my first query

April 19, 2011 Leave a Comment

Just right after I posted an entry about how I’ll have to wait until Design Me Pretty starts rolling, I got an email from somebody asking me about my services. It is not yet a fix order but the fact that somebody is interested really made my day. :)

Last week, I asked my friend, Lamielle, if she could let me practice on her blog. I have no experience with designing Blogger blogs so it was sort of an even deal. She gets a blog design and I get to practice on a real Blogger blog. I offered to do the design for free but she has to trust me that I won’t turn her blog to a crap. Like I said, I have no experience with Blogger at all and I was not even sure if I can create a decent design. I was not able to guarantee that I can deliver a design so I didn’t charge her for anything and I was not expecting anything in return.

I have a test blog running on Blogger. I set it up a week ago so I have something to practice on but I am too lazy to put all those thingy on the sidebar. I was (and still is) too lazy to gather scripts from different websites and display things on the sidebar of my test blog. I needed a real looking blog ASAP so I asked Lamielle.

Designing a Blogger blog is much more difficult for me than designing a WordPress blog. I guess, that’s because I am used to WordPress. When I decided to practice on Lamielle’s blog, I was only relying on the knowledge I know about designing a WordPress blog. I thought, it shouldn’t be so different. But boy, it is! The design I did for Lamielle’s blog was actually so simple, nothing special, but I needed to shed some serious sweat to complete it. LOL. Anyway, I am challenged and I am determined to learn more about designing a Blogger blog. Fortunately, Lamielle agreed that I could continuously use her blog as my practicing grounds. LOL.

In other news, I think I have some really nice friends in the blogging world and I am really thankful to them! Lamielle already wrote a post about my blog designing services and another friend, Sterndal, not just wrote a post about my blog designs but she also gave me some linky love in her blogs. Ruthi also offered to help me in getting the word out by offering ads on her blog. Sweet!

 

Filed Under: Usual Rants, Work and Business Tagged With: , , , ,

project launched!

April 12, 2011 5 Comments
design me a pretty blog

Design Me Pretty is launched!

Design Me Pretty is now launched! And if you are interested in getting a pretty blog design for as low as 25$ (for Blogger) and 45$ (for WordPress), you should place your orders now because Design Me Pretty is offering 50% off on all of its designing services.

If you are running a WordPress blog and would really like a pretty blog makeover but can’t afford the 45$ (special offer), Design Me Pretty is offering a very special deal in exchange of some advertising spots in your blog. To avail this, you can leave a comment on this post or you could go over at DesisgnMePretty.com and fill out the Contact Form. Let me know that you’re interested in getting a pretty blog design in exchange of some advertising spots in you blog.

All these offers are only valid until the end of April so take your chance now and grab these great deals!

Filed Under: Hobbies and Interests, Internet and Blogging, Online Stuff, Work and Business Tagged With: ,

getting review offers

March 29, 2011 Leave a Comment

My mind is so full of ideas—of future projects I have want to do and these have been occupying my mind lately. In addition to that, I am also distracted by other things like the appeal of watching online movies (since we just got an unlimited high-speed internet plan) and the appeal of reading some of my unread books.  As a result, I was not really able to work that much last week and I regret that.

I have 2 review offers which are quite easy to do—one pays 25$ and the other 15$. I am really tempted to accept those opps but the thing is, it should be written on my freelancing blog and I don’t want that because I bowed that I won’t use ViennaLopez.com for PTB schemes. I want to keep that blog free from paid reviews. I would, of course, be very much thankful if My Pink Notes and Vien’s Pot can get some opps but according to SocialSpark, they can’t accept these blogs yet because they don’t have 20 posts (each) in the last 90 days.

So, it breaks my heart to decline those opps (a total 40$) because I know that those kinds of opps are very seldom. I can just hope that the next time I submit MyPinkNotes and ViensPot, they’ll be accepted. But before resubmitting the aforementioned blogs, I have to populate them with posts.

Filed Under: Work and Business Tagged With: , ,

can’t get myself to do some work

March 18, 2011 Leave a Comment

It’s incredible how the weather affects my productivity. That may sound very silly but it is true. Spring is here and we’ve had some really nice and mild weather days ago and during those days, I felt that I have so much energy for doing something. I took leisurely walks to enjoy the sun but in between leisurely moments, I did some work. This week however, the weather does not seem to cooperate. Like right now, it is gloomy and wet and if I look out of the window, all I see make me want to stay in bed.

My freelance jobs’ assignments are plenty and so are my house chores, but here I am still in my pajamas. I’d be happy to tell you that I am sitting in front of my desk and trying to do some work but that’s not what I am doing. Instead, I am sitting comfortably on the couch while being surrounded by all the throw pillows we have. I have my laptop on the couch’s armrest and every now and then, I tap on the keyboards to write in a few sentences.

lazy vien

No I am not sick, just plain lazy.

I am not working and this entry is written purely for the sake of that: to avoid work. I don’t know why I feel like this today. Of course, I suspect it’s just because of the gloomy weather but a corner of my mind says that low self-discipline should be held responsible.

