21/07/2025
🆙
LeadList Origins: A true story + tip for aspiring lead generation researchers
(Part 3) The Part-Time Era and a Pandemic Pivot
From 2016 to 2019, I was working in the digital workspace part-time. That setup worked best for me at the time — flexible enough for my health and other responsibilities. I lived simply and worked as a freelance virtual assistant, mainly doing:
🖥 Research & Data Entry Assistant (2016–2020)
💬 Non-Voice Customer Service (2018–2020)
I couldn’t disclose the exact companies, but those were my freelance side hustles during that time. Then March 2020 came — and so did the pandemic.
Everything changed.
While others worried about job security and commuting, I felt guilty just traveling to my best friend’s place — where I had been working as her stand-in for years. I was afraid I might carry the virus and put her and her family at risk, and she also worried about my safety while traveling. She eventually encouraged me to start working from home instead.
With help from my cousin (who lent me a laptop temporarily) and later my best friend (who let me use hers for two more months), I managed to continue working — until I couldn't anymore.
That same month, I also tried applying to Upwork again — and finally got accepted! I had been editing my profile on and off since 2017, but it was always rejected, maybe because I lacked the fundamentals and experience back then. But in March 2020, I finally got in. It felt like perfect timing. Sadly, I still couldn’t land a job there, so I just let my profile sit in silence.
Eventually, my best friend had to take back her laptop. I understood — so we ended my stand-in work from that point. I had no device of my own… and no stable job either.
But I had ₱3,000, some guts, and a whole lot of prayer.
That’s when Jess Online Shop was born.
I didn’t even have a laptop — I used only my phone to operate the page. I managed with mobile data most of the time, and occasionally connected to my aunt’s WiFi when it was available.
I knew nothing about online selling — but I sold whatever I could: face masks, face shields, essentials, anti-rad glasses, lip tints, phone cases. I bought wholesale and did free meet-ups around the city. Sometimes I only earned ₱100–₱300 per delivery, but it helped us survive.
A freelancing school even sent 3 trainees to help with my product graphics and page layout as part of their practicum. Shoutout to my cousin-in-law too, who created the shop's page.
Then in August 2020, I saw a post in a Facebook group:
An agency was hiring Junior Lead Generation Researchers.
I didn’t even have a laptop — I borrowed my aunt’s old Mac just to apply and attend the interview. I was accepted under probation.
Just days before that, I remember looking up at the sky and praying — no complaints, just gratitude, even if others saw my little shop as “just playing.”
For me, it was a lifeline.
I believed something better was coming.
And I was right.
🟢 Tip for Aspiring Researchers:
Resourcefulness is your greatest tool.
Whether you're doing online selling from your phone or borrowing a Mac just to make it to an interview — every small, scrappy move is a sign of grit. That same grit fuels your growth as a researcher.
📘 To be continued in Part 4
