Lessons from My Dad 2 - The Rat and the Lion September 20, 2008
Posted by mona in : Uncategorized , add a commentWhy leave to work abroad as a clerk when you can be your own boss here? When every classmate I had had thoughts of migrating and working in the US or anywhere outside the country after college, my dad had so much faith that I could really move mountains and find my own place under the blazing hot Philippine sun. (Hey, that’s what Dads are for. hehehe!)
“It’s better to be the head of the rat than the tail of the lion.”
Actually that thing about the head of the rat and the tail of the lion is the basic principle that my dad had taught me and my siblings since we were young. I guess he’s right. Why waste my time, talent and my whole life working myself to the bone in a TV station or an ad agency that I will never own? He’d taught us to just use the big companies for “experience and connections” Don’t take too long, though. He’d alwasy say start while you’re still young and fresh and with plenty of time to make mistakes and learn from them.
So no matter how “micro” my microbusinesses are, I know I’m far better off than those who are merely following the rules, the strategies and the plans of the “lion” because I am the one leading the way. You see, even if I follow everything down to the letter, all I’ll ever really get is a lick from the lion. Being at the tailend would mean me watching over the lion’s back all the time…but who’ll be watching over mine?
My dad has taught me that no matter what I do, as long as I’m the tail, I will always be just that — just a tail. I know I deserve much better than that. I know I’m worth far more than that.
Lessons from My Dad 1 - Business is fun! September 20, 2008
Posted by mona in : Business, Personal , 1 comment so farMy dad is a businessman. Actually, he is a realtor. As a child I was having problems spelling that word, much more explaining to my classmates what a realtor does or why my daddy doesn’t go to a normal office like their daddies who work for the big multinationals or in government. While their dads worked by the bundy clock, my dad usually started his mornings in the golf course. Why? Well, according to him, most of his big deals were signed in the golf course. So I grew up thinking, “Wow, business sure is a lot of fun!”
For someone like me who easily gets bored with routine, going into business allows me the comfort of mixing fun and work. How?
1. For starters, I don’t have a boss. I don’t have anybody lurking behind me and waiting for a cue to terrorize and berate me for all HIS faults or simply watching every move that I make so he can add something to his list of “reasons why I should fire you today.”
2. I own my time. Whether I’d like to start work at 12 noon and end at 3pm or work from 10pm to the wee hours of the morning is MY call. So long as I deliver quality work on time, no one will nag me.
3. I can choose. I can choose to accept or to decline a client depending on my schedule. I am only human and I expect to work like a human being. And there’s absolutely no one wo can OVERLOAD me with a lot of reports and paperwork to do except myself.
4. Best of all, I earn what I worked hard for. I won’t settle for just a fat bonus. Heck, I busted my ass trying to finish “everything.” I deserve no less than “everything”, too!
Teaching My Kids The Value of Money September 17, 2008
Posted by mona in : Uncategorized, saving , 1 comment so farHonestly, I used to suck at money management. I made a huge mistake of not really saving “for the future.” Oh well, I did save but I’d usually blow it off on some gadget or a night out with friends and I’d be dirt poor the following day. Obviously, this is something I’m not proud of and continue to regret specially now that I have kids.
I’ve been trying to teach my kids, aged 10 and 13, the value of money, saving, budgeting, investing, wise spending and yes, even going into business. And I’ve always been frowned upon in their schools for giving my kids lunch money instead of making them bring lunchboxes stuffed with healthy snacks. I feel that as a mother I need to teach them things like these in the hopes that they’d grow up financially independent and not make the same mistakes that I did.
I usually give them their allowances on a weekly basis. This way, they’ll learn how to budget and not too spend way beyond their means. My daughter learned her lesson the hard way. She blew off her allowance in just three days. She was probably trying to test if she could get away with it. Of course she didn’t. It was tough for me as a mother knowing that she’ll go hungry for sure with just a sandwich and water. But it was something I had to do in exchange for a very valuable lesson in life and living.
