I am on my 2000 pesos from nothing. That’s pretty big for someone who started out asking for 1 peso in makati. How did I get to level 2k?
Well I was thinking of something that I can do with zero capital and the idea came to me. Freelance people earn money by offering something they can do for the client. It can range from writing to photography to whatever just as long as they are able to provide the services that the client needs. So I tried to do a freelance work.
Im not really versed in the art of photography or design so I did a little writing. A few friends of mine needed someone to write for their company. So I helped them out in exchange for a little cash incentive. I didn’t charge a high price since Im not really a writer or a PR consultant. But it was very interesting how you can make money in doing freelance work. You can do this even if you have a normal day job. Just be sure that the project that you accept is doable and make sure that the work that you give is quality work. Do not just grab the money and give out crap. Because in the long run it will be bad for you. The Word of Mouth phenomenon could be a very beneficial and a very dangerous thing at the same time. Word travels fast and if word got around that you are hard to deal with or you didnt do a good job then your reputation will be damaged. Freelance work, like any business, is built on reputation. If people hear good things about the work you do and how you deal with clients then new clients will come to you because your current clients spoke highly of you and the service that you provide.
The middle man is different from the freelancer because the freelancer has a specialized skill that a particular client pays for, the middle man if isolated on his own has nothing to offer. However the beauty of being the middle man is you dont need to have specialized skill all you need is an observant eye and communication skills. Have you ever heard of the filipino phrase “laway lang ang puhunan”? This phrase literally means “saliva is his only capital” and this is how the middle man operates. Middle men are connectors they look for people who needs something and connects them to the person who can provide that particular service and earn thru that transaction.
Lets say I know someone who is selling a car and I came across someone who wants to buy a car of the same model and type. There is a two-way approach to the middle man 1. you can ask your friend for a commission if you are able to find a buyer for his car or 2. you can add a certain amount to the current price and complete the sale at a profit.
I’ll tell you how I did it. A friend of mine from the province was looking for someone who can make new uniforms for their employees because they will be changing the name of their store. Luckily for me I already knew someone who makes uniforms as their business so I told my friend that I can help him out. I got the quote from the manufacturer and asked if I can get a commission from this project, they said that the project was too small to give a commission. So I went with # 2 and added a small amount to the current price to make a small profit.
The nice thing about the middle man is he can sell anything (electronics, cars, clothes, services) without having to shell out capital. For those of you who want to try this out just be careful. Middle men still needs to make sure that both parties involved are pleased with the transaction. Because there are some instances that buyers dont pay or your supplier has a defective product then in those instances you will definitely be in the middle. But in general this is a good way to earn money even when you are working.
pathtomillion
klao8
yojismo
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April 1, 2008 at 7:07 am
pathtomillion
Many years ago I promised to myself not to work with middlemen anymore. I told myself, if I can go straight to the guy I’m dealing with, I will never talk to a middleman. The reason for this is that middlemen tend to leech on transactions and most of the time lower the value of my services (and they REALLY DO in my case). I am definitely a freelancer (as Ken would put it) so it’s really hard for me to value the position of a middleman.
However, with this post, i realized it shouldn’t be the case all the time. My bad experiences with middlemen was because of two major factors: 1. Middlemen with bad communication skills 2. and Greedy middlemen. But i’m now trying to look at it the other way around… We also have freelancers who are bad communicators and freelancers who are greedy, ending up with a bad client relationship, too. So clearly, it’s not just the middleman’s fault, but certainly, adding a middleman increases the probability of a bad transaction. Remember the game “pass the message” where information passed from the start of the line ends up distorted at the other end? I perceive it more like that, but a little more complex.
So you have to be careful who you deal with. A middleman has a REPUTATION to protect, too, just like freelancers. It’s true that middleman should earn from the transaction, after all, it is his business. But honesty and goodwill are the major characteristics of a good middleman doing good business.
But Ken, I believe you can take this a step further (remember kaizen?). Why don’t you, create a product/service/anything worth of value to other people by using your skill as a middleman. Creating something by putting together all your connections resulting into something unique. This way you’ll not be perceived as someone who is leeching from the transaction but someone who creates a “need” and provides opportunities to your contacts. Now that’s a better deal isn’t it? And will be a bigger one I bet!
April 1, 2008 at 7:50 am
klao8
well there are a lot of forms of middle men. but basically they are traders. people who own grocery stores are traders and a form of middle man between manufacturer and buyer. sales agents and real estate agents on commission basis are middle men as well. Just as long as you bring the two parties together (seller and buyer) for the transaction you can be considered a middle man. Greed is not unique to middle men alone. It can happen to any of us, as they say in politics “moderate their greed” hahahaha.
you’ve got a point about creating something unique but with 2k capital it is very difficult. We are at a point of capital generation. so with zero capital, what can we do to earn money? with no skill at photography or design or any other specialized skill what can you offer? if you dont have anything that interests the buyers, offer something that other people have.
there are a lot of different roads to that first million. A friend of my uncle made millions by being the middle man of a stainless steel manufacturer in china and a philippine distributor in cebu. he receives 2% commission from the chinese company for the sales from that particular account. and when he visits cebu, the distributor treats him to fancy hotels and restaurants because without him the distributor would not be enjoying the earnings he gets from the business he brought him many years ago.