Tingog.com

There is a growing trend of young professionals going into the Web Outsourcing industry nowadays, and I’m one of them. So are the majority of people in my circle of friends and peer group. While most of us work in-house, there is a growing number of us gutsy individuals who are going into home-based freelancing.

Being a somewhat veteran in this business (I’ve crossed the 1-year mark! Woohoo!), I have a few tips to share with you. I believe these tips are what you must have in order to survive in this crazy demanding world of freelancing, and even in the regular 8-hour job too.

Our older set lament of the dearth of jobs, but they do not realize that lack is not the problem, it is actually a matter of perception. While so many people complain of a lack of jobs in our country, I don’t. Because my experience has proven that it is easy to be hired: if you have the skills. What is harder is to be kept in the job. You have to give as much as you get, to make things a win-win situation for all sides. “Win-win” is something we must be taught, as it seems our general paradigm is “Me-win”. Once we get the hang of doing things in a benefit-others-exploit-no-one mode, I believe, our country is destined to become great. As they say, change starts within oneself. Follow these tips, correct your ills, and our country will change.

1) Be assertive.

Aggressive could get offensive for people, but being a pushover is no way to go either. You should have a spine, and you should know what you want. When you do, drum up the courage to reach out and get it.

2) Practice professionalism.

You should be excellent in your business dealings: deliver the goods, and deliver them on time. I’m still working on this myself, but it’s also a function of another tip I will discuss: pacing yourself. This is what will keep your clients coming back to you, and what will earn you a reputation in this field.

3) Be resourceful.

No one will feed you without you working for your daily rice, unless it’s your family. Still, it’s not a good habit to be a parasite, and living in front of the television is a surefire way to veg out your brain into dementia. Look for jobs on the job boards and databases that are scattered all throughout the Internet. There is a plethora of jobs out there, and there is no reason for you to be jobless if you have the skills, and if you look hard enough.

4) Have passion for what you will do.

Do not bank on just a job. When you do, you just might get burned out eventually. There is nothing wrong with using a job to save up and eventually be your own boss, but you should be in a job that you love, no more, no less. Or else, you will just join the ranks of the mediocre.

Pour out your whole being into your career as you do it, and you will see the results.

5) Put up with inconveniences; be patient, content, and learn to put up with starting small.

Life in the freelancing business is not easy. The first few months are bound to be difficult, thus you have to be patient about the money coming in. Put up with small projects if only to feed yourself. Don’t be snobbish, but don’t go for pig feed either. Just count the cost. My principle is that I will put up with a low-paying project if the boss treats me well. If the boss is an ass and he is exploitative and a huge unscrupulous idiot, then consider if the relationship would still work on a long-term basis. Money is not everything.

If you want to discuss how to go about a career move, do leave a comment, or visit my blog and fish for my contact details there. I am into career consulting, too.

6) Know your worth.

But before you start charging a premium for your best resource, yourself, you have to be sure that your client will also get his or her money’s worth when he/she gets you. Your work must be above par, your skills beyond reproach, and when you market yourself, play up your strengths but be transparent about your shortcomings too. Honesty and integrity are the surefire ways you can keep unavoidable troubles to a manageable state.

Back to the topic of idiotic bosses. If he or she is one who makes you spin in a tizzy with his/her vague specifications for projects or even lack of the specifications, then don’t hesitate to sever the relationship. When you know you have alternatives, don’t be scared to lose a client with whom a relationship is toxic. But if you are caught between a rock and a hard place, endure a bit, but make moves to get out. Again, money is not everything. If you lose your sanity chasing money, then you have actually lost your life itself.

7) Balance your emotions.

In my year-long career, I have moved from being borderline to being a bit more reliable with my three major bosses. The key was their patience and trust in me. While I still need work on being emotionally/professionally reliable, I am making baby steps, at the very least.

With one boss, the one I just let go of, I had to sever the relationship because he was treating me more like a peon than a professional that he apparently needs. While it was clear to me that it was as a freelancer that he hired me, apparently, he thought I was on his regular payroll and could bully me the way he wanted to. While I do have faults on my end, this is a complicated case that I could actually take to DOLE if only I had a contract. As it is, I really don’t care anymore. I’m just happy he’s out of my hair.

