Jomar Hilario’s Virtual Careers Summit: Date With Freedom 2017 recently took place. Over 100 people, composed of summit participants, their family and friends (more on this later) attended.

You may remember that two years ago, I was one of its speakers. This time around, I heard 10 success stories of virtual professionals AND a client (Dr. Sixto Carlos of Makati Dog and Cat Hospital). For the second time around, Preacher in Blue Jeans Bro. Bo Sanchez stopped the summit because of his presence – literally!

Here’s what I learned: the virtual professional speakers were getting better, not only in speaking but also in their online careers.

Do you know why?

Because they learned from others who got in the online career path first. They got the best practices. They took note of the face palm moments and decided to never do it.

AND they included their great personalities.

Nagmo-morph din pala ang virtual professionals, ano?

It was a day of learning, fun, and meeting new aspiring virtual professionals, and my super friends!

Here are some of the highlights of the Date With Freedom Summit:

Liza Dela Cruz tells us that YES, there is job security in virtual careers.

Yuan Natividad advised us to “forget what you feel and remember what you deserve”.

Rowell Austria told his heart tugging story about him leaving his daughter every time before he became an online professional.

Rachel Buiza brought the hands down with her amusing stories. She told me during the break that she appreciated the Skype call we did a few years ago when she was starting. I actually couldn’t remember, but hey, I think she’s doing exceptionally now!

FAM BAM Part: an interview with the family members of two of the summit speakers.

Dr. Sixto Carlos of Makati Dog and Cat Hospital shared with us the perspective of a client. He’s so humble and he. loves. marketing. period.

Rowen Iral showed us that it’s possible to ask a traditional company if we could do remote work – and they would say YES!

Jay Sarthou and Pinky Anicete (not on this photo) tempted me to change careers! They are home-based travel agents and they are getting every travel perks you can imagine.

Melvin Receno, a former OFW, shared how power words – ordinary words used at the right time – could trigger something exceptional for you.

Analyn Roque is a Virtual Manager. She hires and manages and guides virtual professionals. I love how she shows genuine concerns to all the people she hires.

What’s more, this year’s summit allowed the participants to bring their family members and friends! They also got the chance to meet virtual professionals in the flesh because aside from the speakers, there were also virtual professional guests who hopped from one table to another.

I was one of the guests during the summit so I got to transfer from one table to another and answered questions. Here are more photos!

To Jomar and his team and volunteer (hugs to all!) , plus the speakers and other guests, THANK YOU for making this happen for the third time!

12 hours. It may seem sssooo long. But if you’re having fun, it’s not enough.

Speakers and guests with Jomar. Thanks, Jomar, for making this happen!

To all the Date With Freedom participants, here are some of my unsolicited advices from two years ago (don’t worry; still works):

Date With Freedom Notes from The Avengers and J.A.R.V.I.S.

Date With Freedom Post-Evaluation