Before I divulge my plans for 2012 let me share a few things I’ve learned as a full time freelancer. These are practical things that helped me survive the year, from family life, to work ethics, and social life which I hope will help you too.

1. It’s a family business

I’ve learned that working as a freelancer is not a “you mentality” but it is and should be a family business. You are just working as the main character but in essence, your wife, your son or daughter has a big part to your success as supporting roles. They need to understand what you are doing in order to support you in little ways. My 2 kids know that when I put on my headset, they have to keep quiet because “George” is on the line. My wife knows that when I am slumping on my chair, I badly need a back massage.

2. Full time doesn’t apply to job only but to family as well.

It was a challenge for me to get over being an overtime father and switch to full time family man. But when you get hold of the balance you will surely be more satisfied with your work, be more happy with your family and live a healthier life. My usual line when my wife tells me that I no longer have time for them is to say that all that i’m doing is for them (which is true). But of course it’s not all about the money. Spending a few hours with the kids, teaching them their alphabet, putting them to bed and playing with them have become my goal to keep me sane and family oriented.

3. It pays to socialize

Social media like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, as well as blogs are essential parts of freelancing. The first few jobs that I took were courtesy of my defunct blog “pinoyfusion”. My current work as a research person was because of comment I made to a blog. So you can see how this little things can mean really big in making yourself visible in the radar. Let the world know that you exist and that you have a special service that you can offer. Word of mouth can do wonders for your career. But as a word of caution, make sure that you know what reputation management is as well.

4. Be In the Know

I’ve learned that in order to thrive in this fast paced environment, you need to be able to cope with the influx of information, explore new things and enhance what you already possess. What I like the most about this is discovering new tools so that I can work more efficiently and more productively. It’s almost futile to reason out and say that we don’t know, because with just a simple click on Google search almost everything is at your fingertips.

5. Spend Your Money Wisely

Work can sometimes be so unpredictable and so is the income. As a freelancer, i’ve learned that our focus should not just be on the earning but also on managing those finances. It didn’t become freelancer’s top concern for no reason. If we like to master our craft, budgeting will be the one of the most important lesson we should master next to time management.

6. No is sometimes yes.

This is the best freelance lesson that I’ve learned this year. Freelancing thought me that an opportunity to work with a prospect doesn’t end when you fail an interview or your proposal was rejected. It actually ends when you think that business is only “TODAY” and there is no point in exerting effort to communicate with someone who rejected you. It thought me that business starts the very moment you decided to apply. Whether your prospect accepts or rejects at the first meeting, tomorrow is business as usual because you’ll never know when the need arises that you will become the perfect peg for the hole.

I hope you’ve learned something from what I’ve learned. I’d be glad to hear your thoughts too!

The fact is, the internet is becoming the biggest job site you could ever imagine. Come to think of it, it’s not only limited to local opportunities but its global. So for those who wants to catch up on the booming online jobs industry, I have listed the eight most sought after skills on the web.

As a bonus, I have also added a few resources which would be a good place to start gathering information on how or where to get your dream jobs. Read on…

1. Virtual Assistant

– Newsblaze.com considered Virtual assistance (VA’s) as one of the latest and hottest home based businesses in today’s market. You may ask why, well, there’s a lot of reasons why this skill is such a hit. For entrepreneurs who want to keep the business rolling, getting a well rounded VA who could almost do everything, like managing a blog, social media accounts, office and admin works, customer service, this is such a big hit. Best of all, they are literally getting some quality service at rock bottom prices if they outsource the job from India or the Philippines. Chris Ducker of Virtual Business Lifestyle has actually taken advantage of this niche. Chris started an outsourcing company called Live2Sell that provides VA services here in Cebu and he’s been reaping the rewards for finding Filipino VA’s who simply provide awesome service at very low rates.

