44 Days Left - Not Just Any Ordinary Business

Few nights ago, lying in bed sparked one great idea, and i texted it to my partner Dro. It went our something like this...

"Dro, why not sell all our shirts for a cause? Ain't that cool? Like, we are already doing something good, why not do it God's way?"

And so we did!

The thought sprang from someone who commented on Facebook and asked if the X-sem shirst we are selling are for a cause. We told him this...

"Good afternoon, bro! Thru dis we aim to relive the moments we once had at Don Bosco. And eventually, continue to live in Don Bosco's way. Helping out in any way we can, together with all the exsems of don bosco. Last May, we had a litlle project of giving school supplies to the children of Maghaway, Talisay City. There was only a handful of us then. But with this, we can have a bigger network and thus, handing a bigger chunk of help or support. :) "

Actually, we are planning in one project where we could put in a chunk from the X-sem shirts profits. We would be supporting DBYC (Don Bosco Youth Center) in their continued projects in Maghaway - a little village located going to the mountains behind our seminary. We promised them a simple blackboard that they could use in their catechism.

Dro and me are really looking forward for this. We have made the arrangements and done canvassing a good deal for the blackboard.

And so, this would be our direction: sell t-shirts with a cause. We really want to institutionalize this and make it our own brand. We both are so captivated of the idea of, if you are already doing something why not do it for something greater, something more meaningful!? Right? Don't just stick to the norm, be different, be unique, be cool!!

Currently, we are both brainstorming what would be our best company name, share us if you have any ideas! We'd surely appreciate that, and if it gets approved, you'll get a free shirt! Game?

45 Days More - Diamonds In My Backyard

Just weeks ago, I found a big diamond in my backyard! And right now we are harvesting it.
And I wont tell you about it!

Just kidding!

I’m talking about my second business: selling shirts we sell online through Facebook. Let me tell you a little story behind it.

As all millionaires are, you can never be one unless you have a team. And so I teamed up with my classmate back in high school and my friend for over 12 years now, Leandro. (The biggest guy in the center of the picture..hehehe) Good thing is, we have the same mindset with regards to wealth and finance. So working out with him was no problem, and he became my official co-millionaire.

One Saturday evening two weeks ago, we juggled up all possible ideas where we could strike one powerful business plan. Tell you, it was not easy. We covered everything from internet to real estate and we still hadn’t hit jack pot. We have been squeezing our creative juices for 2 hours already and there was nothing. Tired we just talked about our experiences in the seminary. Yup, you heard it right! I was a seminarian of Don Bosco for 6 years, 6 wonderful years.

And we hit, jackpot! We will be selling t-shirts for ex-seminarians! The big diamond lying in our past! We just got the simplest yet most promising business plan ever! So we spent the next 30 minutes planning and exploring all possibilities with energy and enthusiasm.

We wont be having any problem with the market because we already have one strong one. We are a member of the Facebook group Ex Sems of DB with 300 plus members, so the market is just a click away.

Start-up? Just plain creativity and the internet. We conceptualize a design of a letter X similar to that of WWF to come up with something attractive yet with attitude. However, we added our seminary’s motto,” Ecce Ego Mitte Me”, which means, “Here I am Send Me.” This was made to have a sense of identity to our buyers thus making them have a need to get one.

We also came up with a brilliant marketing plan. The first 10 to comment on Facebook gets a big discount. And tell you, it was just so effective! It would have been better if we would have a pre-launch program like announcing to the group that there is something huge coming. However, we posted it just a day before. No worries, next time we’ll do that.

An additional strategy too was given by Kuya Tony, sell only a limited number of shirts. We decided to print only 99pcs. Why? This would create a sense of urgency to the buyers if we say that it is a limited edition! Thanks Kuya!

And so last June 11, at 8:30 in the evening we launched the X sems shirt! And just before midnight we already had the top 10! Simply great for the starters. We even had 2 from Luzon already!

Orders have a cut-off on Tuesday and they will be released on Saturdays where we would be meeting in a place to distribute the shirts to our buyers.

We would be releasing it 2 days from now, and I am just so excited..


I really can’t believe that all this is just in my past, behind me. My diamond is just in my backyard! And with this, we already have a lot of great ideas coming after this. 

By the way, you might want to know where who’d manufacture our clothes. Again, part of our past, in our backyard. The father of our classmate in the seminary, who also was one Ex sem!

59 Days to Go - Happiness of a Millionaire

"What makes a millionaire happy?"

I keep on asking myself this question. Will it be his wealth? Will it be the help and opportunities he has given to people? Will it be his family? Will it be his vacations and trips all over the world? Will it be the difference he has make in people's lives?

According to Srikumar Rao - an adviser to senior business executives, whom he helps find deeper meaning and engagement in their work - from his video on TED entitled "Plug Into Your Hardwired Happiness". He shared this wonderful exercise...

Think about this for a minute:  

What should you get for you to be happy?

Ponder on this question and enumerate your answer.

Typical answers would be, a loving family, a good stable productive job, perfect relationships, wealth and security, and a bunch of stuffs. However this is his follow-up question.

Do you agree that anything than you can get can be un-get?

Everything you get for you to be happy can be taken away.

For this, he stated that all of us are born to be happy. We are designed to be happy people. However, we have followed the opposite IF-THEN Mental Model that there should be an "IF" or a variable that can cause us to be happy, a "THEN".

