PayPal Freelancer Community Summit

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Attending the first ever Paypal Summit in the Philippines

Yesterday, I attended the PayPal Freelancer Community summit at the Peninsula Manila, Makati with around a hundred of participants. I’ve used PayPal since 2012 when an advertiser overseas sent me an email and asked for my PayPal account. I do not have an account back then, but since I have wanted to pursue with the partnership, I signed up – the rest was history. I accepted more writing jobs and got paid instantly. I have also used PayPal to buy some goods online and it is convenient, especially if an international or local merchant accepts PayPal.

When Liz posted about this summit I immediately signed up. Who would not want to be inspired by other freelancers who became successful?

PayPal Summit_Rahul

I was surprised to find out that the Philippines have over 1.5 million of Freelancers which is why they held the first ever summit here. I was also thrilled that they launching a mentoring program with the influencers who gave an amazing talk throughout the summit.

PayPal Summit_Leanne

My Learnings

Let me share what I have learned and hopefully you aspiring freelancers can learn from it too.

Use the right tools says Abe, founder of Yugatech. He discussed useful apps to upskill your career – from creativity apps like Canva, a project management app like Trelloproductivity app G SuitePayPal of course to manage your finance, and much more. By using these tools, it will make you more professional looking to your clients.

Manage your finance says Fitz, founder of Ready to be Rich. One struggle of being a freelancer is having irregular income, which is why it is important to properly manage your finances. He shared the technique of listing down your expenses for the past three months, get the average, and the answer will be your monthly expenses. After you get the amount you shall set your goal and try to come up with a solution how are you going to earn to compensate your expenses.

Secondly, he advised to also have a secondary financial goal. Who would not want saving? Most of us left the corporate world wanting to earn more, right? Setting aside an emergency fund amounting to six months of your expenses (Expense x 6 months = Emergency Fund) will help you get through a possible (surprise) financial crisis.

He also mentioned to focus on one skill and improve it while living frugally as you progress in your career.

Work your Network says Ginger founder of Manila Workshops and Taxumo. I will summarize her talk by emphasizing we need others to succeed. Yes, we do have the business, but we can get partners and potential clients within your network. She shared four doable tips to grow your network:

#MeetmeWeekly – set a tie to meet with someone, especially your weak ties.
#TheGivingChallenge – give back to others it could be destashing I suppose or teaching someone with your knowledge.
#JustListen – words of encouragement to help other people in the community to keep going.
#LoveLearning – attend workshops, summit, or seminars to meet new people and learn/enhance a skill.
#OpenforBusiness – always be ready to be referred – have your online profiles updated as well as carry a business card.

Lastly, develop an unbeatable habit says Liz, founder of In Her Element and Project Vanity. Talent is common, I agree, but consistency, hard work, and habit are not. Everyone can do the same skills that you do, but it takes one dedicated person to put him on the front line and be ahead of you. She also mentioned to talk to intimidating people and learn from them and to fail fast and smarter at the same time.

After each talk, the speakers and officers of Paypal went back to the stage with GCASH representative Albert Tinio. They shared the integration between Gcash and PayPal, how easy it is now to use your Paypal money on your daily purchases plus the future of PayPal around the globe.

Virtually waving to all the people I met yesterday and to these lovely women who keep on inspiring me. Congratulations to PayPal and thank you for choosing the Philippines. I am excited to attend the succeeding programs.

Being away on this blog and coming back attending an event like this truly ignite the fire inside to try again. I hope you all learned from this post and let us all be successful.

8 Comments

  1. Richelda August 31, 2017
  2. Blair villanueva August 29, 2017
  3. Nilyn August 29, 2017
  4. Czjai August 27, 2017
  5. May Palacpac August 27, 2017

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