On the other hand, if you are solo professional who wants to start a VA business of your own but finds the web as an uncharted territory, here are some sites that I would recommend for you to visit.
a. IVAA - International Virtual Assistants Association
b. VA Classroom – a site co founded by Craig Cannings
c. VA Training Online -
d. VA Networking -

2. WordPress Developer

– Over 25 million people have chosen WordPress as their blogging platform, according to WordPress.org. And that is reason enough why wordpress developers can look to a bright future ahead in terms of job availability. Whether it’s WP theme you are developing or WP plugins, you’ll sure have millions of hungry users who can keep you busy if you do a good job.

3. Social Media Marketer

– This is probably one of the areas where most are already engaged unconsciously. The places where you frequently visit like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or Flickr could actually help you earn if you take time to study social media marketing. You don’t really need to be a guru, you just have to understand how social media works and how you can implement it to your own system. Alright, to make things a lot clearer. Let me throw you some of the personal resources that I recommend if you are planning on exploring this area:
Socialmediatoday, Socialmediaexaminer, Mashable. Also, you can check out some well known figures like Brian Solis of www.briansolis.com Neal Schaffer, author of Maximizing Linkedin, Seth Godin, and Chris Brogan.

4. Web Designer

- As long as the web is there, web designers will always have plenty of work to do. But it’s not just being able to design. If you can throw in a couple more skills to add to your design skill, it would give you a better edge. Most people would actually prefer a one stop shop so try to learn a bit about the other areas. To get a good glimpse, check www.99designs.com

5. Content Writer

This is probably one of the most in-demand jobs online that helps you hone your craft but at the same time get paid.
Anne Waymaalso n has some great insights that you can use as well some great advice on how to monetize your writing. The fact is, whether you are novice or an expert writer, you can still write and earn by utilizing some sites paid to write sites like: Hubpages, Bukisa or create a blog of your own then monetize it. There is Adsense, Bidvertiser, and a couple other monetization techniques that you can use while enjoying your writing. You can also find opportunities as article rewriter, ebook writer, etc..

7. Apps Developer

– Apps or applications and software integrators are becoming a boom in the current market trend. And this will continue on as the landscape becomes more engraved in being mobile but consistently connected to the web. Google apps which has become one of the most popular and the never ending iPhone and Android apps are becoming increasingly mainstream. The possibility almost endless. And if you are keen on creating useful applications then you’re up to something promising in terms of generating a passive income source. Check out AndroidApps.com as well as iTunes store to get a feel of what the apps industry has in store for you.

8. SEO

- All the above mentioned skills has in one way or another a common goal, to be visible to their target markets. And SEO work will do that for them. I suggest, if you have already engaged yourself in blogging, and social media, SEO would be a next good stop to really maximize the efforts that you are pouring into your online work.
There are a few SEO sites where you could get some great insights and updates and I would suggest that you subscribe to their newsletters. Check out SEOConsultants for its 12 select blogs.

A multi-country survey conducted by Callcentres.net, revealed that full-time call center agents stay in a contact center at an average 22 months, while part-time agents last for a shorter 10 months. In a January 2010 issue of Manila Bulletin, a Call Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) study shows call centers have an attrition rate of 19 percent.

So where do call center agents go after their short stint in these four cornered cubicles?

A bit of me thinks that call center agents either move to another center or go back being unemployed. Getting a regular 9-5 job doesn’t seem to be an option. For one good reason, they get a much lower pay which is an unlikely option considering that most of these young professionals have started getting a decent salary. It’s like getting demoted which is least of what you could possibly take especially if you are helping your kins in the province or supporting an extended family.

The scenarios just seemed like a catch-22. It’s either you get burned out from a job you can’t leave because you have no choice, leave and get a low paying job, else, leave and be unemployed. Okay, it’s not all too bad. There’s also a bright side to this story. Did you know that call centers are actually one of the best training grounds for freelancers?

As a product of call center exhaustion myself, I know the plight of many call center agents who are hanging onto dear job. But when I learned about blogging, online jobs, oDesk, Elance and other freelance sites, I realized that working in the call center is not the end of the story. Its stepping stone, and a training ground.

