Connected Women launched its executive virtual assistant training program in July 2019. Unlike most virtual assistant workshops out there, ELEVATE aims to help a particular group of women from its community and beyond – these are the women who have had considerable professional experience in the corporate world and are thinking of making the jump to the world of online remote work.

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Around 59 ladies participated in the physical sessions which were conducted from July to September 2019. Although coming from very different backgrounds, most of them had more than five years of work experience behind them. Another common thread among them was uncertainty, mainly on the skills required for remote work and whether they possess these skills. Remote work is relatively new to most of them, so they also needed information about what jobs and roles are available. 

In September, during the run-up to our 3rd cohort of Elevate in Ortigas on September 28-29, Philippine Wacoal Corporation generously offered its support to the ELEVATE program. The company recently celebrated 30 years of uplifting women, where they featured 30 women with 30 inspirational stories of women empowerment. Connected Women’s Co-Founder Ruth Yu-Owen was among these 30 women.

“Wacoal, through its Women of the World campaign, wants to share inspiring stories of women so that all women will be inspired. We believe that women can do more and achieve more. And our support for ELEVATE will help these women pursue their dreams and passions,” says Ann Christine Palisoc, President of Philippine Wacoal Corporation.

Women of Strength and Determination

Wacoal’s support to the program allowed ten women to participate in the workshop. They brought with them stories of strength, determination and the pursuit of multiple passions. 

Deljane Querijero is a 43-year-old breast cancer survivor who left her corporate job in 2017. She established a food business with a friend and wanted to grow and scale it so that “can provide gainful employment for cancer survivors, single moms, out of school youths and women who can still work (and want to) but have been discriminated against because of age.”

“Running a business provided many learning opportunities for me and my business partner, including our many areas for improvement in operations, sourcing, marketing, and accounting. I wanted to continue growing our business but I needed a steady stream of income to support my family and pay the bills too. I realized I cannot pursue the kind of growth I wanted if I took on a job parallel to the one I left. I began to seriously explore work from home opportunities and that was when I discovered Connected Women.”

She considers how working from home can help support her family, while at the same time allow her to pursue her passion and advocacies. For her, it means making good use of the time she used to waste commuting from her house to her office, and being able to spend more time with her family. All in all, it will help her as she grows her food business into a social enterprise. 

“I believe I am an excellent candidate for ELEVATE because I’m ready and I have the resolve to see my goals to the end. It would be an honor and a privilege to connect with women who are going through similar challenges, have conquered their challenges and are working on conquering new ones.”

Minilyn Rodolfo is a 53-year-old home baker and at the same time, she also helps manage a family business. She used to run a salon and massage business which she had to close because of financial challenges. She confesses, “Work options for women her age are limited. I have never been in a corporate set up.” As a single parent to three daughters, she sees the need to increase her income and she is hoping that remote work will be a great opportunity for her to do this. 

She sees herself as an ideal candidate for remote work because she is very interested to start working remotely in her best capacity. She adds, “I refuse to remain stagnant and content with my present situation and I am willing to learn new skills.” 

Change your Mindset, Elevate your Career

Deljane and Minilyn joined 8 other ladies in the September 28-29 session at BSpot Coworking Space. Coming from different backgrounds, they all had a singular purpose in joining the training: to find out what remote work is and see if it’s something for them.

Minilyn admitted not knowing much about what this new world of work is. At the start of the workshop, she had no confidence that she will be getting into this anytime soon. During the workshop, she was able to assess her strengths and weaknesses for online work. She also realized that there is a future for her here, but she feels that she may need to hone her skills to prepare herself. 

Another participant, Frecielyn Aure is not new to online work. However, she admitted that she lost her confidence recently because she has been able to land any clients recently. “The workshop validated my decision to become a remote worker. Now I have a clear path to take.” She learned that personal branding is important as well as knowing what you are good at and what value you can add to a client. 

For Deljane, attending the workshop changed her mindset. She shares,”From being uncertain if it was possible to leverage my work experience, to being excited that I can’t wait to see what opportunities there are for me. And I am not starting from scratch.”

A common realization rings true among all the participants – that they are the sum of all their experiences, and these experiences and skills they have gained throughout the years are of great value especially in the world of remote work. 

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Are you thinking of transitioning into online work?
Interested in joining our brand new program to get you started?

Check out Connected Women’s ELEVATE