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Jennifer Kushell is one of my favorites in terms of goal setting, you can read her book entitled “Secrets of the Young & Successful” and learn about how to reach your goals fast and efficiently. A friend of mine told me she also published a book entitled “The Young Entrepreneur’s Edge” way back in 1999 where she discusses the steps towards becoming a successful entrepreneur and I came across a section where she points out the disadvantages of being an entrepreneur. If I had read this one six months ago I might have avoided it, but I still feel it is a blessing to go through all those mistakes because the lessons tend to stick when it is learned the hard way… I’m glad she included a couple of tips to avoid it so I’ll be prepared the next time it happens.
Disadvantages of Being An Entrepreneur and Ways to Get Over It
1. Lack of Credibility - I’m quite used to this because as a young entrepreneur you will be stepped at every time the big players are around. But there’s nothing to worry, it’s part of the process of growing. Get around this roadblock by:
- convincing others that you are worth a chance
- align yourself with people who has credibility
- become someone important
- know what you are talking about
- do what you promise to deliver
2. Lack of Maturity - this comes in with a price tag of “pissed-off clients.” The only way you can get out of this is by being professional and I believe this needs time to develop through experience.
3. Lack of Experience - everyone has to start somewhere and that somewhere for me was zero. I want to become a established motion graphics artist and put up my own studio but my degree diploma says I was trained to be a Biologist. And I worked my way up the ladder of experience, often crashing back down along the way but nothing can stop me. It’s quite good to know that some of Kushell’s tips I’ve done personally even before I read the book:
- work for someone who has experience even if it is for free
- read everything you can read about your industry
- attend classes and seminars
- join related associations and organizations
- build any related, yet indirect skills (you can learn photography even if your major field is writing)
4. Overeagerness - I paid the price dearly for this… When clients come in, you get the feeling of being powerful and invincible that you start to forget that there are much more to learn. You’ll know it when clients are starting to call, and you’re behind schedule, short of budget, and exhausted to death… These are the things you might want to avoid if they ever happen to you:
- hiring people prematurely
- overspending on the assumption that it will be created anyway
- getting involved in projects without the necessary skills
- taking on too much responsibilities
- appearing too anxious about the project
- openly admitting you lack the experience
- not taking time to be properly trained
- not taking time to plan the business
- neglecting to write a business plan
- ignoring advices of skeptic people
5. Isolation & Loneliness - I never felt this way since my wife has been very supportive to all my projects. And besides, I like working alone most of the time, it makes me feel secure that everything is in place and under my control. But if this is something that scares you the most, you might take note of the following:
- maintain communication with the most important people in your life
- be honest with people close to you when you are having a hard time
- make sure you have a solid group of mentors
6. Lack of Leadership - perhaps the most important of all. Nobody will buy your product or follow your instructions unless they sense the leader in you. Develop this early in life and you’ll have an edge over the others, even if they are more skilled than you are…
7. Difficulty Motivating Yourself - this was a major problem I had to deal with. I ended up lazy on my second month with nothing but savings and no clients. Having so much time in your hands can be very dangerous for you and your business so be careful. Here are some tips to get you going:
- get into a strict routine
- schedule early morning meetings
- pack your schedules with appointments
- do things right away, don’t procrastinate
- take advantage of time when you have the energy
- place in a small reward system for yourself
- have other people work with you
- remind yourself of your purpose consistently
Wow, that was a long list and I hope you’ll find something useful in it. These will only be disadvantages if you allow it to, remember that the road to wealth will not always be as easy as you can tolerate. But as long as there are people like Jennifer Kushell guiding us, we will get through it just fine…
ONWARDS!!!
The Science of Getting Rich
by Wallace Delois Wattles
Reading the book in just one night is quite an experience because every chapter tends to connect seemlessly with the others. I want to thank Tim Bennett for letting me borrow a PDF version which you find you can find on his website www.millionaireanonymous.com for a very minimal fee.
