Are you thinking of leaving the country as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) to earn more for your family?

Or are you already living and working abroad and coping with the challenges of being an OFW such as homesickness, culture shock, and loneliness?

Then, you should grab a copy of “Abroad Me: 22 Success Strategies for Young Overseas Filipinos“.  I did so a few months ago and since then, I had been wanting to interview the author, Anne Quintos, to find out what drove her to write this small but powerful book.  Anne is an OFW herself, and you can feel her passion for helping the new breed of OFWs from the pages of the book.

Anne, who was also recently recognized by Female Network as one of the “8 Amazing Filipinas of 2015” under the “Warriors For a Cause” category, will also share with us her experiences and life lessons as well as some interesting stories not found in the book.

We will also be announcing a special giveaway to all the listeners of this episode.  You wouldn’t want to miss that!

Here are the takeaways from the show.

Takeaways

* What it’s like to live in Taiwan and what’s the best month to visit Taiwan.

* If there’s one place that a person should visit in Taiwan, where would that be.

* Why Anne was “forced” to work abroad.

* The difficulty of raising a family abroad.

* How Abroad Me can help OFWs experiencing the challenges of working and living abroad.

* Why it’s important to change the mindset of becoming an OFW.

* The other broader opportunities available to OFWs.

* Why becoming an OFW is not a destination.

* Why she titled the book “Abroad Me“.

* What’s different with the current breed of OFWs.

* The different options available to Filipinos aside from becoming an OFW.

* The 3 main sections of the book: Take off, Maneuver, and Touch Down.

* How long it took for her to adjust to the OFW life.

* Why Anne doesn’t buy the idea of sending balibayan boxes.

* How OFWs can give back to their country.

* Get a chance to win a copy of the book!  JOIN the contest below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Links

* Abroad Me: 22 Success Strategies for Young Overseas Filipinos -> Where to buy? You can buy it at Fully Booked, Powerbooks, National Bookstore and other major bookstores.  Based abroad?  You may order the paperback version from Amazon.com here.

* Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

* Sun Moon Lake

* Taiwan 101

* HayPinas.

I receive lots of questions via email and through social media and to be able to answer you and share my answers to everyone, I decided to launch my Ask Marv portion for this episode.

Ask Marv are short, bite-sized podcast episodes where I answer all of your more pressing questions about freelancing, podcasting, blogging, online entrepreneurship and everything else under the sun.

So here are the top two questions I received from my anonymous followers:

“How do you manage to run a blog that features several key people in the industry? You’re probably a networking ninja, eh :-)”

 

“What are the steps on how to optimize our own website / how to get more traffic?”

Here are the links that I mentioned during this episode:

Links

– Jojy Azurin interview

– Marge Aberasturi interview

– Jaymie Pizarro interview

– Al Sabado interview

– Bitwage.co – Your Wage, Your Way.

– “The Personal Branding Workshop for Freelancers and Solopreneurs” – Build your Personal Brand. Win more customers. Grow as an influencer.  Workshops will be on April 18, April 25 and May 2, 2015.  REGISTER NOW at manilaworkshops.com/personalbranding.

Ask Marv a Question!

Do you have anything else bothering you?  Do you want your question to be answered and featured on the show?  Please email me at [email protected], tweet me at @freelanceblend, or you can also send me a voice message and hear your own voice on the show!

 

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Are you struggling to book clients because your business is in a crowded market?

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This is the second of our double-interview series with fellow Pinoy podcasters.  Last week, we featured Karl Balingit of the Filspiration podcast and he interviewed me as well. (In case you missed it, please click here).

For this episode, I interview Mighty Rasing, founder and host of the Happy Yuppie podcast.  He is also a former freelancer, a youth worker, a blogger and an author of two noteworthy books.   (You will also get to know me a little bit more as I answer some of Mighty’s most interesting questions).

I consider Mighty as my ka-brod in the Philippine podcasting scene since we belong to a handful of podcasters in the edu-tainment category.  As you know, most of the top podcasts in the country — Machong Chismisan, Good Times with Mo, Becky Nights — are in the entertainment genre.