I know this would probably elicit some unfavorable responses from some who’ll be reading this post but I am teaching my 10-year old son the fundamentals of business by making him sell cigarettes to me. With his savings and some money he “loaned” from me, we bought his inital “stocks” from a wholesaler for 185pesos per ream. He sells it to me at 25pesos per pack. That’s a clean 6.50 per pack profit for him! So, instead of going all the way to the convenience store to buy my cigarettes, I simply buy from him. And if my brothers-in-law are here for a visit, he’s in for more profits as he’s got more customers buying from him. I know it’s not really good for kids to sell cigarettes but he’s more or less got everything mapped out now. He’s got money in time deposit now and he even has a savings account which keeps growing every week with his profits. When his time deposit matures, whatever is in his saving account he adds up to his time deposit. To quote my son, “I must do this so that my money will continue to grow more and more and more till I become a millionaire!” (Yes, son, I’ll probably die of lung cancer if we continue doing this till you’re a millionaire…)
Maybe I’ve got crude ways of teaching my kids about money and business. But I am really hoping that when the time comes, they’d find it in their hearts to teach their own kids about it, too. I just pray that they think of a more “socially responsible” way doing it.
Why I Think You Shouldn’t Do Business with People You Love. September 15, 2008
Posted by mona in : Business, Personal , add a commentPeople usually say, you must pick a business that would be enjoyable for you so as to ensure success. Well, I used to think that it would be so much fun putting up a business together with my friends. It’s like rolling business and pleasure into one. Yeah, we’d have lots of time to hang around and have a ball. Like it would be so much more exciting planning how we’ll be spending our glory days in some far away land sipping pinacoladas under the sun once the business starts running smoothly.
Well, that point of view, of course, has changed over the years. And boy, am I glad I never opted to go into such partnerships! And if, like me, you put more premium on RELATIONSHIPS (whether they’re family or friends) over MONEY, I’d say you read on and try to see how things really work in the real world.
These are the top three reasons why I decided not to do business with friends and relatives.
1. Commitment - Even if you jive well together, it doesn’t necessarily equate to all of you having the same level of commitment. There will always be the issue of who did more work for the business.
Say for instance you guys decided that having you own spa would be cool. So each of you decided to put in equal amounts of money as capitalization. There would be some who are just so into it so they put in a lot of effort in planning, researching, sourcing, marketing, etc. There would be others who are into it only because they’d feel left out if they didn’t join. Still there would be some who join but don’t always have the time to put into the business because of a lot of reasons. And there would also be those who would just sit and watch everybody else do the work.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to divide the tasks equally among yourselves, it doesn’t always get done equally and up to par to everyone else.
2. Discipline - The hardest part would always be telling your friend, your sister or your relative that he is not doing his job well and to exact punishments for wrongdoings. If your friend is always yakking on the phone all day instead of working or if your sister always comes in late or if your uncle is always sleeping on the job and you don’t try to even call their attention to it, it would trickle down to your other employees. Why punish them for being late when your sister does it? Why scold them for unfinished reports when your friend isn’t even doing her job?
3. Money - Each one of you is different. Some have time to spare. Some don’t. Some have the skills. Some don’t. Some have the patience. Some don’t. Even if all of you spend eight hours in the office everyday, your outputs will always vary.
So who gets paid more?
I have never tried getting into business with friends. And I no longer have the intention to. I have seen some very good and tight relationships ending in fierce squabbles about business because of the reasons I’ve stated above.
I’m not saying there’s no way around it and that doing business with friends would just end up in total disaster. Maybe there is a way around it if you’d sit down and discuss these issues beforehand and try to come up with a compromise that would work well for all you. But one thing’s for certain. It’s going to be one tough ride that would certainly test you to the very core of your beings.
As for me, even if there’s a way around it, I wont. My relationships are just to precious to risk for the sake of money.
Does Viral Ads Unleashed Really Work? September 15, 2008
Posted by mona in : Uncategorized , add a commentThat’s the exact same question I asked myself when I first heard about it. It sounded great, it made a lot of promises about how it would send waves of targeted traffic to your website, and increase profits, while lowering advertising cost.
And if you’re like me, I was a bit cautious, because I had heard all of this before. And to be completely honest, I didn’t believe a word of it. But since I routinely test new products, I decided to give it a try…
And guess what?
It works!
I mean, I was really shocked. After I joined, I just knew that I was going to have to delete my membership because so many other products and services had failed to live up to their hype…
But Viral Ads Unleashed is different.
Here’s how:
It uses the power of viral ads to explode many different traffic-generating sources that sends customers to your website like clock work.
By using this strategy, you’ll build a strong, personal, and professional reputation online, while creating plenty of visibility for you and your business…
And it drives a ton of new visitors to your website, resulting in a huge increase in profits!
Well, it did for me.
What I like most about it is that it advertises your sites in many different ways all rolled up in one package.
