29 May 2010
Online Clients
What kinds of Online Clients have you had?
Me, I've been lucky that I always get matched up with kind, supportive, communicative clients who pay on time.
How about you? Have you been having the same luck as I have?
Okay, let's not dwell on the horror stories, I will just talk about the nice kinds of clients so that contractors will know what it is that inspires their freelancers to work for them.
If you are looking for freelancers to outsource to, here are some very welcome traits that will motivate your freelancers to work hard for you:
COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS. As well as giving complete backup documents. If you want the job immediately, give a complete set of instructions and complete materials to work with. Agree from the start what is expected to be accomplished. Have a bulleted list ready of tasks expected to be done (actually this list should come from the freelancer, so ehem freealancers, pay attention.). Provide links, ftps, documents, etc etc.
COMMUNICATIVE. You expect your freelancer to keep you in the loop, so communicate back just to acknowledge you've noted the progress of the work.
PROMPT PAYMENT. Use escrow to protect yourself. There are freelancers who may not intend to deceive you, but if the work is somehow unaccomplished (maybe because of capability, etc.) you and your money are protected. (Time is not though, so choose wisely)
WARM and FRIENDLY. This is not required, but most (I think all) of my clients are warm and friendly, and I just want to share it's very motivating, indeed.
HELPFUL. I have met clients who are helpful, not just for their own projects I was working on, but for other outside matters that concern me. For that I am deeply grateful.
All these things seem like basic protocol on a work environment, but it is also these very characteristics of my clients that give me more fuel to work hard and cheerfully. It also validates my gut feel a million years ago that freelancing at home will rock more than working in a regular workplace.
(Thanks to all who trusted me enough to work with them.)
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Me, I've been lucky that I always get matched up with kind, supportive, communicative clients who pay on time.
How about you? Have you been having the same luck as I have?
Okay, let's not dwell on the horror stories, I will just talk about the nice kinds of clients so that contractors will know what it is that inspires their freelancers to work for them.
If you are looking for freelancers to outsource to, here are some very welcome traits that will motivate your freelancers to work hard for you:
COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS. As well as giving complete backup documents. If you want the job immediately, give a complete set of instructions and complete materials to work with. Agree from the start what is expected to be accomplished. Have a bulleted list ready of tasks expected to be done (actually this list should come from the freelancer, so ehem freealancers, pay attention.). Provide links, ftps, documents, etc etc.
COMMUNICATIVE. You expect your freelancer to keep you in the loop, so communicate back just to acknowledge you've noted the progress of the work.
PROMPT PAYMENT. Use escrow to protect yourself. There are freelancers who may not intend to deceive you, but if the work is somehow unaccomplished (maybe because of capability, etc.) you and your money are protected. (Time is not though, so choose wisely)
WARM and FRIENDLY. This is not required, but most (I think all) of my clients are warm and friendly, and I just want to share it's very motivating, indeed.
HELPFUL. I have met clients who are helpful, not just for their own projects I was working on, but for other outside matters that concern me. For that I am deeply grateful.
All these things seem like basic protocol on a work environment, but it is also these very characteristics of my clients that give me more fuel to work hard and cheerfully. It also validates my gut feel a million years ago that freelancing at home will rock more than working in a regular workplace.
(Thanks to all who trusted me enough to work with them.)
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21 May 2010
Resident freelancers - Guilty from Accepting Short Projects? Don't Be!
If you're like me, who has a rockin' cool, kind client-boss for your regular stint, you will feel terribly guilty to accept short projects and earn extra. I have been with this client-boss for some time now and appreciate the work and the friendly collegial relationship. I felt working for other people takes away the time I should be spending on that client's company.
However, prices of basic commodities are not the same as when I started working for this person. I knew I needed to earn extra, and I can do it doing what I do best - Working online tasks, as well.
And wait, it's not like I'm slacking off for that person's company. It's just that I spent about 12 hours a day on my regular job. I just had to cut it and make it, say, 8hours (as it should be X_X)
But then, I noticed a pattern when I started accepting projects.
I found that I had nothing to be guilty about. Accepting projects also benefits my regular online employment.
Weh... Really? Yes.
When I have short gigs, I am constantly inspired to work on my regular job and do so the shortest time possible, so I can work on my projects. As when I work on my gigs, I am inspired because it is always fresh and new. I also do my best to work fast, because I profit when a job is finished immediately.
So the next day, when I report to my resident work, I feel happy, fresh and inspired to do the work.
Both clients win. And I win with my extra earnings, and my moxie is refilled each day as well.
