EP09 Know Your Worth: The Power of Working on Yourself

From freelancer turned business owner, this episode’s guest, Royce, reflects on her 10 years of experience in the industry to unpack how she’s learned to equip herself with strategies in setting herself up for success. We kick off by discussing the art of negotiating rates with clients, emphasizing the importance of understanding your worth and setting clear expectations. We also explore the benefits of being a specialist in certain platforms, highlighting how focusing on a specific niche can help you stand out in a crowded market. 

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) - Opening Spiel
(00:44) - Introducing Royce
(02:42) - Chapter 1: Starting from scratch
(05:54) - Chapter 2: Why and how?
(07:53) - Chapter 3: Being choosy with your clients
(16:09) - Chapter 4: Avoid getting overwhelmed as a newbie
(29:08) - Chapter 5: Never too late
(35:33) - Chapter 6: Hurdles, experiences, and the next chapter
(44:14) - Chapter 7: Mentoring sessions

CONNECT WITH ROYCE:

Instagram: @royceisonline
Travel Agency: @romeandrollin

START YOUR VA JOURNEY:

As part of “The VA’s Playbook: Productivity Series”, you can now get a FREE copy of The 5 Essentials Guide for Virtual Assistants! Head over to our Instagram and click the link in our bio to access this guide!


Read the full transcript of Episode 9 here.

Music in episode from TELL YOUR STORY music by ikson™

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Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:44 Introducing Royce
• 2:42 Chapter 1: Starting from scratch
• 5:54 Chapter 2: Why and how?
• 7:53 Chapter 3: Being choosy with your clients
• 16:09 Chapter 4: Avoid getting overwhelmed as a newbie
• 29:08 Chapter 5: Never too late
• 35:33 Chapter 6: Hurdles, experiences, and the next chapter
• 44:14 Chapter 7: Mentoring sessions

Transcript

Intro 
Welcome back to a new episode of the Briefing In podcast. Our guest today is an independent contractor who will be sharing tips on finding the right clients, coming up with a strategy to market yourself effectively, and knowing your worth as a freelancer, whichever stage you're in your career.

I'm your host Chelsea, and this is Briefing In.

Hi everyone, I hope you're all excited for today's talk because we're sitting down with another veteran VA. Who has over 10 years of experience in the industry, and she'll be sharing more about how it takes humility to start from scratch and rise above the ladder.

I'm sitting down with Roycee, who is a 24 year old freelancer from Pangasinan, which is 4-5 hours away from Manila.

Living in Pangasinan means she's surrounded by fun beaches, and eating street food by the beach while watching the sunset whenever work is over is one of the things she loves most.

Isn't that amazing? Having 10 years of experience, Roycee's worked with different clients from around the world. She has also worked at our company, Wedding Workflows, for three wonderful years and even became a team lead.

Fun fact, she was also my team lead when I was starting out. Shout out to her client, Alex, who's the most amazing wedding photographer in South Adelaide, Australia.

So after 10 years in the freelancing industry, Roycee shares that life is a journey opening up about starting from 3 dollars per hour to now getting 15 to 20 dollars per hour.

Something exciting that's in store for Roycee is becoming a business owner of a small travel agency called Rome and Rollin Travel Agency, and a Pasabuy service, R&R Pasabuy.

So both are products of her love for traveling. So thank you for joining us today, Royce. Welcome to the podcast. 

Thank you so much, Chelsea. That was a great intro. 

I'm glad!

I’m happy to be here. I'm so excited.

Yay, me too. And I'm so excited to get to sit down and talk to you because like I mentioned earlier, you were my team lead when I was just starting out as a VA.

Shout out to Team Roycee. 

So yeah, I feel like to get started at Royce, you have a very unique story when it comes to starting out because  – I'm going to have you do the honors of sharing your story, of course.

But yeah, like maybe let us know how you got started and how long ago this was.

Chapter 1: Starting from Scratch
Yeah. So this was when I was in high school. I mean, after high school, I was 15 years old. I started working as a helper to my mom.

She was actually a full time VA and first she gave me like a task in Google Sheets, like typing jobs, encoding tasks, you know, those repetitive jobs.

