A new breed of working mothers

MANILA, Philippines - Balancing work and family is tough as it is if you’re a mom with a regular office job. But working from home while remaining a full-time mom with no household help? Seems like a tougher act to accomplish.

Many Filipino mothers, however, have successfully found a balance between the two. In fact, they have already launched thriving businesses, established online writing careers, and explored their artistic and creative talents while at the same time attending to their mommy duties.

Former lifestyle journalist Annie Villasin-Young has been working from home since 2008.

“I’ve worked for different companies from 1996 to 2008. I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and practiced it as reporter and feature writer for a broadsheet and magazine for about eight years. I’ve also tried working for companies as PR writer, language editor, as well as a medical transcriptionist. The last company I worked in as regular employee is Synthescribe, as a medical transcriptionist and subsequently as medical transcription editor in the same company. The company closed down in 2008, and since then I’ve worked home-based,” the mom to third-grader Reese says.

It was also around that time that Annie’s husband Henry started to work abroad.

“So I found it best to care for our daughter Reese and stay at home, especially when she was about to start formal schooling,” she says.

It was in 2010 that Annie decided to put up her own balloon decorating business, Annie’s Balloon and Party Stuff. She put up the company in 2010. A small space in her unit in Quezon City serves as her “office.”

“A lot of business ideas came to mind, but it was the art and craft of making balloon decorations that caught my interest. I also thought that certain aspects of the party needs business somehow suit a new business mom like me. Thus, I decided to pursue balloon décor training and did some researches as well in that regard. Much to my delight, this newfound interest did rekindle my passion for creativity, which was showcased in my past activities as a young student and as a staffer of my alma mater’s publication,” Annie writes in her company website, anniesballoonsphilippines.com.

For former elementary teacher Mary Grace Espiel, meanwhile, the decision to work from home “wasn’t planned.”

“After giving birth, I tried to look for a day job but I’d always miss my baby. After praying for guidance, I made a decision to stay at home, only for a year at first. But I eventually decided to still work from home to spend more time with my baby as and pursue my master’s degree,” the mother to one-year-old Joaquin reveals.

Like Annie, Gracie’s first home-based job involved online writing and editing.

“I was introduced to Odesk by a friend who’s also a home-based working mom,” she says.

Odesk is one of the many online marketplaces populating the web today wherein foreign companies hire and manage remote workers either for full-time or freelance basis.

“I created a profile there in September 2011 and I have worked on several hourly and fix-priced projects since then. The clients are usually from another country and they pay in dollars,” Gracie says.

It was also through Odesk that she eventually found her “regular” stay-at-home job.

“I applied to the company I’m working for now through Odesk, but I’m directly working as a writer for the company now,” Gracie says.

To schedule…or not

Asked how they have managed to strike a balance between their job and being a mom, Annie and Grace have differing approaches.

“I don’t really have a formula,” Annie says. “I just do what had to be done on a daily basis as a mother and someone in charge of the household, and then I just do my best in balloon-decorating if I have clients.”

Annie’s typical day involves waking up early and preparing breakfast for her daughter before sending her to school. She doesn’t have household help so she prepares everything her daughter needs—from uniform to lunch box---and also walks her to school.

After taking a short rest, Annie then checks her e-mail, Facebook account and business page to see for orders or inquiries.

“I coordinate with assistants if I have a scheduled event. I plan and draw my balloon décor designs, so my assistant would have an idea on what we’ll do for a particular event. I only buy my supplies whenever there’s an event booked,” she says.

Grace, meanwhile, has a schedule down pat.

“I realized that working from home is really more difficult than being a housewife or being a working mom so it’s important to schedule a separate time for work and really stick to that schedule as much as possible,” she says.

Grace’s day would start with morning chores and feeding and bathing her baby.

“When he’s already asleep, I start working at 10 am. Then I’ll have my lunch break and work again from 2 to 6 pm after. I stop once in awhile to breastfeed. When I have writing deadlines, I either start working earlier or extend my working hours,” she says.

A different kind of fulfillment

Despite the tight deadlines and other challenges that come with their stay-at-home jobs, though, both Annie and Gracie love the fact that they get to spend more time with their kids.

“The main advantage for me as a mom is that I have more time for my baby. I work at my own pace, although I have to adjust when there are tight deadlines. I love the idea of not having to wake up so early and commute every day,” Gracie says.

For Annie, the best thing about it is that moms like her are able to maximize their potentials.

“If being a mother gives you a sense of fulfillment, then being able to also manage and control your business doubles the fulfillment. It’s totally being your own boss. It’s your own time, your own pacing, and your own strategy. At the same time, I’m also able to guide Reese in her studies, to have the right study habits more importantly, so that even when I’m busy attending to our business, she’ll need less guidance already when it comes to her studies. This school year, she’s now in the third grade and she’s doing very well in school and that makes me proud being a mom, having a daughter who’s really enthusiastic to learn even on her own,” she says.

Advice from one mom to another

So what is their advice to moms who would like to work from home, too?

“There are now a lot of opportunities for you since outsourcing is an ‘in’ thing right now,” Gracie says. “Working at home is a great way to earn a living while still spending a lot of time with your children.”

Annie, meanwhile, advises moms to enlarge their world and open themselves to new challenges.

“I started out with less than five thousand pesos with this balloon-decorating business. At first I thought failure is not an option. You don’t have to start big. Enlarging your world doesn’t mean you need to climb a mountain. I just went for it as I saw the business’ potential, too,” she says.