Filed Under: Usual Rants, Work and Business Tagged With: , ,

a good business package

January 23, 2011 Leave a Comment

I was chatting with a former colleague of mine a few days ago. We worked together in China as teachers. After years of having no communication, we spend hours and hours talking about what’s new and what had happened in our lives since we left China.

She left China a year after me and she went back t the Philippines to start her own business. She told me that she’d rather start a business than go back to teaching. Considering the very minimal salary of teachers in my home country, I agree with her. But when she told me that, I was a bit doubtful because I know for a fact that she does not have any background in running a business at all so when I asked how she’s managing it, she explained the whole thing to me.

She bought a business package. It’s like there’s one company that will set up the business for you and will provide the machines and the supplies you need. They will also set up a website for your business and they will train you in running the business. So it’s like a package—a business for dummies so to speak. You buy it and it will be made ready for you. I think that’s cool.

She told me that her business, which is providing custom billboard prints and custom vinyl banners is a hit. She said, she’s glad that she decided to do it. When I asked her how much it cost her, she told me that it’s just around a million pesos. The thing that made it expensive is the printing machine but depends on your choice of printer, the business package could also be much cheaper.

Such business is definitely not for me but I think it is perfect for her.

Filed Under: Money and Finances, Work and Business

choosing an employer

January 9, 2011 2 Comments

Landing a freelance job is not that easy. First, you have to compete with all the other freelancers who are offering their services for a price which is way cheaper than yours. I, myself, already received a lot of rejection from employers because my rate is too high for them.

I think the rate I offer for my services is very fair but because a lot of equally good freelancers offer lower rates, they have a better chance of getting the jobs. I thought of lowering my rate too but it is just not worth it so recently, I started choosing the employers and companies I apply to.

At Odesk, a company checks providers (freelancers) through the freelancers’ profile where they can see the credentials, job history, and how much the providers bid for the jobs they accepted. Providers, on the other hand, can also check the employers’ history whenever they view the job posting and this is what I started doing recently.  I look at the employer’s history to see if the employer pays good or not. If I see that an employer only hires those who offer an hourly rate below 5$ then I don’t bother applying for the job.

Sometimes, I get a bit lucky because I get to be interviewed for the jobs I apply for but more often than not; I don’t get to go past the interview. The reason is I declined most of them because employers really expect a lot from the rate I offer them. I mean for example, there was a job where I bid 7$/hr. I got an interview and during the interview the employer told me that he’ll only be paying for the writing part which is very unfair because his given topics require a lot of research so I told him nicely that if I don’t get paid for the hours I spend for researching then I won’t accept the job. He told me that 7$/hr is already very expensive for a writing job so he expects that research is already included there. That’s where the interview normally ends.

I am still hoping though that I will find a fair employer at Odesk soon.

Filed Under: Work and Business Tagged With: , , ,

rewarding myself

July 21, 2010 2 Comments

Finally, I am on summer break.

That was a year of hard work and I am glad I got through it. There were times when I thought… I should just quit and be a bum but every time I get those ideas, I also find the courage to continue. Work life here in Europe is stressful. Everybody demands something from you and you just have to fulfill all these demands.

So I am thinking of rewarding myself for a job well done. First, I thought of buying an ipod touch 32G but hubby already has one and I am free to use it anytime I want. We don’t need two ipods in this house. And on the other hand, my iphone can do all the things an ipod can do so an ipod is completely unnecessary.

A Macbook Pro would be a really good reward but it is quite expensive too and I am not sure if I really want to spend my hard earned money on such luxury. My reasonable side is telling me that I don’t have to spend that much on a new computer but my diabolic side is telling me to go on with it since it looks like I will have to go through another year of hard work again.

MacBook Pro or no MacBook Pro, I hope that I still have enough patience to do the same job for at least another year.

Filed Under: Electronics and Software, Money and Finances, Work and Business Tagged With: , , ,

well and working again

March 15, 2010 Leave a Comment

I met my head teacher for a cup of coffee a few days ago to talk about some things concerning my employment and some matters about my job. She told me that she’s quite pleased with me and that she’s been getting a lot of positive feedback from the parents of my pupils (pat my back…wink*). I love my job but last week, it took its toll on me. I got sick and when I was sick, I realized a few things and I think that my head teacher realized some things too.

When the doctor told me to stay at home for three days, I missed nine classes. That might not sound a lot but for a small private learning center that means, we lost a lot of money that week. There were no available teachers to take over my classes so they were all canceled. The parents, understandably, don’t have to pay for the canceled classes. I realized my worth in the learning center and the bad side of me immediately thought of asking a pay raise but the good side of me (and also because I am not an opportunist) told me not to do that. I have a fair salary and I although a better salary will do me good now, I think I can wait until I am offered or until I feel that I really deserve a pay raise.

I can see that my head teacher has so many things in mind. She badly needs a new teacher and an office assistant. She told me, there are so many things she has to do herself like getting her business cards and our learning center’s print ads printed. I told her to get them done online instead because there is definitely an online printing company available already. She doesn’t have to leave her office table to do that.

I want to help her with some of the office work but I think I can only manage to handle my 15 classes per week now because I really don’t want to get sick again.

Filed Under: Daily Life, Work and Business Tagged With: , ,
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