Tag Archives : freelancer

I know it’s easy to remind people not to buy this or that, but the impulse is really difficult to resist. Because more often than not, it is more tempting to splurge on your wants when you have the money rather than to think on how to wisely spend your hard earned income. So I’m changing that style. As they say, if you can’t beat them, join them. Go ahead, BUY BUY BUY! But before you indulge read through the shopping list I’ve prepared for you. Then go ahead and enjoy your [...]

Call centers in the Philippines, India or any other outsourcing destination bring a new breath of hope for a decent earning employment. And yes, I am one of those people who’ve been blessed to have worked for over three years in this thriving industry. But I left the call center completely and never looked back again. At first, I was hesitant to leave my job at Aegis People Support, one of the biggest call center here in Cebu City. With two growing kids in tow, a house rental to think, no [...]

Life as a freelancer is not a bed of roses and you know that, I’m sure. It’s challenging. It’s sometimes disappointing and frustrating. And what better way to learn than to ask those who’ve been in the business, and have gone all through what we’re just starting to cross. So I started a group discussion in LinkedIn and asks: What Are Your Biggest Freelancing Challenges? Here’s what LinkedIn members has to say: Ashish Mishra • [...]

There will be a slight change that will affect Freelancers and all Paypal users who use Unionbank EON debit cards to withdraw their earnings. Starting August 1, 2010 there will be a new policy regarding card holders withdrawal fees. As indicated in Unionbank website advisory: For oDesk users who regularly withdraw their earnings every Wednesday, this simply means that on the third and fourth week of your earnings will be slashed P20 ($0.44) when you withdraw. And if your withdrawal is below P7000 [...]

Too much fantasy and sci-fi movies can sometimes rub off on us. I know superman is one of the favorites and he is certainly one of the most common roles many people want to play in their freelancing career. But who wouldn’t want to be superman? And who have not done a superman act before? Juggling 4 or 5 jobs, then taking even more even if it would mean a missed lunched or dinner, a 2hr sleep or just about anything that would mean sacrifice of personal comfort just to please the King Client, [...]

My status as a home based online freelancer has brought me a new advocacy which i believe is most relevant as the world celebrates Father’s Day tomorrow. I don’t know if how many of you who are reading this blog are celebrating the occasion with your dad far across the other side of the planet, toiling overseas just to give your family a decent life. I’m sure you’ve heard countless times in TV or real life stories about the OFW saga and dreams of giving a good life to their [...]

Being too reliant on only one payment option has proven to have serious consequences.  And if you are working in oDesk, you know [tweetmeme]exactly what I mean. I’ve seen the forum filled with dismayed people, frustrated providers and helpless freelancers who couldn’t do anything about their payouts because they only use Paypal for payment transactions. Let’s face it, technology is not foolproof. Paypal, Moneybookers, Payoneer or whichever institution you are using, gives you [...]

There is a lot of spam going on right now with oDesk providers who are part of the gDev team. The original message which started from a [tweetmeme]simple “hi” turns out to carry more than what meets the eye. UAE based company, gDEV FZ LLC who claims to be the biggest employer in oDesk started sending out invitations and hiring providers for a fixed rate fee to undergo several tests and a Skype interview that’s intended for various technical and customer service positions. Well, [...]

When I first had my hand on blogging, I can only name two major platforms, Blogger and WordPress. I did set up blogs for both but had to totally switch to WordPress for many reasons. And for more than two years now, I’m still in love with WordPress. Not that I don’t like Blogger, I just think that WP is more robust and more user friendly. And if i’ll be asked which platform to recommend I surely won’t hesitate to insist on WordPress. Am I being narrow sighted? I guess not. Before [...]

It was just a few days ago when I celebrated my birthday and reaching this age (no need to guess, i’m 31) is surely a miracle and a blessing beyond words. Yet it didn’t end there, I just received a notification that as of March, I was included in the Top VA’s in oDesk. “Congratulations! There are hundreds of thousands of providers on oDesk, but you were one of the top performing ones in your category this month. Rankings are based on a combination of the dollar amount of [...]