She shows me first how to do it and then that worked for both of us. Then later on she'll give me more loads of tasks like scheduling social media posts, different social media platforms, and, you know, scheduling platforms like Buffer.

That was my experience. And, you know, with those experiences, I tried learning on my own.

I applied to online jobs, searched for clients and projects, and yeah, for the past 10 years as a virtual assistant, I have experience in handling different accounts in the UK, US, Australia, and Asia.

So industries like health and fitness coaches, spiritual teachers, entrepreneurs, businessmen, photographers,  digital marketers, lawyers, and even a sex advisor.

That's surprising!

Do you have something you can share from that experience?

It's kind of explicit. No? 

Yeah. Maybe for a different podcast. 

Yeah, because of that, it's like a domino effect actually. You know, I help them grow their business and free up their time. While, in the long run, I learned a lot from their industries and I gained new skills.

I'm really fascinated by how you started out, Royce, because it was your parents, right? It was your mom who introduced you to the industry.

And I think the most common thing nowadays is, well, for VAs at least, it's their family members or their parents kind of not getting what it is we do and not really completely understanding what our job is.

So what was that kind of experience like for you or you starting out having a guide or a mentor in your mom? How did that differentiate you think? 

What I can say is that I'm very thankful for the guidance that my mom has taught me. Because of her, I learned a lot from the freelancing world. She also started from scratch.

Actually, we both started from scratch. And then she actually learned it from another friend. So, It's just, you know, like mutual friends and stuff.

And then, yeah, I told her that I like this job, I like what I'm doing, I enjoy what I'm doing. So I told her, should I enroll in college or just pursue freelancing?

And then she just said, go for it. I know you can do this. I know you can do better than me.

And you know, that motivated me to do, you know, to do more. 

So this was like back in 2014, 2015.

After high school, like I don't know what to do with my life or something.

Yeah.  True. You're at that stage in your life where like trying to figure things out, maybe exploring other industries and experimenting.

Chapter 2: Why and How?
But what was it, do you think, about the job that really appealed to you at the time?

I think it's about working from home really. I really love the fact that I can still spend time with my family while still earning money. So, that's what I love about the job. And also, maybe because I love social media.

And the first the first thing that my mom taught me was about just posting, you know? Posting and scheduling social media posts. And that's why, like, this is kind of easy.

So, yeah. That's what I love about my work.

And you really like just ended up enjoying the work and learning also about all those other things.

How did you go about – maybe in your friend group and your social circle, did a lot of people also understand what it was like being a VA or, you know, what were those conversations like? Like people asking what is it?

Like, of course, all of my friends were like going to college and stuff like that. And I was like, already working.

So the conversation from there was like, “Oh, Royce is already working. She can't go with us. Go to parties like this, go to stuff like that.”

But they don't know that I enjoyed what I do, even though, you know, I can still go to, you know, like, party on the side. But, yeah, the difference is that my time is more on the freelancing work and not on college.

And there is still flexibility there as well. But I think yeah, I can imagine how at the time it being still so maybe new. Because not a lot of people were doing it 10 years ago, compared to now.

That's true.

There were still so many things that people didn't understand. It’s so interesting for me, someone who only has two years of experience, to know that you have so much under your belt to share.

Chapter 3: Being Choosy With Your Clients
And specifically having the chance to work with so many different clients across so many different industries, who I'm sure have very different work ethics and standards and, you know, tasks that they give you.

Have you kind of established maybe a criteria or something of the sort to figuring out like, which clients are the right ones for you?

Hmm, that's a nice question.

Before, the mindset was just accept projects, you know? Applied for every job role that I can see. Before, I would always say, “apply lang na apply, send lang ng send.”

CV, resume, like 10 times a day, just to have that chance to get the client. Yeah, and that works in the meantime, though it gave me the benefit of having more extensive experience and skills.

I realized that, you know, after handling different clients for different industries and roles, just like clients, you know, we also need to be choosy when looking for a client.

We also need to check the client and his company or his industry. Asking such questions, like if it's a startup company, will I be able to help them from scratch or will I grow with them in the long run?