There are no tangible instructions here like get into the stock market, save money, do entrepreneurial stuff and the like. All that you can find here is the whole concept of ‘getting rich’ in its simplest and basic form, like the fundamental mathematical processes (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) which, in combination, will create the most complex equations. However, the book stresses on ‘moving onto the creative plane’ rather than competition which eliminates the idea of scarcity. If everybody has the power to create, then the whole world would be so much abundant!
The following are short descriptions and/or reactions on each chapter:
Chapter 1
IT concentrates in convincing you that wanting to be rich is a natural state of mind and in fact a necessity in order to enjoy life to the fullest. Without these things in mind, you cannot understand its concept and accept the information that will be presented. I think this chapter will change how you think about money.
Chapter 2
THIS chapter logically explains how it is possible to get rich regardless of your state or business. It compares the idea of getting rich to all the other sciences like math and physics which has laws. And these laws, if mastered (which is referred to as ‘doing things in a Certain Way’), will guarantee riches!
Chapter 3
IF you are thinking that being rich is only for rich people, you must read this chapter and rethink your premise. This chapter shows how the universe is so full of resources that it can actually make us all rich and still leave room for more.
Chapter 4
THIS chapter explains that all things come from one ‘formless substance’ which takes shape through thought which man imposes on it. Faith that you can create riches using these ‘formless substance’ and that the state of poverty, diseases and alike are all forms which man has taken shape using their thoughts.
Chapter 5
THIS chapter will teach you to forget about scarcity and limited resources. Life is continually expanding and increasing and so as the resources. If you will be able to take your mind off the competition and on to creating things, you may acquire anything that you need and even provide more for the others to enjoy.
Chapter 6
THERE are three points here to be pondered upon: that you must give more in value what you take in cash; that value is very relative to the person who defines it; and that you have to hold the image in your mind in order to get it. This is the first chapter that tells you what to do.
Chapter 7
BE grateful about everything good and concentrate on it. Do not talk about the bad, diseases and the like because thoughts on it will take form in your lives as you think about it. Better be thankful of the good things you have and more of it will come. Other than the thoughts about, this chapter has nothing else to offer.
Chapter 8
THIS chapter’s concept is simple but very heavy in my opinion (maybe that’s why i’m not rich yet). It discusses that you have to hold a picture in your head with a faith so strong that it realizes itself through your actions. Your thoughts about it must be 24/7 in order for it to be realized. Over the other chapters, this one should give you a boost of energy and start thinking about your direction in creating wealth.
Chapter 9
HOW to use your Will Power is such a revelation for me. It is quite the opposite of what I think. The chapter suggests that Will Power should not be imposed on anybody else but yourself. I thought Will Power was suppose to control people and results, it is not! And you will learn more about it by reading this chapter.
Chapter 10
DO not think about anything else but being rich in a creative way. This chapter discusses nothing more but this idea.
Chapter 11
ACT now! The core of this chapter lies on the idea that thought without action is merely a wish that will not transform itself to something tangible. Thought must be combined with action so that it will manifest itself. Thought brings you closer to the thing that you want, but it’s your action that grabs it.
Chapter 12
EFFICIENCY of your actions makes your vision realized. Do everything you can do for the day and do it as efficiently as you can. Your vision will start to take actual form when it is mixed with efficient action.
Chapter 13
THIS chapter teaches you how to get into the business that you have to be in. It discusses that you are best-fitted to the business that you have talent for, however, if for some reason you don’t want that business, you can work your way achieving what you want by using the business you are in right now. But if what you do right now is not the business you have talent for or not the kind of business that you want, you are very much in the wrong place. You can only engage yourself in a business that you do not want if it will be used to get to where you want to be.
Chapter 14
THE impression of increase must be in every transactions that you make, to every word that you use. You must give impression of increase with everyone around and everybody will gravitate to your business. I could personally attest to this, people love to speak with you and hear your opinions and ideas when you talk like abundant people do, alive and enthusiastic. Also, the chapter tries to warn the reader against the lust for power over other people. Being rich is about abundance and creation, not competition. So when you stand on this perspective, you naturally won’t think that people will get ahead of you, instead, they are there to help you further your own cause.
