She works remotely as a virtual assistant and marketing consultant for a UK-based company. At the same time, she manages her own home-based travel agency business.

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Titled “A Day In The Life Of A Woman,” this series celebrates the women in our lives. From the everyday to inspirational, the series aims to highlight women from various fields and share a bit of the diversity we experience every day.

Dulce May Tigol is based in Cebu, Philippines with her husband and 4-year-old son. Before working remotely, she worked for three years in the corporate arena of Events, Advertising and Business Development.

Learning To Work From Home

I decided to shift to an online/home-based career when I started my own family. But slowly, it has become the lifestyle I am happy to have for the rest of my life! It gives me more time to take care of my loved ones and myself, to pursue the mission I am here for, and to work on goals I am most passionate about.

7 AM: I give at least a minute to pray and then I start working (responding to emails and messages) while my son is still sleeping.

8 AM: Breakfast prep and then enjoy.

9 AM: I potty train my son, assist him in brushing his teeth and give him a bath.

10AM: I do household chores like laundry, cleaning the house, arranging our things or washing dishes.

11 AM: I continue working with small breaks in between

12 PM: Prepare for Lunch and take a relaxed lunch break.

1 PM: I do a 30-minute exercise and just let my mind wander for the rest of the hour

2 PM: I continue working with small breaks in between. The most challenging part of my job/day is when my toddler son wants my attention for literally everything! Things like he wants me to get him something to eat outside the usual meal time, he asks curious questions or he just wants to play with me. It can be challenging while I’m trying to focus on a task for my job/business at the same time.

I constantly remind him (well, I try) that every time I need to work, he should let me be. But I know it doesn’t work that much ’cause our children sometimes don’t understand boundaries. It is the inner conflict of wanting to give him time and attention but acknowledging that I also have responsibilities at work and need to give them my best effort and full attention.

3 PM: I continue working with small breaks in between.

4 PM: I work or do scheduled errands, maybe the groceries or paying bills.

5 PM: I work or do scheduled errands, today it might be a late doctor appointment, etc.

6 PM: I prepare dinner for our little family.

7 PM: I take my dinner, then afterwards I’m in a call with my loved ones to catch up.

8 PM: Wrapping up work

9 PM: Now I focus on putting my son to sleep and getting in time with my husband.

10 PM: Read a book for a bit and turn in for the night.

The Perks Of Working From Home

At first I started working from home because I needed to – I just started a family back then and I wanted to be hands on with taking care of my son. Eventually, I thrived in it because it allowed me to be flexible and be as creative as I can with my career.

Before starting my home-based travel agency business, I was thinking of ways to earn more income with what I really wanted to do, what I‘m good at and passionate about. That’s when I decided to open a travel agency – because it allows me to monetize what I love and sustain a profitable business from it.

Advice For Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• Personally, I believe it’s important, before embarking on anything, that you know what on earth you are here for (your mission or purpose).
• Assess your resources: skills, network (professional/personal), talents, money, and other tools you have. Align your life with what you have to contribute and work with what resources you currently have, while at the same time building on more resources to expand/grow your business in the future.
• Do not be easily discouraged when things don’t go your way or go as planned! There are reasons why such things happen and one of the things you need to do in this journey for you to grow is find out what those reasons are and learn from them.
• There is power in grit and discipline (in all aspects) so learn to develop them over time.
• To avoid burn-out and unnecessary stress, learn to prioritize projects, tasks, and errands. You need to also learn how to delegate and focus on things one at a time.

Dulce May also believes you need to live a little and enjoy your free time, “What excites me most are travelling, trying out new cuisines, reading books and having a nice, deep conversation with a friend over a cup of coffee!”

Interested in meeting Dulce and other work from home experts like her? Join the Connected Women community now!