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Committed to uplifting communities and providing livelihood opportunities, Aboitiz InfraCapital partnered with Connected Women, an innovative social enterprise advocating for upskilling women in technology, to empower 100 Filipino women through a specialized training program in Artificial Intelligence (AI) data annotation. This partnership was solidified in a signing of a Memorandum of Agreement on August 14, 2023 at the AIC office in BGC, Taguig.

Under this partnership, AIC will back Connected Women’s flagship initiative, Elevate AIDA, which provides women in vulnerable and displaced sectors of society with free online training on data annotation and digital skills to help them qualify for jobs in the booming global artificial intelligence industry. The program will initially focus on college undergraduates, unemployed graduates, and unemployed mothers from Davao as part of its pilot batch, then eventually expand to communities from identified areas in Luzon and Visayas.

“We believe that knowledge is the greatest tool of empowerment that’s why we welcome this opportunity to help Connected Women in supporting online skills development and eventually providing remote work opportunities for women,” AIC President and CEO Cosette Canilao said. “This is aligned with our company’s purpose of enabling business and uplifting communities, and in the process helping improve the lives of our fellowmen for the long haul,” she added.

The Elevate AIDA training program will include an online/classroom course and on-the-job training. It will cover a range of topics, including data labeling techniques, remote work best practices, basic professional communication, and basic computer skills, all of which are scalable in the digital remote workspace. Moreover, it will foster a supportive environment that encourages networking, collaboration, and mentorship, ensuring participants’ holistic growth.

“When we have the women as part of Elevate AIDA, they don’t always graduate as data annotators or technology workers. But they definitely graduate as different people,” Connected Women CEO Agnes Gervacio said. “They are more excited about what the future holds for them,” she added.

About Aboitiz InfraCapital:

Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. (AIC) is the infrastructure arm of the Aboitiz Group, one of the Philippines’ largest and most successful conglomerates. Founded in 2015, AIC is committed to helping uplift lives and spurring economic growth through smart and sustainable infrastructure solutions across the country. With its strategic investments and partnerships, it aspires to create long-term value by delivering and upgrading critical infrastructure projects, helping provide basic services to the people, supporting businesses and operational efficiency, and improving mobility.

About Connected Women:

Connected Women (CW) is a socially responsible data and AI solutions company based in the Philippines, with a vision to power the inclusive workplace of the future by bringing women into tech at scale and a mission to elevate the lives of Filipino women through socially-responsible online work. Believing that technology can bridge the gender gap and create inclusive economic opportunities for women, the organization trains women in market-aligned skills and connects them with income-generation opportunities. By leveraging the power of AI and digital platforms, they enable women to work from home, support their families, and contribute to the economy. Connected Women has received global recognition in the categories of inclusive innovation, the future of work, e-employment, and women empowerment.

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In this Independence Day celebration of the Philippines, here is a story of a woman who proudly represented the country in one of the most challenging hikes in the world. Bianca Lawas made news rounds in April 2019 when she reached the Mt. Everest Base Camp and wore a Filipiniana gown to celebrate this feat.

Aside from conquering physical mountains, what many people don’t know about Bianca was how she was able to overcome challenges so she could chase after her dreams. This is a story about Bianca’s journey – a testament of Filipino resilience and tenacity.

An uphill climb  

She got into mountain climbing in 2010 when her college friend invited her to go to Mt. Pulag in Northern Luzon. Back then, she didn’t know anything about mountaineering or hiking. Since they organized the trip themselves, they didn’t even have the proper footwear or backpacks.

“It also did not help that there was a typhoon when we reached Camp 2 of Mt. Pulag. The weather forecast was inaccurate so we were so cold that time and some of our things were wet,” Bianca said.

To make things worse, one of her teammates had a terrible seizure due to hypothermia. Fortunately, there were nurses in their group and they were able to take care of the situation.

Despite a rocky start, Bianca soon fell in love with mountain climbing. In fact, since 2010, she has climbed so many mountains both in and outside the Philippines that she has lost count.

“There was even a year or more than a year wherein my friends and I climb every other week. My favorites are of course Mt. Everest Base Camp, Mt. Kinabalu and Mt. Halcon,” she said.

Among these, however, the most challenging climb was also the one that catapulted her to fame — Mt. Everest Base Camp Trek. Bianca explained that it was a 11-day hike that included two days just to acclimatize to the altitude.

“Everyone needs to be acclimatized well so we won’t get altitude sickness or worse, HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema) or HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema). There were a number of climbers who were sent back to Kathmandu via chopper because they were showing severe symptoms of high altitude sickness like vomiting several times and excessive coughing,” she explained.

Their team, composed of different nationalities, faced physical challenges that even some of the athletes in their group weren’t able to overcome.  

“We had headaches every night ranging from mild to really uncomfortable that we had to take medicines because of the very cold temperature (the rooms don’t have a heater) and the altitude that we need to adjust from,” Bianca said.

“As we went higher, we also had hard time breathing, even at rest. Several times when I was sleeping, I had to wake up and to sit down just to be able to properly breathe or breathe fully,” she added.

A Filipina’s resilience

To prepare for these climbs, Bianca trains by running on a treadmill at maximum inclination for at least 30 minutes to 1.5 hours at least three times a week. She also had some strengthening sessions with her personal trainer in the gym.

What’s interesting is that Bianca has faced the challenges in her life with the same dedication and motivation as she does for her climbs.

“I would say one mountain in my life that I have conquered is the attainment of my dream lifestyle. My dream lifestyle is to be able do whatever, wherever and whenever I want without worrying how to pay my bills and how to finance the things that I need and want including my travels and adventures,” she said.

