How Margareth Espero Creates Balance as a Project Manager and Mom

When Margareth Claire Espero started working as a customer service representative for U.S. companies more than ten years ago, being a business owner wasn’t on her radar.

Today, she’s a successful project manager, business consultant, and mother of two children working from her dream home in Quezon City, Philippines.

And while the secret to Margareth’s success is a mix of her drive, ingenuity, and faith, she credits Upwork with helping her to connect with valuable clients throughout the world.

Starting small—while dreaming big

“I started working in customer support for U.S. companies back in 2010, and I made the transition to doing freelance work in 2016,” Espero said. “I was mentally preparing myself before I made the jump. It was a difficult change—going from a set paycheck every 15th or 30th of the month—but at the same time, what did I have to lose? I knew I could get the freedom I always wanted. Still, I prepared myself in a way that my expectations weren’t too high right away.”

Espero started small, originally billing about $3 per hour doing customer support on her own terms. But she quickly found that she was exposed to a far more diverse array of clients through Upwork than she ever was while working in an office. This exposure allowed her to hone her skill sets—and her confidence—in new ways.

“I got to work closely with both startups and established companies. Over time, my role evolved from being customer support to being a recruitment coordinator. And after that, I worked my way up to becoming a recruitment manager,” Espero said.

Today, she helps her clients with not only HR and recruiting matters but a whole host of business and project management needs.

“In HR, you actually become someone who wears all the hats in a company,” Espero said. “So from being a recruitment manager, I became a program and project manager. Overall, my clients would always see me as supportive of their businesses. And I always tell them to imagine me as their genie, to tell me their deepest desires. What do they want to happen with their business? I’ll transform myself into becoming that kind of assistant, manager, or even HR expert for them.”

Espero enjoys when companies come to her with big ideas that they need solutions for.

“I want clients to come to me because I have the solutions they need,” she said. “I always tell everyone I work with, no matter what issues they have at hand, there are no stupid ideas. If they have any ideas, even two different ideas, on how they think they can solve a problem, they can come to me and we’ll figure it out together.”

Learning to set boundaries

Though Espero always goes the extra mile to provide exactly what her clients need, she makes sure to draw boundaries around her work and availability. She’ll be with her clients every step of the way during working hours—but when it’s the end of her working hours, she truly logs off.

“I don’t want to spread myself too thin. I always tell my clients that if they have a tight deadline, I’ll give them a realistic one,” she said.

Maintaining boundaries around her work and personal life also gives Espero the ability to pass opportunities on to other independent professionals.

“A lot of what I do for my clients requires me personally working on projects. It’s work that I can’t delegate. But, if I need someone to pull records for me or give me a quick report, and the information isn’t sensitive, I will turn to some of my colleagues that I’ve worked with in the past,” Espero said. “I always stay in touch with people I’ve worked with, and try to prioritize the ones I know who are working remotely to support their family, or who recently got laid off.”

Through her work with so many businesses, Espero has seen firsthand how relying on multiple people to do certain tasks can actually benefit a company in the long run.

“Sometimes, a client will ask me to do something for them and I could, but I don’t because I want to give the opportunity to another freelancer, especially if I know someone who might be able to do it faster than me at that moment,” she said. “I always tell my clients that having specific people doing specific tasks can help them identify where any errors are coming from a little bit faster than if one person is doing everything for you.”

She feels that saying “no” to work from time to time is good for independent talent, too.

“As you gain more knowledge, you become more confident that a company actually needs you and your superpowers,” Espero said. “When you say no to them, you’re saying yes to yourself. And sometimes, you have to choose yourself. There’s only one you. You can’t be saying yes all the time.”

Working to help other freelancers find success

Ultimately, Espero would like to help even more independent professionals find new opportunities—and long-term success.

“I never imagined myself working with multi-million dollar companies in the past. It’s something that I would have been very scared of before, but now I just see it like normal business,” she said. “I started freelancing in 2016, and I acquired my dream home in 2019. It only took me three years. And one day, I’d like to develop something to help other people that want to venture into independent work.”

Though this dream is still taking shape, she envisions a free university to help anyone in need of a fresh start.

“I’d want to start something that would help people identify their strengths. Not everyone is cut out to work at a customer support center, or be a virtual assistant,” Espero said. “I’d like to help them identify their key strengths and determine what support they need. And maybe with all the clients I've met in the past, I can help match them up, and they can have contracts on Upwork so everyone is protected. I just want to help people get started.”

Espero has a wealth of information she can pass on to other freelancers, including tips like:

• Set realistic timelines and goals for learning new skills—she gives herself six months to a year, and assesses her progress every quarter.
• Reflect on what interested you in your current role, and evaluate what next steps make sense. For Espero, she realized that she likes bringing order to chaos, and being able to watch people bring their dreams to reality. This helped lead her further into the world of HR and business consulting.
• Work to cultivate a roster of a few premium, ongoing clients, versus a larger list of smaller projects, as it can help independent professionals maintain focus.
• Remember to take time for yourself, especially if you have children. Espero notes that the most important thing for kids is their parents’ well being, not the dollars that they earn.
• Shut down your work at the end of the day. There will always be more work, and time for it, tomorrow.
• Maintain hobbies outside of work that help with mental clarity and focus—Espero enjoys boxing.
• Find the schedule that works best for you. For Espero, this means working at night while her kids are asleep—it gives her solitude.

Above all else, Espero wants solo parents, especially mothers, to know that it is indeed possible to provide for your children as an independent professional.

She’s done this herself successfully—and hopes to inspire others to do the same.

Continuing to help clients’ dreams become reality

In addition to her dream of helping other freelancers find their path, Espero sees herself still working with clients well into the future—particularly those in the startup world.

“I like working with startups because they have some wild ideas,” she said. “I want to keep sharing my insights, and really be a co-creator with my clients. I meet clients who need help launching a crazy idea, and they’re trying to do it alone. I want to have that dynamic where both parties are so curious as to what they can bring to the table—it’s very exciting!”

Interested in working with Espero to bring your own startup vision to life? Visit her Upwork profile to learn more and get in touch about your projects.