Chapter 15
YOU must improve your status every time. And when your position becomes too small for you to fit in, you must try another position bigger than your space. This chapter brings us to the idea of continuous improvement whether you are employed or an employer. It worth to note that rich people are the people that grows continuously, trying to fill-in the current position and move on bigger ones when opportunities present itself.
Chapter 16
SOMEWHAT a reitiration of the previous chapters. You can actually read this one and have all the necessary instructions to get rich. However, action without basis or proof is quite useless, so I still recommend reading previous chapters. But towards the ending, tries to justify that failures exists in order to lead us to something better, that failures are actually success turned up side down.
Chapter 17
SUMMARY of the whole book including its instructions. In its very simplified form, several short paragraphs only, it’s quite hard to understand its concepts. But as it is, it is a good reminder of the whole book!
Overall, the book serves its purpose very well. It’s like reading ‘Think & Grow Rich’ stripped with all the unnecessary clutter which might cloud your concept of ‘getting rich’. The concept is so much simplified that you can actually rename the title to ‘The Science of Success’ and it won’t make much of a difference. The whole idea is given each chapter and the way you will execute it is really up to you.
You always complain about your lousy boyfriend, beat yourself up whenever you come in late, always have your room like WWIII just ended, and you can think of a hundred more things you don’t want in your life but still it exists and why is that? Why is it that the thing you hated the most still sits there beside you waiting to ruin your every day? It is the Law of Tolerance…
The law states that: Things around you exists because you tolerate their existence.
Let’s have a deeper look on this.
Suppose you are late for work, in a middle of a traffic jam, and still an hour away from your destination. You just sit there and say to yourself “Oh my God, why now when I’m in a hurry? I can’t take this anymore!” and… uhm, you just sit there… minute after minute, you just sit there… And an hour later you finally got passed the traffic cursing the whole hour you spent on it… Well, I thought you ‘can’t take this anymore!’, but you obviously had a lot more patience sticking with it the whole time. You can still ‘take it’, because if you can’t, there are more than enough solutions to your problem:
Solutions to heavy traffic on your way to work:
1. You could wake up and leave early to avoid it.
2. You could find other routes to go around it.
3. You could find another job near to your place.
4. You could move closer to your work place.
5. You could forget about your job and build your own company and live in the office.
6. And, If your life depended on it, you would get out of the car and run!
But instead you sat there and wait… you sat there and tolerated it… and it will never go away as long as you tolerate it… You obviously had several options you didn’t think about because you actually liked it that way (in a way) based on results.
The LAW
This law cuts across all the aspects of your life, be it relationship, financial, spiritual, health and in all circumstances. It is neither good nor bad, it’s just the way things are, and now that you know it, you must learn to work with it, not against it. Picture a millionaire getting broke compared to you (supposing you are not a millionaire) getting broke. Notice that there will be two different reactions to the same situation. You might just shrug it off at most and accept it, but a millionaire will immediately draft a plan and work his way up again without missing a single minute. See how the Law of Tolerance worked differently for the same situation? And it is all based on your level of tolerance. Now that you know that, would it be better to adjust your tolerance accordingly to the way you want to live your life like jumping up to action like a millionaire when he’s broke and be a millionaire yourself? You can be much more than you are right now working with the Law of Tolerance.
When I used to work for a company, whenever I go home, I see my place as a disaster. Nothing is in place, the sink is filled with dishes to be washed (on its third day), door knob is still not fixed for two weeks now and you can go on and have like two sheets of paper filled with this sorts of stuffs. But finally I said to myself, I won’t tolerate this anymore, wealthy people don’t live like this, people more than I am don’t live like this, so in order to be like them I have to have the same standard of tolerance as they have. What would a wealthy person do in such situation? He’ll start with whatever is nearest and never stop until everything is done… and so I did and it took the whole night to finish everything and it felt so fantastic I said to myself, ‘this is how I want to live my life’. The following morning I woke up and all of a sudden I see things differently. I saw a piece of paper on the floor, which I normally don’t notice, picked it up and went straight to the trash. Unbelievable! I finally found it much easier to make my place orderly just by adjusting your tolerance. Now the sink has to be clean before I go to bed, I could argue about it with my wife but if she doesn’t do it, I won’t have the job done. So instead of arguing, like what most people would do and blame it on others, and because I don’t tolerate a dirty sink, I will clean it myself if I have to! And it’s because you can’t take it anymore… period.