I’ve never seen anything like it, so in my book, I give it a thumbs up!
Go watch the video and see for yourself:
Business During the Rainy Days September 12, 2008
Posted by mona in : Uncategorized , add a commentGrrrr! It’s raining!!!! There was a time in my life when I used to be ecstatic with the coming of the rainy days. Well, that was way back when I was small and classes were suspended due to heavy rainfall (that usually results to flooding all over the Metro).
Now that I am all grown up, it’s tough making money during rainy days — unless you sell umbrellas and raincoats! Everyone seems to just want to stay cooped up inside their cocoons and stay dry. Of course, who would want to get themselves wet and stranded?!
I guess I just have to wait it out for a while and keep my hopes up by thinking ahead towards the Christmas season. In the meantime, I am trying to conjure up ways to make my sales go a little bit higher just to make it acceptable by my standards (which I am trying desperately to bring down so as not to disappoint myself too much…).
The previous days saw my crew giving out flyers. It did help — for a while. They couldn’t do it on regularly as, of course, they are only but human (and humans have a tendency to get sick when they get drenched.)…
For now, I am STILL trying to be positive about everything. As they said in one movie I recall watching a long time ago…If you believe hard enough, they will come. 
How Online Marketing Helped Boost Our Business September 8, 2008
Posted by mona in : Uncategorized , 1 comment so far2008 came in really slow for our events business. Sure there were projects but they came in few and far between. Summer came and went with very few clients wanting to spend for summer sales kick-off campaigns. Nobody seems to have the budget to do so. The very few who do are all pinching pennies and trying to save on production cost that sometimes there’s very little mark-up left for us.
As fate would have it, I was seriously trying learn how to blog ang to make my own blog site. (Special thanks to 168 center of PinoyBusiness.org for the site!) And to practice, I made SCALA’s first ever appearance in the worldwide web last June 13.
Pretty nice for my very first effort, huh? hehehe!
Anyway, I was quite happy with the site. However, I did’t know how I can make people start noticing it and want to do business with us. So, I went surfing the net again. Being such an amateur, all I know about surfing is to Yahoo and to Google the stuff I needed to see. I wanted to know which sites would appear at the top of the list for sites in the Philippines whenever I typed in “events” “stage” “exhibit booths” and “booth rentals”. The most common among the top sites I googled up was 88.db.com.
I then checked out 88db by signing up for an account. I found out the I can get to post ads with pictures for FREE. How sweet! So I did post an ad and some pictures and included a write-up that would lead back to our website.
Lo and behold! A week after we posted the ad, the calls kept coming…not only from the Philippines but from prospective clients abroad who’ll be joining trade exhibits here.
Call it lucky. I guess we are. A lot of doors are opening now for us with a few simple efforts that did not even cost us a cent!
SCALA Stage and Exhibit Solutions. find us here at:
Money, Success and Happiness September 8, 2008
Posted by mona in : Uncategorized , add a commentAs we go through life, all of us are out in search of money, success and happiness. We always hear people saying that their goal is “to be successful in life.” But what is it really? Can success really be quantified? Who sets the standards?
Joe wants to live his dream life. So, he works hard to have enough to pay for the downpayment of his dream house. He then works harder to pay for the monthly house payments. He, of course, buys furniture and appliances (What’s a dream house without a Lazy Boy and the biggest Plasma TV you can find?!). Then, he works triply hard to pay for the credit card debts he incurred in buying the stuff for his house. He also goes out and buys the fancy car that would look good parked in front of his new house. Then, he works his bones off to pay for the car and all his bills.
Some people equate material wealth with success. A beautiful house in the RIGHT side of town. The RIGHT kind of car. The RIGHT kind of investments. The RIGHT places to hang out in and be seen. And most importantly, the job or the business that lets one pay for all these things.
We also have a tendency to equate success with happiness. Joe’s got all the fancy stuff. Is he happy? i don’t think so. With that kind of mindset, the minute he’s paid off the last of his debts, he’ll be just too wasted and dead-tired to enjoy the things he’s worked hard for.
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” — Albert Schweitzer
I totally agree with Schweitzer. In order to achieve success, people should try to look at it in more intangible terms like time, love, passion. I’m not saying one mustn’t work hard. We all have to. I’m simply saying that WORK is not really work if you truly enjoy what you are doing instead of just doing it because you have to pay for a lot of things that you think would make you successful and happy. There has to be some sort of balance because success isn’t all about the fancy things money can buy. You will never get it by simply working yourself to the grave. It is far greater than any award or bonus your boss bestows upon you.
