A lot may have heard stories about people working from home or freelancing nowadays. A few years back, "freelancing" was not really a "positive" thing. It referred to people who did not have a stable job and is just doing any form of "raket" with no structure, no standard pay rate to earn a living.
Currently, freelancing is now considered a career option. With all the technological advancements and everything going digital. Online freelancing or online work became a big hit that it has inspired professionals and corporate employees take the "big leap." Freelancing took a bigger meaning as it now considered "Working in Freedom."
Freelancers have different reasons why they decided to take on this different career path. Some of which are the following:
"The convenience of having your own personal freedom, daily expenses and significant cuts on overhead costs are some of the benefits I enjoy when I started working from home - all of these without sacrificing family relationships," says Angel Salamante, an Inside Sales Agent from Bulacan
According to Jocelyn Medina-Ihalas, a Virtual Assistant and Mom of 3,
"I started working from home due to the flexibility of working hours without neglecting my role as a parent."
"To be more productive and happier in a way that I can do multitasking - doing household chores, working and spending more quality time with my family especially with my kids." added Mylin Soriano, Virtual Assistant - Quality Analyst, Mom of 2.
On the personal note, I choose to start working from home because I can no longer tolerate the stress, traffic, and pollution to commute to and from work everyday. I keep getting sick and had very frequent asthma attacks. However, despite my health condition, I had to do something and need to continue to become productive.
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How to start? Where to begin? Is this even real? These are the questions I had in mind when I started my own freelancing career. Honestly, it was not easy but I was fortunate to meet the right people to guide and inspire me on what to do. The WAHMderful Weekend organized by WAHM Manila has literally changed my life. It is because of them that I realized that having a mentor and a support group is very crucial.
Thus, it has been part of our advocacy under The Purple Secretary to promoting more earning opportunities by empowering individuals from places where there are limited jobs offered as well as to provide support to parents who are not able to work due to family obligations. One of our objectives is to help guide "newbies" in avoiding online scams or being duped by others who present networking as an online job.
Last January 21, The Purple Secretary co-presented by Dojo 8 Coliving Space held the "How to Start Your Home Based Career Seminar." The learning event focused on the basics of starting one's home based career including different work-at-home career options, tips on getting started and information on where and how to apply. We also discussed current trends, pay rates and challenges faced by online workers.
It was a sold out event and we are very happy with the overwhelming turnout of participants. I realized that there are a lot of individuals in Bacolod who are interested to also take the "big leap." Hearing personal stories from the participants made me realize that this is more than just a learning event. It is about changing other people's lives, improving family relationships and building our own community of freelancers in Bacolod.
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This promising start would not be possible without the support of our sponsors, Nacho King - SM Bacolod, Lord Byron's Back Ribs Bacolod, Flip and Color, My Little Ikbi and Bacolod DIY Party Rentals and media partners When in Manila, Sigrid Says and Mea in Bacolod.
To all the participants, sponsors and partners - let me take this opportunity to thank you again for supporting the event. #bacolodworkathome
