Getting Started as a Freelancer

Join Freelance Sites

One way of working from home is by bidding on projects in freelance sites. There are a lot of freelance sites all over the internet but these are the ones that I personally use and recommend (especially the first two):

1. GetAFreelancer
2. Scriptlance
3. oDesk
4. RentACoder
5. Elance

All of these sites have free and paid membership. Of course, paid memberships have more privileges but that doesn’t mean free members won’t get their share of success. You can start by signing up for free and as soon as you have built a strong profile, you may then upgrade your membership status. Make sure to read and follow their terms to avoid being banned on the site. (Scrap that! Just click on “I Agree” and you’re all set.)

Know Thyself

Assess your skills and interests. What is your field of expertise? What do you want to do?

 I am good in… 
 Maybe you can try… 
 Speaking 
 Voice Over 
 Writing 
 Copywriting 
 Selling 
 Telemarketing 
 Typing 
 Data Entry 
 HTML 
 Website Design 
 Japanese 
 Translation 
 Art 
 Logo Design 

If You Have It, Flaunt It

Convince your clients why they should choose you and what makes you so special. Do you have years of experience? What tools do you have? Make sure it is related to the job being offered. For instance, telling them that you can make a 3D design of a house, or that you can make a software for networking, or that you have an X-ray vision won’t do any good if the job only entails editing simple data.

Aim High

Do not settle for mediocrity. Try to exceed your clients’ expectations. If you have committed to deliver the project in 10 days, surprise your client by sending the complete and error-free data in 7 days. In that way, your clients will give you good reviews and possibly recommend you to others which can also help increase your market value.

If at First You Don’t Succeed, Heck You Know The Rest…

Do not be easily discouraged if you weren’t able to close a deal yet. Oftentimes, landing on the first job is the hardest part. It gets easier as soon as you are able to build connections with your clients. If you have succeeded on your first try, then your one lucky guy after all. You can go thank that Feng Shui guru in the Chinese shop where you bought that golden waving cat figurine.

5 Worst Things in Working in an Office

In another one of my mindless brainstorming sessions (if there’s such a thing), I came up with a list of five worst things in working in an office (yeah, exactly what the title says…thought you wouldn’t notice). Well, here they are:

1. Waking up to the same beeping sound of your alarm clock in the morning (not to mention hitting the snooze button for the nth time)





2. Meeting your officemate, who by the way has a very strong body odor, in an elevator on your way to the 37^th floor (should have just taken the stairs)



3. Arriving in the office with your boss glaring at you and his widely-opened nostrils vacuuming every molecule in the room (now what?)






4. You thought the shredder was the fax machine (how stupid can you get?)






5. Getting stuck in traffic on your way home with an upset stomach (can’t get any better than this!)

That's why I’m so glad to be working at home! Anyway, feel free to add more.

Investing For Your Future

Just yesterday, a fire broke out in our compound. It burned down one apartment unit just in front of ours. Fortunately, the firemen who got there in no time were able to keep the flames from spreading. It was such a traumatic incident. Everything happened so fast that I was only able to get dressed (I was still in my jammies!), to bring my wallet and my cell phone, that’s all! My mom didn’t bring anything either. Unlike us, my dad was able to get our car out and the other cars in the compound as well (our neighbors gave him the keys). He still went back to get a bag of important documents (birth certificates and other papers) and one laptop despite the rising smoke! There were a lot of things in the back of my mind at that moment. I was thinking, “What if it’ll burn down our apartment? What will we do? Where will we go?” All those things that I mentioned in my previous post except for the laptop were all in the house. They could have gone down in flames in a matter of minutes! If we didn’t save anything in the bank and didn’t invest in something then all our hard work would be useless. That’s why it is really important to have a backup plan.

Aside from insurance, my boyfriend, Joel, (he is also working full time at home) and I are investing in land. Just recently, he found a 2-hectare lot for sale in their city at a very good price (not even close to a million pesos). He already paid half of the down payment (33% of the total amount) from his savings just this month. I will also be paying half of it next month when I get there for the signing of the contract. The rest of the amount will be paid monthly starting this March. We decided not to loan from a bank or a cooperative to avoid the interests. The owner, a widow, is selling it because her daughter will be going overseas and they need money. The lot is located on top of a hill, just a few-minute ride from the center of the city. The area is not yet developed but there are already residents nearby. It already has electricity but no water supply yet. The 2-hectare lot was split into two parcels of land by the highway. One side, which has an area of 4k sq.m., was filled with around 20 mango trees; the other 16k sq.m., coconut trees. Joel’s mother also heard from a friend in that area that the owner was able to harvest the coconuts and sell them for around P17,000 (not bad!). It is indeed a good investment because not only can we profit from harvesting coconuts or mangoes but also as soon as the area is developed, its value will increase perhaps even more than ten fold!

So if you are thinking of what to do with your money whether from your online or offline work, it is wise to invest it in things that don’t depreciate in value. Unless you're freakin' rich, spending your earnings in shopping, dining in high-class restaurants, buying new cell phone models will only satisfy you for a short period of time. Save some. Plan ahead. Reap the rewards.