Photos by Aireen Remoto, Angel Pua
THERE’S a saying that goes, “no man’s an island”, but a woman sporting a red bob and wearing leg-high leather boots came to MINT to disprove this.
Last November 3, MINT students and alumni met with Karen Ferry-Fernandez, a freelance extraordinaire and author of “WHATDA? Anong Petsa Na!”, to learn about the art of freelancing.
A creative freelancer for eight years running, Fernandez goes by the moniker “RaketChick,” which signify her new persona as an independent professional. She began by sharing about the perks in doing freelance work.
“No one tells me when to clock-in and out. I don’t have a boss. I can say no to a client, say when our creative vision is different from each other, or if I’m fully booked. Plus, I get to balance my work and personal life,” she said.
MINT’s young creatives were engaged in a five-point talk covering topics like proper self-promotion, pitching ideas for a service or a product, and keeping the interest of consumers in your brand. She also prepared ‘challenges’ in between, which let MINT artists experience the daily hustle of--in her own words--an “indiepreneur”.
Despite the merits of being a solo professional, there is the unavoidable hitch of irregular income flow. She explained that since it’s a per-project basis, a freelancer can only earn as as the number of projects he/she accepts every month.
“There will be times na I’m earning 6-digit figures, tapos this month lang, four digits na lang!” she said in jest. Furthermore, she also explained that freelancers affect each other, especially in pricing. She described the network as an “ecosystem”, saying that if a freelancer declare lower prices for a service or product, consumers would have a general idea to always avail lower prices from other freelancers.
But before she became “RaketChick”, she was once a creative director in an advertising company for 15 years. During that time, she shared that she was set to become an Executive Creative Director (ECD), which she worked on relentlessly for years to get.
“I really fought hard to become an ECD. [However,] when I finally got it, na-bore ako [...] I think kasi natapos ko na, narating ko na ‘yung gusto ko,” she admitted.
It was the thrill of being her own boss, and finally having time to pursue other creative projects and personal endeavors, that encouraged her to leave her job. Now that she’s a freelancer, she said it allowed her to keep learning something new.
“Every skill that I have right now is self-taught. I attended a lot of workshops. It’s because at the end of the day, kung sino ‘yung mas may maraming alam, siya ‘yung magkakaroon ng pinakamaraming projects,” Fernandez said.
She shares that her battle cry, “Ay leche! Ginusto mo iyan, so galingan mo,”, is a reminder to MINT’s young creatives to give their best effort as they venture into freelancing. W
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ANGEL FLORENCE PUA is a senior high school Film student in MINT College who is deeply in love with learning, creating and almost anything concerning the Arts. She is a passionate individual with a heart for God and determination to share her stories and those of others to the world.
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