Elbert Guintivano was a Field Service Engineer managing his employer’s operations at the Southern California region when he came into close contact with remote work. Aside from experiencing it firsthand, transitioning from an office-based to a home-based/on-the-road arrangement, he was also serving people in the startup industry who were working remotely. When he was sent to the Southeast Asian region to expand his company’s operations, he was excited of the potential for personal growth. In Singapore, he worked closely with freelancers who were building careers outside normal offices and office hours. Going back to the Philippines and scratching a relentless entrepreneurial itch, Elbert decided to open a co-working space to serve the freelancing community in his home country. Ground Up was born. ABOUT GROUND UP Ground Up Coworking Spaces is part of the many services that Elbert Guintivano and his team at Ground Up Business Solutions offer to freelancers, startups, and anyone working outside offices. Located at the Sucat Area in Paranaque, Ground Up Coworking Spaces is open from Monday to Friday at 9:00 in the morning until 7:00 in the evening. But because freelancers work in different schedules, Elbert and his team are flexible in their operating hours.Their rates range from a hundred pesos an hour to P450 a day with options to buy monthly subscriptions that save their customers a lot of money. Working at Ground Up comes with unlimited coffee, strong wifi, options to work in private spaces, and lots of business-related services—like accounting, HR, marketing, legal, and secretarial services—all in one space. KEY TAKEAWAYS In this Freelance Blend Podcast episode, I chat with Elbert Guintivano on a Facebook Live video to talk about his journey from traditional employment to entrepreneurship. Of course, Elbert talks about Ground Up and all the awesome services they bring to the Pinoy freelance community. Watch or listen to this episode to learn about: * Elbert’s reflection on the freelancing industry in Singapore and the differences and similarities he noticed compared with the Philippines * Elbert’s take on the edge that Filipinos have in the international freelance industry * Why Elbert got back to the Philippines * How self-reflection led Elbert to dip his foot into entrepreneurship and why doing so was a courageous move * Why Elbert chose to start a co-working space and the process he took to set it up * Elbert’s thoughts on taking calculated risks as an entrepreneur and making sure that family members are involved in the decision-making process * The benefits of working in a co-working space for a freelancer versus working at home * Things you can do in a co-working space which you can’t do in a coffee shop * Ground Up’s rates and services * Elbert’s plans for the future—like establishing partnerships with restaurants to bring the Ground Up experience nearer to you QUOTE “As we were conceptualizing in building the space, there were always opportunities that came over to me to go back to corporate. However, when I weighed the heart—actually the mind makes decisions but the heart helps you make that emotional connection—the heart was telling me that entrepreneurship is where I want to go.” LINKS * To learn more about Ground Up Coworking Spaces and other services that Elbert Guintivano and his team are offering, visit their website at groundup.ph * Like Ground Up Business Solutions’ Facebook page at facebook.com/GroundUpBusinessSolutions * Having something to ask Elbert himself?