Or if it's an old company, can I keep up with their process or will it allow me to be proactive or is the industry stable? Will it keep me stable for a year? So some questions to qualify as well.

Wow. I've never thought of that before to be completely honest, you know, something I think that most people really focus on, which is what you mentioned earlier as well, is just the job itself.

Like when they look for jobs on whatever platform it is, Online Jobs, maybe on Indeed, it's just the job that we look at the task, like, what are they paying us to do?

So not a lot of people think about the people behind that, you know, the clients that we're going to be working with, and I guess the work experience that we're going to have from taking on these jobs.

Yeah, I think it's a very common – I don't know if it's a misconception or a trap necessarily, but something that, yeah, not a lot of people, me, for example, think about like the client and the work experience.

Because it's really just the job and we need the job also. But do you have any red flags? From having worked with different clients before?

Oh yeah, of course. I think the red flags for clients are those who don't accept your rates. Those with low rates, you know, like low ballers usually.

They complain a lot or revise a lot of your work. Unlike those who pay or compensate me well, they usually just give me feedback once or twice and then we're good.

Is this like in the kind of beginning where you're still applying for the job or is it already like you've got the job you're doing the projects and then you find out this is what the client is like.

Yeah, actually, if you're a newbie then they don't accept your rate because you're a newbie then that's a red flag already so you really need to know your worth.

Yeah, that's really, really good advice. How about green flags? I'm sure you've had many of these, but yeah, what were some of the highlights or maybe like clients that really stood out to you the most because they just had, you know, so much to give and like so much respect for you also as a freelancer.

Right, so those green flag clients are those who really prioritize their employees. Usually those clients who are, from my experience, are family oriented.

So they understand if you need the time off, when I told them I wanted to take a break or I need a vacation, they would usually say yes and even pay my salary for that week or pay for my vacation.

So of course, doing the stuff that I need to do before, you know, before taking the leave, those are green flag clients.

And yeah, the more they prioritize their employee’s mental health the more their employees will likely be able to work hard and do their job well.

True, and I think, you know, other things that come with it, like logistics wise are quite standard or also subjective, you know, like having a contract with a client or knowing your shift and, um, kind of like the arrangement with your work.

Like, are you – do you have to be available for them all day, every day, or only for a certain period of time. How about when it comes to your rates and getting paid?

Do you have any advice on that? Or, like, what's the best way to get paid? Which method, or which platform to use? Even the starting rate. Like, how do you calculate how much you should start off with?

I can't disclose what your starting rate is because it depends on your skills actually. It depends on your experience. So, what I always say is that you just need to know your worth.

If a client doesn't want your rate, then don't worry. Because there are a lot of premium clients that would compensate with your rate because of your skills and they'll know your worth.

You just need to wait. And success doesn't take overnight. So I started from 3 dollars and now I take, you know, like 10 to 20. And then people often ask me how I negotiate rates with clients. So yeah, one thing before I request such things is that I have to do my job well, of course.

When you think you bring something to the table, you give sales to your client's company, that's the time you have to negotiate. Clients sometimes forget about it since they're busy people, so you just need to remind them.

So like, not right off the bat, you start negotiating, like when you kind of have that first interview or call with them, you already negotiate.

Yeah, when you start discovery calls, this is where you market yourself in the first place already, so they would know what to expect and you would know what to expect as well.

So this is where you market yourself when it comes to negotiating rates during discovery calls. Maybe you can politely say like, “thank you so much for that offer, I'm curious if there's any flexibility with that number at all,” or something like that.

Wow.

“And as I'm targeting roles that pay closer to maybe 35 to 40K for part time, which I think aligns well with my, you know, plus plus years of experience,” something like that.

And then, you know, or you can say, if you're a newbie – “I'm currently interviewing for roles that pay 40k for part time. I saw that you posted 30k for the job role and with my skill set, I think I have a lot to offer. So maybe we can put it at  35k at most. And I'll be happy to start with that.” That's what I usually say.

I hope people are taking notes.

