A letter from Sally: Lesson in business basics

August 7, 2006 by reyna11 · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Career & Education, Letters to Reynz

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I’m posting here a letter from Sally. I thought I would give her all the attention in the world, kasi ba naman, limang volume na comment ang pinadala sa akin ano?! Aba! Can you imagine what her husband would think? Ilang semana din nyang kina-na tong comment na to noh? And she’s been like in frontr of her computer for weeks di baleng si commander na lang ang maglaba’t magsaing pati na mamalengke! Grabe!

So here’s Tita Sally’s comment na mukha nang isang website sa haba! HA HA HA

But I really enjoyed reading this one and I do as always, when it comes straight from someone’s experiences rather that reading all these TO DO and WHAT NOT TO DO sa amazon.com. Wedeeee ba… Sally’s a lot better!

So here goes Sally….

Pano magcomment???

Dear Reyna Elena,

Recently ko lang napasyalan ang site mo, at ako ay sobrang natuwa, kaya eto ako at may comment pa na kasing haba yata ng speech ni GMA, di na yata ito comment, nobela na siguro??? I don’t know if I should be a member or not? or how to send comments? Please help? Not so good in internet kase ako, ito ngang comment ko, este, nobela ko, 2hours ko ginawa sa word document muna, then cut and paste dito para ma-send ko na lang sa iyo.

Whatever the SONA is or was, hope they will be able to fulfill their promises para sa madlang pipol ng Pinas lalo na para sa mga anak ko (kase ang mahal mag-apply sa New Zealand at Canada, tumataginting na hundreds of thousands ang usapan)!!!!!

Reyna, you’re such an inspiration, and down-to-earth ang explanation mo ng mga business start-ups, sana nag-appear na ang beauty mo way back 1999 para naiwasan ko ang mga blunders ng business, pero as they say, laging may katigasan ang ulo ng tao or it’s called katangahan, hangga’t di nalalaman kung pano malugi, di bibigay, kaya ako’y nalugi ng todo (effort, money, relationship with friends and family, emotions na rin!!)

Di ako OFW, dito ako sa Pinas since birth, wala akong chance na mag-abroad. And I hope you will accept if I am going to share what I’ve learned in business (sorry if I didn’t give you the choice, eh nagumpisa na ko???) baka makatulong sa iba pa nating kababayan na nais magbisnes, to equip them with hard-earned experience and costly mistakes that they should avoid or prevent para di malugi at maging masaya sa
pagbibisnes.

Here goes, di natapos ang story ko dun sa lugi na yon, i came back on my own last 2003, so far good income na rin, pero may lugi pa rin! kase yung isa kong cliente nabankrupt, ang laki ng payables nila sa akin, at ako ay umiyak ng todo dahil kasabay nun ang lugi ko sa events (paconcert-concert) kase masyadong matapang kaya ganito ang nangyari sa akin, tanga ba??? Ang kulit ko ‘no? Perseverance my dear ang tawag daw dito! The new business i started from the first LUGI ay utang na P5000 sa tatay ko, para lang yun sa pag-open ng bank account in my business name, single
proprietorship para walang nakikialam sa pera at pag-manage kundi ako. Nabayaran ko na yung utang, natulungan ko pa tatay ko at mga kapatid ko, this is a good feeling para sa akin.

Kahit pa nagkalugi-lugi ako, di ko pinabayaan graphic design business ko, nagtipid to the max, nagtanggal ng mga empleyado na di naman talaga productive, yung mga productive naiwan, pero kailangang talagang magdownsize pa kaya mag-isa na muna ako to get back my losses. Ingat lang talaga sa mga kasama and basically show that you’re the BOSS whatever happens, this is one of my mistakes, i am quite kind to my employees kaya naoverthrown ako at nafed-up, mabait daw kase ako or tanga nga lang talaga! Sabi nga, TRY AND TRY UNTIL YOU SUCCEED! Di pa naman ako milyonarya pero feeling ko yun na, kase oras na ko sa lahat- for my kids, husband, friends, hobbies; ang utang ko - sa suppliers lang, walang personal utang sa bumbay (sobrang pahirap ito!) at kung sino-sino pa, yun lang happy na ako.
Dito magkakatalo on how one defines SUCCESS or BEING SUCCESSFUL, kase ang hirap i-define ng success or successful person, lalo na kung iko-compare kina Donald Trump, Bill Gates, and those billionaires or zillionaires out there, mega-RICH na ‘tong mga ‘to, ang hirap abutin nun, pero malay mo?!!

Since all my past mistakes, I’ve learned a lot, specifically, mga virtues na dapat meron ang isang tao whether in business or not.

