Vanessa Jay's Inspirational Quotes..

How I Got Started as a Freelancer

Written By: Ma Cristina Lao an Elancer

Do you think you have the qualities of becoming a freelancer? Well… let me rephrase, Do you think you have the qualities of becoming a successful freelancer? Are you patient, fast, accurate, detail oriented and a good communicator? Do you have basic computer skills? Do you have good research skills? Do you have any writing experience?

In freelancing, the greatest challenge is how to manage your time. Expect to work longer hours as long as 10-20 hrs or more per day.  Can a freelancer manage 4 tasks or more at the same time? Yes, that is possible. If the work load is too much to handle then hire team members who are capable of the job. Never send files without reviewing your team's work. Remember, speed, quality and good communication is the secret to successful freelancing.

Before getting started, here’s what you need to do:

1. Do your research and find out the best freelance sites you can find online.  Once you have the list, choose a freelance site that suits you. There are freelance sites that need registration and monthly fees while a few of them are free.

2. You should have a visa card, ATM or bank account in order to get paid. You can register your account details after you have registered in any of the freelance sites.

* For Filipino’s, it's best to apply for the EON CyberAccount, which is an Unionbank’s internet-based deposit account. It would only cost 300 pesos and only takes one week to get your new card.

 2. Build a complete profile. If you have any related computer experience and good at it, focus on that skill. Think harder. Write as many skills as you can in order to catch potential clients.

 3. Show a clean and impressive sample portfolio of your previous projects. It can be from your previous jobs.

4. Once you are done with the above steps, then you are set to bid for jobs. Remember the first 1-2 months are the most difficult time to get hired. The first client is the most difficult one to win because you are just starting and there are so many freelancers who have already proved their potentials, so be patient.

5. Some freelance sites require as many as 20 job bids/applications per week. Bid for 20 jobs per week. Some clients give chances to beginners as long as a bidding freelancer can prove that they deserve the job. So send a unique job application. Be clear, specific and tell clients what they should expect of you and the project that you are applying for.

6. Don’t bid too low or too high. Check the average rates for your skill (ex. Programming, admin support, Writing, data entry, researcher, etc.) and always offer reasonable rates.

7. Some clients may pay you and other freelancers for a trial job. Read their instruction clearly and do exactly as told. However, if something is not clear with you, always ask questions.

8. For your first project, finish it as soon as possible, as accurately as you can, in order to get your first perfect 5 Star rating and a continuous working relationship with your client.

So are you set to go? Good luck J

Now ranked #34 on Elance!

Posted by Ma. Cristina Lao on May 2, 2015

I had been active on Elance.com since February 2013 and am thrilled to know that my rank has jumped from 55th in 2014 to 34th in May of 2015, out of 11,289 worldwide companies in the Admin Support category. I was not expecting this as there are really many tough freelancers from the Philippines and other countries.

Screen capture from Elance.com shows Ma Cristina Lao #34 ranking in Admin Support category.

Elance states:

Freelancers earn points based on their activity, Client satisfaction and achievements on Elance. Points from My Stats are used to determine a Freelancer's Level on Elance and position in default search results.

Elance Levels represent achievements and activity as a Freelancer on Elance. Higher levels indicate greater activity, earnings and customer satisfaction. All Freelancers start at Level 1 and move up to higher Levels as they gain experience and deliver positive outcomes on their jobs.

Thanks, Elance! My main goal is to offer quick and quality service to all clients worldwide and becoming one of the top companies under Admin Support is very inspiring and a big bonus.

Client Feedbacks:

“Tina is one of the most efficient workers I've ever worked with on Elance. She was given a fairly tedious task and was able to meet a fairly tight deadline with AWESOME communication throughout the entire project. She's reliable, honest and comes with a great work ethic. Hire with confidence.”

— bbambao, Canada

“Tinlao came and cleaned up a messy job. Fast. Neat. Smart. Highly recommend!”

