Marketing consultant and single mom, Sheryn Alvarez, shares anecdotes to draw strength and how she lives a life of complete faith.
Sheryn Alvarez is no stranger to the insider world of mothers-in-business. She is the go-to consultant for major brands in the country and is responsible for countless tie-ups within the motherhood community (us included) that have led to fruitful partnerships and incredible collabs. Sheryn recently relocated to a patch of sandy paradise, north of Manila, with her daughter, Keilah, to escape the confines of condo-living amidst the pandemic— a much needed change in scenery and lifestyle.
We asked her to share a part of her story, as a hardworking single-mom, on how she copes with the pressures of motherhood and what it took to get her to where she’s at today.
How long have you been a marketing consultant? Can you give us a little background on the work that you do and how you got started?
I was previously affiliated with one of the biggest multimedia broadcasting companies in the Philippines. Eventually, the excitement of working there faded away as the repetitive nature of a “desk job” started making me question where I was investing my time and my life. So, in 2012, I decided to resign from that workplace and pursue a freelance career as a Marketing Consultant.
Being an outdoorsy person who traveled locally, my first clientele as a Marketing & Management Consultant were owners of local tourist spots (accommodations and activities). I was in the middle of my first official project, with a few other destinations lined up, when I became pregnant with Keilah. This immediately and drastically changed, not just my career trajectory, but my entire life.
I finished that ongoing project with all the difficulty of first trimester morning (nay, ALL DAY) sickness and spent the next three months searching for a way to rebuild my career in a home-based setting so that I could be a 24/7 hands-on mom AND provide for me and my daughter’s needs.
By God’s providence, a friend tipped me off to an emerging platform for freelancers who could perform their tasks from home. I got on the platform, and after several hits and misses, landed my first set of clients at the onset of my third trimester. It was the starting point of rebuilding my career in a home-based setting and it’s been going steady ever since.
You must have your plate full, being a working single mom. How do you manage it all?
“Full” is an understatement, but yes. Somehow, by God’s grace, I do manage it all (without family or household help). How do I manage? The answer is both spiritual and systematic.
Everything we are able to do starts from where we draw our strength, and mine is this: “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philipians 4:13, NLT).
Living life connected to God is so underrated — He is literally THE BEST and ONLY life support anyone will ever need.
Whenever people ask and I begin to casually tell them what I’ve been through, they always look at me like it’s hard to believe, but somehow, they do believe it, except they can’t ever imagine going through it. When I look back myself, I honestly wonder the same thing, which is why there’s no other reason for why I am still standing and even (dare I say) thriving, except God.
Next is where and how we invest that strength. I love this quote from author Elisabeth Elliot, “If we really have too much to do, there are some items on the agenda which God did not put there. Let us submit the list to Him and ask Him to indicate which items we must delete.”
Mentors have taught me in the past to always ask myself these questions:
“What are the things only you can do?” Meaning things that are vitally important to my life and the life of my family— like raising my child, being her teacher at home now that we are homeschooling, thinking of strategy for my clients’ businesses. Whatever else is left, those I can delegate. I can buy home-cooked meals elsewhere, hire a cleaning service, train competent people to share some of my workload, etc.
Lastly, and this may be the easiest to adapt for others, is that I work with task-based goals but in time-based intervals. Meaning I don’t obsess over my list of todos till I tick them off chronologically one by one — I give myself a specific period of time each day to work on my list, when the time is up, I stop, then just keep going at it everyday till by the end of the week, everything on the list has been done. I’ve tried and tested this for the past 7 years and so far it’s worked for me.
You have fought and worked hard to get to where you are at today. What was your mindset like to get to this point in your career?
To be honest, and I know this will probably make my story less edgy, but I don’t really feel like I “fought” for where I am today. Sure, I worked hard, but I can’t really say I’ve struggled. Of course my life has had its season of intense hardships but somehow, I never felt the full blow of that because God has always been there for me.
The Lord’s blessing enriches,
Proverbs 10:22, CSB
and he adds no painful effort to it.
I am a single mom but I have never felt abandoned or neglected. God has shown me through His faithfulness and presence that He is taking care of me.
What was my mindset like to get to this point in my career? Gratitude and Service.
GRATITUDE
But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.
Deuteronomy 8:18a, NIV
I am not entitled to anything. Everything I have is from God. He is the one that causes the work of my hands to bear fruit. Whatever success I have is beyond me.
SERVICE
Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.
Ephesians 6:6-8, NLT
Another version says to do our work “not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.” This is what I think of when I work— that I am serving God, no matter who the client is, the one I am pleasing is God. It just makes everything easier, from big decisions of ethics, to the littlest decisions on what words to use in a caption.
Has your career plan played out exactly as you imagined? If not, how is it different? If it is, what did those goals look like when you started?
I don’t think anyone gets to play out their career (and even their life) the way they imagined. Before life actually unfolded for me, I wanted to be married to a handsome and hardworking man and be a stay-at-home mom to raise our children hands-on 24/7, alongside being a published writer— obviously, not where I am right now, but my goals have remained unchanged and God continues to be faithful in seeing them through.
I am raising my child hands-on 24/7 and even though I don’t even have time to write in my personal journal (let alone be published), the work I do is something I love.
Godliness with contentment is great gain.
1 Timothy 6:6, NIV
What is one tool/app that you would recommend for working moms that you absolutely cannot do without?
I can’t say just one. So I’ll have to go with 3: Google Drive, Canva Pro, and Trello.
We all have our days when we just want to give up. When you have these days, what does your self pep-talk sound like?
I read my Bible and listen for what God has to say about my situation. Then when He speaks, I move or I stay still. Depending on what He says.
What do you do to reset?
Swim in the sea.
What is one thing you’ve learned that you hope to pass on to Keilah?
“We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete.” (Hebrews 12:2, CEV)
What has been your most challenging obstacle as a mother?
Facing my inner demons and healing from my own wounds so that I don’t pass on the effects of my hurt to my daughter.
Are there other moms out there that you look up to? Can you name a few?
My friend Lyka Buenazedacruz who, together with her husband and two kids, are serving as missionaries in Central Asia.
Gina Roldan, the Founder and Owner of our homeschooling provider, Living Learning Homeschool.
And my late grandmother, Alaida Fule-Abrigo, who was the first person who taught me about unconditional love and how to take care of our family.
What is the best advice you have to offer to other single working moms, or the best advice you have ever received?
We are not victims or heroes. Love God and let Him love you so you can be filled enough to love your children.
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection,[a] and take delight in honoring each other.
Romans 12:9-10, NLT
and marketing consultant based in the Philippines.
All images courtesy of Sheryn via her Instagram
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