Both Mighty and I not only hope that more Pinoys will listen to and support home-grown podcasts like ours, but we also hope to inspire and encourage Pinoys to become podcasters themselves.   Mabuhay ang Pinoy Podcasters!

Related:  Top 10 Reasons Why You Start Your Own Show Now

Here are the key takeaways from the show:

Key Takeaways

– What is Freelance Blend all about.

– What I learned from the 4 Hour Workweek book by Tim Ferriss.

– How I validated my idea for Freelance Blend.

– How I got started with the podcasting.

– How I work on Freelance Blend while working on a full time job.

– How Mighty started the Happy Yuppy podcast.

– Why he chose the Filipino young urban professional niche.

– How Mighty and I met online.

– The dilemma Mighty faced in 2006 when he became a youth leader for his church while working for a BPO.

– Mighty’s rackets after resigning from his BPO job.

– How Mighty and I succeeded in our niches even if we are not experts.

– How important a community is for bloggers and podcasters.

– The importance of joint ventures and partnerships when you are starting.

– How introverts can broaden their network.

– How to write a book – from idea stage to a finished book sold in bookstores.

– The power of mind mapping.

– How you could flourish in the self-publishing business.

– My biggest takeaway from podcasting.

– The top books that Mighty and I read from 2014.

Links

– Pinoyyuppie.com

– Entrepinas.com

– Craigslist.com

– Freelancer.com

– Choose Yourself by James Altucher

–

This is my first double-interview for the Freelance Blend Podcast and I am doing it with Iloilo-born podcaster, Karl Balingit of the newest inspirational Filipino podcast, Filspiration. Aside from learning about Karl’s life as a young freelancer and podcaster, you will learn more about the host of Freelance Blend Podcast. Yes, that’s me :).

Here are the key takeaways from the show.

Takeaways

– How Americans and Fil-Ams celebrate Christmas in the States.

– How Karl started as a freelancer.

– The types of freelancing jobs he does.

– How I started Freelance Blend.

– How attending the Freelance Camp validated my idea.

– Our favorite podcasts.

– Karl’s first office job and why he lasted only 6 months.

– Why he started on content writing even if it wasn’t his passion.

– The lessons he learned when he was starting.

– For new writers, Karl’s suggested minimum monthly pay amount (full-time) and maximum number of articles (500 words) per day.

– How to avoid scams. What are the red flags.

– The growth of podcasting worldwide.

– Tips in starting a podcast.

– Why Karl started the Filspiration podcast.

– What Filspiration is all about.

– How he uses Filspirer Nominations to get podcast guests.

– How I get the big names to guest on the show.

– Why he let go of many clients to become a better freelancer.

– The biggest benefits he gets from freelancing.

– What happened when he met his US fashion brand client when he met up with them in the States.

– Karl’s work schedule and his work arrangement with his clients.

– Why it’s important to make a good impression with your client to earn his or her trust.

Links

– Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn

– Startup podcast

– Entrepreneur on Fire podcast

– School of Greatness by Lewis Howes

– James Altucher

– Easyoutsource.com

– Odesk.com

– Plagiarism checker: http://smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker/

– Copyscape.com

– Freelanceblend.com

– Machong Chismisan

– Good Times With Mo Podcast

– Becky Nights

– Libsyn.com – podcast hosting

– Audio Technica mic

–

There are many options for Filipinos (especially Filipino freelancers) to receive payments from people based outside the country — be it their relatives, friends, or clients for their freelance enterprises.

I talked about one of those options, Payoneer, in the episode, FBP 025: How to Encash Your Freelance Earnings With Payoneer – Part 1.  The most popular and powerful platform available is still PayPal.  However, PayPal’s fees can be quite steep, which can be a hindrance in growing their freelance business.  Freelancers have bills to pay and mouths to feed.  They don’t want a large chunk of their online income to be siphoned off into a big company like PayPal.

Thankfully, their are alternative and economical e-wallet services like Paypana.ph. In this episode, I talk to Alejandro Patino, the Country Manager of Paypana.ph.  Alejandro hails from Venezuela, the land that produces the most Miss Universe winners.  But he has now settled here in our country, with his beautiful Filipino wife and two children, to grow his e-wallet business and give Pinoy freelancers a chance to take their own businesses to the next level.