Bianca used to have a day job that was just enough to fulfil her needs but not her wants. With a new summit to climb, little by little, she worked towards her goal. She attended classes on personal finance including the Registered Financial Planners (RFP) course. She also removed all debts and eliminated or prevented possible liabilities. Now, she is a successful licensed real estate broker. It is a job that allows her the flexibility she needs to pursue her hobbies.

“It is only with my travel and adventures that I spend more now. I also taught myself how to earn well and used my strength in selling, negotiating and closing deals for my career. I also talked with successful people even if I don’t know them personally,” Bianca shared.

She also read self-help books and articles, watched online videos, listened to podcast, attended seminars and workshops, etc. that helped her achieve her dream lifestyle.

“It’s not a one shot deal and I have to continuously improve myself and follow through my goals, and just do my best to bounce back whenever I falter. I’m not saying I’m already super successful and I have achieved all the things that I want,” Bianca said.

Bianca’s determination is just a testimony of the resilience and discipline of Filipinos which she has also witnessed time and time again during her climbs.

“When it comes to hiking, generally citizens from Western countries, especially the ones we met in Everest Base Camp Trek, had really long strides probably because of their long legs so they are able to hike faster,” she said.

Despite this, she has noted that Filipinos get along really well with other nationalities and can keep up with taller climbers.

“We are always flexible and able to adapt well with other nationalities and their different personalities,” she said.

For Bianca, climbing the Everest Base Camp is not the end of her journey. There are still more mountains to climb and more dreams to achieve.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done. I just know I’m already in my dream lifestyle  and I have that confidence in me that I can achieve almost anything that I’m passionate about and I set my mind to.”

—

Meet Bianca and other inspiring women around the world.

Join us at Connected Women.

It’s free.

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The company is called Canva, a startup unicorn launched in 2013. Perkins built it from her hometown in Australia. At the start of 2019, Canva had a valuation of USD 1 billion after having raised a USD 40 million round. By June this year, it raised more than USD 600 million including early funding and this skyrocketed its valuation to USD 6 billion!

The concept of Canva is simple — design templates one can use so easily that everyone can be a designer. It started as an idea when Perkins was teaching a university design program wherein students struggled to learn even the basics.

With the success of Canva, Perkins was named one of Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30 list in 2016. If that’s not enough reason to be her fan, here are six more..

1. She was in her teens when she first started doing business

When Perkins was in her teens, she made scarves and sold them to women’s boutiques in Perth, Australia. This ignited her passion in entrepreneurship which was fully realized when she started Fusion Books. This was a sort of forerunner to Canva but focused solely on yearbooks.

She was only 19 when this venture’s co-founder Cliff Obrecht helped many schools in Australia design their own yearbooks. At the beginning, it was just her and a couple of friends, working in her mother’s living room. Within five years, it became Australia’s largest publisher and the company expanded to France and New Zealand.

2. She knows work-life balance

As a boss, it’s no surprise that Perkins’ work takes up a lot of time. However, she makes it a point to always have time to relax and rejuvenate.

“I find going away on holidays, even for the weekend or a week, can be incredibly refreshing,” explained Perkins on LinkedIn.

Perkins also said that she likes to go on adventurous holidays since it gives her time to think about other things.

“It’s important to give your brain a break sometimes so it can come back refreshed,” she said.

With her undeniable zest for life, it’s no surprise that in 2016, Business Insider ranked Perkins as the third coolest person in tech in Australia.

3. She is nationalistic

She could have moved Canva to Silicon Valley or another tech hub in the world, but Perkins chose to continue running the main office in Sydney. In a LinkedIn article, Perkins revealed the reason why she decided to do this — because she wants Australia to become a country known for technology and innovation.

“I would love to see in years to come Australia becoming synonymous with a disproportionate number of great innovators who are hard at work solving the world’s real problems with great products,” said Perkins on LinkedIn.

4. She conquered her fears

Would you believe that Perkins is actually an introvert and afraid of networking? Yes you heard that right! Perkins said it was daunting to meet potential investors at first but she knew it was critical to get Canva off the ground. She even went to Silicon Valley, worked for hours on end on pitch decks, and presented her ideas to strangers.

“I was really nervous and I felt out of my depth, trying to pitch Canva with a paper print out of our slide deck,” she said.

In the end, it was worth it. Years of networking and pitches (that got better and better) bore fruit in the form of investment from celebrities and executives from well-known tech corporations.

5. She knows how to give back

With the success of Canva, she has been known to support 25,000 non-profit organizations.

When Perkins was interviewed by Entrepreneur, she said that Canva currently houses 25,000 non-profits that use Canva for fundraising.

“That’s what makes all of the work worth it,” she told Entrepreneur.

6. She is not afraid to fail

Perkins may be a force to be reckoned with now but just a few years ago, she was being rejected right and left by investors. And she is not afraid to tell her story.

“Any adventure will be filled with rejections and littered with obstacles — somehow makes the adventure a little less lonely. And it’s most important for people who feel like they are on the outside to know this,” she said in an interview with Forbes.

In fact, she was rejected more than a hundred times in a course of three years before she got her first “yes!”

“But I just kept learning, refining my strategy and updating my pitch deck until we got a yes,” she said in another interview with Inc.

“Today, we are constantly assessing which projects to tackle next and having the determination to invest in these projects to make our users happy is absolutely critical. Every day at Canva we’re creating something entirely new, and I’m incredibly lucky to get to work with an incredible talented team of people who are just as determined to see our vision through.”