Communication
Call centers provide a very good place to train your communication skills. It’s a very important skill that every freelancer must possess. And this gives call center agents a big step ahead of the competition. Practically speaking, you could start freelancing by taking on cold calling jobs, customer service or tech support positions. You can also work as a Virtual assistant, appointment setter, or even chat support. Compared with a call center position, the big difference is the fact that you get control of your time, be able to choose which is most convenient for you, you work at home, and the stress level is highly lowered down. Pay rates are also higher as compared to working in call centers.

Multi Tasking
When you talk on the phone, gather information, identify your customer’s concern, understand their needs, and provide solution, it takes more than just communication, it takes an active mind and hand that works together all at the same time. That’s multi-tasking! And it’s another good thing that you can learn from a call center experience and bring on the table when you go freelance.

Customer Service
Customer service orientation provides a big advantage for those who are planning to start freelancing. And for those who are already into freelancing, it’s a certainty that customer service background helps a lot in handling your clients whether they are the bring-me-something-out-of-nothing kind or the more reasonable type of person. Whatever type of freelance job you may take, your background on customer service will be beneficial as you will know how to treat your clients. After all, working with a client is all about customer service. It’s just a change of environment and from a different perspective.

Sales
When you go freelancing, sales skill will be your bread and butter. If you don’t know how to sell, you shouldn’t be a freelancer! Whether you like it or not, freelancing is all about selling. If you’ve had the chance to do sales in previous accounts, consider it as another big plus if you decide to freelance. Call centers are actually a good breeding ground for this skill. You will learn how to close the sale, your customers buying signs, your products or services features and benefits and how it will matter to your customers. You will no longer dread the fact that you need to be persistent and consistent, because if you do, you’re planning to quit early in this line of job.

Bottom Line
These are probably some of the basic trainings that you can get from working in a call center and there can be more. I will not guarantee that you can get a job, but if you have these skills, I am sure that you will have an easier life getting hired. You don’t need to hang onto something and whine for the rest of your life. You don’t need to look back one day and regret why you did not leave the call center sooner. You have a choice! You just need to make that choice and use what you have learned from those experiences. After all, call center experience is not bad at all, its actually a stepping stone that can help you reach greater heights.

Image credit: www.farmout.ph

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 savings in the bank, no health insurance. It was probably one of the most stupid thing a father can do. But I didn’t leave the call center to let my family starve to death. I left the call center for many good reasons.

Future:

I am no seer or fortune teller, but one of the reasons I left the call center is because I saw a promising future in online jobs. The fact that outsourcing has been in bloom for several years already made me firmly believe that this will be the same with online jobs. There will be more companies, specially medium to small sized businesses who will be joining the bandwagon of outsourcing. There will be individuals who simply wants to do business and are practical enough to outsource some of their tasks to individuals, not companies. And sure enough, even at this moment, oDesk, which is one of the major places where my clients come from have consistently shown an increase in all aspects:
48,786 new online jobs were posted to oDesk in June, an increase of 1,505 over May
635,198 total workers were registered with oDesk in June, an increase of 45,480 or 7.7 percent over May
$9,255,640 was earned by workers on oDesk in June, an increase of $382,252 or 4.3 percent over May
(Source: oDesk Online Employment Situation Summary)

Earning Potential:

Although the call center has offered above average compensation and benefits, freelance jobs give a bigger earning potential and a more financially rewarding work. With enough skill, and experience it has literally raised my earnings from four to five times what I previously received in my call center work, all in the comfort of my home. Not only that, it has also opened new areas for me to passively earn through my blog advertising revenues and affiliate earnings.

Growth:

Career growth in call centers go through the step by step promotion process that’s not free from insider politics, “padrino” system and other biases. Competition is stiff. And this made me think, whether my 5 years of stay in a call center would bring me to my goal of being financially stable and in terms of position, getting a promotion. With freelancing, you’re almost limited only by your imagination on what you can achieve. Freelancing offers a different path for growth. For just one year, I’ve seen open doors to raise the bar in what I do. From my role in the call center as customer service agent, taking 30-60calls every day, pacifying irate customers, I then started managing projects for clients, getting my own team, and as they say… the rest is history.