Throughout this time, being a borderline PD case, I have undergone so many emotional blow-outs with 4 out of 5 of them, and all but one could put up with that, the one I just mentioned.

This is not to say that I am bragging about and will persist in my bratty diva-ness. No. This is to say that I am thankful that they had ridden out the kinks in my being, despite my being a major headache to just about every authority figure in my life.

The key to me was the right boundaries and well-defined expectations on both sides. I praise God for my boss Ate Mina, she has kept me sane throughout this time, and despite my diva-ness rearing its head at times, she has been able to ride it through. Thank you Ate.

I’m thanking my two other bosses, too: J. Angelo Racoma, who recently got featured in several programs. His wife also just gave birth! Blessings! He has pulled through at the moment I needed most: when I had to move out of Iloilo in a very quick, impulsive, but ultimately wise decision, it was provision from him that pulled me through. Working with him had taught me so much in SEO, and about the wonders of WordPress. Being in the SplashPress blogs also earned me the mileage I needed to get other deals.

And I would never forget my boss Michael Lee, who has been the first gig I’ve had, the one I mentioned in the other post. When my diva-ness had reared its ugly head, he hadn’t berated or said anything that would have rendered our relationship irreparable. I thank God for Michael, too, because he respects my boundaries with topics I won’t write about, and when it comes to negotiations, it’s easy to reach a compromise with him.

Also, it was he who taught me boundaries with my work: professionalism and and excellence were a requirement, but though he had put up with my myriad of excuses ever since, when he asked me to finally meet deadlines, he had asked for it in a firm but gentle/humane way, and the system was more of Operant Conditioning: rewards and punishments, something my Psychology grad mind could comprehend.

The latest boss with whom I signed on to is an American, and, well, I have nothing much to complain coz he’s patient, has the system and boundaries I need, and there really is no need for drama anymore.

But take note, I’m working with all four currently. The one I let go of, I already had resigned from his company last June or July. He just tapped me for freelancing. I was reluctant to still work with him because I really didn’t like how our personalities simply clashed, but I gave it a shot: money is pretty alluring. But apparently, and I learned the hard way: it’s better to keep your sanity and be able to deliver for the whole bunch than accepting too many projects my brain and hands can handle.

So the bottom line is, while you would definitely meet manipulative and shrewd bosses, keep a level head, study his or her actions, and remember your worth when negotiation time comes.

When you need to sever relationships, do not hesitate because of hiya or whatever. Count the costs. Be pragmatic at all times, and always, always, look out for yourself. Just remember not to step on any toes or to be inconveniencing people at the cost of looking out for yourself. If you have projects left undone, tie them up before you leave. But if the relationship is totally toxic, then do not hesitate to leave. Just complete what you need to do and submit it, even though you’re in another company already. Integrity and fairness works best if both sides practice it.

8 ) Pace Yourself.

I just had to learn this the hard way, again and again. While I am in the zone of writing, I never want to stop. But when I go toxic, I have to actually take three-day breaks just to regain the motivation to write again. That is a habit that should never be done, because what that would lead to would only be exhaustion and burnout. So pace yourself, deal with your work in chunks, and maintain your sanity.

9) Network.

You can never get far in any field without friends. They need not be “friends in high places,” actually. They can even be like-minded individuals, with the same vision as yours, and the passion to see it through.

In Ecclesiastes 4:12, it says:
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

10) Constantly upgrade your skills.

Never stop at “good”. Stretch yourself to your most excellent, deliver up to par, and serve just the best. (But don’t forget to rest and take breaks!) Constantly learn. Take courses, study how people do things, pursue your passions, learn, learn, and learn some more. With human capital like that, you can’t go wrong.

Gone are the days when our country would be filled with chicks who wait to be served with the worm straight in their mouths. This is the era when Juan Tamad would be crucified. Usher in Juan and Juana Masipag, and our country will go places.

It all starts with your decision to stop making excuses for yourself, get on up from that couch, leave the TV, and start looking for a job. If we all adopt this mindset, I’m sure, the Philippines will go places. They did say that it only takes one man to spark change. And I believe that that man is you.

It’s just quid pro quo, my friends. You get what you give: excellence for excellence.

tags: (none)