Here are the key takeaways from the show.

Takeaways

* Alejandro’s background and why he started Paypana.ph.

* Why he moved his family from Venezuela to the Philippines.

* Why Paypana chose to open a branch in the Philippines over it’s other Asian neighbors.

* How an e-wallet service like Paypana can help freelancers.

* The difference between PayPal and Paypana.

* How digital currencies like Bitcoins work.

* Is it safe for freelancers to use Bitcoins?

* How to register at Paypana.ph.

* How to buy gift cards from online shops like Amazon, Playstation and iTunes even if you don’t have a U.S. credit card.

* How to load money into your Paypana account.

* Is there a transaction limit in Paypana.ph?

* How freelancers can use Paypana.ph to collect payment from clients.

* The countries where freelancers can get payments from.

* Why freelancers should encourage their clients to open a Paypana account.

* Why freelancers should open a Paypana account even if they already have a PayPal account.

* What are the fees involved when using Paypana.

* How to pay your bills with Paypana.

* Buying second hand items with Paypana.

Links

* Paypana.ph – It’s free to register.

* PayPal.com

* What is Bitcoin?  (from CNN Money)

* Paypana’s Contact Numbers: 831-0603 / 0927-8779654 / 0999-3951639

Quotes

“Our freelance friends should look at their Paypana account as another avenue, as another connection.”

“Our interconnected e-wallet service will continue appe...

“What’s your racket?”

Although the term “racket” may have a negative connotation — according to TheFreeDictionary.com the term racket means “an illegal moneymaking activity, especially one controlled by organized crime” — the term has slowly transformed into a more positive word, implying a sideline or a side project.

So when somebody asks you the question, “What’s your racket?”, you should not get offended.  Rather, you should respond by disclosing your alternate career, your different ventures or in other words, your sideline.

Now, you don’t have to rely on word-of-mouth marketing to let people know about your different rackets.  This is where Raket.ph comes in.

For this episode, we invited Chief Raketeer, Lyle Jover.  He is the founder and CEO of Raket.ph, the new freelance marketplace that is proudly Philippine-made.

We talk about his journey, how he started the website and also how freelancers or “raketeers” can follow their passion and earn from it using Raket.ph.

Here are the key takeaways from the show:

Takeaways

* How and why Lyle started Raket.ph.

* Why he left his corporate job to focus on his business.

* The challenge for freelancers in showcasing their skills when starting and how Raket.ph addresses that.

* Why freelancers should use Raket.ph to promote themselves apart from their social media accounts in Facebook, Twitter and Linked In.

* Why freelancers should try out Raket.ph even if they already have accounts in other freelance marketplaces.

* The reason behind their catchy tagline, “We know the guy.”

* How to simply register as a freelancer and as a client in Raket.ph.

* How to quickly and automatically build your Raketeer portfolio with Photobucket, Flickr, YouTube and Google Drive.

* The basic, pro and premium Raketeer packages.

* The number of Inquiry Credits that you get per package.

* The average earnings a freelancer gets per project and the average number of projects closed per inquiry based on their stats.

* Why the website does not employ the bidding process.

* What is X Rank and how it helps freelancers get found by clients.

* How to get payment for your services.

* How clients can register and the types of packages for clients.

* The challenges and failures he encountered before creating Raket.ph.

* What new features and services to look forward to this year for Raket.ph.

* How to avail of the 2-month free Raketeer Premium package.

Links

* Raket.ph

* Photobucket

* Flickr

* YouTube

* Google Drive

* Vmoney

Quotes

“That’s our job.  We’re bridging the freelancers/the raketeers and the clients here in the Philippines.”

 

“They (freelancers) are not nameless bidders anymor...

During my interviews with Jojy Azurin, Freelancer.com‘s Regional Director for Continental Asia, (Episode 37) and Evan Tan, Regional Director for Southeast Asia (Episode 39), we mentioned that we will talk about in a future podcast how freelancers can take advantage of one of the top freelances marketplaces in the world, Freelancer.com, and also answer some of the most frequently asked questions about their service.

