Project Down The Dumps!

I applied for a small Twitter job the other day and received a reply from a New Yorker. He wanted me to get him 1000 Twitter followers that are fitness, exercise, health, and media related, 90% must be living in the US. I replied back, told him that YES, I can get you 1000 Twitter followers. No automation tools are going to be used, it will all be done manually. He seemed quite happy with my reply, the only thing he was not too happy about was my hourly rate. I charged 10 dollars an hour. Is that too expensive? Social Media Marketers charge a whole lot more. What he said in his email made me think. Should I even accept the job? I didn't want to. I usually don't accept projects from people that are reluctant to spend money. He did say that he was with a small company and that they were on a tight budget. I took that into consideration and lowered my hourly rate at 7 dollars, which I utterly regret. I should not have accepted the job offer and should have moved on.

To make the story short, the Twitter project was a total failure. I have two years of Social Media Marketing experience and have successfully worked on similar projects so I know how long the said project was going to take and if it was even doable. I told him I can get the job done in a week's time and that I will be sending him a quick report on Monday next week. Everything went well. I went about with my work, happily checking his Twitter account every now and then to make sure he was getting "real" Twitter followers.

Tuesday evening, I received another email from the New Yorker but this time with feedback and "small" requests. He told me he's okay with health bloggers and stay-at-home moms from the US but would prefer that I target New Yorkers, more specifically, he wanted me to go for more important figures with huge twitter followers and less following. It was already Tuesday evening. I have a deadline to meet. The clock was ticking and he's wanting all these changes??? Red flag went up. Demands are okay. Feedback from employers are okay. I can handle this, I said to myself. I can make this work but something inside me just snapped. NO, THIS IS NOT RIGHT! With the additional changes, I cannot anymore guarantee that I can get the work done at the time frame we agreed on. Heck, I was even getting paid at a much lower rate so why allow this? NO, we should be sticking to what it says in the contract. I emailed him back and told him as politely and as clearly as possible that building a strong follower base on Twitter takes time and that he should have told me beforehand that he wanted New Yorkers but not after deleting all screenshots in my Work Diary. There's no way I was going to let this guy ruin things for me. There are hundreds of oDesk contractors getting scammed and getting tricked into working for almost nothing everyday! I'm not going to let the same thing happen to me. As expected, he ended the contract after a few more email exchanges. I already had a feeling that the whole thing would end horribly. He was very upset. He made scathing remarks and gave me a 1 star feedback which by the way, is not going to appear on my profile. I deleted all the screenshots, remember? He wasn't charged a single cent and besides, all he said in the feedback were lies anyway. Obviously, he was soooo upset when he realized he's not going to get a chance to rip me off he decided to do it using oDesk's feedback system. He's going to be so disappointed the minute he finds out his lies are not going to appear on my profile at all. I hope he learned his lesson because I'm sure as hell learned mine.

Happy New Year!

I don't usually trust myself when it comes to sticking to my New Year's resolutions but this year, I'm set into making a few and will try my hardest to keep them and follow each one by heart. I actually made TEN New Year's resolutions and these are:

1. Get back to blogging.
2. Set aside more time for my family.
3. Set aside time for walking, running and all other exercises.
4. Practice a healthy eating lifestyle. More fruits and veggies. Half cup rice. Cut down on sugar.
5. Work harder so we can finish the house and move.
6. Keep track of my weight loss progress on my blog.
7. Start a garden
8. Save part of my weekly for our savings.
9. Watch more makeup videos and learn a new skill.
10. Travel with the hubby and make beautiful memories together.

Christmas Bonuses

I received a total of $200 in bonuses at work. What a lovely Christmas present! Now I have a bit more money to spend. I didn't finish my Christmas shopping yet. I need to get the groceries done. I need to go buy some gifts. Then there's work! What about WORK? I have a deadline. I'm dead meat if I don't finish my reports. Ugh.

I can't wait for December to roll over. When that happens, I can get back to my "cubicle" and work in peace. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm the great, great, great granddaughter of Ebenezer Scrooge. Haha. I'm not. Just wishing I have more than enough money to spend during the holidays so I don't have to work. With cash in hand, I can get the shopping done early, send out all the cards and wrap all the gifts, cook, bake, get all festive and be happy with my family.

Another Sleepless Night

I spent hours going over job posts today. Hoping to get an interview. I figured, it would be better working three to four jobs all at once than sticking to just one. You never know what might happen. You could get sacked or just lose the contract for no reason. Terrible, terrible thing to happen. At such a bad time too. We just moved to Granada, got a new Internet connection, paid the rent. What little I've saved I already spent it all. Then my mom keeps calling about the hospital bills. Still, I am thankful that there's Ken. He's a lifesaver. I still have a job but I know it's not long term. I have to keep looking. It's already half past four in the morning and I am still looking. I really just can't get myself to sleep. Not with this in my head.