Yeah, we have to keep in mind that freelancing is a business, so we don't work for them, we collaborate with them. So that's how you will stand out from newbies as well.

So, as a freelancer for 10 years that handled 100 interviews, you really have to practice what you sell. So, freelancing is a business, and the mindset here is that they need you, and you don't need them.

That's really great advice. Okay, I'm sure we have maybe overwhelmed the listeners a bit, so we're gonna slow down.

I know we've got to cover so many different things, but everything that we talked about right now, they're all really important things to think about. Right.

And I think so much of that, you really do learn from hindsight, like after having experienced these things, that's when you kind of learn that, oh, this is what I like, this is what I don't like, and this is how I should approach this client or this project.

But when it does become overwhelming, especially for those who are still starting out and you know, they're probably on Google looking up how to get started as a VA and we see all these different things that they have to do.

Chapter 4: Avoid Getting Overwhelmed as a Newbie
What do you think are some of the reasons why they give up or they just find it hard to keep going and they just get discouraged from getting into the industry?

People always say that you just need to start, which is correct, you know, you won't experience the benefits and results you see from others if you don't start.

And, you know, resources like free courses, YouTube videos are readily available. But what I advise is that you don't need to take the big plunge right away.

That would really overwhelm you. You need to test the waters first. So, every day, little by little, you need to invest like 30 minutes of your time each day to learn about freelancing.

Okay, so it's 30 minutes of your time each day. 

Yeah.

When it comes to – because you've shared that you've kind of explored all these different niches and stuff, right? How do you find out what's like a good niche for you?

As a freelancer for the past 10 years, I've tried every niche you can think of.  So that I can just put them in my credentials, you know, and CV.

The more I have experience in different niches, the more that I can pass interviews and book discovery calls and later can turn into clients.

And also, that was my mindset before. So, is that the more that you have the skills, the less that the client would likely fire you or hire a new person for that certain role.

Because, you know, I already have what it takes, the tasks that they need.

Like you have what they're looking for.

Since I've worked alone for the past years, I have been a general VA, executive VA, social media manager, graphic designer, copywriter, accountant, and I even learned how to be a WordPress developer.

However, the role or niche that really appealed to me was funnel designing and automation. I've been using automation since I started freelancing.

So being professional in that role, you can tell yourself that you're a specialist already. You can just say it in your title, like a Kajabi specialist or a HubSpot specialist, or for example, a Dubsado or any CRM that your client uses.

It will make a difference when you're in the freelancing world, because it doesn't only give you the chance to be, you know, creative in making funnels and courses, but it also streamlines the process for your client.

Yeah. So the more sales equals more money for the client, the client is happy and when the client is happy they pay for your services so you and the client are both happy. So, win-win situation. 

Yeah! That looks great on your resume. You've also kind of established a really good rapport, working relationship with the client, who is, you know, fingers crossed, will also refer you to maybe their other colleagues and professionals they know about who's looking for a similar service.

So, very true. These are really, really great insights, by the way, things I think we really don't think about.

Okay, so how about – this can be discussed either way, whether you're just starting out or maybe you already have several years of work experience. How do you make your portfolio that you send out to clients?

Now, this is where some newbies stop. Sometimes making a portfolio is quite hard or too much work. That's what I always hear, but they don't know that's where clients will see how you work, how different you are from other candidates.

Because without a portfolio, how can the client decide to choose their assistant, right? There's a misconception about creating a portfolio. It's like it has to be from a previous client or project you have worked on.

But that is clearly not true. Newbies must have their portfolio even though they don't have experience. And they ask me, how? How can I make a portfolio? I don't have any experience. I don't have any projects.

So this is what they call fake projects. But I call them sample projects or sample work. So you can just put in some sample work, either research, gathered data from, you know, data mining, some social media posts that you made in Canva, Instagram Reels, if you're applying as a social media manager.

You can just create sample mock ups. It doesn't have to be in a website or something fancy. Mine is just located in a Google Drive in a specific folder. So it doesn't have to be fancy.

There are a lot of ways to create that portfolio. You just need to be aware that the clients or the HR, they won't check the portfolio if it's from a present client or not.