Ten years ago, I had goals, some particular "IFs" I have been focusing on - a good job, stable income, happy family, graduate with honors, and amazing girlfriend. Yes, I already achieved them.

But where has that left me?

In the same place I was 10 years ago.

So what's the point? Two things: I am born to be happy and because I am so happy, it overflows that I need to share them. How? I need to focus on things that even though I have it now and the next second someone gets it I am still happy. And what is that?

EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE GIVEN.

The lives I have helped and inspired. The graces I have shared with people.

And in a millionaire's perspective I still need to "get" something. However, I am "getting it" so that I can GIVE it.

62 Days More - My First Millionaire Business

I know everyone's excited, calm down, calm down, relax, in a few moments I'm gonna bring out to the world my first real established business. Okay okay, you might be wondering what's the difference of this one to all my other businesses. First and foremost, all of them failed!!! Ouch! When I say failed, no return of investment! Ouch Ouch! My only ROI was the learning I got from my mistakes and failures. (In psychology, this is what we call defense-mechanism: rationalizing over the thousands I've lost..hehehe)

Okay, so what is it?

Selling goods? Actually it's my job, rat-race job, but not my business.
Selling ebooks online? Soon.
T-shirt printing? Soon.
Real Estate? Soon? (hehehe)
Food? My mom does it, I'm just the marketer/sales rep/taster
Pigs? Quite soon.
Farming? Quite Quite soon
Lending? uh-huh.
Personal Services and Consultancy? Not now.
Wait..wait..what?????

LENDING?

"Those who have not sinned, shall cast the first stone!"

 (just defensive)

Why of all services chose lending?

Let's rephrase it...Why not lending?

Okay, why am I too defensive? First and foremost its lending that almost made us motherless after she tried buying muriatic acid at the sarisari store devastated from all the debts she was unable to pay. Like what I said in my previous post my new best friend now is debt. I have to accept the reality that debt is something normal for a person to survive. And at most times, it can be something very very good. Honestly, this is not easy, I begin to think I am now the motorcycle rider with turban my mom tries to run away from before. But I have to open myself and embrace it. Make my very weakness my sole strength. 

How did this came about? It's not really easy when your staff, with all his guts, approaches you and sincerely tells you that his wife is giving birth, he's down to today's meal only, her child needs this and that,  and how he hopes he could borrow money from you offering to pay you with interest? Say this happens like once every two weeks. And all you can say is a "No, I don't do that." Sometimes, they joke asking from you but you just smile at them, "No, sorry." This was how it came to be.


Let me state this loud and clear: My vision-mission is: Help People AND Earn. Earning money should not be the main focus in this business. All my decision making should be rooted on how can I help this person. And comes my earning part. I promise my self that I'd stop this immediately, no questions asked, if my head gets big and I worry how much will I be earning.

My terms are simple, a generous 5% per month, and increases anther 5% the following month and so on. Missed to pay amount will be subject to the next months interest rate on the whole amount not the remaining balance. This is to motivate them to pay fast in the first month at the smallest rate. I'm expecting surprises in the first few months but I'll be as flexible as possible. (Remember, ready, fire, aim principle)



Now, I can say to myself, this time I will be the motorcycle rider instead of bringing a scythe, I will be bringing hope.


Kuya, Tita, and Jan, thank you for this!

76 then 75 days to 1 Million - Opening the Third-Eye for Business

Oh I miss a post again yesterday, so today I only have 75 days more to make my 1 million.

Last Saturday, that was 77 days more, I met with my mentor, lets call him "Kuya" and his son the internet-wiz Jan as part of our weekly follow-up. Again it was another super learning session but there are some remarkable insights I would like to share.

STRIKE! Always strike every time a business idea or opportunity comes to your mind.

Honestly, undergoing these challenge I am slowly opening my Third-Eye for Business. It's similar to the third eye because as you open that creativity and awareness to the surroundings almost everywhere you can see a business opportunity. My crazy idea of the Lost and Found Center originated from an announcer in the radio talking about a wallet he found in the streets. My other idea was of the Positive Switch Band - an ordinary rubber band that has the power to change people's lives.

What Kuya told me was to strike, so every time there is an opportunity work on it directly! Don't waste a moment. If you meet someone and you'll see that that person is opportunity, strike! Ask a cellphone number, tell your intentions! Chances are, you might not be able to have a transaction with him right away, however, in the future you'll have one with him!

That is why his other lesson is...

Super Multiple Streams of Income

Not just 3, or 4, or 5, but aim high! 10 or 20 or 50 or even 100s! Don't limit yourself! In the latest topic of the book I'm into right now, Secrets of a Millionaire's Mind, rich people think BIG! As in really BIG! We shouldn't stick with the few numbers! If I am comfortable with 15k a month, then I'll always get 15k a month. But if I open myself to, say, 100k a month, then the Universe will help me get that 100k a month. Match this up with striking every opportunity, you'll get endless number of income streams.

Business Ideas Updates:

-I'm airing out to everyone I know that I'm looking for a house to buy and make a deal
-My high school friends were telling me they'd have a little donation in helping out children in Maghaway, a small village up in the mountains near our high school campus. They are planning to give school supplies for the coming opening this June. I was thinking of marketing in the Positive Switch Band and give half to the charity, watchuthink? One good way of tithing, giving back to God what He has given me.