A "WAHM" (Work At Home Mom) job is a type of job that allows a mother to work from home, typically while also caring for her children. These jobs can be a great option for mothers who want the flexibility to work while also being able to be present for their children.

There are a wide variety of WAHM jobs available, ranging from customer service and sales to writing and editing to graphic design and more. Some common industries for WAHM jobs include education, healthcare, and technology. Many of these jobs can be done remotely, using a computer and internet connection, while others may require occasional in-person meetings or travel.

One of the biggest benefits of a WAHM job is the ability to set your own schedule. This can be especially appealing for mothers who need to be available for their children's school and extracurricular activities. In addition, many WAHM jobs offer the opportunity to work part-time or on a freelance basis, which can provide additional flexibility.

However, it's important to keep in mind that working from home can also have its challenges. It can be easy to get distracted by household chores or other distractions, and it can be more difficult to separate work and home life. It's important for mothers in WAHM jobs to set boundaries and create a dedicated workspace to help ensure that they are able to stay focused and productive.

Another important consideration is finding a WAHM job that is legitimate and offers fair compensation. There are many scams and low-paying jobs advertised as WAHM positions, so it's important to do your research and be cautious when applying for jobs. A good way to find legitimate WAHM jobs is to use reputable job search websites or to reach out to professional organizations in your field.

Overall, WAHM jobs can be a great option for mothers who want the flexibility to work from home while also being able to care for their children. By finding a legitimate and fairly compensated job, setting boundaries, and creating a dedicated workspace, mothers in WAHM jobs can successfully balance work and home life.

I previously posted this one on my private network on Facebook, but I decided to share it on my blog as well to help others.

How do you start working from home as an online worker in the Philippines?

Here are 5 basic steps to get started:

1. Know your skills
2. Have a decent computer and wired internet connection
3. Set up your payment method
4. Sign up for an account on freelancer websites
5. Take initiative!

1. Know your skills

• Assess your strengths. What skills do you have? What is your job experience?
• Some in-demand skills in the freelancing world are writing/editing, graphic design, web development, web design, accounting, marketing, translation, data entry, English teaching, and many more.
• To give you an idea, check out the categories available on OnlineJobsPH. 

2. Have a decent computer and wired internet connection

• I assure you, while you can get started working online with a cellphone, you can only do so much. Invest in a laptop or desktop—it's the best investment you can do for yourself as an online worker. As for the specs, it depends on what type of job you do.
• Have a wired internet connection, not a pocket WiFi. Use a pocket WiFi as backup, but not as your primary internet source.

3. Set up your payment method

• Very important so that you can get paid.
• Your popular options are PayPal, Transferwise, or Payoneer (the links for Transferwise and Payoneer have referral links on them; you have the option not to use the referral links)
• Do a simple Google search to figure out how to set up an account for each.
• Important tip: Your registered name on all three payment platforms above should be the same as the name you use on your linked bank account. 

Christmas is almost here! And what better way to show your love both to your family and to local businesses than to buy locally made personalized items?

Here are some of my top picks for local personalized Christmas gift ideas that are perfect for Filipino families.

1. Photobook

Photobook, as the business name suggests, is a platform tailored specifically to creating personalized photograph-based gift items. 

This includes photobooks (a modern printed photo album), calendars, wall prints, mugs, and many more! They serve worldwide but have a headquarter based in Manila.

Personally, I have tried ordering photobooks both from their website and their mobile app. 

If you create your project on their app, your item will be shipped from Manila through Ninja Van at a standard shipping price of PHP 150.

Creating and ordering from their app is so simple and straightforward. You also get to have app-exclusive discounts!

If you create your project on their website (and thus order your project from there as well), your item will be shipped from Indonesia and will be delivered to your doorstep through DHL.

What I like about it is that it's the same standard shipping price as that when you order from the Philippines (PHP 150) but it arrives a lot faster!

For more information, visit https://www.photobookphilippines.com/

2. Customized keepsake jewelry

Keepsake jewelry is a treasure to behold. You can keep photos of your loved ones close to your heart and wear them anywhere with you.

In the Philippines, I have discovered two quality customized keepsake jewellers, and what's best is that their products are quite affordable! 