Change Everything
Find out things that you don’t like happening in your life and change your level of tolerance on it. What would your ideal person do about it? How would he react on it? Answer the questions and do it. You’ll find that when you have successfully changed that, other things in your life will start to change as well, like a ripple effect. Change enough of those things and you’ll have a completely brand new you!
The Law of Tolerance cannot be changed, it doesn’t have to, you just have to learn how to work with it, use it to your advantage and achieve your ideal status without fearing of springing back to where you were because it will always lead you to your natural and stable state, the one that you tolerate… Now ask yourself, ‘why am I not wealthy yet?’, you know the answer…
Try this one, close your eyes and focus on a certain color, let’s say yellow. Now when you open your eyes look around you and try to remember all the items that are yellow around, ten seconds will do (please do the exercise before you read on and you’ll be astonished by its results!) Now shut your eyes again and try to remember anything blue… Chances are, you won’t remember any… And that’s because your eyes were so keenly setup to see only yellows that it blocked everything else… Guess what… This happens to you everyday of your life! You only see things the way your eyes were setup to see blocking everything else that doesn’t agree with it. And there is a good thing about this discovery, now that you know how it works, you have to make it work with you, not against you. And your mission is to change your perspective.
Seeing things differently is an advantage… Shifting your perspective can and will show solutions that you never knew was there all along. A change of perspective is just what you need in order to proactively seek opportunities. Before I knew of this, my eyes would just wonder around magazines, television, mall stands and opportunity after opportunity, I missed it all! How did I know? Because now knowing how the mind works, I got back to the same things and I was blown away with how much opportunity was there! You’ll even see how other opportunities were taken by those who saw it before you and they are making big business.
To illustrate let me share to you my experience. When my daughter was in a singing workshop, their recital then was to be held in Teatrino in Greenhills San Juan. By then I was broke and had no job (I just resigned, believe me when you’re in this status, you really have to change how you look at things). Then I decided, let’s give the idea a try, i will be thinking of nothing but ‘how can i make money with the things i’m seeing’… guess what, it works almost instantly and even gave way to my baby video productions company KAIKO. As I was looking around the workshop and the concert itself, I noticed nobody was video covering the whole event! I myself would love to see my daughter on tape and she would love to see it too when she grows up, now there’s a market right here that nobody is servicing. So I went to talk to the director to give me a try and we did our first coverage with a rented video camera and help from friends, I edited everything, put it in a good packaging and gave it back… Now, we have all the succeeding contracts and all concerts which will be produced by the same director! And out of the same experiment I even saw other opportunities that other people might think profitable such as costumes, gowns for rent, and many more, I’m sure there’s even a lot that I missed to see. Projects will come in two-months interval but that’s a start. What I have to do now is fill in the gaps with other directors who might need the same services.
You see the power of changing your perspective is barely tapped by the experiment and yet a business was made, so I don’t see any reason you won’t be able to start up with the things I have shared with you. Use it all with the spare time you have and watch your progress unfold.
The Process
Scan - look around you and try to see if there are opportunities out there waiting for you to take. Anything that interests you the most might be a good thing to start with. It’s hard to just see things in your head only so you have to physically go out and explore, read books, and experience the world around you. You can use an already established businesses model (for me it was video coverage) and see if you can provide it. Or create something else which is much better (another business I’d like to venture in is Naughty Panties, printed panties with a twist!) DO NOT limit your ideas with the things you can do. You can share those other opportunities with one of your friends who might be interested, they will love you for it!
Plan - if you have found the opportunity you’ve been looking for, plan how you can actually make money out of it. Think like the project is already yours and it has more than enough budget to cover you (this mindset will force the best out of you). And think how you will present it. Profit is not a good front, it might be better to give an impression of helping out (because it’s all about that!) and you are interested in making THEIR business better.
