What have I done today that's related to Business or Investing?

A Business Journal Entry


I met with Layla (not her real name, for security reasons) today and discussed about the prospect and possibility of doing business or "partnering" with her on her Solar business. We met at 3pm earlier.. I originally asked to meet her at 2:30, but I came in late - how shameful of me - because I went to BPI Bank to withdraw some cash, but surprisingly I met Mac (who was my office-mate and best friend) there. Plus, an amazing thing happened - the BPI guard whom I regularly chat with whenever I go to their bank, asked about my conversation with Mac (which was totally unintentional). He overheard us talking about our cellphone loading business, and so I had to chat with them (good business!) even if I am already running late on my appointment with Layla.

The great thing is that I finally discussed with her the SOLAR aspect of the business "empire" that I dreamed of building. (Apart from the Real Estate corp that I co-partnered and built with some friends, I could adopt or feature a GREEN advocacy towards my business or businesses - which I've always thought of as the righteous thing to do or what people should be doing to care for the environment. And yes, I'm a big dreamer - I'm afraid my mom would knock at my head and bring me back to "reality" when she hears me -- well, I love my mom!). But would it really matter if you tried and failed - but deep inside you only had good intentions and good dreams (the "save-our-mankind" type of thing) for yourself and others?

Anyway, back to my story. Layla and I talked for about an hour and a half. Layla was a bit sad when talking about her sister who just got recently diagnosed with a severe illness. I really feel guilty for somewhat pushing her to talk to about our business, despite her condition. I just thought that this is also for her, and that I really wanted to help, in a way. It's just sad - for anyone to go through a situation like hers. She had to take care of her sister because, as she has said - she's the only one in her family who isn't into office work but into business. I felt relieved though when our talk shifted onto business. Pretty soon, our talk was lively, exciting, and filled with hope. Our minds met immediately and "in sync" with the thought of the great ideas relating to business. I made sure I listened with full attention, and being intent on getting all ideas to sink in with the small time that we both had. Our meeting was a very fruitful one.

Finally, after my walk at the mall (I had errands to do), I had a short (or was it actually lengthy?) talk with my cousin Tonton, who's currently living with us for the time being. I really enjoy listening, chatting, and learning from this promising young man! He's very passionate in learning a lot about his work. He shares and tells stories with great zest and appeal, and talks convincingly - and with such integrity - that I feel like I want to buy anything that he offers to me, even if he is just relating to me his experiences at work. One very good thing about him is that he is a MAN of ACTION. He's very much driven to succeed. He's filled with sincerity, humility, and willingness to share and learn everything about his job. He is purpose-driven. He's hard-working and very much contented with his work at a local sales / advertising company.

If I am to be successful at the company we built, I should emulate him. Even at his young age, I could learn a lot about his efforts and his perseverance.

I even felt a bit ashamed of myself, or maybe envious, or mesmerized - at how he learns so fast, how he embraces the very hard challenges and pressures that comes with his work - even if it's hard for him. (I should know! I worked as a insurance & book salesman before and found it really hard - I decided then that Sales was not for me. I learned the hard way that it was actually the way I should go if I really want to be successful in life and reach my dreams.) He relates to me all the he has experienced, all the hard work that he does. He shares to me in vivid details how he approaches his prospects or clients, how he goes to a building armed only with sheer determination and faith. The astonishing part here is that he does COLD-SELLING! Can you believe how hard would that be? It's not even telemarketing where you are hidden behind a headset, where your clients can't see you. Although I have to admit, their products are great. If you have such a great product to sell, with great benefits, you should always forge ahead and be not afraid. Sometimes, I even feel like joining him at his work - just to LEARN firsthand more about sales, get on through with their rigid training, learn about their brand of strategy in marketing. The experience, the hardships, the learning -- all these would be INVALUABLE!! As the saying goes... "Pressure creates diamond out of stone." My only problem is that it's gonna be a full time job. Although I will really get to learn a lot, learn first-hand how to sell to strangers, how to market in odd circumstances, be forced to do things outside my comfort zone, be driven to succeed. To get REAL TRAINING on how to sell, to advertise, to market. I'd love to try that if I have the time. (But who says I can't try it with my businesses? I have my mentors and books. I have to admit though, there's can be no substitute for experience - direct TRAINING is still very much different.)