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However, prices of basic commodities are not the same as when I started working for this person. I knew I needed to earn extra, and I can do it doing what I do best - Working online tasks, as well.
And wait, it's not like I'm slacking off for that person's company. It's just that I spent about 12 hours a day on my regular job. I just had to cut it and make it, say, 8hours (as it should be X_X)
But then, I noticed a pattern when I started accepting projects.
I found that I had nothing to be guilty about. Accepting projects also benefits my regular online employment.
Weh... Really? Yes.
When I have short gigs, I am constantly inspired to work on my regular job and do so the shortest time possible, so I can work on my projects. As when I work on my gigs, I am inspired because it is always fresh and new. I also do my best to work fast, because I profit when a job is finished immediately.
So the next day, when I report to my resident work, I feel happy, fresh and inspired to do the work.
Both clients win. And I win with my extra earnings, and my moxie is refilled each day as well.
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20 May 2010
Google Wave Now Waves Hello to Everybody
Hooyay!
Google Wave is now open for everybody's use. So I guess it has been tested, re-tested and not clunky anymore.
Best of all, Google Apps can now also use the Wave. Hooyay! again.
Implications for telecommuters and online workers, more efficient meetings with clients, far and away team members, etc. etc.
For those who were ignoring this while in beta, Google Waves is a combination of all our internet "matters" that we used to do separately for different accounts: email, instant messaging, chat, showing of pictures, videos, slideshows.. etk etk. google combined them all and it became the Wave.
So I'm expecting more people will turn on their wave again and turn up their social relating online to the next level.
Another era of the next online relating has started. :-)
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Google Wave is now open for everybody's use. So I guess it has been tested, re-tested and not clunky anymore.
Best of all, Google Apps can now also use the Wave. Hooyay! again.
Implications for telecommuters and online workers, more efficient meetings with clients, far and away team members, etc. etc.
For those who were ignoring this while in beta, Google Waves is a combination of all our internet "matters" that we used to do separately for different accounts: email, instant messaging, chat, showing of pictures, videos, slideshows.. etk etk. google combined them all and it became the Wave.
So I'm expecting more people will turn on their wave again and turn up their social relating online to the next level.
Another era of the next online relating has started. :-)
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19 May 2010
How this Online Filipino Worker Earns
There are plenty of ways Pinoys earn online.
Here are some ways Filipinos earn online, some of which are still a total mystery to me up to now, even if I have been stuck to this seat facing the monitor for 3 years now:
- Earn from Blogging1. You can write paid blog posts. Some companies you can write for are payperpost, blogsvertise, and more. The more followers you have (because you are a good blog keeper) the higher amounts you can demand. Some people really earn a decent income from a post. Me, my earning capacity from blogging is crippled because of my laziness to be pro-active with online communities.
- Earn from Blogging2. Some post adsense ads and ads from other companies. Some earn big amounts from adsense. Unfortunately I'm not one of them. It's not so much as setting up your blog and waiting for people to come and click your ads and you earn. The great adsense earners work on their blogs constantly to attract the traffic and engage them with excellent content and a sense of community.
- Earn from Affiliate marketing. Pinoys sign up as affiliates to the big stores, and they fix their own webstores with affiliate products so that people buy through them. They get commisions.
- Earn from Pay per click. Is a total mystery to me. I never really studied how this works. I feel it takes too much effort for so little pay. But then, I don't know anything about it to say that.
- Working on Freelance projects. Some sell their skills online, and there are lots of skills you can sell online. IT-related, writing, designing, admin work, consulting. There are a lot to be done. The freelancers work on short stints and constantly market themselves to get new projects. If you get high paying projects, great. But save up so that on days when nobody's looking for your skills, you have some money to cough out.
- Regular workers/ online employees. These are the residents who work constantly for one party. So you lose the fine line between client and boss. Oh, the fine line is not so fine, really. Employees work 8 hours a day (or the equivalent) for the boss, like in a regular office. However, as the character of telecommuters go, who work by themselves without supervision, the trap is that online workers work too much, beyond the hours they are supposed to stop and spend time with family. In short, when one becomes a resident worker, you tend to work 10 hours, 15 hours. No time for family anymore! tsk tsk.
- Selling using the internet. One of the best ways to earn online, believe me. You don't have to be the slave all the time, like me. You can be the boss as well. Same principles apply as to running a business, only you use the net smartly to be seen and heard by customers. What can you sell on the net? Anything and everything! Actual items, services, cyber items, even food and pieces of land get sold on the net! (Someone even sold tickets to the 2012 end of the world ship over EBay). Use the net to get leads. Some seal deals online, others seal the deal face to face.