And so they invited me back into their brand spanking new office at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City, where Jojy, Evan, Jieneb Kho (Freelancer.com‘s Media Relations Officer) and myself recorded this podcast episode.  It was in fact recorded sometime in November 2014, and due to some other pre-recorded episodes for December, we were only able to release the interview this January.  Hence, some of the events that we discussed during the interview may have already passed.

But the winning tips that Jojy, Evan and Jieneb shared especially for Freelancer.com newbies will surely still apply today.  Also, at the time of the interview, the Fast 50 report we spoke about refers to the November 2014 release.  Freelancer.com has recently released its January 2015 report, which you should also check out in the Links sections below.

Meanwhile, here are the key takeaways from this interview:

Takeaways

* How to get your first project in Freelancer.com (for newbies and experienced freelancers).

* The importance of completing the certification exams in Freelancer.com.

* How to stand out in a crowded job category.

* The best time to bid in Freelancer.com.

* The success story of an e-commerce encoder from Davao and the anime artist.

* Types of memberships at Freelancer.com.

* Why the free membership is somehow rest

* Coming soon: Company pages.

* “Assisted Projects” for Premium Employers.

* How to get your earnings faster with Express Withdrawals.

* How Contests can help freelancers who are newbies.

* The rise of Pinterest and Google Plus jobs.

* The Fast 50 Growing Online Jobs.

* “Productizing” your service.

 Links

* Freelancer.com

* Freelancer.com Fees and Charges

* Express Withdrawals

* Paypal

* Moneybookers

* Skrill

*

I would like to greet one and all a very prosperous 2015!  I truly hope that you had a safe and meaningful celebration with your loved ones, just as I did.

I am so excited for 2015 to start, because we have a lot of stuff in store for you.  Please do watch out for the latest news and happenings here at Freelance Blend by regularly checking out our website, by subscribing to the newsletter, or by subscribing to the podcast.

This week, we are concluding “The Best of Freelance Blend” series with part two of Anton Diaz’s interview.  Anton is the founder of the awesome food and travel blog, Our Awesome Planet.  Here shared with us some dynamite tips, most notably “The Biggest Business Trends in 2014”, which you could still apply in 2015, in case you missed taking action on it last year.

Here are the Key Takeaways from the show:

* Why you should start our own e-store in 2014.

* Why blogging is dead.

* Why you should take a holistic approach when building your platform online.

* The reason why Our Awesome Planet is working.

* Why you don’t need to be a natural writer to blog.

* The importance of mailing lists.

* Why you should focus on viral concepts and ideas when blogging.

* The importance of teaching blogging to kids.

* Anton’s tips to newbie bloggers and entrepreneurs.

* Why 2014 feels exactly like 2005 (when Anton first started blogging).

* The 11 Biggest Business Trends in 2014.

* The value of mastermind groups.

* The opportunities in traffic and the ASEAN landscape.

What do you think will be the biggest business trends in 2015?  Please share in the comments section below.

We would like to invite everyone to our first Speed Networking Brunch happening on January 24, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 12 n.n. at Cafe Shibuya in QC.

It is open to all freelancers, entrepreneurs, influencers and small business owners.

  To register, please go to ManilaWorkshops.com/speednetworking or click the button below.

You May Also Like

FBP 041: The Best of Freelance Blend Podcast – Interview with Anton Diaz of OurAwesomePlanet.com Part 1

FBP 040: Top 5 Reasons Why Freelancers Should Attend Events (No Matter How Small)

FBP 039:  On Becoming the Top Freelancer Nation with Evan Tan of Freelancer.com

FBP 038: Co-Working To Step Up Your Freelance Biz with Chesa Zimmer-Santos and KC Coling of co.lab

FBP 037: How to Turn Your Idea Into a Start Up Business With Jojy Azurin of Freelancer.com FBP 036: Paul Artadi – Instant Sales Using Instagram with Mr Pimp Kicks

Wow!  2014 has been a crazy and fulfilling year for me and Freelance Blend – the podcast, the blog and the community!