Please note, however, that their jewelry is not real gold or silver. They use non-tarnish stainless steel material, which may not be as good but still quite durable.

Here are my picks:

Life Story Crafts

They sell handmade photo bracelets, earrings, and necklaces.

What I like about them is that they accept payments through PayPal and a variety of other payment methods such as BDO, Cash on Delivery, PayMaya, and Smart Padala—really convenient when ordering online!

How to order: https://lifestorycrafts.com/

Istorya Creations

Aside from custom keepsake necklaces and bracelets, what caught my eye is that Istorya creates handcrafted keychains with text using your own handwriting!

They also offer custom luggage tags, bookmarks, vow cards, and many more.

How to order: https://istoryacreations.com/

3. Customized passport holders

Nothing beats memories created when travelling with family.

And with all the piso fare airplane ticket promos, it's not a distant dream to travel abroad and use your passport.

Luckily, there are customized passport holders that can further sweeten the travel experience—complete with your name and your choice of color and charms!

Here are my picks:

Hola Craft Shop

I have personally ordered a customized passport holder from them through Shopee, and the transaction was quite smooth and fast!

What's more is that their prices are really affordable: passport holders without a lock starts at PHP 140 and passport holders with a lock starts at PHP 160.

They also offer a variety of other personalized items such as card holders, wallets, purses, and key holders.

How to order: https://shopee.ph/santicres 

Alon Arts

Alon Arts also offer personalized passport holders with an added deal—their passport holders come with a really nice (and environment-friendly!) gift box.

Their prices are a lot more expensive, though: passport holders without a lock starts at PHP 359 and passport holders with a lock starts at PHP 389.

They also offer personalized wallets, necklaces, badge holders, keychains, and bangles.

How to order: https://shopee.ph/alonartsbrand

1. How I Started My Freelancing Journey

Discovering Other Freelancing Platforms: OnlineJobs.ph

As the years went by, I realized that the oDesk fees were taking such a big dent from my earnings (on top of the PayPal fees).

What's more is that oDesk is now called UpWork, and it has so many "premium" features now that would require you to shell out money in order for you to make the most out of it.

So I opted to find freelance work elsewhere. 

I didn't try other freelancing platforms, simply because I know they get a huge chunk out of your earnings, but I found OnlineJobs.ph to be the exception.

I like it best because there aren't any fees and you can be hired directly by employers, so you get to earn more. 

The downside with being directly hired outside of a freelancing platform is that, there's a bigger chance that you can be scammed (i.e., not getting paid for the work you've done).

So far, however, I've only been scammed once, and that was only a week's worth of work.

Setting Up My PayPal Account to Get Paid

Back to my 2011 story. I then set up a PayPal account so that I can get paid.

From a freelancer perspective, PayPal is basically a payment platform where overseas employers can pay you, and then you receive the money through PayPal and withdraw your earnings straight to your back account.

To set up a personal account on PayPal, you only need to have:

• your personal information
• your bank account details
• for verification purposes (verification is a step needed on PayPal so that account restrictions, such as withdrawal limits, are lifted), a credit card (not a prepaid credit card) or UnionBank EON card (which is easier to acquire than a traditional credit card).

Handy guides:

• How to Set Up a Personal PayPal Account
• How to Get or Apply a UnionBank EON Card

I suggest you do your own research using Google to learn more about this.

As a freelancer, you need to learn how to be self-reliant and resourceful because, as I learned from my experience, not everything will be laid out for you and you have to use the power of Google to learn things :-)

Photo by Startup Stock Photos from Pexels

2. Freelancing while Working Full-Time as an Office Worker

For a long time, I was mainly an office-based employee working full-time, while working freelance when I come back home from work. 

So you may ask, what do you mean by freelance?

Freelance means that you work as an independent contractor; in other words, you are self-employed. This also means that your work isn't permanent.

You may work part-time (around 2 to 4 hours per day) or project-based (just until the project is done).

But most of the time, if you're a freelancer, you have flexible work hours as long as you submit your deliverables on time.

Being a freelancer also means that you don't have benefits; SSS, PhilHealth, PAG-IBIG, and taxes will be shouldered by you.