How do I do it for myself? How do I earn? I prefer to be a regular employee, who also accepts freelance gigs. The pay is regular, twice a month, and if you have no gigs, that is fine as well.
Someday, I do hope to learn the secrets to earning a lot from adsense, and I would also like to sell online... but for now, I am content with my regular online job and gigs.
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Subscribe to Online Filipino Worker - OFW Din!
Here are some ways Filipinos earn online, some of which are still a total mystery to me up to now, even if I have been stuck to this seat facing the monitor for 3 years now:
- Earn from Blogging1. You can write paid blog posts. Some companies you can write for are payperpost, blogsvertise, and more. The more followers you have (because you are a good blog keeper) the higher amounts you can demand. Some people really earn a decent income from a post. Me, my earning capacity from blogging is crippled because of my laziness to be pro-active with online communities.
- Earn from Blogging2. Some post adsense ads and ads from other companies. Some earn big amounts from adsense. Unfortunately I'm not one of them. It's not so much as setting up your blog and waiting for people to come and click your ads and you earn. The great adsense earners work on their blogs constantly to attract the traffic and engage them with excellent content and a sense of community.
- Earn from Affiliate marketing. Pinoys sign up as affiliates to the big stores, and they fix their own webstores with affiliate products so that people buy through them. They get commisions.
- Earn from Pay per click. Is a total mystery to me. I never really studied how this works. I feel it takes too much effort for so little pay. But then, I don't know anything about it to say that.
- Working on Freelance projects. Some sell their skills online, and there are lots of skills you can sell online. IT-related, writing, designing, admin work, consulting. There are a lot to be done. The freelancers work on short stints and constantly market themselves to get new projects. If you get high paying projects, great. But save up so that on days when nobody's looking for your skills, you have some money to cough out.
- Regular workers/ online employees. These are the residents who work constantly for one party. So you lose the fine line between client and boss. Oh, the fine line is not so fine, really. Employees work 8 hours a day (or the equivalent) for the boss, like in a regular office. However, as the character of telecommuters go, who work by themselves without supervision, the trap is that online workers work too much, beyond the hours they are supposed to stop and spend time with family. In short, when one becomes a resident worker, you tend to work 10 hours, 15 hours. No time for family anymore! tsk tsk.
- Selling using the internet. One of the best ways to earn online, believe me. You don't have to be the slave all the time, like me. You can be the boss as well. Same principles apply as to running a business, only you use the net smartly to be seen and heard by customers. What can you sell on the net? Anything and everything! Actual items, services, cyber items, even food and pieces of land get sold on the net! (Someone even sold tickets to the 2012 end of the world ship over EBay). Use the net to get leads. Some seal deals online, others seal the deal face to face.
How do I do it for myself? How do I earn? I prefer to be a regular employee, who also accepts freelance gigs. The pay is regular, twice a month, and if you have no gigs, that is fine as well.
Someday, I do hope to learn the secrets to earning a lot from adsense, and I would also like to sell online... but for now, I am content with my regular online job and gigs.
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12 May 2010
Post-election Hang Over
Elections are over and it's time to accept who the majority chose.
Life goes on, and it's time to pay attention to projects and work again.
When I think about it, as an online worker, the most I need from the president is: electricity and internet connection. In real life that directly affects me each and everyday, my president is really Google and my vice president is our ecommerce software provider.
But of course, if you open my heart, even if I am not directly affected by national happenings daily, my heart contains the three stars and the sun so I can't help it. :-)
My message for the incoming President: Good luck. Now work. For the outgoing, puhlease get out, we dont like you and never did.
Back to work. Strive and take pride in one's work. That is the real nationalism that any president would ask from the citizens.
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Life goes on, and it's time to pay attention to projects and work again.
When I think about it, as an online worker, the most I need from the president is: electricity and internet connection. In real life that directly affects me each and everyday, my president is really Google and my vice president is our ecommerce software provider.
But of course, if you open my heart, even if I am not directly affected by national happenings daily, my heart contains the three stars and the sun so I can't help it. :-)
My message for the incoming President: Good luck. Now work. For the outgoing, puhlease get out, we dont like you and never did.
Back to work. Strive and take pride in one's work. That is the real nationalism that any president would ask from the citizens.
Want free updates from OFW Din?
Subscribe to Online Filipino Worker - OFW Din!
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