance, uh, I've come across, for instance, certain people that want to leave their job because they hate their boss or they hate the environment that they're in and they feel like they can best, you know, uh, earn money or or earn happiness. Uh, if they go their own way, because they're going to be their own boss and they're going to be independent, they don't have to care about whatever. All the problems that they had before are going to go away and they're just going to pursue this new life or this new dream. But that's just like what Coach Cathy said.
Speaker 3:It's easier said than done when you think about it, because a lot of it is. The burden is on you Because you're freelance, you're alone. You don't the support system that you have before, for instance, when you were, for instance, in a job working for an organization or a company or whoever. You don't have that kind of same support system, I think. So that's what I mean. Some people think it's really the glory and the prestige, I don't know, all these nice things attached to it, but really it's really. It lives up to itself. You have to hustle. It's really a hustle and it's really. For me it's really like the burden of it. Maybe others overlook it because they see all the positives, just like what Kathy mentioned. It's like the six-digit earner. It's a very common alimbawa these days.
Speaker 3:Yung mga nakikita mo, let's say, mag gumagawa yun sa mga youtubers, mga ganyan nagva vlog, vlog na lang. They can travel the world, ganyan, ganyan, and it seems like they're just, you know, on an island drinking whatever they're they're, they're whatever choice of beverage ko ano beverage. They're swimming and, you know, suntanning. But the thing is they don't see the behind the scenes of the, the hustle and bustle of it all. And yun nga I think in in some sense. Of course there are. You know, there are challenges in, in, you know, being freelancer and not being a freelancer. But the thing is, what I find daunting about it, in a sense, is the burden of it all. In a way, is you. That's why it's important to really have connections, because that's where it starts Reconnect with people like-minded or people not like-minded and people in the same boat as you. So that's it. So in a way, it's like it's affecting me when I'm freelancing.
Speaker 1:Some people think it's all easy-peasy, but not really Exactly, so I'd like to ride on with that that. You know they think that freelancing is easy and especially they see me, they parang, for example, when I get together with my friends na nasa corporate parang lahat sila parang text, text, text sila. And ganyan, because the office is still calling them Tapos ako wala lang Kinaparood ko lang silang mag-text or kung mag-text man. You know it's lighter compared to them Because you can see that their nose is getting. Also shed some light on what you've shared. It is possible to work in the beach, like, for example, my most memorable freelancing location was in NLEX. So, yes, I had my data and I was working as long as you have the internet, yes, as long as you have a strong.
Speaker 1:Not just internet, but strong internet. Strong internet, yes, because I was really and of course I'm a traveler, but since the road is good, I don't feel the bump on the road.
Speaker 2:So talagang dire-direcho lang siya.
Speaker 1:It's like I was working in my desk, tapos yun nandoon lang yung laptop ko. I was working, so yun nga, it's possible that you can work from anywhere. It's possible that. But, to sum it all off, all of those require hard work, exactly so it's not because, for example, you see me in the beach right now working oh, this is the life I'm working from the beach, this is my view, from my office window. That's true, that can be true, but before someone gets there, there's a lot of preparation that went into that. It's not as if I booked in an airline, booked my hotel, fly ako, and then, when I flew, oh sige, makapagtrabaho nga, ma-update nga yung ganda ko.
Speaker 3:It's not just handed to you, diba. Yes, you have to reach out, and grab it Exactly and work on.
Speaker 1:it Work on it and I think that's the key word here. It's work, it's really work. And to go with the topic of what's the misconception that it's not a career, well, it is. It is a career. You get the promotion as well. It's just that it's not in the same format as what we are used to in corporate, like, for example, in corporate it's usual assistant, associate, specialist officer, supervisor, manager. It's not like that. So the promotion is okay. You start first as a general va right and then you become an ea and then you become a soft med specialist so you so
Speaker 1:you know, it's different paths and that's what makes it so exciting. Like in my freelancing career I've been, you know, I wore so many hats already so in broadcasting alone, in my first career, I've experienced everything. The only thing I did not experience was to be on camera, because I'm very shy, but everything behind the camera I was able to do so just because I was at the right place at the right time. And speaking of which, how do you rise up in your career as a freelancer or a virtual assistant? Can you share what helped you, or what skills did you have, or what skills should one have, especially for those who are listening right now and they would like to transition to a freelancing career? So what are the skills that they should have to be successful in this career?