Since I was already employed back then, I didn't have to worry about any of those :-)

For those wondering how to pay for your taxes as a freelancer, you can refer to the following guides:

• How Freelancers can have an ITR in the Philippines
• Complete BIR Taxation Guide for Self-Employed and Freelancers

Photo by Acharaporn Kamornboonyarush from Pexels

3. Learning the Ropes with No Formal Training

In my years of freelancing, I picked up a number of skills: SEO content writing, product review writing, web content writing, marketing copywriting, social media management, and many more.

All these I learned without any formal training.

As I mentioned, it's crucial to be self-reliant and resourceful if you are to become a homebased worker.

There are, of course, free and paid trainings to learn various skills that are relevant to remote work, but then again, formal training is not really that necessary.

While getting formal training can give you an edge over the competition, in my opinion, what matters most is your willingness to learn and having a can-do attitude—and this means having serious Googling skills.

You can learn a lot through Google Search. And some employers are also more than willing enough to train you or give you time to learn the ropes as you go.

If you do want to have formal training, I suggest enrolling to Jason Dulay's VA Bootcamp. 

I haven't tried, but I'm an active (though silent reader) in their Facebook group, FreeLancers In the Philippines (FLIP) - by Jason Dulay.

(And NO, I wasn't paid to endorse him. I just feel like he has great authority in giving helpful trainings for aspiring homebased workers.)

Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom from Pexels

4. Getting More Clients Outside of Freelancing Sites

As I mentioned, I wasn't a big fan of oDesk/UpWork. Outside of freelancing platforms, I got more writing gigs through referrals from friends.

LinkedIn was also a surprising social media site that I didn't expect I could get remote work from, but I did.

And Facebook was a game-changer for me. Through groups on Facebook, there's a treasure trove of online job opportunities where you can be hired directly. Here are Facebook groups that I suggest:

• Online Filipino Freelancers
• FreeLancers In the Philippines (FLIP) - by Jason Dulay
• Freelance Jobs Philippines
• Filipino Freelancer Online Home Based Job (Upwork, Elance, oDesk etc)
• For writers: Freelance Writers Philippines

It was on Facebook, in fact, that I was hired by my current employer, which brings us to the last part of my story.

5. Finding a Stable Homebased Job and Working Remotely Full-Time

I started working as a part-time writer for my current employer, a digital marketing company, in 2015.

For two years, I was on a freelancer status (meaning that I didn't have employee benefits). I did, however, get a constant stream of workload and a generous monthly pay.

In 2017, I got married and had a baby. Since I've always wanted to be a hands-on mother, my husband and I decided that I quit my office job and start working from home. 

It wasn't an easy decision to make, and we had to consider a lot of things, but I was fortunate enough to have a boss who was so kind to offer me a full-time homebased job, complete with statutory government benefits and a flexible work schedule :-)

Read: 5 Things to Consider Before Deciding to Become a Work-at-Home Mom (WAHM)

Since then, I became a remote employee—which means that I have a fixed monthly salary, I work 40 hours per week, and that my employer handles my taxes and other government-related stuff (SSS, PhilHealth, and PAG-IBIG).

All these in the comfort of our own home.

I also maintain a couple of freelance copyediting jobs from time to time.

It also pays well, provides flexible work hours, and offers quite a manageable workload that doesn't interfere with my full-time job nor my time for my family.

And that, folks, is how I became a work-at-home mom :-)

Closing Note

Working from home definitely has its benefits, the main one being not having to deal with lengthy commutes and heavy traffic.

But it also has its fair share of downsides—the first one on the list: today's fierce competition in the freelancing space.

My general advice is that you don't jump off ship immediately.

Try applying for part-time online jobs first, if time permits, and test the waters.

Homebased work is not for everyone, and it's not that easy to become successful.

Remember: All good things take time. If it's easy to achieve, it's also easy to lose. Just be patient and never lose your determination as you navigate the turbulent waters of online work.

Being able to stay at home for your children and still be able to earn an income is possibly the best-case scenario for most families.

However, it's not all sunshine and daisies when you're working at home. 

You will always be on a time crunch with all the stuff you have to do: taking care of your kids, doing housework and cooking, and working on your home-based job.