So that's a secret. They won't check it. They will just see how much you prepared for that portfolio and that is an effort on your part.

Do you think that people should curate their portfolio based on, you know, like the job that they're applying for? So if it's a more of a creative job, then maybe have more like creative work in your portfolio, if it's a writing job, of course, then more copywriting work.

Yeah, that's what I do. I always edit that when I go to, you know – job description, oh, she needs to have a HubSpot specialist. So I need to have that folder for HubSpot, a WordPress then –

That's a life hack, everyone, really big hack right there. I've heard of people doing that as well and I was just like, very interested to hear what that would look like.

But yeah, basically, like, you're just checking off all the boxes that the client needs. So look into investing more time and effort into your portfolios, you guys.

How about effectively, kind of, marketing yourself through your resume or through, you know, interviews? So, you make a resume, you send them out. How do you kind of increase your chances of getting interviewed?

And then, you have an interview. How do you also increase your chances of getting interviewed getting to the next step or just getting hired? 

When you learn a new skill, like you choose a niche, you know we can't learn everything from day one. So you really have to do your research, you know, like ask yourself such questions like, what skills am I good at, or what things do I need to improve on, what do I want to learn?

You need to check your capabilities first before making such decisions, as it would affect your freelancing journey. So either you'll spend your time wisely choosing and learning, or it will all just go to waste. So, Job hunting should not be your priority. 

Why?

It should not be priority. Why? Your CV and portfolio is your priority right now. Your resume. People usually skip creating portfolios and updating their CVs or resume and go job hunting right away. 

Please don't do that. Your CV, portfolio, cover letter, and how you will sell yourself is your priority. So, let's illustrate it like, preparing for war or battle, right?

Like soldiers most likely need to be prepared. Prepared with weapons or equipment, they would have to, you know, eat and drink healthy so that they could survive and win the war.

So similarly to job hunting and interviews, we don't just send out resumes right away. We don't book that meeting interview on the spot, but we have to prepare.

When we prepare ourselves, we will be confident in selling our services to our clients. That's another tip.

I love that. Yeah, that's a really, really good analogy. And that makes perfect sense too, like you explaining it that way, because I guess it's almost like the chances of success depend on like 80 percent of your preparation for that job interview or for like, facing the client.

Well, let's say 10 percent is your resume, your CV, and then 10 percent is that interview. But the 80 percent should be your portfolio and your skills and how good you are at actually – and how prepared you are at actually doing your work. 

It's almost as if, if you don't do that, it's like the work that you need to put in is going to happen after, when you're already doing the work and you kind of like, I guess, burnout because you realize you really didn't set yourself up for success.

You didn't put in that effort. I love that. Wow. Thanks, Royce. And if you guys are actually like wondering or curious, like how Royce is so fabulous at sharing all of these insights and just like has so much to share, it's because Royce has had or is currently maybe? Has mentored newbies before.

So, yeah. Do you want to talk a bit about that too?

Yeah, so I've been actually mentoring some of my friends, and yeah, they ask me things like how to start, or what tools do I use, where to apply, when to apply, and things like that.

Like this one friend of mine, he has his clients of his own now, which I'm proud of. Another friend that I mentored on how to ace interviews already passed the interview, and is now working with the VA agency, so. I'm really proud of them.

And that's because they asked. They asked, they started. Don't be afraid to ask questions, especially to those who are already in the industry for a long time.

And people would tell me that, “oh, you need to get paid for that kind of advice or coaching sessions.” They always tell me, but I always tell them that I only share what I know.

And then I only share. Based on my experiences and the results are because of their hard work and not because of me and i'm just there to guide them and I'm already happy if they get the results that they want.

Wow. That's such a contrast to also – I guess because it is quite in demand nowadays, you know, like freelancing and working as a VA, online jobs in general, there are so many people who also kind of maybe take advantage of the fact that there's a high demand, but quite a bit of a low supply.

So, yeah, I think it's safe to say that veteran VAs like you and those who have really so many years of experience, have the most value to contribute to the industry, especially because you guys have been around for, like I said, like more than 10 years.