Speaker 2:Okay, well, since we're offering virtual assistance, like literally working behind that computer, we need to have, of course, computer skills. That's the basic right. So computer skills, you know, as easy as typing, data entry and all. But of course we need to be more detailed oriented, we need to be technical, we need to really make use of the computer's skill, like more on understanding the format or making some formulas and all that. So not just the regular typing, but any computer-related skills that you can think of. That's going to be the number one requirement of skills that you need to have computer skills. On top of that, of course, you also need to be at least computer skills. On top of that, of course, you also need to be at least have you have that communication skills wherein you can freely express what you want and how you say it with confidence. Since we are dealing with foreign clients, then we need to be, of course, conversational with our communication skills and we need to also not just with speaking, but all forms of communications, of course listening, writing and reading and all that. So, number one, computer skills. Number two, your communication skills. And number three, problem-solving skills. So these are logical way of making solutions to simple problems. You know, you don't really need to be super techie, okay, but then you just need to have that problem solving skills.
Speaker 2:And lastly, I think I could say, the ability of being reliable. Okay, like, you are highly dependable by the client. You just don't go offline if you don't know the answer. The client, um, you just don't go offline if you don't know the answer. You know, you just don't um go for, like, um, you just don't answer them if you don't know the answer, but instead you look for ways on how you could make solutions to that specific problem. So that's being reliable and highly dependable. So those four are, I think, the most important skills that you need to have before you start working as a freelancer or as virtual assistants.
Speaker 3:I just have a question in terms of the training that you do for virtual assistants. Given that it's a global market in a way, do they have to have perfect English communication skills?
Speaker 2:Okay, well, I don't really require them to be fluent in English, because we all know Filipinos are not that confident sometimes, unless you work in a BPO, at least have a conversational tone and you're able to communicate effectively. Now if, in case, you are transitioning and you don't have any experience working in the BPO and you have, you know challenges with communication you may just want to probably start working on it. Number one or number two try to look for local clients, like Filipino clients, who will be needing assistance. The pay may not be the same, you know, of course, you won't be earning dollars or anything, it's just peso, but still that can be something. Yes, exactly.
Speaker 3:And actually I love what you said in terms of those specific skills, Because those are very, as we should say, very basic, foundational technical skills that, in a way, are really very important in this line of work. When you think about it and I think just to piggyback on that I'm thinking that it's also important in terms of skills or even features or characteristics of someone in this type of career. I think for me, self-starter is really important yes.
Speaker 3:Proactiveness. Again, just to also link it to what I said earlier, the burden is on you. If you're in this type of job, you're a freelancer, virtual assistant, and even if there's a hierarchy or a path that you can advance on, really it's all on you, unlike being in a part of an organization who can look out for your own personal development personal and professional development can send you to trains it's on you, right? It's really your initiative for continuous improvement, especially in this line of work. Whatever your specialization is, you have to continuously hone it for you to be more marketable, and all of that is in your back. So I think that's also one. I mean, if I may add to that, I think it's really one of the most important characteristics of being a freelancer, virtual assistant or whoever whoever in this is in this type of of a career or job.
Speaker 2:Talagang, I think that's really a requirement, that type of discipline yes, and that's also the same requirement that clients are looking for.
Speaker 1:Yes, right, yeah so, and also for me um, I know that for a lot of people when you hear the word going the extra mile, it sounds so cliche, but it's actually a very good way for you. Because you go the extra mile, the chances of you getting recommended is higher. So, for example, for me me personally, like, for example, who is Sarge right, so a lot of people don't know me, but I get by because I keep getting recommended.
Speaker 1:So, for example, if a former client says oh, maybe you know someone who can do this. Oh yeah, I know, and that's how I met Coach Kathy, because I was recommended. So as long as you put in good work, as long as you do that extra mile, you'd really go far. So maybe it can be a skill. So I would say it's a two-pronged skill networking and really you know doing your best, doing the extra mile.
Speaker 1:So, for example, of course, in freelancing, as much as we'd like to dictate our price, sometimes that's not possible. So you have your benchmark right. So I have to do this type of work. Ito yung pressure ko ganyan. But sometimes you don't get that. So what do you do in return? So try to leverage on what the other person has. You can always be open for negotiation. So I guess that's how I got by in the in my freelancing life. So, kung ikong combine it, I've been freelancing for 15 years five years when I was starting in my first career and then 10 years. This is now a very independent consultant and since I started, 10 years ago, I had to change my title, my position title, as an independent consultant, because at that time, 10 years ago, when you say freelancing I don't have a direction, fly by 9S as an independent consultant, because at that time, 10 years ago, when you say freelancering, ay wala direksyon to Fly by nais.
Speaker 1:Right, unlike ngayon pag sinabi mong freelancer ka parang it's so accepted already. Exactly, that is the reality that we have now. So, yeah, I know that a lot of our listeners are very curious. So you know, um, I'd like to transition to, you know, to becoming a virtual assistant. So maybe, coach kathy, you'd like to to share the resources that you have on how they can start their freelancing career or, and specifically, being a virtual assistant okay, well, for those people listening and planning to transition, I just have three important things, um that you need to do.