This article was originally published on Gina Romero’s LinkedIn and was republished with permission of the author.

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“Academics is not the only way forward. Experience is key.” – Elim Chew

This is the first advice Elim Chew gave a keen audience during the Connected Women “Entrepreneur Mindset: Risk and Reinvention” event in Singapore.

Chew is one of Singapore’s prominent entrepreneurs but her journey to success wasn’t a straight line. In fact, it took a lot of risks and reinventions for Chew to become the influential figure she is today.

From fashion to food

Chew started her foray into entrepreneurship with the retail chain 77th Street. Chew, who studied in the United Kingdom, was in her early twenties when she got the idea for the business.

“I saw all these funky weird stuff from London but I saw all these fashion things that were not available in Singapore so I started importing them in Singapore,” she said.

Chew said that she was also working as a hairstylist that time and she was wearing the bracelets and jackets she got from the UK while cutting the hair of her customers. Many of them would ask her about her stylish accessories and clothes and she recognized that there is a potential market for these items in Singapore.

She immediately faxed her sister to send more of these fashionable items. Together, they started selling them for a profit.

Chew and her team was able to grow 77th Street. At its peak, they had 16 stores in and they even had a 77th Street Plaza in a shopping mall in Beijing.

The road to success wasn’t smooth, however. This time, they were disrupted by the rising price of rental, the lack of manpower, and e-commerce.

This did not stop the enterprising Chew to start another venture.

“As we were retiring [from 77th Street] we decided, okay we move from fashion to food! That’s when we wanted to invest in businesses,” she said.

It was then that they were introduced to a Korean chef who taught them the business of running a Korean barbecue restaurant.

“It’s quite scary because we knew nothing about food,” Chew confessed

Their consultants that time discouraged them due to their lack of experience and an undesirable location. Chew said that they still did their best and even prayed before they opened for the first day.

Come opening day and I’m Kim Korean BBQ had surprisingly long lines. The success of the first store gave birth to I’m Kim Junior, Goro Goro Steamboat and Korean Buffet, and Captain Kim Korean BBQ and Hotpot, which is halal-certified.

The key to the success of these chains is to listen to your customers, Chew shared. Since a lot of people were asking for halal food, they made sure to get a certification even if it took six months to process it.

Another technique is to make yourself different from the competitors, which was their strategy with the Goro Goro Steamboat. With these, their food chains continue to grow.

“The best part is my team of 77th Street the fashion business, the management team, is actually running the food business so we run the business how we run the fashion business,” she happily shared.

From food to FastFast

As an entrepreneur, Chew realized that she had to run a lot of errands and had no time at all to accomplish them. This was when she met several enterprising young people who offered to run her errands for her. This idea eventually became Fast Fast Delivery, her next business venture.

“You can go to website and it run errands for you. So you’re sitting here now you forgot your headphones somewhere, you can go to the website and get someone to bring it here for you and you pay in cash,” she explained.

“I usually try to get students single moms, single dads, people strapped for cash and need daily income,” Chew added.

She explained that 90% of the money is given to the driver and the remaining 10% goes into training the drivers or errand runners on how to use the platform.

“Crowdsourcing I think is the only way forward,” she remarked about this platform.

This idea also worked out for a group of young people she met, who was crowdsourcing for an advertising business. This particular group of young people raised a million dollars for their business, Carblicity, a crowdsourcing platform that connects advertisers with private car owners for the purpose of Outdoor Advertising using stickers on cars.

This in turn allows advertisers to tap on the resources of the any person in Singapore with a car for their advertising purposes, while drivers can now enjoy the rewards once reserved for public transport vehicles.

“With Carblicity, you can have one car a month just doing your advertising,” she said.

From FastFast to fish and filming

Despite her busy schedule, Chew still finds the time to do her hobbies. One of these is fishing with 16 of her friends.

Every three months, they would get together and fish. Their biggest catch, she said, was 645 fish in just a few hours.

Chew and her friends would then donate their catch and other meat products to a soup kitchen that cooks 6,000 meals a day for low-income people in Singapore. Chew shared that the usual donations are vegetables and tofu but she noticed that the soup kitchen did not have any meat.

“So every 3 months, my friends and I get together to donate chicken, fish, and all that but the most important thing is we love fishing right? But there’s this group that cleans the fish and cooks the fish,” she shared, explaining that this activity creates another stream of revenue for this group of people.

“So for people who want to do something, you can start anything, right?” she said.

After many years of taking the lead in starting businesses, Chew also said that it’s about time that she pave the way for a new generation of serial entrepreneurs.

This is why she has ventured into digital filmmaking and created her own YouTube channel, ElimChewTV, where she features young changemakers. An example is a Vietnamese who started a music school because he believed that every child has the right to music.

Chew said that she dedicated the first 50 years of her life to serial entrepreneurship, which is chronicled in her book, The Elim Chew Story: Driven by Purpose, Destined for Change. And her story doesn’t stop there.

“For the next 30 years of my life, I’m hoping to give to 1 million changemakers and impact 1 billion lives.”

If you think you’re a changemaker and a serial entrepreneur like Elim Chew, the first step is to find the courage and dedication to commit to your dreams. Once you have it, why not join a community like Connected Women who will support you in different aspects such as finding a remote team? Find inspiration and build your network today.

—

Join the Connected Women community, it’s free!

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My journey begins in the land of coffee beans & pristine beaches; well-known from its history as the Banana Republic. A land home to the ancient Mayan Civilization and shaped by the multi-cultural influence from Europe during the Spanish colonization till this day. A land I call home.