So you've been around long before people even knew that there was such a job as a VA. People got interested in knowing how to earn, you know, 10 dollars, 15 dollars an hour.

Yeah, I think that's something that people should definitely look up to and I hope also that if our listeners are interested in reaching out, maybe they need a bit of help as well, maybe a mentor in their wing?

We can also, you know, redirect them to you, Roycee.

Just ping me on Instagram.  @royceeisonline. 

Yes, definitely. And Also, just to kind of touch on this a little bit, but when I started out actually, and you are my team lead at our company, just a really funny story that I want to share.

Well, I was going to call you Ate Royce, because I – I just, you just – because of course you are my senior and it just really felt like you just knew your stuff. You were like a pro at this.

I was so surprised that we were actually the same age. So I should not call you Ate Royce.

Yeah, it's okay. 

But yeah, like I really looked up to you and you just – Chelsea, you're making me old.

Chapter 5: Never Too Late
But, you know, that's a great segue to another topic that I'm particularly interested in, which is – I feel like most common demographics of people who are trying to apply for virtual jobs and work from home jobs, of course – college students and like early 20s, mid 20s.

And I feel like the people who are already in their late 20s or early 30s, mid 30s, they're veterans, they've been around for at least a decade.

So how about  for those who are in their early 30s, mid 30s, and they want to start doing it. They want to start working from home and working as a VA. Maybe they have a previous, you know, office job, a corporate job in a specific industry, but now they just really value the flexibility that, you know, a work from home job can provide and other priorities, of course, that are quite subjective.

But yeah, do you think, Royce, that is it ever too late to start freelancing or even to explore a new industry?

That's a nice question. I think it's never too late to start, but let me tell you this. If you start now, usually from June to August, business people are thriving. They need some help. I really see on Facebook groups, a lot of business people are really searching for VAs, like right now. 

So I think it's a sign. You should start now. And then about exploring a new niche or getting into a new industry, you need to master your chosen niche for now.

Then if you think you're ready to explore a new one, another one, then find another niche that would go hand in hand with your current role. And that way you can sell more of your services and get more clients.

Very true. And I feel like there are specific skills as well that aren't necessarily specific to a niche or an industry, right? Like you kind of just have to find basically, yeah, what you said, like, find a way to marry both the niche that you want to explore and your current skill set.

Because if let's say your skill set is in writing, is in copywriting, well, you can explore so many different industries with that. You can be in the creative industry, the beauty industry, the wedding industry, even the tech industry, just being a copywriter, and social media management.

Or social media, in general, like creating content and managing, you know, different accounts and different platforms, reading analytics.

That's also something that I feel like everyone in every industry needs nowadays. They need to have an online presence.

Exactly.

So having the skill set of like Canva, or using scheduling apps and platforms and then marrying that with what the business is looking for, which is maybe a bigger following, more loyal audience or increasing their engagement.

Right.

So there you have it folks, it's never too late to start freelancing or to pivot or explore a new niche as long as you find kind of the balance of marrying your current skill sets and again, just really knowing that you have to love the learning process also, like you really need to have that willingness to learn if you want to try something new as with any job, I feel like to be honest.

Because yeah, there are so many success stories as well, of like people switching careers or starting freelancing or a different job later in life.

So yeah, those are just really the, the main takeaways to stay curious, to learn continuously and just be open to new opportunities and again, to not be afraid of failing also, because it doesn't matter how long you've been working in a specific industry or a specific niche, you will still fail and that's just part of it. 

Right. It really is just part of it. So yeah, it has its ups and downs. So how about you Royce, when you've gone through like different industries maybe, or different clients and you've kind of experienced a bump in the road, there were some rough patches.

How did you deal with them? Let's say for example, I feel like a really common one is when it's downtime or down season for specific businesses and, you know, there might be some concerns there about job stability.  How did you manage that?

I already have this mindset that freelancing isn't really stable. It's also not for everyone who is not hardworking. So freelancing is really not an easy job.

It's also not for the soft hearted. I mean every feeling is valid, but you have to face the fact that clients come and go. You will make mistakes along the way and you will have to hear, you know, some criticism as well from them.