Speaker 2:To start with, as mentioned earlier, computer skills, right. So if you have a computer skills or if you don't have a computer skills yet, of course you need to learn new computer skills. Just don don't settle with the basics. You can settle, but then, of course, I don't want you just to be stuck with general VA. I want you to learn more, I want you to be advanced, I want you, of course, to be competitive. So always upgrade your computer skills. So that's number one. So, of course, when you start with learning online skills, you need to be open to what is it that you want to learn? What is it that you want to focus on Learning online skills? Number two try to get experience.
Speaker 2:We all know that it's difficult to find a client without experience, but then, of course, they don't like to work with newbies and that's the reality. Okay, so some of my freelancer friends, when they started, they even started for free, just for them to get feedback, clients' feedback, testimonials and that started their portfolio. So once you already have that experience, then you can start marketing your services. So when we say marketing. This is where you showcase all the talents and skills and you as a person, you need to sell yourself and selling yourself.
Speaker 2:It's not the old-fashioned way of printing resume and you go to one office to the other. So, since it's all online, you also need to learn what are the different platforms where you will need to put your profile, like online jobs, upwork but I think one of the most efficient and effective way is through LinkedIn. Linkedin is a social networking platform where clients can hire you directly and if you are just learning the beauty of optimizing your profile and portfolios, clients or even recruiters can reach out to you and ask if you could work for them, and that's just happened this morning through LinkedIn. Someone reached out and then I said, wow, that's really happening. So it works.
Speaker 1:I got a lot of leads from LinkedIn as well. So, for example, and especially with me, LinkedIn is not optimized. So these are, you know freelancing jargon Organic. But yet I'm getting leads, so a lot of some of my projects keep LinkedIn, so yeah, so I do agree with that and I do know, coach, that you have, you know, training solutions as well, so you'd like to tell us more about that?
Speaker 2:Yes, I do. I have online course training and then I also added OJT program for those people who's looking to have an experience. So what I did? I have this OJT program where they will be part of our back-end operation, of course, with the help of our project managers. They will need to do an actual task and then we will be giving them performance evaluation, some feedback, and then, yeah, that, giving them performance evaluation, some feedback, and then, yeah, that can be, you know, part of their experience online that they can put into their portfolios. Other than that, we also have the newest program that we have, which we called 5D. So this is a five straight days of training. Good thing, we have clients who will be looking after these candidates after they finish the program. So it's like training to hiring you get to train for five days straight and then on the fifth day, if you pass, then you will be endorsed to our partner clients for possible recruitment, I mean for placement already Not just recruitment, but placement.
Speaker 2:Placement yeah, onboarding something like that. And the thing with this 5D live training is that the requirements of the clients somehow is the same with what we do for the five days of training. So it's really customized, since this client of ours is a startup agency who wants to focus on executive assistance, and it's really hard for them to look for the perfect candidate. So what I suggest is that, yeah, let's go ahead and create a customized program for you and then train our graduates after. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So yeah, so of course, in the link we'll be providing the links to. I understand, coach, that you have a Facebook page that they can get in touch with, so we'll just include that in the link as well. It will also appear in the blog. But I'd like to end this episode to encourage those who are thinking of transitioning to freelancing. So just be open-minded about it. Like, for example, trina knows this. Like, around 20 or so years ago, they looked at call center agents as operators right, but look at them now, right, they are actually the ones who can easily transition to the VA world because they know, they are self-starters.
Speaker 1:They are so motivated they know how to speak in english. They are easy to savvy, exactly it's very easy to adapt. So, yeah, so, and in relation to that, I've also shared that in a previous episode that you know you continue to be open-minded, so, even if it's just a call center job, right, so, um, don't say that, don't say that, so the same way that freelance, exactly, exactly, so you know, be open to, to learning, because you know, like, like my favorite author, paulo Coelho, said, that there's only one thing that makes your dream impossible, okay, and that is the fear of failure.
Speaker 1:Okay, so, yeah, well said, oh so, and with that I'd like to end this episode. Thank you for listening To T3 that's Training Together On Tuesday, so we hope you enjoyed this episode On freelancing and the world Of virtual assistance. So, if you're looking For more tips and tools, please visit our website At pro163learningplus, and also Please don't forget to check the link on Surge Marketplace South Lausanne. And, of course, we'll see you next time. We'll talk about more tips and we hope that we can have Coach Cathy again in one of our future episodes. So for now, okay, we'll talk again next time and see you in our next episodes. Bye.