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Demi Bernice: Create the ultimate freedom

Demi Bernice is a young entrepreneur who’s a living example of how to build a business and succeed on the internet. She’s being followed by over 114k people on her Facebook page and has helped thousands of Filipino freelancers make money online.
 
Demi runs one of the best-selling online courses here in the Philippines.  She is the founder of Create and Rise Academy, an online academy platform where she teaches freelancers how to market their chosen skill, work whenever and wherever they want to enjoy the benefits of time and location freedom. It is also a library of basic skills training of the most sought after skills around the internet. Our Covergirl also proved that earning a six-digit monthly income as a freelancer is possible.

From pre-school teacher to freelancer to a full-blown entrepreneur

When Demi graduated from college, she went straight to work as a kindergarten teacher. Demi said she passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers for the sake of compliance. When Demi felt she was meant to do something more with her life, she left her teaching career and moved on to become a freelancer.

"I started as a graphic designer wanting to make more sales and have more clients and did not know how to do so. I was lost. As a matter of fact, I was too lost that I got behind 3 months in rent and P40,000 in debt."

Demi’s turning point came when she decided to stop relying on freelancing websites and took charge of her freelancing career by looking into marketing herself through social media, and that’s exactly what she’s teaching on her online platforms now. According to Demi, her business’ nature is sharing the knowledge that she has about digital marketing and helping people prosper and create freedom through it.
 
Today, demi has a successful online business that gives her the ultimate freedom and allows her to create the life she loves. It also gave her the opportunity to market and sell effectively, connect with people emotionally, build something from the ground up, and help others earn through digital marketing.  She enjoys working remotely and has a team that helps her produce high-quality content for her business.

Doing what feels right

According to Demi, she initially felt guilty for earning more than the average Filipinos. Back then, she goes to mini college reunions with so much guilt. When her classmates talked about their jobs, she wouldn’t share the success and happiness she found with her new career. That’s when she felt the urge to teach what she knows through videos. She wanted to help others find success in what they’re doing, so she created videos about online marketing and freelancing.

"If I can teach them what I do and how I did what I did to reach success, then they'd find themselves doing the same thing. I'd love for people to also take charge of their own lives instead of blaming others for their situation. I envision a Philippines that's producing high-quality services and products because they finally understand what it means to find joy in the work that they do while earning what they want so they can do what they want. All these can be achieved through digital marketing."

Overcoming the fear of feedback

Demi has always been a high achiever since her early years. When she was a teenager, she would always join in speech contests.  She never feared showing up and talking in front of an audience. However, when she started working, receiving ‘negative feedback’ was all new to her. She said that up until now, she’s struggling with it, but she never let it stop her. She still continued publishing videos and simply open the exit doors of her community for those who wish to leave.

"I am starting to create a space in my heart for negative feedback the same way I hold space for positive ones. I realized that as a human being, I judged others, and it's my prerogative. So why am I stopping people from judging me? Did the people I judge stopped me from judging them? Nope. These people have every right to criticize me. They don't need my permission to express their interest on the internet. I realized that what others say about me, negative and positive, has nothing to do with me. I will only bloom further, and I am excited to see that happen."

Demi also believes that people follow her because she is the same person on and off the camera, and on and off the social media. Her friends would even attest to that. According to Demi, she’d rather have a community that loves her for her weirdness and corny jokes than showing up as an ingenuine version of herself.

A woman in business

Demi thinks that women shouldn’t be too carried away with emotions. According to her, we shouldn’t always be wrapped up with how we feel and how we make others feel.  Success requires us to accept things as a “matter of fact” and leave our emotions behind when they’re not needed.

"I say this as a CEO. There are business and life decisions that we need to make that does not require our emotions because it's something that needs to be done, no matter how painful it is for us. Metaphorically speaking, if we are in a relationship with someone and we're not happy anymore, a lot of us, women, would want to stay because we FEEL like we need to. We love the person, we need them, etcetera. But if we take things in a logical account, we actually don't need someone who is just going to hurt us. We don't need someone who is just going to drag our business down. And so, we need to take necessary steps in order to make hard decisions. And a lot of times, our emotions are just going to deceive us and cause more burden than it should. It is because we are attached to how WE FEEL about the situation instead of WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. "

The Ultimate Freedom

It’s clear that Demi already found her success, a kind that is not defined by money and prestige. For Demi, it’s not even the business. It’s the inner peace, the relationships she built, the woman she’s become, it’s knowing who she is and where she’s going.  Demi looks forward to growing her business and creating more avenues for people to learn and succeed.

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Demi has this advice for women who aspires to have the ultimate freedom in life and business

"To succeed, you need a dozen ounces of courage. And honestly, the best place to get that is the place where you do your work. It's your process, not the result of who/what you want to become. There will be a gazillion challenges but to keep on moving forward despite everything is something that only very few people can do. But guess what? It's actually a choice. The choice to show up and continue moving forward is the syringe you need to find a dozen ounces of courage. So, just do it. Ignore the noise. Be laser-focused. Keep your feet to the ground and keep walking. In no time, you will get to the finish line, no matter how slow or fast you walk."

What's next?

What’s next for Ms. Demi Bernice? 
 
The enrollment for the next batch of Create and Rise Academy this year is yet to be announced. Demi also mentioned that she loves film, and it’s definitely something she wants to do for the rest of her life, so we should watch out for what she’s up to next as Demi and her team are directing a documentary film coming out this year.

Follow Demi Bernice

About The Author
Nira Macaspac

Nira Macaspac

Nira is a digital media publisher and the editor-in-chief of Featuredph. She is a
branding strategist and an advocate of women empowerment. She has worked as a content producer for different digital media publications in Asia and the Philippines such as Marketing in Asia, Manila Bulletin, StyleMNL, and When in Manila. She's an entrepreneur and an internationally certified Life Coach. She has coached several women about business and personality development. Visit her website at http://www.niramacaspac.com

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