My name is Mirtha Sierra Leiva. I am from Honduras, located in Central America, smack in the middle of the American Continent.

I graduated my bachelor’s degree from UNITEC at the age of 23. UNITEC is one of Honduras’s most prestigious universities pertaining to the Laureate International Universities’ network. Upon admission to the university I was granted a Fulbright scholarship.

I learned from my time at the university many important lessons that I would hold on to with me in my journey to Asia. In the University, I was in an enriching environment, surrounded by different personalities, business owners, entrepreneurs and bright minds. I grasped a deep understanding of the importance of networking and concise communication. I had developed great friendships and diverse relationships with individuals from all fields and backgrounds by the time I was to graduate.

After graduation, I started off my career at Mercaplan-Millward Brown – I was given the position of Market Research Assistant. The job gave me my first glance into the world of marketing, brands and statistics. There I met a group that inspired me and won my upmost respect and admiration; coincidentally they were all women. They were strong communicators, deep thinkers and solution providers. Their strength and ambition sparked a desire in me.
I later moved on to take another job as a Marketing Agent for a local Clothing Retail Company; and as it happens with small businesses, I had to quickly learn to be an individual with many different hats, tackling various responsibilities. I learned how to multitask; from marketing agent to social media marketer to customer service, juggling the various responsibilities all at once. The skills learned from working in that small business was an experience that propelled me to land a job at StarTek.

I advanced rapidly during my time in StarTek, beginning as a customer representative and later moving up to Quality Assurance Specialist. I was put in charge of various teams, mentored as a coach on customer service and took on the responsibility of providing feedback to the customer representatives.

My yearning to continue growing in my personal and professional life, pushed me to the decision to study for a master’s degree; and what do you know – a post I made on Facebook led me to Asia; to a beautiful island known as Taiwan.

Indeed, because of the power of social media, and through persistent inquiry, I was gifted the opportunity to study for a master’s degree in a well-founded school in Taoyuan, Taiwan. I successfully applied and obtained admission to Chang Gung University, School of Business – for M.B.A. I was blessed once again to be able to study on a full scholarship ride.

During my studies at Chang Gung University, I was thrust into a multi-cultural environment, with classmates and students from each corner of the world. This experience strengthened my networking and people relation skills. I conversed and shared ideas with diverse personalities, friends and business minds.

While studying to obtain my degree, I took on a working position at a local school as a language facilitator. My job was to teach young minds in the English language through various methods (e.g. – Art, Music, Drama, etc.). I progressed to teaching adults as I flourished in this position.

Aside from teaching, some friends and I started our own small restaurant. From that experience I learned another prime lesson; don’t do everything at once. Planning and intelligent execution with the right timing is crucial to achieving success. A lesson we learned the hard way, as we didn’t succeed in the venture.

They say: “What doesn’t break you, only makes you stronger” – and stronger I yearned to become, picking myself up and striving to be more mature and business savvy. My friends, and eventual business partners too at the time, referred to our venture as “Our MBA in practice”, – we referred it as such because we were taking the classroom to the real world, putting our textbooks to action and I am categorically grateful to those friends and relationships I made for life.

It’s been three years now since I graduated from the M.B.A program with my master’s degree. I am still a language facilitator for young minds and adults in Spanish and English language. I also continue to provide customer service workshops. I am striving towards setting up a Language and translations service for Taiwanese professionals, and oh yes, I continue to reside in beautiful Taiwan! As I work towards my dream, I continue to slowly build a clientele and keep my eye on potential niches with needs and wants yet to be fulfilled – that I can fulfill.
My biggest marketing project right now: Myself. I believe that we are all walking brands, so let’s become the best representation of ourselves.

Yours Truly,
Mirtha Sierra Leiva.

Interested in meeting other experts like Mirtha? Join the Connected Women community now, it’s free!

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From a farm girl to Computer Engineer in Finland to Nokia Project Manager & E-commerce owner in Asia and finally, Founder of Digital marketing agency in Canada.

Marika Arovuo grew up on a farm in Finland, in a small village of just 100 households. With parents who believe in gender equality, she was given responsibilities that taught her the growth mindset and taking care of others.

On top of schoolwork her daily chores included cooking, taking care of smaller siblings and cousins, and even driving big machines at the farm. With her routine, she learned the value of integrity.

“Only by demonstrating that you do a good job can you have repeated business in a small community,” Marika says.

She also learned resourcefulness, she often had to cook for a large group of people who worked at the farm and figure out a full 3 course meal from whatever was available in the fridge.

Little did she know that these experiences will hone her to become a successful business owner of a digital marketing agency one day.

From Europe to Asia and to North America

“I was lost after high school and took year off because I did not know which school to apply to because typical female occupations did not attract me,” says Marika.

She ended up studying Computer Science despite being outnumbered by boys in the class, 30 to 1. This was also where she met her husband, Ilari.

“He was the kindest guy, always there helping others with his wealth of knowledge about computers”, she recalls.

After her graduation, Marika started to work for Nokia in 1995. Two years later, she was offered a Project Manager role in Bangkok, where she moved alone. It was a mind-blowing experience for a young girl – try to operate in a foreign culture and completely different environment – that totally changed her as a person.

Living and working in a foreign culture also expanded her cultural understanding because of the paradigm shift.

“As a minority in a foreign culture, it makes you humble,” she confesses.

After relocating to Singapore and while working as a GPRS Engineer, she was part of a Nokia team that implemented the very first mobile network in Asia that had a capability to transfer data over air.

“You could suddenly browse internet on the move – and you can only now understand the power of that as everyone is connected to internet all the time,” she says.