Flexibility

Time flexibility at work proved to be one of my biggest challenge while working at the call center. I’ve missed important family occasions, church gatherings, and other events which I would have enjoyed attending. And as a family man with two growing kids, family time became a growing concern as well.
With my job as Virtual Assistant, I was able to choose clients that would suit both their time preference as well as mine. I can work for two hours, or four, or six or a full stretch 8 hour shift depending on my availability. And this is what makes working as home based freelancer very flexible.

Bottom Line

I can list down many other reasons on why I left the call center in place of working at home as a freelancer. But the bottom line is, if you love your job, then stick to it. I love my freelance work, I love computers, I enjoy working alone, that’s why I’m sticking to it. If this post made you think of jumping ship plainly because of the earning potential, this may not be enough to sustain you to last through the challenging and uncertain world of freelancing. But if you think your interest and passion is here, don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need some direction to get started.
(Image source: http://fusionbposervices.freeblog.co.nz/)

For one, there is now a slide gallery of recent posts that were made, a bar with tabs where you can give a thumbs up, comment, like, pass or flag for a post. Plus a Hootsuite/Facebook like status update console where you can attach a link and provide more detail to your post.

This may not be a major update but I think LinkedIn is slowly evolving and adapting to the style of social media giant Facebook. And I won’t be surprise if one day, one of them will get swallowed by the other. Whether it’s Facebook taking over LinkedIn, that’s something worth tuning in.

So how does it affect LinkedIn members experience?

The new design definitely has it’s great advantages. It makes it a lot easier to interact with fellow group members. And creating a discussion is no longer a hide and seek.

Now it’s your turn. Tell us what you think about this new update. Would you prefer the new interface, or would you opt to stick with the old one? How will it affect your activity in LinkedIn?

Here’s what LinkedIn members has to say:

Ashish Mishra • Hi,

Thats a good question and here is the answer as per my experience-
Its hard to find out work on a regular basis
Less value of your work
and extreme competition

Dmytro Kharchenko • It’s harder to find quality personel at fair price at the time when you need it. FL forces you to be fast and keep yourself constantly open to changes.

Donna Bentley • My biggest problem has been my most recent client. I had to quit the job because my client was so hostile. My client had spent over $1,000 on pages to a website, landing page, and sales page. She decided to scrap everything and do a complete new money making campaign with all new designs and felt I owed the new work to her for free because she had already spent money on pages she would not use. It was tense to say the least. I am glad I quit but I did not do so without leaving a complete website for my client. I did the entire site because of my professional attitude not because I felt I owed it to her. We did agree on a small flat rate for the new site and I was paid 1/2 and needed to get out of the project. I can live without the other 1/2 payment knowing that I did finish what I started. I did not leave the new site undone. I provided a complete site for the client.

George Beltzhoover • One of the most difficult parts of freelancing is finding steady work from clients who seem to only use internet-based freelance job boards to find the lowest price.

Patrick McCarthy • “…She decided to scrap everything…” When I worked in the corporate world I was amazed by how many projects were completed, delivered, accepted, paid for and never implemented. Management could have saved a lot of development money by knowing what they were buying BEFORE they bought it.

Mehdi Boutiti • Hello, I’m a new Freelancer from Tunisia. I think that the biggest problem between freelancers and clients is the language; some freelancers who have very good skills from other countries can find many obstacles when communicating with clients. What do you think?

Myra Rose Ilisan • Biggest challenge…oooh wow, does impossible deadlines count?
And somehow that feeling that you are like walking on eggshells, probably wondering when the project ends that would mean you need to look for another job assignment.

George Bang • I have used freelancers from Chandigarh India for three years now. I have found that the easiest way to communicate is via instant messenger. I have some colleagues with whom I have never had a voice to voice. I find that there is much benefit in having an exact transcript, as there can be no doubt as to what has been discussed and agreed upon.
As for you freelancers: I have a piece of advice for you: learn to use the word NO! A good client will be grateful when you tell him that what he is asking for is impossible, impractical or just plain stupid. I think if may be a cultural thing, but I found many freelancers in India could not bring themselves to utter the word no, and it caused much wasted time and resources. A good client LIKES to hear the word no, and if he is NOT a good client, you don’t need him.