Take Action - everything will be such a waste if you don’t actually DO IT. In the end, it’s action that produces results. It won’t work the first time, believe me, if it does YOU are sooo lucky! It took a number of proposals to gain the confidence, it took some time to shrug off failures and start again. But in the end, it all pays off. I think the lesson I learned from this experience is priceless because it will move me forward in life no matter what.
My mentor told me he got started with his own business knocking at doors for six months trying to find somebody who needs his services. And I did just that, but it didn’t take me that long since my services are quite cheaper than his (200k laser light show versus a 20k full video coverage). And it worked so successfully I had to hire other people to help me as I my schedule was full, providing income opportunities for others!
You won’t make any progress or start anything without doing anything! Don’t be afraid, mistakes are obstacles that makes you stronger every time you come through it. Mistakes are the actual treasures of experience so accumulate so much that you have no room for another (well, make it a point you only do one of each).
A month ago I came across this study made by Saras D. Sarasvathy of the University of Virginia which addresses the question: What makes an entrepreneur, entrepreneurial? We all know what entrepreneurs are and we know what they do but the question of where do this actions come from and how do they come up with such ‘plans’ are as elusive as their source of ideas. And what if this way of thinking can be duplicated, taught, and learned? This questions got me excited as i read, so here is the study as i understand it:
There are two types of reasoning:
1. Causal Reasoning - achieve a goal using given means finding the optimal alternatives
2. Effectual Reasoning - goals emerge from the given means
Causal Reasoning revolves around the logical way of thinking. In business schools, it would have the following process:
1. Market Definition
2. Segmentation (using relevant variables such as age and status)
3. Targeting (an example would be expected returns)
4. Positioning (use of marketing strategies)
5. to reach a CUSTOMER
Now this way of thinking has been used for years and years because of its ability to predict the future using the data that came in with the research (feasibility study as I would understand it), however this entails costs, time, effort and not to mention its probability to still fail after launching the product. To solve the problem (very unconventionally), entrepreneurs do the process the other way around.
Effectual Reasoning:
1. CUSTOMER identification (through Effectual Reasoning Means)
2. Customer definition (strategic marketing and selling)
3. Adding Segments and Strategic Partners
4. Definition of one of several markets
Effectual Reasoning Means:
1. Who they are
2. What they know
3. Whom they know
Using the means above, an entrepreneur would maximize his resources rather than come up with the resources. A customer then is defined by the value you could give them rather than creating the value that they need. Now instead of launching the product big time (advertisements, promotions, etc.) with how much budget they have, entrepreneurs tend to sell it directly to the nearest customer reachable or to friends and relatives who might be interested. From there, an entrepreneur would exploit other customers based on the sales made initially. What are the qualities of the people who bought the product, where do they live, what do they do? These are some of the questions that might help reach other customers. Then an entrepreneur, based on the defined customers would find strategic partners, people who have the same interests in furthering the cause and a relationship is made (this is something that is not taught in business schools). Several markets will emerge in the process creating a vast array of opportunities available for entrepreneurs to exploit. Of course, the most profitable will be chosen and refined further.
To sum up the process, here are the major differences:
1. Causal reasoning concentrates on expected returns while Effectual reasoning emphasizes on affordable loss (instead of targeting a market, an entrepreneur would bring the product to the nearest possible customer with zero resources)
2. Causal reasoning depends on competitive analysis while Effectual reasoning builds on strategic partnerships (the challenge is to pick a partner whom you could leverage early on before even taking capital out)
3. Causal reasoning exploits pre-existing knowledge and prediction while Effectual reasoning stresses leveraging on contingencies (the ability to turn the unexpected into profitable)
Focusing on the last point, entrepreneurs uses the ready-fire-aim approach model. They don’t think too much of the outcome but test the product as it is and adjust as they go along developing it. This approach will actually do more in the long run. Added to that, entrepreneurs don’t like the idea of predictable future, they like to ‘create’ the future. Not all surprises are bad and it is not the contingencies but the leveraging that entrepreneurs do.