I was able to accomplish a lot of things since the first podcast episode of the Freelance Blend Podcast was published on January 1st of 2014.  I was able to get featured on national TV, conducted a series of successful workshops, became a guest speaker at the Freelance Camp and to cap it off, got invited to become a columnist at the Malaya Business Insight newspaper.

2014 was truly a blessed year for me.

And as my way of saying “THANK YOU!”, I would like to share again one of the best and most popular episodes of the Freelance Blend Podcast for 2014, my interview with the one and only, Anton Diaz of OurAwesomePlanet.com.

If you are a new subscriber to the show, you may have missed episodes 4 and 5, a 2-part series featuring Anton, where I learned a lot and implemented myself a number of the tips and tactics that he shared on the show.

This is Part 1 of a 2-part series and here are the Key Takeaways that you will get after listening to this episode:

* How and why he quit his high-paying  job at one of the top companies in the world to become a full time blogger.

* How he discovered blogging and capitalized on it before it got big in the Philippines.

* In choosing a niche, why going small is a mistake and why bigger is better.

* Why his initial venture in e-commerce failed and what were his learnings from it.

* How he started his weekend market business with Mercato Centrale.

* How he was able to spot trends in blogging and in business.

* How he applied the skills that he learned at work to blogging and business.

Please watch out for Part 2 of this 2-part series with Mr. Anton Diaz.

What tip did you like the most from our interview with Anton Diaz?  Please share in the comments section below.

We would like to invite everyone to our first Speed Networking Brunch happening on January 24, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 12 n.n. at Cafe Shibuya in QC.

It is open to all freelancers, entrepreneurs, influencers and small business owners.

To register, please go to ManilaWorkshops.com/speednetworking or click the button below.

You May Also Like

FBP 040: Top 5 Reasons Why Freelancers Should Attend Events (No Matter How Small)

FBP 039:  On Becoming the Top Freelancer Nation with Evan Tan of Freelancer.com

You can never underestimate the power of human interaction. For freelancers, the best way to harness this is through networking. I can say that I am where I am now, and Freelance Blend – my freelancer community – is what is it is now because of networking. Please don’t get me wrong. I am not talking about network marketing or pyramid schemes. Networking, the non-sleazy kind, is the process of leveraging and growing your human connections to be able to open yourself up to more opportunities in terms of career or business growth.  As Vince Golangco, the founder of WhenInManila.com said during our interview, “It’s not about who you know… it’s about who knows you.” So, are you having difficulty getting clients? Are you always under-booked? Then, maybe you are not networking enough.

A “Small” Workshop

Sometime in May of this year, I attended the talk of Dandy Victa, a friend who I met through one of our Freelance Blend meetups (another event). It was small gathering of about 10-12 people, but little did I know that from that “small” event would bring enormous opportunities for me and my brand.

First, I met the great Raymond Tribdino, also one of the attendees who was sharing a lot of his experiences during the workshop that I found very interesting. After the event, I invited him to come to the show so that I (and my listeners) can hear more of his story. It became one of the most shared episodes on the show. But the most interesting moment happened about 5 months after that. Raymond invited me to become part of the newspaper that you are reading right now. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I will become a columnist in a national newspaper. And it all happened because I attended this small event.

Then, I met Ginger Arboleda, the founder of Manila Workshops, who was running that workshop in partnership with Dandy. I also asked her for an interview and talked about my plans of conducting workshops for freelancers. Long story short, here’s what happened after our meeting: – we hooked up and became partners in a series of workshops for freelancers (which got me an invitation to appear in national TV to talk about the workshops);

– we are partnering for another series of workshops in 2015 that culminates into a big freelancer expo in May of next year (watch out for that!); and, – she invited me to be part of the rebranding of her other website, ManilaReviews.com. Again, all because of this “small” workshop.

Top 5 Reasons Why Freelancers Should Attend Events (No Matter How Small)

Meanwhile, here are the top 5 reasons why you should participate in events, no matter how small:

1. Networking – meet new people outside social media who could help you out someday.

2. Increase your brand’s visibility.

3.