Donna Bentley • This type of job advertising:

Web 2.0 Web and graphic DESIGNER needed
$3-5/Hr need a freelancer
all work will be monitored by teamviewer, remote screen sharing, REQUIRED

SKILLS NEEDED SLice pages ,and HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS
I NEED A PERSON THAT CAN DO GRAPHICS, ICONS , VECTOR , TEXTURES
$3-5 an hour?? This is a US based company…exploiting the designers outside the US who are skilled and good at what they do. Reality this company would never find a person in the US to do this work for $3-5/hr. That is not even Fed. min. wage.

Daniel DiRico • I’m sure the quality of a $3-5 / hour job isn’t that great. As I’m on both ends of oDesk (buyer and a freelancer) it does seem that the buyer end has the greater advantage since there is just so much talent available out there now.

As the economy improves, this will change. So hang in there.

George Beltzhoover • The amount of money some buyers are willing to pay is really insulting! I don’t know how a skilled person can work for that small amount of money. Would the buyer work for that amount? I think not!

Vincent McCune • I have been trying to use ODesk but I have not had much success. I charge between $75 and $95 all day long here in Tampa, Florida. I often do find rediculous prices from buyers and it seems that this is more and more a site for US buyers to find offshore vendors. I mean no offense to anyone but I find it hard to believe any North American consultants do work for $5 – $10 per hour.

Another issue I have is the large number of jobs that seem to be “Fishing Expeditions” I have applied for around 12 jobs so far and I believe 8 of them were cancelled with no work being done.

Kartik Goyal • Clients keep changes/adding their requirements, they normally says they will come to know more about things when the site will get developed. Somewhere, to an extent, I am agree with them, as they are developing their website first time. But they normally does not ready to pay for that extra work

All of what they’ve mentioned are true and there are more to that. Do you have other challenges you want to add? Feel free to share your thoughts. We’d like to hear about them and learn how you have overcome them.

Aside from the normal exchange rate fluctuations, you should also remember that withdrawing your funds from Paypal to your local banks will give you a much lower rate. As an example, I’ve graphed my withdrawals for the month of June from Paypal to my EON card. I then compared the rate at www.exchange-rates.org. From the 10 withdrawals that I’ve made, there was an average difference of Php1.1914 between the EON exchange rate and exchange-rates.org (see table 1)  It’s not a huge loss in the short term, but if this amount accumulates over a period of time, you’ll definitely feel that little things do matter.

Table 1: Comparison of Exchange rates between Paypal to EON vs. Market rate at exchange-rates.org

In span of 10 withdrawals that I have made for the period of June (see table 2), the highest level reached was at Php45.48 to a dollar, while it took a dip on the 23rd at Php44.58 to a dollar exchange rate.

Table 2: June Average Exchange Rate (From Paypal to EON)

Although the month June showed a dip during the last week of the month, it still posted the highest exchange rates during the 1st half of 2010.  The dry month of April also proved to be the lowest point for the dollar earning Filipinos. On the other hand, January and February exchange rates are the months where the exchange rates have been most stable.

Table 3: First Half of 2010 Average Exchange Rates

I’m quite certain that many have actually hopped on getting a second or third option next to Paypal because of the Paypal-oDesk incidence. And honestly, I just came to an epiphany that there are deeper reasons why you or every online freelancer must have a backup payment option.

Exchange Rate

If you are from a country other than the US and receives the final payout in a different currency other than US dollar, getting an alternative financial institution can give you a favorable advantage to withdraw your funds with the higher exchange rates and lower fees. The current rate that Paypal charges ($1 per withdrawal)is considered minimal, but what I’ve noticed is an unusually big difference in the exchange rate that Paypal imposes compared to prevailing currency exchange. At some point, I was getting $1 to Php43 but it’s actually $1 to Php44.5 Well of course I know that Paypal wants to earn as well, but a peso per dollar would have been more reasonable. I’m not sure if how much I’ve earned since I first used Paypal or oDesk but I’m certain that if I have been more vigilant and got me more option to withdraw my funds, I could have saved a few hundred if not thousands of pesos.