It's a good thing that Ton is still young, his mind is still very much focused on learning and growing at his professional career, and that he has a great attitude towards work and his humbling conditions and beginnings (he is the breadwinner for his family - his father died a few years ago).

At a very young age, after all that he's gone through - Tonton remains humble, kind & generous, child-like, and very much determined. I could absolutely say he has the RIGHT MINDSET. And that is why I'm proud of my cousin.

I should learn from him. And so it is, too, with Layla - who works very hard establishing her business. I should surround myself with people like them who has pure heart. Who has uncorrupted minds. Who has unbelievable character.

These people are simply LOVABLE. Who wouldn't want to like them? I should emulate them. Just like how the nurses at St. Luke's Hospital treats visitors and patients - in a great great manner, with such an amazing politeness and tact - and a extremely friendly and comforting smile! You wouldn't even feel like you are in a hospital. Or, rather, you would be amazed to think - "there's a hospital her in the Philippines like this?" It feels like home. It feels horribly like heaven in there that you'd want to stay sick. Everyone wants to be treated genuinely with respect and love.

This is exactly what our country needs.

Well, I would love to talk more. But I have to rest and sleep now. God bless all the people I've met and talked to today. God really has his ways of answering prayers. He answers you directly and straightforward. He talks through the pure hearts of the people who cared to have a genuine chat with you. If only you would listen - but listen carefully, both with your mind and with your heart.

So it's a good thing - even in business, not just in your social life, to have an open mind and to share the abundance and the blessings.

God bless!

May you have a prosperous New Year ahead - as well as a business or an investment (invest in your financial literacy first!) that would be a blessing not only to YOU, but to all whom that your heart may touch through all the SUCCESS that I wish you would have!

Jeng
1/4/2012

Loss? It's an opportunity to GAIN

I was willing to get a loss of P174 and sold a key stock from my "investments basket" or what they call "port-FOOL-YOU" just for me to establish a good position (I'm anticipating opportunities to buy at lower prices today at PSE). mali kc timing ko kahapon and so me mga paper loss ako at the end of session yesterday.. di ko na-monitor ng maayos price movements, natulog na lang ako nung nakita ko bumaba. So what I did was to sacrifice which one has the least paper loss so I could have cash to go bargain hunting today. True enough, prices went down today.. but when it bottomed out at some point, prices went up immediately and suddenly went up trend.. and of course, I was able to ride the wave.

Now, all we have to do is pray that this wave will continue to go up Monday and get us some profit. If not....... so what?
HAha

Paper Loss yan syempre.. if that happens, I have nothing to fear, aakyat din yan coz the trend is bullish mid-term to long-term and PSE is resilient enough especially for stocks "A", "B" and "C".

If eventually I get to lose real money, then it will only add to my knowledge and familiarity with the situation. But if the wave goes UP..... then it only means one thing. KITA.


Simply put, I win in any way.
God bless!! =)

P.S.
So far, I haven't really lost money since around July 14. Paper loss lang at one time, but I didn't give in. The next day, that 3k paper loss turned the other way 360 degrees full circle.

(DISCLAIMER: applicable lang po yung ganitong sentiment for this season ha.. in about a year or maybe in a few months bigla me mangyari na kakaiba esp with the volatility of US & Global Markets today, so take extra care and be watchful).

Patience is a virtue

Patience is a virtue.
Now those who waited for stock prices to go up will gain. =)

Philippines is in a really good shape now, i guess. But it's not a guess some financial experts are saying, it's a FACT (http://guscosio.com/wordpress/).

We went to the Philippine Real Estate Festival at WTC @Pasay this last weekend and they are saying the same. They said even though OFW remitances are slowing down, it's not necessarily going down but is still trending up (mabuhay ang mga bumubuhay sa Pinas!). We have a huge human resource, and even with over-population problems: the potential is good.. why, they say? Young Filipinos around the age early 20's is the largest sector of our population. Now, the BPO's are growing, business is blooming, foreign investors are looking. Filipinos are being tapped, and are now slowly being recognized for their multiple expertise and diligence / quality of work. What will happen is that these 20 somethings will eventually have work and grow into (at least) good professionals, doctors, nurses, artists, writers, teachers, workers, salesmen, entrepreneurs, boxers, athletes, PGT & Talentadong Pinoy winners, etc. And with this surge, the country will also grow.