Here are the principles behind each reasoning:
Causal reasoning - to the extent that we can predict the future, we can control it
Effectual reasoning - to the extent that we can control the future, we do not need to predict it
To illustrate the principles above, let’s say that an urn has a given of 10 red balls at 100 points each and 10 green balls at 0 points each, causal reasoning would risk 50 points for every draw since the chances of getting a red ball is 50/50. However, with the premise that life has no given colors and number of balls to be drawn upon, the only way to predict the future is carefully noting what you draw each time creating the ratio as you go along. In essence, one of the interviewed entrepreneur explained:
Whatever the initial distribution of balls in the urn, I will continue to acquire red balls and put them in the urn. I will look for other people who own red balls and induce them to become partners and add to the red balls in the urn. As time goes by, there will be so many red balls in the urn that every draw will obtain one. On the other hand, if I and my acquaintances have only green balls, we will put them in the urn and when there are enough, we’ll create a new game where green balls win.
Entrepreneurs don’t like the idea of predictable future, since there would always be the smarter and the richer who could use this predictability to their advantage, whereas contigencies help entrepreneurs shape the future.
This idea doesn’t mean Effectual Reasoning is more effective. In fact, the more knowledgable an entrepreneur is on both reasoning, better results come out. But when do you know when to use which? As I read through the study, the pattern would somehow be like this. Effectual Reasoning is better used in the early stages of development until a business is established, however, Causal Reasoning will have to support the business as it grows bigger. So knowing both acts as a leverage for entrepreneurs. In addition, Effectual reasoning may not necessarily increase the probability of success of new enterprises, but it reduces the cost of failure by enabling the failure to occur earlier and at lower levels of investments.
And finally, what makes an entrepreneur entrepreneurial? And i’m quoting Sarasvathy on this:
Entrepreneurs are entrepreneurial, as differentiated from managerial or strategic, because they think effectually; they believe in a yet-to-be-made future that can substantially be shaped by human action; and they realize that to the extent that this human action can control the future, they need not expend energies trying to predict it. In fact, to the extent that the future is shaped by human action, it is not much use trying to predict it - it is much more useful to understand and work with the people who are engaged in the decisions and actions that bring it into existence.
“It’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know…” A lot of times, clients would come in not through the usual way like phones calls or emails but through referrals, and this is specially true to startups who most probably get clients from relatives, friends, and immediate family members. And what does this tell us? It means that your circle is very small or your company name is not that well-known in your field to actually get a completely unrelated client (meaning not connected to you in anyway). The solution is NETWORKING. There are certain tools that are out there in order to maximize your potential in getting clients:
Business Cards
This one is very important and you have to be very careful about what you put here because a lot of what you are could actually be revealed here (which is the concern of your graphic designer).
Make it clear
One of the very first projects I got through my business card is an AVP (audio visual presentation) for a religious group which was having an annual celebration. I got a text message saying: “I saw your card which says ‘motion grahics’, do you do film, AVP or presentations?” and I answered: “Yes, I do all of those, anything on screen and moving…”, and she replied back: “So, do you do AVP’s?”… and this went on and on and I finally gave here a call and asked about what I can do for her and it ended up and an AVP project. After this incident, I thought of how many more of those who got my card had the same question “what do you do?” How many of them hesitated to call because it was unclear what my business is? How many clients have I missed because of this mistake? The answer I wouldn’t really know but the thing is, THE BUSINESS CARD IS NOT EFFECTIVE! Business cards are suppose to communicate who you are and what you do not just a card to make you look professional to your friends. Rather than placing vague, fancy terms try more familiar terms, so instead of placing ‘motion graphics’ try ‘AVP, corporate video presentations, etc.’ this increases the chances of them calling you.
Make it big
Acquaintance No.1: “Where have you printed this? I looks really nice! And the texture is very unique…”
Acquaintance No.2: “Can you write your email address at the back? Your font is so small…”
OK, OK, I get it… Designing your card well is a good point especially when you are in the art field but having the information in it readable is one of the things you must consider first. Remember that the information it contains is the message you want to get across first, the design second.