That's why as a long time freelancer, you need to have a backup. When you think freelancing is not for you, or if a client stops working with you, you need to have a backup client as well. That's why sometimes I still apply and go job hunting even though I have a client from time to time because you'll never know what's coming.

Very true, and it is a little scary, but I don't want to say it's like the nature of our job, but it kind of is. It is very dynamic, and it changes very quickly, and that's something people should really know, right, like, from the get go, once they go into this, that that's part of it. So, it's not something that you have to be afraid of, just something you need to be prepared for.

Chapter 6: Hurdles, Experiences, and the Next Chapter
How about other challenges that may come your way? Okay. So, you've got 10 years of experience under your belt, or maybe you've been working for the same client or the same company for upwards of five years, and in the same role, how do you find what's next in your career? 

I do think about it sometimes. Actually, when I was 15 years old, I asked myself, if I didn't go to college, and, when I was still starting with my old laptop and phone, I asked myself, what happens 10 years from now? 

So yeah, after almost 10 years in the freelancing world, now at 25, I can see the fruits of hard work. I don't have to go job hunting every day or wait for a backup as my previous clients just, you know, refer me to their business friends.

So, which I am grateful for. I also started actually in an agency as well. So I started from scratch, zero experience, though my mom was a VA. I learned a lot from her, as I said before.

I also need, you know, like to level up my game, to learn more things. So I have worked with VA agencies and digital marketing agencies as well.

So back when I was in the agency in Wedding Workflows, I was also a team lead in working with Wedding Workflows and I work with Alex. Yeah.

So what I'm proud of is that I have made, you know, some SEO blogs for Alex that made it to the top search on Google. Imagine, I have no experience in copywriting, but only with the help from the training, from the agencies, adapting my writing to Alex's voice, you know, I can learn a lot of things from scratch and make it look like I already know it for a long time.

And, yeah, I was already an independent contractor before applying to agencies. But then COVID happened. So my previous clients stopped their businesses and I needed that extra income.

So applying to an agency was a humbling experience for me. You know, I have to comply with their rules and regulations, their training, their process. I have to accept that compensation is a little smaller than having direct clients, right?

So I also need to know that I am not alone and that I have a team to work with. I also need to talk to my manager, my HR, not just to my clients. So a lot of compliance and processes while in an agency. And time may be flexible, but you have to brief in, you have to brief out every time.

So it can be stressful at times since I came from working directly with clients. I was a one woman show. I have no team. So it was really a learning experience for me. I even became a team lead, which I never imagined to be one, and one takeaway is that I need to be humble. You know, being humble also means being teachable.

And because of that I also learned a lot from newbies and it's refreshing to see and practice new skills from them. So if you're a newbie and you want to try freelancing, go for it.

And I always suggest that you should also try, you know, applying for agencies because agencies offer, you know, free training for people who don't have experience. So that would save both money and time.

And, I don't know about you, but whenever you kind of come across newbies, they still have that, kind of excitement and, you know, the vibrancy and stuff of like, “Oh, this, everything is still new to me. Everything's still exciting.”

Because yeah, I think after a few years in the industry, you get a bit jaded and stuff, but it's nice also to see sometimes when newbies come on board, how learning something as simple as setting up an automation on a specific platform is something they don't know, but you have done it several times in a day for like the past few years.

Yeah, and sometimes they would know a better process for it. So, yeah, it's a learning process.

Think outside of the box. Yeah, give you a fresh perspective. Exactly. Very, very, very true. And I know it's also subjective, and it really does depend on the person, but I like what you said about having, kind of, goals for yourself, even though, you know, you have different clients and different industries, you set these personal goals because I think it really gives you direction as well.

Like personally and professionally, that way you know where you should be investing in your time and your efforts and yeah, maybe also looking at your skill sets like where's your strength? Where's your weakness? And how can you optimize your strengths and how can you improve your weaknesses?

Those are just soft skills but they really, really matter once you start working, especially independently, which is hopefully, what people take away from this episode, from listening to us just talking about these things.

But yeah, so one thing I want to talk to you about Royce is very, very exciting news. Your new business.