— medicalpublishing, USA

“Tina is very meticulous, follows directions, and does fantastic work. I highly recommend hiring her for any kind of research and information based project. ”

— elefevre72, USA

“Great to work with. I'd hire her again in a second.”

— tunzatoto, United Kingdom

For Hire:

If you are in need of Admin Support, please view my Elance Profile and list of services at https://www.elance.com/s/tinlao/.

The Cute, the Brave and the Photogenic

My New Year's Pick: The Mantis, the Spider and the Fly...Catch some cuteness, action and drama along the way...

Hey I'm Mantis..

Hey!

Are you staring at me again?

Watch out for that spider..

Ooohhh...

Felt sorry for the fly...

Christmas 2014 - The Filipino Way

Our little Christmas tree

Christmas time is here again. Filipinos love Christmas not because of the gifts that they will receive but because it's the time of year where families met again and reunite. Christmas 2013 was a sad time for Filipinos as we've been hit by two unforeseen and deadly disasters that shocked the entire nation and the world. That was the time when a 7 magnitude earthquake and the biggest storm hit our country. Yes, plenty of people died and it was a sad year for most Filipinos. 

This year, I can sense that most people are excited to celebrate Christmas and a lot are spending their time with their families. Most Filipinos travel to their provinces to meet their parents and siblings again after long months of working in the city. People working abroad are also coming home for a vacation. The department stores and malls have so many Christmas decorations and Christmas music is heard everywhere. 

December is also called the party month. If you are planning to spend your company party in a nice beach or resort, plan and book your reservation 1-2 months ahead of time or else you will be spending Christmas in your company office. No matter how rich or poor a Filipino home may be, expect that they are preparing enough meal for the day for everyone to enjoy. Most people are expected to share their blessings by giving gifts to their loved ones. Expect carollers to roam from house to house, they may be kids or adults or both. Well.. some carollers will also dance so it's really a fun time. 

For this Christmas, it's not the gifts that matters most. It's the love that we share with our loved ones. That's the Filipino way. From my family to yours. Merry Christmas!

Now Ranked in the Top 100 of Elance's 10,000 Companies

Top 55 out of 10,731 companies as of December 10, 2014

My current rank on Elance is 55 out of 10,731 companies under the admin support category. Elance has given me the opportunity to help new or repeat/long term clients from around the world and learned from them at the same time. I specialized in all types of data entry and web research projects. One thing I enjoy about this type of job is the challenge of finding a solution for your files or database. This may include locating potential companies, customers or clients that may interest your business. My main goal is to help my clients succeed in their business and to establish a long term working relationship. 

SERVICE DESCRIPTION

Web Research, Contact List, Email List Building, Email Marketing, Typing/Encoding, Book Layout, PDF to Word, Word to PDF, Web to Excel, Google Map, Address Search, Data Extraction, Data Conversion, Admin Support, Data Entry, Website maintenance, etc.

CLIENT FEEDBACKS

“Tina is a great communicator and executes very well. We would like to continue working with her." - SGINVT - U.S.A.

“tinlao was 110% on all aspects of the task. I have hired freelancers before for many different jobs over the years and one of the best!” -— JasonPF, Australia

“Tinlao came and cleaned up a messy job. Fast. Neat. Smart. Highly recommend!” -— medicalpublishing, U.S.A

“Great worker, super fast and detailed. Everything was exactly as desired. Thanks!” —PrecisionPM, U.S.A.

“very good, very professional and openly communicative” - johnhenwood7, Canada

“This was a data extraction (from an ebook) and data editing job (into and within MS Word). Tina has done a very good job. Very accurate, great and regular communication. She also sent an example first, so that I could check, if we have the same idea of the end result. And each further day, she sent the preliminary result untill it was finished. I would definitely hire her again for a job like this.” - Doctormuzik, Switzerland

If you are in need of Admin Support, hire me and my team at https://www.elance.com/s/tinlao. Thanks!

Filipino Pets: The cute, the brave and the photogenic

The fighting cock

The fighting cock

Fighting spider 

Fighting spider

Puppy..