‘patience’ is important in business, the one that will give you a good decision when needed, at saka to wait for good things to happen at the right time, hindi yung patient ka sa employee mo kahit late or advance ng advance (ganito ako noon), dapat sa mga ganitong empleyado, fired on the third late kase costly yung tardiness nila, sayang ang business that you will get kung ganito ang mga tao (harsh ko ‘no? pero iba talaga kpag may-ari ka na ng business, mag-iiba ang tingin mo sa employee and yourself as the employer), ay di rin
pala papayag ang DOLE or NLRC dito ng ganito! but do not leave the compassion out, it will still be needed one way or another. Patient din sana sa earnings and expenses, kase kapag shopping to the max, lumipat sa mas magarang bahay or apt or whatever that will get money from your business, kaboom ubos ang pangikot sa negosyo, worse, uutang na sana wag muna, umutang lamang sa tamang pamamaraan. Wala namang ginhawa na nauna liban dun sa mga mayayaman talaga, sa ating mga ordinaryong pinoy, hirap at ginhawa talaga ang order ng buhay. As for me, this 2006 lang kami lumipat ng pamilya ko sa condo-condohan (rent pa rin, pero mas presentable sa mga bisita, kase I work from my house na!)

‘courage’ is the number 1 needed in business, tapang ng loob at walang hiya-hiya, kundi wala kang sales income, kung wala ako nito, siguro give-up ako sa unang business venture pa lang, pero, di ako papayag na malugi without a fight (kase 4 anak ko kaya di puedeng mawalan ng lakas ng loob kundi pati sila gutom), kaya tapang ulit but now careful na at lagi
kong isinasaisip ang mga natutunan ko sa mga mistakes ko. Madami ka ngang pera, wala ka namang tapang o courage, worse, madaming hang-ups, pano makakaumpisa?

And from my own searches, most of the RICH GUYS out there had so many failures or mistakes, but they kept on coming back to stand and prove themselves, ngayon, mayaman na sila, they have respect, money and a good life!

By the way, they are not arrogant or mayabang, most of them are just simply proud of their achievement and what they have accomplished, iba ang arrogant sa proud di ba? some are humble really, di lang natin realize kase ang layo ng level nila sa atin, and look at them, they are helping a lot of
people to have work and food in their homes.

‘count your blessings’ as many business people will tell you kase maraming di nasisiyahan sa kung ano na ang nagawa nila at meron sila. I’m counting what i have, my husband and kids, my siblings, my very selected friends, some savings, food in my table every meal, bed to sleep from exhausting work, house to live in, even the very life i have, I am thankful, kase kung patay na ko, wala na kong magagawa kundi tingnan from above ang nangyayari sa pamilya ko, sana nga dun ako madestino (wish ko lang!)

‘faith in the higher entity’ or yung nakatira sa itaas na sinasabi mo, needed yun kase when you are not appreciative of what the Above has given you, walang saysay ang lahat, baka masayang lang ang konting kinikita mo pa, let me mention ‘tithes’, di naman ako yung klase ng 10% of my income ibibigay ko kase di ko pa naman kaya yun, but you know, when you give, you will receive – siksik, liglig at umaapaw (sabi ng nanay ko), nagbibigay ako paminsan-minsan sa charitable foundation dito lalo na kapag meron akong sobra (minsan kahit walang sobra, give na rin), di
naman kailangang malaki o palaging pera, some of the clothes and shoes of my kids (mga napagliitan nila, wag naman yung sira-sira at di naman talaga magagamit), or a sack of rice, some groceries, dun ko pinapadala para makarating sa tamang pupuntahan, ang importante from the heart because you know you are helping a lot of impoverished kids or families here in Pinas, kase you have been blessed to earn good money for your basic needs at sila ay wala! By the way,
wala akong gustong i-advertise na foundation or secta, kahit pa nga religion, kase para sa akin lang naman, kahit ano pa ang nasyon mo, religion mo, you believe in something. Sasabihin ng iba, konti nga lang income mo, nagbibigay ka pa, i don’t mind them, kase di naman ako namulubi sa ibinigay ko dun, nadagdagan pa nga, kase ang daming thank you letters from the foundation, hehehe! When I lose hope or worries, I pray, then sleep baka may magandang solutions when I wake up.

Madami pa kong i-share actually, kaso nobela na ito, sa susunod na lang po ulit, if you will permit and teach me how to comment dun sa site ng ofwcenter, pretty please?????

Pero, i’m not going without telling you madam reyna elena, that you are doing a GREAT FAVOR to all OFWs, sana lang, magventure na sa business ang mga pinoy on their own. Hope you will keep this site! Very few will understand what you do, but it’s a GREAT DEAL to many, ako nga di OFW, appreciate ko yung site mo, haping –hapi pa nga ako dun sa mga comments mo sa iba, carino-brutal ba ang tawag dun! (HAHAHAHA)

Thank you. Wishing all to have a good life and more blessings!

