Aldie Pilena, 26, is another example of a virtual assistant who maintains her colorful lifestyle with help from her part-time job as a virtual assistant. She graduated with a degree in BS Psychology from De La Salle Dasmarinas. Together with her VA job, she is an entrepreneur and runs a concept store and food stall. Aldie also juggles all of these with hosting rock (sometimes reggae!) concerts and events on weekends!

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Convenience Through Remote Work

This multi-talented lady narrates how she found out about Connected Women through social media. “I was just scrolling through Facebook when I saw Connected Women and decided to check their website,” she shares. She adds that she grew professionally after taking on the VA job. “Finding a job is easy for me, especially now because I have a wide range of skillsets to offer. It was different when I first started. I was applying for a different position but Gina (CEO and co-founder of Connected Women) personally reached out to me and offered me a VA position for BPW Makati, in which she is also a part of, too,” she narrates.

Aldie currently works as BPW Makati’s Executive Assistant. The organization promotes women empowerment in a nutshell, according to her. “The work I do is pretty light,” she says. “I check the inquiries and emails daily, post on their social media, and provide support for the board of directors.” She adds that she helps them organize their events, from sending out invitations to the event itself, and then to the post-event thank you messages. “I do them all,” she says. Aldie says her earnings in her VA job help her sustain her exciting weekend night-outs.

Traveling While Working

She says that working remotely has helped her travel and  work at the same time. “I love traveling and I do hostings on weekends so there’s no pressure at all,” she says. She says she got offers from big companies locally and can go back to an office job, but “nothing beats the flexibility of working remotely.” “I turned them down because I know I’ll never be as happy and free,” she says.

Learning From Mistakes

Not everything is a bed of roses in her work set-up however. Aldie admits that not being able to save up much in the past years was a failure for her. “Now I got my financials organized and can now save and enjoy what I earn,” she says of how she has tried to remedy the situation.

Aldie is also adamant about staying in the Philippines to work. “Leaving the country was never in my plans,” she explains. “Philippines all the way! But I will probably leave just for traveling. I work remotely anyway.”

Learning Through Work-Life Balance

She reflects on how Connected Women has changed her life. “Connected Women changed my life because I get to learn and earn at the same time,” she shares. “I work with successful professional women and they are like mentors when it comes to business and entrepreneurship. I enjoy every bit of it, to be honest! I also get to travel a lot while working which is a plus.”

As of now, Aldie plans to keep on working for BPW Makati and to apply what she has learned from them to her own businesses. From all her experiences at a young age, Aldie says she believes in this hashtag (which she says is so millennial): #achievedworklifebalance. “I believe that having balance is the key to being happy,” she says. “I don’t want to have money but got no time and vice versa. I believe you’re wealthy if you have enough time for yourself.”

 

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