I once have read something about the bubble story. I can't remember when or who wrote that but all I can remember is that, when a bubble is pressed on one of its side, the other part would enlarge. With that in mind, I was thinking of the world today as a bubble. The financial crunch have weighed down the west part of the bubble makes me wonder if the east part would enlarge?
Thousands of jobs have been lost since the start of the financial crisis. You can read it anywhere. And I've read some articles that some of these "lost jobs" in the west are flying to the east. And they're eyeing for the Philippines. In order to cut cost, giants are going to operate in the Philippines where talents and business operation is cheap. Business activities would soon fuel the economy. Entrepreneurs will have new vision for opportunities. Seems like there is really a bubble story happening right now. Somehow, the crisis have brought blessings to the small players in this big world. Maybe its time for us to take this chance to help ourselves.
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Limited Capital For A New Business?
This is where most entrepreneur wanna bes get frustrated when they finally have their plans for a business but finding it hard to find financing. I know this because I've been through this. I wanted to be an entrepreneur to maximize my earning power because I'm just an employee earning fixed income per month and I find this cycle really frustrating. I can see that we are taxed before we can spend but businesses spend first before being taxed. Worst is the taxes on their goods and services are passed on to their customers and so in short the wage earners are the only ones who pay the taxes. Tsk tsk
And so I went on finding what kind of business I'm going to undertake. I've raked all through my possible sources of capital and heck I just got more frustrated. I only earn a fixed salary just enough for needs and some wants, no friends and family who can lend me money for business and it's hard to borrow from a bank. What this tells me is that, I only have my time, my talent and skills as my resources. So I started thinking hard from there.
Skills
Searching and observing around we found a type of business that is in line with our skills. My sis and I and some of our friends have developed a skill on events organizing. All we have to invest is a small amount to set up our office and we're good to go. We we're able to run that business and have really organized big events and gained lots of friends. Though that was a failed business venture because of poor marketing but I learned that it doesn't really take money to start a business. Just a good idea ;)
Interest
This one is really nice where you will build your business on the things that you like. As for me, I really love touring and traveling as well as my sis. So together with a friend we are now starting to operate on our tour guiding services in the Island Garden City of Samal. Well, this doesn't cost us much. It only cost us our experience in touring the island and some favor from a friend who build our website for us (www.samaladventuretour.com) and in return give him commission if we ever get a customer. That's just it, not much of a pressure to begin our business :)
Profession
This one doesn't also cost much. All you have to do is to invite some friends with the same profession, set up an office and acquire business permit then you're good to go. Just be sure you have enough connections who trust you either to hire you or for referrals.
Time and Intellect
Some business ideas just require plenty of time, some knowledge and a very minimal money investment. One of these is becoming an infopreneur where you build your site which only cost you hosting and domain name which is really not much. And maybe some help in building your website. With correct efforts on internet marketing, passive income will soon arrive.
Talent
This one are just for the gifted (sorry hehe) though may be done by the average but it's harder to compete. This is where writers, artists, inventors and scientists who have put in their extraordinary talents to create a masterpiece that will bring them royalties even after they die. This is the kind of income that is really very desirable. Puts you in peace with your retirement safe as money will flow even if you don't work at all.
Friends and mentors
Friends can help especially if they're also in business. Network is very important. Though finding a mentor to guide you all the way is very difficult because they are really busy people and their time is very expensive you can hardly find a way to their precious time. But I've realized that having a mentor is very important so I got to find one for me :)
Financial Intelligence
This is the king of all. Financial savvy will truly bring you far in business and investments. This is because, sophisticated entrepreneurs and investors have manage to start businesses with less or no money investments. They have great understanding of how money works. They understand about money, timing, interest, risk, laws, etc. But this will take so much time and experience and a great mentor to increase financial intelligence.
All in all, I've discovered, that it isn't how much money you can put in a business venture but it is your financial intelligence and strategy that will bring it to start and to succeed.
And so I went on finding what kind of business I'm going to undertake. I've raked all through my possible sources of capital and heck I just got more frustrated. I only earn a fixed salary just enough for needs and some wants, no friends and family who can lend me money for business and it's hard to borrow from a bank. What this tells me is that, I only have my time, my talent and skills as my resources. So I started thinking hard from there.