Tags:

Machine designed for use in the Philippines

August 5, 2006 by reyna11 · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Uncategorized

I’d like to share this story to you all. I can’t help laughing at this one because the slot machine was designed to be used in the Philippines which is why there is the switch problem. Can you imagine?! I picked up this story on CNN website!

Slot machine: Here’s $200, come again Friday
August 4, 2006; Posted: 7:56 p.m. EDT (23:56 GMT)

Indiana BRIDGEPORT, Indiana (AP) — Gamblers raked in nearly half a million dollars over two days on a slot machine that multiplied by 10 the amount of money that players put in, then paid out vouchers without playing, a newspaper reported.

Caesars Indiana lost $487,000 before a player notified officials of the problem with the machine, The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky, reported Friday.

Kathryn Ford of Louisville realized something was wrong July 23 when she and her husband sat down at two of the machines, called Extra Money. When she put in a $20 bill the machine registered it as $200. She tried another $20 bill and the same thing happened, she said.

Ford said she put eight $20 bills in the machine and received vouchers that could be redeemed for $1,600 in cash — without even playing.

Other gamblers noticed.

“There was even a young woman who jumped in while I was sitting there. She … reached across me, popped a hundred in, popped out a thousand, and then she took off,” Ford said. Ford and her husband reported the problem to a security officer.

Casino officials determined the machine had a switch set for use in the Philippines, instead of the United States, instructing it to multiply credits by 10.

Tags: Ooops!

Aha! So, we don’t have money after all!

August 1, 2006 by reyna11 · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Politics & Government

THE government has received $7.4 billion worth of pledges for various infrastructure development projects, taking it a step closer toward realizing its economic pump-priming program over the medium term.

ANO KAMO?! PLEDGES? Ano to? Tele-thon? Pledges here? Pledges there? Bakit me mga pledges? Sinong humihingi nang pamasko?!

About $6 billion will come from the Chinese government, which is seeking places to invest parts of its estimated $800 billion in gross international reserves. The funds will be coursed through China’s export-import bank.

PAKI-ULIT NGA?! Teka… $6 billion sa Chinese? Pump ki Tita Glo’s infrastructure projects? Akala ko WE HAVE MONEY?

This is according to Economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri, who told reporters Monday that the government’s economic team was set to finalize a list of infrastructure projects to be submitted to foreign creditors for financing.

Hmmmn… TO BE SUBMITTED TO FOREIGN CREDITORS FOR FINANCING. Sa madaling salita… NANGU-NGUTANG PO NA NAMAN ANG PINAS! HA HA HA! We have money, ha?! Teka… sino yong “WE”? Does this mean that Tita Glo is a partner or investor dito sa mga magpapagutang saatin?

Neri, who is director-general of the National Economic and Development Authority, said the financial support from China would be released over the next three years at about $2 billion a year.

The funds will come in the form of concessional loans that will carry an annual interest rate of 3.0 percent and payable in 20 years, Neri said.

O Ayan, LOANS… at hindi WE HAVE MONEY.

Japan Bank for International Cooperation, so far the Philippines’ biggest source of official development assistance, has agreed to give $1 billion worth of ODA for its 27th yen loan package, Neri added.

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines’ two other major sources of ODA, will each give $200 million, he said.

Earlier, the Department of Finance said the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would embark on a series of infrastructure development projects estimated to total P290 billion, starting this year until 2010. The purpose is to pump-prime the economy, which has lagged behind its Asian counterparts in public spending for infrastructure.

Because its revenue generation capability cannot cover the expenditure requirement, it will have to rely on soft loans from foreign lenders.

The Arroyo administration has set a goal of increasing the government’s spending for infrastructure to five or six percent of the gross domestic product, which is what governments in neighboring countries spend, on average.

The Philippine government’s spending for infrastructure is two to three percent of the GDP.

The big-ticket projects include new airports in several provinces, interconnection of the North and South Luzon expressways, and extension of Metro Manila’s overhead Light Rail Transit to Bacoor town in Cavite province. The projects also include connection of the north stations of the Light Rail Transit and the Metro Rail Transit, and several farm-to-market roads.

The government also wants to start work on a connection of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Road to Dingalan Port through Nueva Ecija province; connection of the Marikina-Infanta Road to the port in Real town in Quezon province, connection of the Clark Special Economic Zone to the Port of Batangas via Metro Manila, creation of an advanced facility in Port Irene through the Cagayan Zone Authority; opening of a seaport in Salomague in the northern province of Ilocos Sur, upgrade of the Subic seaport, and construction of a roll-on, roll-off port system that will link Lucena City in Quezon with Boac in Marinduque province.