Make it speak
It’s ok to make it look normal like the rest, but the chance of getting noticed or be recalled, especially when your card is in a mountain of contacts, is very very slim. You might get better chances in the cellphone phonebook! To be noticed it has to be unique and it has to tell something about what you do. I’m very proud of how my card was designed but this card is far better than mine combined with all the other aspects I’m talking about.
Meeting People
It doesn’t matter what occassion it is but you must meet people at a regular basis. Considering that you would most likely get referrals rather than phonecalls, it is very important to invest time and money being acquainted with potential clients. If you are not a very social person (like I am, I hate politics and small talk) you might consider befriending one or two who has big networks in different circles (HINT: these people love small talks and politics). Through this, you’ll get better chances of getting projects, in fact, 90% of what I do at the moment came to me through people I know with one degree of referral at most, meaning my clients are the ones I know directly (DIRECT) AND/OR recommendations by those I know directly (INDIRECT). Either way, you must ensure quality work to get return clients which are very important in establishing your name in your field.
Marketing Yourself
Websites, Brochures, Bazaars, Tradeshows, etc. are all vehicles for marketing your business. Consider having each to let your clients know that you exists and show some of the things you offer. A registered business name would be very helpful at this point since most of your communications/transactions would go through it.
What you do and who you market it to spells the future of your business. Force yourself to increase your circle in order to reach more clients and watch how your company will grow.
Things to do:
1. Be sure to have a business card that works, if you don’t have it yet, you are wasting precious connections
2. Arrange to meet different groups of people at least twice a month, especially those who might need your services
3. Have an introduction of what you do ready anytime, be bold about your statements, remember nobody likes the timid
4. Be ready at all times, you might bump into a big shot someday and you’ll be thanking the gods for having a business card and an introduction ready under your sleeves
Sorry it took awhile to make another post… many projects are coming up since I started to change perspectives and I hope you will also in the near future…
ONWARDS!
Client: Can you do this for us?
You: Yup! (with much enthusiasm)
Client: How long have you been in business again?
You: Uhm…
That’s not the answer your client wants to hear but you don’t want to lie either, lying might just get you into trouble. Should this send you back to applying for a job again? NO, it shouldn’t! The message you want to get across is “Yes, I’m fairly new BUT I CAN DO IT!” Now the problem is that the message doesn’t get across through words like “uhm…”. Solution? Embed it inside your product.
You might not believe it but the rate of success is almost a hundred percent. And as far as my experience is concerned, nobody turned my proposal down… but only when I brought the product first.
When I was at Pilita’s Restaurant in Greenhills, I saw that their menu board was quite a design disaster and not a really good match for the cozy place. I’m not an expert but I’m sure I could do better design than that so instead of going straight to Carlos (Pilita’s husband, the chef and owner of the resto) I planned my way to get the menu board design project. Normally you’d go looking for supplies with the lowest price, see how much time you’d spend with it and compute it against your rates, and draft a good looking proposal… to hell with that! First of all that’s too much time just to get rejected, trust me it’s quite frustrating. Secondly, a well-drafted proposal doesn’t get your real message to your client and it’s “I CAN DO IT” and you even lose the chance to say it when they see your price! By this time I was busy with other projects I was working with so I gave this opportunity to my wife who happily accepted it (take note, the project is still not ours by this time). It took two days to produce the actual menu board and guess what, we got the project instantly! His only comment was that the food photos was not his, now that’s so minor for a revision! We are just waiting for the photo shoot and we’ll be done with it.
This was actually the second time I applied the idea, the first time was with Tim Bennett’s motivational books collection CD which gave me the idea actually. When I attended one of his seminars, He gave us a free CD which looks crap! (Sorry Tim). However, when I opened it, I was blown away by the content. Some of it I was actually looking for. But it didn’t show in the packaging. I suddenly saw an opportunity, I can improve it in a way that it would sell. So I went producing the cover, the cd interface and the case. And the response was instant, “If you want the project, you got it” he said.
These are just some of the results but I used this idea several times and it hasn’t failed me ever as of this writing! If you still doubt it why don’t you give it a try? Competition? There are no competition, not much people use this approach.