Skills
Searching and observing around we found a type of business that is in line with our skills. My sis and I and some of our friends have developed a skill on events organizing. All we have to invest is a small amount to set up our office and we're good to go. We we're able to run that business and have really organized big events and gained lots of friends. Though that was a failed business venture because of poor marketing but I learned that it doesn't really take money to start a business. Just a good idea ;)
Interest
This one is really nice where you will build your business on the things that you like. As for me, I really love touring and traveling as well as my sis. So together with a friend we are now starting to operate on our tour guiding services in the Island Garden City of Samal. Well, this doesn't cost us much. It only cost us our experience in touring the island and some favor from a friend who build our website for us (www.samaladventuretour.com) and in return give him commission if we ever get a customer. That's just it, not much of a pressure to begin our business :)
Profession
This one doesn't also cost much. All you have to do is to invite some friends with the same profession, set up an office and acquire business permit then you're good to go. Just be sure you have enough connections who trust you either to hire you or for referrals.
Time and Intellect
Some business ideas just require plenty of time, some knowledge and a very minimal money investment. One of these is becoming an infopreneur where you build your site which only cost you hosting and domain name which is really not much. And maybe some help in building your website. With correct efforts on internet marketing, passive income will soon arrive.
Talent
This one are just for the gifted (sorry hehe) though may be done by the average but it's harder to compete. This is where writers, artists, inventors and scientists who have put in their extraordinary talents to create a masterpiece that will bring them royalties even after they die. This is the kind of income that is really very desirable. Puts you in peace with your retirement safe as money will flow even if you don't work at all.
Friends and mentors
Friends can help especially if they're also in business. Network is very important. Though finding a mentor to guide you all the way is very difficult because they are really busy people and their time is very expensive you can hardly find a way to their precious time. But I've realized that having a mentor is very important so I got to find one for me :)
Financial Intelligence
This is the king of all. Financial savvy will truly bring you far in business and investments. This is because, sophisticated entrepreneurs and investors have manage to start businesses with less or no money investments. They have great understanding of how money works. They understand about money, timing, interest, risk, laws, etc. But this will take so much time and experience and a great mentor to increase financial intelligence.
All in all, I've discovered, that it isn't how much money you can put in a business venture but it is your financial intelligence and strategy that will bring it to start and to succeed.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Philippines On Geo Arbitrage
"RP a cheap place to live, but purchasing power low" This was a headline on Philippine Star on their last year issue. What does it tell us? Is it an advantage or a disadvantage?
Philippines being a cheap place to live is certainly an advantage for us Filipinos but with a catch like "low purchasing power" puts the advantage at par with the disadvantage (sad to say).
But are we going to be just sad on that news? No, not necessarily because it is something that we have full control. A news like "Philippines is an expensive place to live" will really give us trouble because this situation is peg on the entire economy on which we have no control whatsoever being a nobody isn't it? Good thing "low purchasing power" is in our hands :) Do you know what this news means? This is an opportunity for people who are smart enough to recognize our now borderless world.
We are now on the 21st century and things have really changed since 2000. One of the best gifts this period has given us is the world wide web. And with the ongoing global financial crisis there's a big possibility that more and more companies overseas will resort to outsourcing talents to save on cost thus, keeping their businesses alive. Companies are getting smarter to look for cheaper labor to do the same work quality they need. What does it have to do with our purchasing power?
With the internet, you can choose to earn dollars or euros and spend in pesos without having to leave Philippines. That would be a huge surplus with the existing dollar exchange rate. This is like having a forex business without you being aware of it ;) Sounds perfect? Yes, you can earn dollars too. And the good news is, this opportunity is open to everybody as long as you have a computer and easy access on the internet. We can find a lot of freelance work in the internet that are paying in dollars. (elance.com, getafreelancer.com
As for entrepreneurs at heart. Business is getting easier with the advent of the internet. You can even be in a business without a product. Amazing eh? Yes, you can by being an infopreneur where you sell your knowledge and expertise thru blog. When you have something to say that is of value, you can market it in the net and find readers that will appreciate your work and build your traffic. This requires a lot of link building efforts. And when you have traffic and regular readers, monetization can follow. Though this one requires a lot of work but it can really be done if you're determined. The best part is, you can earn passive income from this as long as you keep on updating your work and always have first hand information on the trend. Remain observant and updated and you won't get lost. You can even use other people's time and expertise in your freelance job. Once you have established your name and have regular clients, it's time to expand it into outsourcing business. Cool isn't it? :)
With these things available today, it is becoming more easy to earn money as you can find a way to monetize your talent and skills not just in your place but around the world. All you have to do is to keep on learning. And if you love travelling and lazying in an island, you can now imagine what this means ;) The world is getting better in that aspect. It is less restrictive and more accepting but very fast and you can always anticipate and hope for the best.
In our time today, information is king. And when you have the ability to make use of that information, you will always be at an advantage as you will be able to make yourself in pace with the changing time.
Philippines being a cheap place to live is certainly an advantage for us Filipinos but with a catch like "low purchasing power" puts the advantage at par with the disadvantage (sad to say).
But are we going to be just sad on that news? No, not necessarily because it is something that we have full control. A news like "Philippines is an expensive place to live" will really give us trouble because this situation is peg on the entire economy on which we have no control whatsoever being a nobody isn't it? Good thing "low purchasing power" is in our hands :) Do you know what this news means? This is an opportunity for people who are smart enough to recognize our now borderless world.
We are now on the 21st century and things have really changed since 2000. One of the best gifts this period has given us is the world wide web. And with the ongoing global financial crisis there's a big possibility that more and more companies overseas will resort to outsourcing talents to save on cost thus, keeping their businesses alive. Companies are getting smarter to look for cheaper labor to do the same work quality they need. What does it have to do with our purchasing power?
With the internet, you can choose to earn dollars or euros and spend in pesos without having to leave Philippines. That would be a huge surplus with the existing dollar exchange rate. This is like having a forex business without you being aware of it ;) Sounds perfect? Yes, you can earn dollars too. And the good news is, this opportunity is open to everybody as long as you have a computer and easy access on the internet. We can find a lot of freelance work in the internet that are paying in dollars. (elance.com, getafreelancer.com
As for entrepreneurs at heart. Business is getting easier with the advent of the internet. You can even be in a business without a product. Amazing eh? Yes, you can by being an infopreneur where you sell your knowledge and expertise thru blog. When you have something to say that is of value, you can market it in the net and find readers that will appreciate your work and build your traffic. This requires a lot of link building efforts. And when you have traffic and regular readers, monetization can follow. Though this one requires a lot of work but it can really be done if you're determined. The best part is, you can earn passive income from this as long as you keep on updating your work and always have first hand information on the trend. Remain observant and updated and you won't get lost. You can even use other people's time and expertise in your freelance job. Once you have established your name and have regular clients, it's time to expand it into outsourcing business. Cool isn't it? :)
With these things available today, it is becoming more easy to earn money as you can find a way to monetize your talent and skills not just in your place but around the world. All you have to do is to keep on learning. And if you love travelling and lazying in an island, you can now imagine what this means ;) The world is getting better in that aspect. It is less restrictive and more accepting but very fast and you can always anticipate and hope for the best.
In our time today, information is king. And when you have the ability to make use of that information, you will always be at an advantage as you will be able to make yourself in pace with the changing time.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Tried but failed?
I made a decision 3 years ago to become financially-free before retiring time comes. So, I went into doing my first ever attempt on business. I started with lending and merchandising having money, cellphones and other goods as my products for credit. On the 1st year, it was doing good so I decided to enter another business on events management with 3 of my friends. It was established in a partnership but registered as sole proprietorship under the name of one of the partners. It was a very hard start with tight money as capital. The business run for a year and was later liquidated together with my lending and merchandising business. It was a tough try but a good one. Tough because I did everything to make it work but really failed. However, it was good because I’ve learned so much from it. I learned what it takes to be an owner-employee. I learned how to take risks, I gained friends and network, I learned to work under my limits (tough times in business bring you to your limits and challenging your ability to troubleshoot hoping that the situation can still be saved), learned to accept disappointments and still look forward for another try. To fail is really painful but it brings you a lot of good things in your character, skills and knowledge. Trying to run a business was the one thing I really can say that I tried my hardest but only failed.
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