Living a Life by Design

Wazzup Pilipinas!

“Do what you love and the money will follow.”

We have heard this proverbial piece of advice far too many times, and yet many of us still go through the motion of hopping from one job to another, looking for the next one with higher pay. Let’s be honest. How many jobs have you had that enabled you to play out your passion?

If you have attended my seminars, talks, workshops, or even just have caught snippets of it online, you would know that I give all-out support to this do-what-you-love thing. And who wouldn’t? If you have the option to spend each day of your life using your skills and talents doing something you absolutely enjoy, would you stay in a job you don’t even like to begin with?

Turning your passion into something profitable has now become more possible than ever, thanks to FREELANCING.

Freelancing gives you the opportunity to earn from your talents, skills and interests that you may otherwise not be able to use in your job. Freelancing also gives you more control over how you spend your time at “work”. First, you have the option to do it full-time or part-time. You choose what type of work you do, where you want and when you want. You also get to choose where and how and to whom you will market your services. What’s more, you get to network with fellow freelancers and potential clients, both online and offline. In other words, freelancing can very well be your first step to becoming a full-blown entrepreneur.

Now you may wonder, how do I begin doing freelance work?

Freelancing is an ongoing process of establishing your brand, marketing, networking with potential clients, marketing some more, maintaining good relationships with your clients, and – you guessed it – even more marketing. Here are three steps you can take to get your foot in the door of the freelance arena:

1. Take an inventory of your skills and passion. Again, the point of freelancing is to be able to do work you enjoy. So identify the things you do that you are good at and that you don’t mind doing, day in and day out.

2. Establish an online presence. Internet and social media have made freelancing more feasible. As you begin to market your skills and talents, you need to be where the people go – online. Create your website, blog and your social media profiles that highlight the talents you would like to sell. Want to see what I mean? Check out mine.

3. Find a mentor. Doing something for the first time is easier and less daunting if you have someone who will guide you. Again, internet and social media makes it more feasible to find and contact people who can mentor you as you start your freelancing career. The best kind of mentor is the person who has years of experience as a successful freelancer, while still at the trenches and is gaining more and more experience as you work together.

Let me tell you a secret: I have been a freelancer all my life!

I never worked a regular 9-5 job. I have my own recording studio, but even I am a freelance voice artist in my own company, and in other recording studios as well! Freelancing is one of the reasons why every day of my life is an adventure. Since I have no regular routine or schedule that I have to stick to, it’s easier for me to go with the flow and become available for freelance projects – online and offline.

I always say, AVAILABILITY is your best ability. No opportunity will come to the most talented or skilled or even passionate person, if he or she is not even there! For me, this is what it means to DESIGN YOUR LIFE.


Contributed by: Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales