April Talens – Virtual Assistant and Web Designer

I am April, a freelancer from the Philippines.

I started out my freelancing career in 2011. I joined Odesk at that time because I was curious to see if it was really possible to earn online. I was able to get my very first client and worked to design a website. Once the project was completed, I was paid. I then saw dollar value in my account and from then on, I started working part-time while still being employed in Citi, my previous company.

I was having a great career, I was promoted and got married in 2014. Two years later we were blessed to have a baby. My priorities changed from that moment. As a Mum, I always want to spend a lot of time with and be there for my baby but at the same time, I’d love to help and provide for her.

Our office moved to a different location in 2017. It was quite far from home and I would need to travel a minimum of 3 hours just to get there. I was losing so much time with my kid. I had already missed her first step, her first word and could not see her achievements and activities. I realised that this was not right… this was not the life I wanted. So I started to get more and more projects online. I worked online during my coffee and lunch breaks, while on the bus or in a cab. After more than a year of testing, I became convinced that I can earn a stable income working online, so I left my company. It was really hard initially, as for me it was a major shift and I was losing all the company and health benefits. But as time went by, I was able to make necessary adjustments.

Luckily, I had a lot of projects and learned a lot through the different clients I had. There are good people who will treat you well – as a real employee – and there are bad ones too, who will disappear after the project has been delivered. During the whole process, I learned that the important key to a freelancing career is having a good attitude and building a good relationship with all your clients. Honesty and trust should always be the foundation of it. I feel so blessed that throughout my freelancing career, I was able to provide for my family, get a condo unit for my family, and build a small restaurant out of my earnings.

Today, I feel that I am living the life I wanted: work-life balanced. I get to choose the time I work, the projects I take on, the clients I prefer… and at the same time I was able to live a life like a Mum could be, be there and provide for her family.

For a copy of April’s resume please click here.