Eight years later, when their first child was born, she made a drastic decision. With only two months maternity leave and no relatives around to take care of the baby she strongly felt that she should be the one take care of them by herself – and resigned Nokia.

But Marika is not the type of person who wants to stay still for too long. It was in 2006, only two months after their younger son was born, when she felt that she needed some ‘brainwork’. So, she co-founded a business that designed, produced, marketed & sold fashion accessories through an e-commerce. While running the operations she learned to set up websites, manage social media, master graphic design, analyze statistics and other digital marketing tactics.

“It was then when other the entrepreneurs started to ask my help on their digital marketing – and that’s when I found my true passion, to help other business owners to become successful by building a strong online presence for them”, tells Marika.

Life was going great in Singapore, but she and her family decided to move to Canada in 2015. This was when she incorporated her local digital marketing agency GRIT Online.

“I was lucky to bring clients with us, so we did not have to start from scratch,” she said.

With GRIT Online, she wanted to create a company where people love to work and provide a place for people to grow personally and professionally.

“When they can achieve more than they thought they could think of, they feel fulfilment and that makes people happy,” Marika says.

GRIT and Growth

It took several months to come up with a name for the company that would resonate with her values but finally GRIT Online was born. GRIT is an abbreviation of that represents the values of their company:

Growth Mindset – Anything is possible with hard work & dedication. Never stop improving and overcoming challenges.

Resourcefulness – Developing innovative solutions for our clients.

Integrity – Fairness and Honesty are never compromised. We always strive for a win-win partnership.

Teamwork – Our team, and yours. We all work together to accomplish our shared goals

GRIT Online is primarily serving small and medium enterprises to build a professional online presence, create a digital marketing strategy, and manage their digital channels.

To deliver quality output for their clients, Marika believes in a people-first approach.

“My mission is that no matter what business that I build, the leading principle will be employees wellbeing. When people have a chance to work on supportive work environment that provide them with enough challenges, possibility to personal and professional growth and a place where they feel safe even though they would make mistakes, they will glow!” she said.

For her, this directly benefits their clients. When the team feels good and safe at work, they are inspired, motivated and committed to deliver their best. They hunger for feedback and improve their deliverables based on that.

On top of running GRIT Online, Marika is also involved in many organizations and communities. She is a Vice President of the Canada-Finland Chamber of Commerce, where she is involved in organizing around 10 events a year. She is a Mentor at Innovation House, she manages several local hockey teams and coordinates their events. She volunteers her time to support both son’s  schools: elementary as hot lunch team leader and high school as parent council member. And with any spare time, she helps local non-profits by contributing her team’s time help them to promote their presence or events online. For Marika, giving back is important part of who she is – something that bring enormous joy for her to help others.

Marika met Gina Romero, founder of Connected Women through networking events while living in Singapore. Learning about the business model of Connected Women, Marika found the value of employing virtual teams and virtual assistants, especially for digital businesses such as hers.

“Finding work-life balance is harder for entrepreneurs than it is for those who attend 9 to 5 work. And even harder for women because they are typically hugely commitment to their family. So the technology involvement on helping to find work-life balance can be life-changing,” she says.

Marika found Gina to be an authentic leader and having employed Filipinos herself for the past 13 years, she had no doubt giving the platform a try.

“It takes a lot of time to find decent matched on other platforms. There is no guarantee if the hire is not a good fit. All filtering & interviewing need to be done by yourself. The overall coordination and follow up is missing from the other platforms I have used,” Marika says.

She described the experience of hiring virtual assistants from Connected Women as “stress-free.”

“The fact that some initial assessment and interviewing is done at Philippines end helps a lot. All applicants brought to my attention were relevant and had the skills required,” she adds.

Giving Back

Since using the platform, GRIT Online’s efficiency rate went through the roof and said that she would recommend Connected Women to other business owners in Canada.

We hire locals to the positions that require local presence and for example fluent English skills. But those admin skills that can be outsourced to VAs abroad really make sense.

“If I were to hire the same talent locally, my cost would be 6 times higher… I am impressed with the talent and dedication these ladies I have hired have. They have been needing less guidance that I thought and been able to conduct their duties with minimal guidance,” she says.

“Yet, I also know that it comes down to knowing how to manage VAs from different culture and time zone and organize processes and systems in place that will make working with VAs a success,” she adds.

It is her experience with Connected Women that Marika decided to give back once again and do her part in spreading the word about the group. This is why she has started hosting Connected Women meetups in Canada – a venue where she can connect busy female entrepreneurs with skilled freelancers that will help to free their time to what they do best and grow faster, with lower cost.

“I want to help other entrepreneurs to be successful on hiring virtual assistants from another culture and time zones. I have tons on expertise on that, tools, systems, processes, and cultural understanding to be used to be successful on hiring virtual assistants through Connected Women,” she says.

Since launching the first Connected Women Meetup, local entrepreneurs have been supportive and curious, according to Marika. They want to know more how Connected Women is different from other female business networking groups in Canada, she says.

It is because of this growing curiosity that Marika plans to organize more Connected Women Meetups because she earnestly believes that Filipino women can offer a lot to Canadian entrepreneurs.

“Freeing their time to do what they should be doing, running their business and concentrating to their core skills. They can outsource administrative work, mange social media accounts, email autoresponder, calendar, transcription, slideshows, and more,” Marika enumerates the benefits of hiring a virtual team.

Their next meetup is on May 22, 2019 where they plan to brainstorm the objectives of the local chapter. The growing community of interested entrepreneurs in Canada will also discuss topics they want to learn, experts they want to invite in the meetups, and so on.