Oh, yeah.

Your travel agency and your Pasabuy.

So yeah, I feel like it just launched, or?

Yeah, just a week ago, yeah. After 10 years in the freelancing world, I was able to travel around Southeast Asia with my family.

And last month, I was just in Thailand. And, you know, I have three kids invested in life insurance for myself and my family as well. I am now able to afford the things that I couldn't buy before.

I also bought my own car two years ago, and after months of saving up, yeah, because of freelancing, I decided to invest in another business venture while doing what I love most, which is traveling.

So I now own a small travel agency and pasabuy services, which serve as my passive income, together with my freelancing business as my main source of income.

So that is Rome and Rollin Travel Agency and R&R Pasabuy. You can check us out on Facebook and Instagram. And, yeah, the only reason I started freelancing is for my family to, you know, experience not a luxurious life but a comfortable one.

And I can now say to my 15 year old self back there that we did it.  Even though we didn't go to college, we did it. And that freelancing changed my life – our lives and yeah, thank you so much for freelancing.

And a huge pat on your back as well for going through all those different challenges and like bumps in the road and just not giving up.

Yeah, thank you so much.

Yeah, honestly so many things that you need to be proud of and to just celebrate and – 10 years have gone by.

Can you imagine? I can't even imagine that 10 years have gone by. Another 10 years. Am I still a VA? Am I still a freelancer after 10 years?

Do you want to share, by the way, the story behind your business names?

Oh yeah. It's like a wordplay, like what you said a while ago, Rome and Roland. Rome is actually my mom's name, from her name Romilly, and then that's her nickname, Rome, and then my name is Royce, and then of course you know Rolls Royce, they come together. So, what we did, is something like a witty company name is Rome and Roland.

Come roll with us. Come on a vacation. Yeah.

And it's just you and your mom, right? Right now. Who knows? Maybe in 10 years time, you've also got like a team of your own. Operating in different parts of the world.

Yeah.

Exciting. So yeah, thank you so much, Royce, for saying yes to this interview. And it was so nice to catch up and learn more about you.

Chapter 7: Mentoring Sessions
Actually, you were my team lead. I got to work with you, but I had no idea that you were already like working for the past 10 years. And you've already tried all these different industries and niches and like worked with so many other clients. So it was nice to just learn more about you to be honest.

Yeah, I was so nervous. Like you told me three weeks before, a month before that you're gonna invite me and I was like “Yeah, I want to be here. I was listening to your podcast.” And now we're here and then it's done!  

How do you feel it's your first right? 

Yeah. Before I was editing podcasts for a client as well. So being here, interviewed on a podcast is truly an honor. So thank you so much. 

It's also such an honor for us to have you Royce and to just spend honestly, an hour of your afternoon, just sharing everything and your experiences. And it takes a lot of courage also to just be so open, honestly.

And yeah, I could go on and on. So I'm just gonna. You know, but I really, really hope people took notes from today's episode because there were just so many great things. 

Send them to me!  

And as always, if you guys want to be part of the conversation, please comment over on Instagram or just, you know, send us an email or send us some fan mail over on Spotify. 

We have that little send us a message kind of button there. And yeah, if you want to know more about how to get started, get more tips from Royce, like maybe some mentoring sessions. We'll leave her socials so you guys can reach out to her as well. 

Click down below. Like and subscribe. 

And of course also, show some support on Royce's new businesses. So, Rome and Rollin Travel Agency, and the R&R Pasabuy. 

Thank you so much. 

Yeah, that's it for today. So, any final piece of advice, Royce, that you'd like to share before we say goodbye to our listeners for today? 

One piece of advice that I would love to give is, you know, do a little better. You can fail again. Get back up.  Repeat. That's how – 

Wow. Mic drop.

Okay, so thank you once again to everyone for joining us on today's episode. And I hope that this episode left you feeling inspired and just a lot more empowered to invest in yourself when you're getting started as a VA and yeah, don't be afraid of what's ahead. 

That's it for today. This has been your host Chelsea, 

and this is Royce – and we're Briefing Out.