Have you ever had days when you have the money but you’re neck-deep with deadlines that you simply don’t have the time to go out on a shopping spree or to even treat your family out for dinner? I sometimes do. And I hate those days.
Success is a feeling of wholeness that one gets from life experiences. For me, success is when someone can afford to buy TIME. Time for family, Time for friends. Time for hobbies. Time to enjoy. Time to LIVE NOW instead of putting everything off till retirement.
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded. — Bessie Stanley
Technorati September 4, 2008
Posted by mona in : Uncategorized , add a commentHow Much Do You Need To Save For Your Retirement? September 4, 2008
Posted by mona in : saving , 10commentsAs I grow older and my knees get weaker (from overwork and stress), my thoughts often wander off to RETIREMENT. It would sure be nice to just sit back, relax and and enjoy the fruits of years of hardwork. But what really is in store for me when I retire? Would I have enough to really sit back, relax and enjoy?
The saddest thought for me would be finding myself putting the burden on my children to spend for my hospitalizations and medications and living expenses when I’m old and grey. Nope. I don’t want them to go through that. So what should I do?
Retirement plans in the Philippines are almost as unknown as the language they speak in Mars. Aside from our own personal savings, most of us rely on the pension from the Social Security System or the Government Service Insurance System, which guarantees that we could get something out of the monthly contributions we make to these institutions when we retire. And there are also pension plans from the pre-need companies. However, with the current state of the insurance and pre-need industry in the Philippines, some people are not really keen on investing in these instruments right now (specially after CAP and Pacific Plans left their education planholders in mid-air - huhuhu!).
Of course, even if we do have the money and want to invest in these pension plans, we may get like 500grand or even a million bucks guaranteed when we retire. We could add that up with our savings and we could come up with a handsome figure.
BUT WOULD THAT MONEY BE ENOUGH 30 YEARS FROM NOW?
How sure are we that what we’re going to get would be enough to cover for our living (and dying) expenses? Somehow we still need to think that the money must be invested in order for it to contInuously earn passive income so that we will be assured that we’ll never go broke when we retire.
So, again, it goes back to the question of HOW MUCH DO I REALLY NEED TO SAVE UP FOR MY RETIREMENT?
I asked around for help and stumbled upon an answer from a friend who taught me how to compute for the “future value” of money.
You need to identify certain factors first before you can start computing.
1. How old are you now and at what age do you want to retire? The difference between your age now and the age when you want to retire is equal to the time left for you to save up. The later you start saving, the less time you have. And the lesser the time, the bigger the money that you need to put away for savings.
2. If you are to retire TODAY, how much money or monthly income do you need to live the life that you want? The amount of money you need to save for retirement would largely depend on the lifestyle that you want to lead. Do you intend to travel a lot? Do you need a nurse, a maid or a driver? How much does the doctor’s fees now? You need to peg a value to these using TODAY’S prices.
3. What is the projected annual inflation rate? A lot of people make the mistake of not taking inflation rate into consideration when they try to save up for the future. You have to be aware of this so you’ll more or less have an idea if what you are saving right now would really amount to anything in the future. It is a fact that as time goes by, money loses its value cue to inflation. What you can buy with your 1,000 bucks next year may be significantly less than what you can afford to purchase with it right now.
So, once you have all those things factored out. Here’s the formula for the future value (FV):
FV = monthly income*(1+projected annual inflation rate) ^ # of years to save
( ^ means raised to the power of )
Example:
You are 30 years old now and you want to retire at the age of 55. That leaves you with 25 years to save up.
Based on your computation using current prices, you come up with 100,000 monthly income in order for you to live the life that you want if you were to retire today.
Let’s say you peg the inflation rate at 5%
Using this formula: FV = monthly income (1 + projected annual inflation rate)^number of years
You’ll come up with:
FV = 100,000 pesos (1 + 5%) ^ 25 years
FV = 100,000 pesos (1.05) ^ 25 years
FV = 100,000 pesos * 3.38635
FV = P338,635
This means that the future value of your 100,000 bucks 25 years from now is more or less equivalent to P338,635. So with this in mind, your retirement fund should amount to P40,636,200 This should be invested in an instrument that would yield at least 10% per annum to give you an annual passive income of P4,063,620 or P338,635 per month.
Sounds pretty scary, huh? So don’t wait till you’re 30 to save up for your retirement.