In her journey of grit, growth, and giving back, Marika discovered that working in a foreign cultures will change one’s life.

“I believe that environment makes who you are 90%. The three or four closest people in our lives have the most impact on us,” Marika says.

While it may be daunting for some people to step out of their comfort zone or changing their environment, Marika believes in challenging oneself.

“Only by doing things that are out of your comfort zone will help you to become a better person.”

Marika Arovuo is the host of #ConnectedWomen #Meetup Canada where women entrepreneurs, professionals and freelancers get to share, connect, work and learn from one another in a fun and relaxed networking evening. The next #ConnectedWomen global #Meetup in is on July 3rd, we have 32 meetups happening including Singapore more details of the cities here.

The post GRIT, Growth, and Giving Back: Marika Arovuo’s Journey appeared first on Connected Women - Entrepreneurs, Freelancers and Professionals..

#SheMeansBusiness has been launched in 21 markets around the world, including the Philippines, and is designed to reach both aspiring and established women entrepreneurs through a series of workshops and online resources that will arm them with the knowledge, skills, connections, and technology required to build and grow their business.

In the Philippines, over a thousand Filipino women entrepreneurs have participated in #SheMeansBusiness workshops in over 10 cities, since 2017. “When women do better, we all benefit. Filipino small business owners are resourceful and we want them to understand how going digital can expand their ventures. Through the #SheMeansBusiness program and our partnership with Connected Women and Bayan Academy, we aim to connect entrepreneurial women with empowering tools, peers and networks.” said Clair Deevy, Director of Community Affairs, APAC and Latin America, Facebook.

“Tools like Facebook has made it easier to grow your business and build better relationships with your customers. At Connected Women, we aim to educate women entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs on digital tools so they can scale their businesses, and reach a global market, even while staying close to home,” said Gina Romero, CEO and Co-Founder of Connected Women. “We hope women entrepreneurs who attended our workshops across the Philippines can take the lessons and bring their business ideas to life.”

Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs

Beyond the workshops, participants also heard firsthand experiences from those who participated in previous #SheMeansBusiness workshops including, Catherine Taleon of Cabautan, Iloilo, who owns Balay Tablea, and Daisy Catague-Cababasay, chef and owner of Takuri Cafe in Iloilo.

Catherine shared how she started out by putting in a small investment on tablea to try and get a feel of the business landscape. When she finally decided to open up Balay Tablea, she made sure to support local farmers while producing a distinct quality chocolate from Iloilo City. After attending a #SheMeansBusiness workshop in Iloilo, she learned about building the brand, driving exports, increasing sales, and attracting new customers using Facebook tools.

“When I started my business, it was more of a side line and involved only me doing all the work. But being part of a network of women entrepreneurs in #SheMeansBusiness, I gained access to tools and expertise that helped me take my tablea business to the next level. Today we are working with cacao farmers in Panay Island, and also working with women in an indigenous community who help weave our product packaging,” said Catherine Taleon of Balay Tablea. “It is truly a good feeling to be able to pay it forward to the communities that make cacao production possible, and to share the distinct taste and quality of Cacao to our customers not only in our province, but also in key cities in the Philippines.”

^{(PHOTO) Entrepreneur Catherine Taleon, Connected Women CEO and co-founder Gina Romero, Entrepreneur Daisy Catague-Cababasay.}

Daisy meanwhile, talked about how her age (she’s 58) and perceived disability (having had total hip replacement) didn’t deter her from putting up Takuri Café—which serves Asian fusion cuisine. She learned more on how to market her business online after attending a #SheMeansBusiness workshop in Zamboanga.

“It was truly amazing that at my age, I am continuously learning. In the workshop, I learned a lot about how to make the most out of Facebook—including the way we should post and how we should interact with our customers. These are things I never really thought about before, and they helped the business grow much more than expected,” Daisy said.

These are just two of the many success stories seen by Connected Women founder Gina Romero since her group started mounting the #SheMeansBusiness event together with Facebook, with support from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Bayan Academy. She hopes to see more as they bring the workshop to other parts of the country.

Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Helping businesses connect with the people they care about is part of that mission and, to that end, the Facebook #SheMeansBusiness initiative is committed to helping female small business owners and entrepreneurs.

We are the leaders, activists, innovators, and visionaries – whether in the public eye or behind the scenes – who are revolutionizing the way people think and live. We are #ConnectedWomen.
Join the Connected Women community now, it’s free!

Join us at our next FREE #SheMeansBusiness event on December 12, 2018 at Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines!
connectedwomen.co/palawan

The post Facebook’s #SheMeansBusiness Empowers Women Entrepreneurs appeared first on Connected Women - Entrepreneurs, Freelancers and Professionals..

#SheMeansBusiness has been launched in 21 markets around the world, including the Philippines, and is designed to reach both aspiring and established women entrepreneurs through a series of workshops and online resources that will arm them with the knowledge, skills, connections, and technology required to build and grow their business.

In the Philippines, over a thousand Filipino women entrepreneurs have participated in #SheMeansBusiness workshops in over 10 cities, since 2017. “When women do better, we all benefit. Filipino small business owners are resourceful and we want them to understand how going digital can expand their ventures. Through the #SheMeansBusiness program and our partnership with Connected Women, we aim to connect entrepreneurial women with empowering tools, peers and networks.” said Clair Deevy, Director of Community Affairs, APAC and Latin America, Facebook.