Weekend Blues

I promised myself I'll get back to blogging when I have time. I got plenty of time right now and would like to write about what's been happening the last few days.

First, I haven't accepted a single project on oDesk since I started doing email support. Did I perhaps make the wrong decision? Did I perhaps rely too much on the job? It pays better than most jobs and it's for over 40 hours of work. Also it was for weekly pay.

Last week though, I was requested to do some copywriting, which means I won't be doing email support anymore. Not really sure if I am any good as a copywriter. I mean, I can write but it's mostly just my own ramblings about work. Mostly about freelancing jobs on oDesk and about my experiences as a freelancer, that's it. When it comes to all other stuff, I'm totally clueless. I guess you can say I am not very flexible as a writer. I really have to do some more writing if I want to write for a living. So anyway, here I am...I'm back *sigh*

An Important Lesson Learned

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. That was what I was told. So did I do as told? Unfortunately, I did. Serves me right. *Smacks forehead* Now with the basket and the eggs gone, what do I do next? Get more eggs? Find another basket?

Let this be a lesson to all freelancers.

This Week is the CLOSEST I have ever been to my GOAL

I want to make 350 dollars a week if I can. That is a huge amount of money but I know I can do it. I just have to make sure I manage my time well and work when it is time to work. No TV, no blogging, no Twitter, no Facebook until I am done. That is one of my work rules. I have made close to $210 dollars last week, which I think is great but this week - I made a total of $340.72! That is more or less 15k if the dollar rate to peso is at 45 pesos. I am posting my Paypal and my Moneybookers history here next week as proof.

Twitter Background For Another Buyer

I wish I have paid more attention to Leo when he was teaching me the basics of Adobe Photoshop. I used to work as a customer representative for a printing and publishing company and have seen our graphic designer worked on different magazine layouts.

That was six years ago. I can't remember a thing he taught me now but I am sure if I have Photoshop installed in my computer, I would have already used it to create different Twitter backgrounds.

Here's one I made for an oDesk buyer. I used Corel Draw and Corel Photo Paint to create this design. I cannot use the logo on her website http://myonlinemeals.com so I had to copy the whole thing and duplicate it on Corel Draw. Looks ok so far.

Here's a close up of the logo:










And here's her new Twitter background! Like it?

Email and IM Support, For The First Time!

I have always wanted to know what it's like to be a call center agent. I believe I would benefit greatly from their training but if it means working in the early hours of the morning for 8 to 12 hours straight and getting paid only 15k-20k, I think I will let the opportunity pass. I know for a fact that call center agents who work direct are paid way higher than the call center agents who work for call center companies so why go in that direction? Proof of what I am saying is this one opportunity that showed up when I least expected it.

I don't have call center experiences and I have never worked for a call center and actually talked to anyone on the phone to do any sales talk or to get an order or anything like that so I don't really know if I am any good on the phone. I just know that I am good with emails and chat and all else that involves writing so when my buyer offered me a full time job, I took it.

They barely know me. I only started working for them less than a month ago. April 22nd to be exact but I have already received quite a few compliments. They told me they like my work ethics. They like that I am proactive and have very good English and now they want me to handle email support and live chat for 5 dollars an hour and 40+ hours a week if I can give them that much. Wow!

It Feels Good To Be Working For Great People

I work for the owners of a company that started just November of last year. They are young people in their early twenties - highly motivated, energetic, business-minded individuals with just one focus in mind and that is to make it big in the clothes industry.

Well, surprise, surprise, all their hard work is starting to pay off. The other day they got featured in New York Times and it resulted to a huge amount of traffic back to their site. To me, that is one of the most amazing thing that could ever happen. I love it when I know I have helped people reach their dreams. Just to be a part of it is so overwhelming!

What is it I like most about them? Well, they are different the way they handle their business. They manage day to day stuff in a very organized and very efficient manner. With their skills, their strong business ethics, they were able to build an organization that is working towards a common goal. It feels good to be part of it all.

This, I think, is among the many things I love about being a freelancer on oDesk. You get to work for interesting people. People just starting their companies, people with big dreams, people wanting to make it big and if you ever get lucky as to earn their trust and gain their confidence, do your best to help them with their endeavors and you will be duly recognized and rewarded for your hard work.

I actually just feel lucky to have a job that pays but in the end, I got a whole lot more. I got myself a job that encourages personal growth, a job that improves my self-esteem and satisfies my needs for self-fulfillment. That is a treasure all on its own.