What are your thoughts?
[btw, ideas/comments (negative or positive) are welcome.. a live & synergistic discussion is always a treat.]


God bless to all kabayans!! (di po yung bagyo ang tinutukoy ko ha...)hehe
God bless Phils! god bless to all! ;)

Quick Profit from stock investments!

07/19/2011 -  Gooood day guys! Great news... wala na pong kaduda-duda: Money month nga ang July. patuloy na naman ang bull run ng PSE.. this is good for the Philippines. How hot are Ph stocks right now? Yesterday, I picked a hot stock, one which is both "fundamentally" good & cheap (financial reports show that the company is really good) and "technically" trending up (graphically by use of charting) in the mid- or long-term. It also has to have a "good story". I invested on this stock using about 1/6 of my total investments (to strategically secure my capital and minimize risk). When the the price dropped to my target level (should be cheap enough) --- I grabbed it!! Now look at the results: yesterday I bought this stock for only P0.052/share (wala pa sa 10 cents!) when no one seems to be buying or cared about the stock. Today? It went up to P0.056/share. My investment gained 7.28%, which is P1000 pesos (equivalent for the amount I invested into it (which is in 5-digits).. konti lang naman, galing sa hard-earned ipon... kung me pera pa sana ako e, mas malaki mailalagay at kikitain! pero mag-expand rin yan, exponentially).

It's tempting to sell it now. But it's still trending up. Tomorrow, it may either go up further or go down. Not to worry. "We have a sea of abundance." And I already have a plan in place. It's important to think long-term, maintain and believe in your strategies / techniques. Whenever you fail: learn and correct your mistakes to improve further. Learn your history, learn from the past (learn from credible and experienced mentors!) but know the present: IF IT'S A BULL MARKET DON'T FEAR!!! (of course, always be on the look-out for signs of impending downward & long bear trends - so far we have none pa naman according to some experts; which is true because we are having better and more transparent governance under President PNoy). IF IT'S A BULL MARKET you can use that fact to your advantage. What you do is PLAN. And stick to it. You have to be able to handle your greed, handle your urges, handle your self. Coz in the stock market, it's a war against your self: against your emotions. You really have to be really really really patient, just like an eagle waiting down on its prey. Believe me, you won't be able to feel or think how hard it is to do that, until you really engage on it. That's the Stock Market for you.

Work smart, not hard.
God bless!

Update 7/20/2011
- LC went up to 1.21, and I was able to sell it.
As a result: I had record earnings in my stock investments. From period 7/12 to today 7/20, I earned P7270 --- in just 8 days! It's a MONEY MONTH indeed!! I'm guessing my colleagues in COL earned big as well. Go Chicago. Go bull!

The Journey from Employee to Entrepreneur to Sarap-Kumita-Habang-Natutulog Living

The tamad / procrastinating way of employee living:

We work. While at work, we try to get easy. During free time we play games, we try to make ourselves happy (but essentially only in the short run, or panandalian lang). If a PC is available, we browse the internet aimlessly. If we get depressed, we resort to quick-fix / escapist solutions.

When at home, we watch TV. Go to the internet. Play music, and play games again. We go FB to chat or check on what others are doing. We go to sleep dreading the next day.

Kelan p ba ang day-off ko?

The wise / proactive way of employee living:

We work. While at work, we take advantage of the extra time to make ourselves productive. We try to read and learn about improving & expanding our financial literacy. We check books on finance, business or entrepreneurship. We play games, but only mind games. We only play games when we finally get to our goal - retire soon, get financially free as quickly as possible so we could play our wildest childish games. We don't get depressed -- there's no time to get depressed, we have to be productive so we could get outta the rat race ASAP. We feel the urgency of acting now, or else lose out on a myriad of opportunities which would rather help us get to our goals easily.