“Tools like Facebook has made it easier to grow your business and build better relationships with your customers. At Connected Women, we aim to educate women entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs on digital tools so they can scale their businesses, and reach a global market, even while staying close to home,” said Gina Romero, CEO and Co-Founder of Connected Women. “Today, we hope women entrepreneurs who attended our event here in Bacolod can take the lessons from the workshop to bring their business ideas to life.”

Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs

Beyond the workshops, participants also heard firsthand experiences from those who participated in previous #SheMeansBusiness workshops including, Rechilda Solina of Iriga City, who owns the online-based essential oil business Thank You Lord God Herbal Industry or TYLG Herbal Industry and Daisy Catague-Cababasay, chef and owner of Takuri Cafe in Iloilo.

Rechilda shared how she was able to rebuild her life when she learned how to create homemade vapor rub after a series of bad business investments. Still, it was not without its challenges.

“We offer different kinds of massage oils—aromatherapy oil, turmeric rub, and other kinds of oil. At first, it was difficult to sell the product especially since it was new to people, and most said that they don’t want it,” said Rechilda.

After attending a #SheMeansBusiness workshop in Albay, she learned more about using Facebook tools and saw her business grow. “Facebook greatly helped our business. Because of the training, I was able to improve our business page and since then, a lot of people have already inquired about how much and where they can buy my products,” added Rechilda.

^{Facebook communications manager in the Philippines Michelle Fojas, entrepreneur Daisy Catague-Cababasay, Connected Women CEO and co-founder Gina Romero, entrepreneur Richilda Solina, and Facebook public policy manager in the Philippines Christopher Kuzhuppilly.}

Daisy meanwhile, talked about how her age (she’s 58) and perceived disability (having had total hip replacement) didn’t deter her from putting up Takuri Café—which serves Asian fusion cuisine. She learned more on how to market her business online after attending a #SheMeansBusiness workshop in Zamboanga.

“It was truly amazing that at my age, I am continuously learning. In the workshop, I learned a lot about how to make the most out of Facebook—including the way we should post and how we should interact with our customers. These are things I never really thought about before, and they helped the business grow much more than expected,” Daisy said.

These are just two of the many success stories seen by Connected Women founder Gina Romero since her group started mounting the #SheMeansBusiness event together with Facebook, with support from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Bayan Academy. She hopes to see more as they bring the workshop to other parts of the country.

Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Helping businesses connect with the people they care about is part of that mission and, to that end, the Facebook #SheMeansBusiness initiative is committed to helping female small business owners and entrepreneurs.

We are the leaders, activists, innovators, and visionaries – whether in the public eye or behind the scenes – who are revolutionizing the way people think and live. We are #ConnectedWomen.
Join the Connected Women community now, it’s free!

Join us at our next FREE #SheMeansBusiness event on June 21, 2019 in Alabang, Metro Manila, Philippines!
connectedwomen.co/metromanila

The post Facebook’s #SheMeansBusiness Empowers Women Entrepreneurs In Bacolod appeared first on Connected Women - Entrepreneurs, Freelancers and Professionals..

As women continue to be a driving force for change around the world, this series aims to highlight those who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to creating an impact.

In this exclusive interview, Connected Women caught up with Adele Lim, following the recent launch of her second book, Love With Passion and Perspective.

Adele is founder of Rawfully Whole and Whole Capacity, a global web of catalysts facilitating movement and innovation in change and growth. Taking life in strides, Adele’s work places emphasis on systemic approaches and leading from the core, inspiring and sustaining change on multiple levels. Adele is also author of Live Your Whole Capacity.

We are so happy to have Adele with us at Connected Women. Our interview with her will soothe and recharge you.

Tell us about you and your business and what you were doing before?

I support people in times of significant work or life change, whether individually or in a group, personally or in families and organisations, privately or through programmes. I work with others using tools and processes through what I call Catalyse Sessions.

My work comes to life through co-creative partnership. I am with clients as they develop their own framework, mapping processes and ways of being, changing and growing.

I write, speak, coach and consult about change, and I facilitate dialogues and interventions in surfacing what converged to emerge and weaving in what emerged to convergence.

I began my career in Finance and learnt that I enjoyed working with people more than with numbers, so back in 2008, I made a formal career switch to Human Resources as a Chartered HR Professional. Through various jobs in this arena, I discovered my calling in organisation development as taught by the NTL Institute. I knew something was changing in my corporate life.

As life would have it, I experienced a breakthrough moment one night, and something shifted deep within. This strange spontaneous experience was followed by a book idea, a pregnancy and stepping into life as a trailing spouse.

The rocky road as an expat wife and new mother, coupled with marital problems, sucked me into a cloud of transformation that brought me closer to understanding my guiding inner light. Struggles and blessings intertwined, as challenges in my marriage brought clarity to my dreams, desires and boundaries, surfacing contexts for me to ground my expansion.

My international divorce brought another context into play, not only renewing the sense of purpose that propels towards visions but actually bringing the visions forward to meet creation in the moment. This is the space where dreams are being lived today.

Living A Life In Flow

I love what I do and I am grateful for every minute that I am able to find joy in what I do and do what I find joy in. I love every minute that I can be that joy. My dreams and desires keep me up at night and get me out of bed every morning. Being with my daughter, watching her grow and learning from her, lets me live my blessings every single day.

I love being in flow, because when I feel flow, everything clicks in place quickly. Love and money flow more easily with a sense of well-being and safety when I am not working hard or searching directly for it. I love that everything I need is just there waiting for me to be ready and all I need to do is to return to who I am, to return to Source, to Re-Source when I am feeling ‘off’.

I love co-creating what brings joy, freedom and growth. It so aligns with who I am.