Flexibility

Since I started accepting projects outside of Elance and oDesk, I’ve had a couple of clients who actually gave me the option  to elect my preferred payment option. This is primarily beneficial for me since I can choose an institution like Xoom or Swiftcash so I can quickly receive payments at no extra cost or just a fraction of it if my client would require me to share in the overall transfer fee.

Availability

Maintenance, hacking, internet downtime, these are just some of the many other reasons that may cause an institution to be unavailable when you need their service. I understand that most of the financial institutions are committing to get their system a 100% uptime but it’s just too difficult to neglect the reality that what ever technology they have, however sophisticated they may be, it’s still not foolproof and invincible to even the simplest glitch that could cripple their operation. Thus, getting an alternate payment option can ensure that you get paid on time when your primary option is unavailable.

Speed

Let’s face it, not all of us have the patience to wait 3 days or even 2 days just to verify an account. And not many will be agreeable to getting their payouts late because many are depending on this source of income to pay bills and other obligations. If this fits you, then you should create a plan B to minimize if not eradicate delays and late fees.

In my experience, the quickest way to receive payment have been through Xoom money transfer. With Paypal, it takes 2-4 business days to withdraw to my bank account, and even longer if your client’s pay by echeck. And if you have a team where you subcontract your other projects, I’m sure they will be as frustrated as you are.  Getting alternatives can help you keep up with emergencies and time sensitive financial obligations like mortgage payments, house rents, internet bill payments, etc.

Simplicity & Convenience

Instant money transfers provides a lot of convenience to both parties. The procedures are a lot simpler, easier and requires lesser effort to make. No need to have a credit or debit card, verify it, and unnecessary lost of funds is avoided (just like what happens when you set up for a moneybookers account)

Security

Whenever I encounter accounts that has a pin or password, it almost always tells me that I need to take extra care. Because those same passwords and pins or security words are actually what makes my accounts vulnerable. As compared to instant transfers, the moment it’s released, the funds can be easily withdrawn, and does not compromise your whole nest egg but just a single instance. One of the steps that I’ve taken is to ensure that I don’t leave substantial funds overnight on my Paypal account. I just feel that security is not too strong. I’ve read forums where people’s Paypal accounts where infiltrated and it simply made me a bit paranoid and ultra conscious that I withdraw funds to my bank as soon as it reaches my Paypal account. I guess the more unpredictable your next step is, the safer you are. So the more options you have to withdraw your funds, the bigger your chances of eluding your would be attacker.

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, who wouldn’t be enticed to grab the opportunity? gDEV offers $40-60 fixed rate fee for spending just 3-4 hours of taking the exams and a few minutes of Skype interview, and the best part, if you get hired, you get a whopping $10 hourly rate or more depending on the nature of your job. That seemed to be a dream job to many freelancers who are still living on a feast and famine kind of life. But that seems to be perceived as too good to be true when all these grievance messages started to sprout.

Are the gDEV invitations just a hoax then? I don’t think it’s enough ground to say that they are not legitimate. Delays are part of the hiring process. And as applicants, I guess, it may as well be taken against us if we show impatience.

gDEV has already issued a stern warning for those who will continue with the flared messages. To those who were not able to control their patience and have not put their complaints in proper channeling, it may have just caused you a quicker kill on your chances of getting hired.

Again, patience is a virtue.

“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 the jobs you completed this month and the feedback score received on those jobs. You can promote yourself with the appropriate badges below – embed them into your blogs, websites, and social media profiles.”

So for now, you’ll see my badge quite a lot to encourage others to reach for their goals, not only in terms of earnings but in terms of client satisfaction.

Below are the Best Virtual Assistants on oDesk for March 2010 !*

oDesk Buyers, you might want to get in touch with these providers soon. They are the cream of the crop and they’ve just completed big jobs. So, they’re available now, but probably won’t be for long. Click on their profile to check out their work and contact them for an interview.