When at home, we go the extra mile and make use of the time to stay productive. We look for good deals (real estate / business opportunities). Check the stock news, not telenovelas.  We network to other people, offline (talking to neighbors perhaps) and online. We blog about our efforts. We share the knowledge, we share what we learn so others may also get enlightened or at least add to their understanding. We go to FB to get updates and network with like-minded people. We go to sleep when tired, but we can rest well knowing that with all the things we're doing now: we're inching closer and closer to our dreams.

Kelan ba mahihigitan ng passive income ko ang active income ko? para matutunan na sa wakas ang pagdo-DOTA.....

A Filipino Dream

Work is a great opportunity.

Just like every great opportunity, you try to take advantage of it (in a good way!), try to make the best out of it.

Let me tell you of a great secret we can learn from those who had been successful. In practical terms, you can use this great opportunity (your primary WORK or your business) to grow financially. This is where it all starts. Since this is the one seed where you can reap all the other great opportunities. This is where you can produce. And you use what you produce to produce more.

Eto ang sinabi sa kin ng mga mentors ko, na kung saan saang seminars ko napupulot:

The Billionaire Wealth Building Formula

Generate Income (through your own business or active income from work) ---> then SAVE the Income
 ---> then INVEST that Savings into Other Businesses and/or Cashflow Producing opportunities (like Real Estate, Stocks, Internet Marketing or other opportunities) ---> then Save the Income from the Businesses and/or or opportunity you have discovered, uncovered or presently covering ---> then INVEST again...
(repeat this formula over and over and your wealth grows exponentially!)

Kung wala ka pang work - no problem. You have all the time to think, to visualize and plan your life. You don't know what it is now when you are young and I am at my age. I wished I knew what I know now and implanted it to my brain when I was that young. I envy you. I really do. When I started, all I could think of is what my parents told me. I couldn't or wouldn't even listen. I was sooooo stubborn. So full of myself. So proud to take the world (the real world) as if I know a piece of it.  I have been so short-sighted that lots and lots of opportunities were wasted. Even now, whenever I don't act. (And so I am starting this blog.)

My parents gave me only 1 formula:
Work. Work. Work. Through that you will earn and have money.

(My formula then was: Enjoy Life. Play. Gimik. Games. Girlfriend. Barkada. Insan. Text / Internet. Gastos dito, gastos duon. So typical of a young person full of life.)

It's not their mistake. Yun lang din ang iisang formula na binigay ng parents nila sa kanila. The good news? Hindi lang po iyun ang nag-iisang formula.


So what now? You work, work and work until your physical body can't do it anymore? Then at that time, do you think you have saved enough for your retirement?

Teka, what retirement? You haven't heard of the word "retirement"? Oh yes, you heard of it, but you don't know.. does it exist here in the Philippines? Nangyayari ba yun? Do you get it automatically? You earn it? Or do you pay for it? Is it called separation pay? Is it called Insurance? Hey, hey, wait.. easy lang. That's another term... ano yung insurance? Meron ba tayo nun? Ano ba yun, kelangan ba natin yun? Naririnig ko lang yun sa Amerika e. Di ba binebenta sa atin yun? Or, di ba, yun yung SSS? O.. di ba dapat magbibigay yung pinagtatrabahuan natin ng ganun once you resign na and go find another work?

You are not alone my friend. There's sooo much to learn. And so I am here. I am here to guide you just as my mentors, those countless books, those speakers in seminars I've attended, those blogs, those friends who were seeking the same fortune as me,  has guided me. I will guide you and we will learn together. Coz.. me? I'm still learning, too. We will learn together, and we will listen to what LIFE itself has been telling us all along but we just DIDN'T budge.

We will learn. We will listen and take note of all the good points. Scrap all the bad ones, but still make a mental note of them and be sure to prepare for them -- and again, "learn" from them. (It's a cycle, don't you see?)

We will prepare ourselves. We will seize the moment. We will be aware and will come to understand or realize: what great great abundance life can really offer.

We will seek our lives. Our dreams.
We will ask.

And we shall receive.

Libre daw ang mangarap. Pero libre din ang pagkilos. Ang pag-aaral. Ang pagsi-siyasat.
At syempre, libre rin ang knowledge na ishe-share ko sa yo!!! =)

So ACT now, my friend.
Listen, and open up your mind.
Dream Big!!!


God bless!
Live life to your fullest!