My Very Own Home Office - A Dream Come True

I have always wanted my very own home office. As a freelancer working from home, it is just right that I have my own work space. Probably why I can't wait to move to Charito Heights and get everything set up. I have been paying for the mortgage of our house since 2004. It is already 2010 and we still have not moved there. I wanted to but I couldn't. Not when there is no Internet connection available in the area but just recently, I heard that Globe wireless is already available in Phase III. That is great news. If only packing and moving to a new location is that easy. I will have to give it another month or two and then I will be ready.

I want my home office to be spacious with a big wooden table and a big comfortable computer chair. I want plants in all four corners of the room and bright colorful flowers on my desk. A bit of feng shui for good luck. If I can get a mini waterfall, so much better. I was told that it symbolizes the constant flow of money. There should be no room for stagnant energy.

I also want my home office to be upstairs so I can open the front veranda and let fresh air in. I love a well-ventilated room. Not where we are currently staying. It is unbelievably warm. I get so cranky when it is too warm. That's not good especially when I have projects to work on.

I Got Another Job Offer

Which I rejected after reading the job description. You know why?

1 I just hate being made to feel like I am cheap labor. All because I am Asian and all because our currency is of low value. Well, I won't let them affect my morale. I am a Filipino and I am proud to be one. I finished college and I have the skills so it is just right that I be paid the rate I see fit.

2 I always check the job description. If the buyer is way too demanding. Decline.

3 I always check their feedback. Do they have one? If they don't have one, automatically they get discarded. If there are feedbacks, I read everything that it says there. If there are more bad feedbacks than good ones, they get declined.

4 I always check the number of people working for them. If there are way too many people working then sorry but I have to decline. I have already had a bad experience with a previous buyer. She couldn't remember which project I was on. I see that as a very bad sign.

5 I always check how much rate they are willing to pay. It should not be lower than the rate I have on my profile. Sorry but no haggling. I am into business just like they are.

Tip of the Day: Keep on Improving Yourself, Learn New Skills

You know what I love the most about being a freelancer? Time to time, I get offers to work on projects that are actually opportunities for me to learn something NEW! And the good thing about it, I get to earn money from it, too!  I signed up for oDesk equipped with only the basics. I know how to operate a computer. I know how to read and I understand English just fine.

Just recently, I got hired to do a couple of projects armed only with what knowledge I have but I am a quick learner! I learned about different SEO techniques. I now have experience with social media. I learned a few marketing tricks and have greatly improved my communication skills. I even learned how to write more effectively. You noticed how spontaneous and chatty I am on my blog now? That's because I am finding it easier to come up with fresher and better topics as days go by.

Another skill I have greatly improved are my skills in graphic design. I am not a Fine Arts graduate. I did not take a crash course on photo editing or in photo manipulation but I am an artsy and highly-creative person. I love to mix and match colors. I love to play with different design applications such as Corel Draw, Corel Photo-Paint and Adobe Photoshop. I also love playing with HTML.

With all these new skills, I have made some really good changes on my blog. I have better content and I now have a social media presence. You see my blog header and side bar design? Do you see my Twitter button/link? The designs are all mine.

There is nothing more rewarding than to be doing what you LOVE to do and to get paid for it at the same time! (Updated 03/10/2014)

My Earnings This Week!

One of my goals is to earn at least $35 dollars a day and LOOK! For the first time since I started as a freelancer on Odesk, I made $53.54! If the US dollar is at P44 that would be around P2355.76 and THAT is only for a day's work.

Again, do the math! This is a HUGE earning potential if you get it right.

Are you looking to earn this much? Join our Facebook group and get new oDesk updates everyday! OR check my blog every now and then so you can keep yourself updated.

My First Few Weeks as an Odesk Freelancer

February 28, 2010 - I got hired as a Virtual Assistant to Keyword Photographs on a Stock Site. You can check my profile and work history here. I was paid half a dollar every hour (more or less P22.00 an hour) which is really below the minimum if you look at it. The average pay of most Filipinos for a day's work is P350.00 (Correct me if I am wrong, I did not bother checking wage facts, it is depressing). Here in Bacolod, I think it is P250 a day.

I figured if I get paid only a measly 50 cents an hour, I would be dead by the end of the week even if I work 8 hours a day so I applied for another job and was hired to do article reviews for a publishing company for $2.50 an hour (more or less P110 an hour)

Not bad. My first few weeks and already at $18.00 a day! The dollar rate that time was around P44, which means I was earning around P800 a day or around P4000 a week. That is approximately P16,000 a month.

Do the math.