Coming Face-to-Face With Entrepreneurial & Life Challenges

We can be very problem-focused, and our tendency is to equate the elimination of the problem with success. However, if we do not give enough attention to what is already going in the desired direction and give that energy, we are not helping ourselves as we will not be ready to receive what we want.

We operate very differently when we feel abundant in love and well-being, and we can thrive instead of survive even during the most challenging of times. When we can step into true empowerment, standing on a place of responding with love instead of fighting in anger over injustice… when we can stand in the throes of darkness, hold space and bring light, illumination shifts energy to flow.

My biggest lesson in life is that nothing is what
it seems once you truly and deeply, look at it.

In Hindsight

I would not be where I am today, experiencing so much love and well-being, if not for what society and culture would deem as ‘failure’ and nowhere have I experienced so much pain and conflict than when I am in what society and culture deem ‘success’. So much so that the flipping and flopping between these human experiences had me truly live and experience consequence and result, to love deeply and to embody real-life living of whole systems capacity.

I am honestly not sure if I would change anything. The Butterfly Effect as they say. And I love who I am today. If I changed one thing, I don’t know if I would be where I want to be.

Adele’s work now has her meet others at crucial points in their lives. She believes
The Perfect Storm wakes us up to our innate capability of rebirthing ourselves,
that she was brave enough to then tread cross-border divorce and share her wisdom from
that experience, and that she has been using her whole self to create spaces that inspire
joyful growth and freedom.

We are the leaders, activists, innovators and visionaries – whether in the public eye or behind the scenes – who are revolutionising the way people think and live. We are #ConnectedWomen.

Join #ConnectedWomen on Facebook

The post #ConnectedWomen: Adele Lim, Founder of Rawfully Whole and Whole Capacity appeared first on Connected Women - Entrepreneurs, Freelancers and Professionals..

As women continue to be a driving force for change around the world, this series aims to highlight those who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to creating an impact.

Victoria Mintey, Founder of Presence and Impact Training, proves they have plenty of similarities. Business owners and corporate workers alike can learn powerful skills from actors.

Victoria has made it her job to teach just that and from her love of acting has even established Wag the Dog Theater. There are so many golden nuggets of motivation in our interview with Victoria, read on!

Tell us about you and your business and what you were doing before?

My business is the art of person-to-person communication. This manifests in two ways: I’m a theatre actress and a coach in Presence and Impact.

You might be thinking “how can a performer relate to challenges in the corporate world”? Actors are in the business of clear storytelling (the script), emotional connection (the delivery), empathizing with other people (the characters), and moving others (the audience) to think and feel something new.

I’ve seen these issues come up time and again in meetings, presentations and conversations at work. As an actor, I do a lot of corporate role play and training simulations.

People are often so overwhelmed with tasks and targets they forget to appeal to one another at a human level. This is counterproductive and so our workshops have been developed using an actor’s tools of mental presence, emotional connection and improvisation to create People-Centric (rather than PowerPoint-centric!) communication. This benefits all of us!

A Hidden Dream Turned Real Life

I (secretly) wanted to be an actress when I was growing up but, being pragmatic and academic, I first went to university and got my Bachelors degree in Psychology and Anthropology. These subjects reflect my perpetual curiosity about humanity and humanness and have really shaped and informed my workshops.

So, after graduating from a top drama school, I should have been ready to live the dream, right? How did I take to life as a working actor? Particularly in London, it is a difficult career to manage. It is hard to get auditions, let alone land roles. It is hard to have a social life or make time for your family when working on a show. Actors face a lot of rejection and self-doubt.

I can hear you say, “Why do it? Why tolerate this? Get a real job!!” I can honestly say that working on a show makes me feel like nothing else on earth. And, far from waning over time, this feeling seems to only intensify as my career moves forward.

I’ve now taken an extra step that I never dreamed of and started a theatre company, Wag the Dog Theatre. Our first production, ‘The Memory of Water’ by Shelagh Stephenson had rave reviews in June/July this year. I am pinching myself, hardly able to believe the twists and turns on the journey so far.

Learning Self-Respect

Since becoming a business owner there have definitely been times I wished all I had to do each day was show up 9-5 at an office and do what I’m told – but then I wouldn’t be me and I would never have met the fascinating people that I’m privileged to work with.

I thrive on the unexpected and I’d hate for every day to feel the same.

The biggest challenge that I faced in the early stages of running my coaching business is that sometimes I would still behave like a hopeful actress. Waiting to be told “you got the part” and desperately nodding, smiling and agreeing to everything in case someone changed their mind about hiring me.

I’ve learned to respect my own abilities and admit when I need help or don’t understand what’s going on. The best advice I can give anyone striking out on their own is: be curious, be open, ask questions and back yourself!

If I was to rewind and meet myself as a young drama-school graduate in London I would ask her to be more pro-active, to believe in her talent and entreat others to believe in her too.

Do not wait in the shadows! Pecking order and deference be damned!

Do not fear those who proclaim they hold the keys to the kingdom. Instead, admire and emulate this behavior. Be tenacious, be genuine and remember you are a good person and that counts for a lot.

Work With Victoria

Improve your presentation style. Join the PIT Speakers’ Circle in Singapore to practise and hone your public speaking skills. Register here.

I do not regret the things I have done but those that I did not do.

We are the leaders, activists, innovators and visionaries – whether in the public eye or behind the scenes
– who are revolutionising the way people think and live. We are #ConnectedWomen.

Join #ConnectedWomen on Facebook

The post #ConnectedWomen: Victoria Mintey, Founder of Presence and Impact Training appeared first on Connected Women - Entrepreneurs, Freelancers and Professionals..