This would take a lot of effort on your part since you have to work as if the project was already awarded to you. Added to that is the risk that you might still not get the project. But based on results, it’s worth all the effort. Now you have their actual product right before their eyes as if saying “I’m fairly new BUT I CAN DO IT and I’ll do it like this!” There are two major components of this approach, seeing the opportunity and action.
Seeing The Opportunity
You have to look at things differently. Whenever you see something and you hear yourself whisper, “I can do better than this”, you are actually seeing an opportunity, you just have to add “and I’ll prove it” on the whisper and it’s almost complete.
Action
As Steve Pavlina would put it, “It’s only action that produces results” so unless you do something about your statement earlier you won’t get anywhere. So shut your mouth and let your product do the talking.
I hope this with all the other tips get you started soon!
ONWARDS!
Most people are trying to catch the big fishes, there’s nothing wrong with that, but the problem is you aren’t big enough to catch them yourself because you are just starting out. And the chances that you’ll get a big fish is very slim right now. Just imagine a few hundreds of guys like you going for the same thing. You must really have a name first before the big fishes starts to notice you and how do you do that? FIND SMALLER FISHES and eat them, trying bigger and bigger fishes when you get the chance until you grow bigger yourself. This is how strong companies grew!
Keeping this in mind you’ll avoid the competition. While everybody else is trying to catch the big fishes, you just sort of wait for smaller fishes along the way that you can take. And before you know it, you’re big enough to compete with the others. With the experience you’ve had, you’ll have a better understanding of your clients increasing the likelihood of doing business with them.
One disadvantage of this idea is that it takes TIME. You have to be patient and consistent enough in order to grow. Slowly but surely as they say.
Things to do:
1. Identify your niche
2. Sort the big and smaller fishes and try to catch the smaller ones first
3. Do it consistently, regularly setting the bar higher each time (quantity)
4. Try a bigger fish next time (quality)
Don’t get disappointed thinking that you are under utilizing your capacity. It might look as that but what really happens is that you get stronger and more efficient each time you do it, what I mean is, you don’t lose in the process.
If you can, try to make up in quantity instead, to bring up the challenge. See how far you can go. When you’re boasting each time “hmmm, this is going to be easy…” try getting more and more of the easy stuff and you’ll be surprised of how complex and hard it will get. Time management and allocation of resources are skills which would improved at this point.
It’s really hard to get started. And trying to reach for something big at this moment might blind you from the opportunities around. Remember, you can only eat smaller fishes today but soon you’ll be big enough to catch the big ones. However, it is POSSIBLE to catch bigger fishes when you’re small… How? That I will discuss in another post, so check us out often.
ONWARDS!
I hope the first part already got you started. Having a mentor at your side really gives you the assurance that you are on the right track and you’re giving the best you could.
Part two of this series says, you have to give it away for free first. Now this idea has been around for quite a while now. This idea gave birth to “free taste“, “free sample“, “free trial“, and all sorts of free stuff with the major purpose of having the market TRY IT OUT. The same thing goes for your skill, if you are too afraid to know if your market will put less value to your skills/products, give it away for free and let them decide how much is it worth. Everybody nowadays wants it for free, so you can be sure that your market will warmly welcome your offer. Now you might think, “they might give me an even less value now that they know I gave it away for free”, the answer is that THEY WON’T, they might even give you a higher value than what you expect. Of course there are these type of people who really abuse the offer because of their “poverty mentality” but these people are not your market. You’ll offer this to those you know will pay for it if it has value. And the value is very important and it has to be there because this would chart your course of your future relationship with a particular client.
When you give something away for free, it doesn’t mean that what you’ll be giving doesn’t have value. All the more that it has to have a value because this should be a very good example of what you could offer them. When you give a free taste don’t let them have the excess, when you give a free sample don’t let them have the reject, when you give them a free trial don’t give them less features. The free you give away should represent the whole thing you are offering so it should be the best that you could offer. And as long as the value and quality is there, you are assured of return customers, now that’s what we are after. What is the first-time-for-free worth compared to a regular client that comes back every month? You’ll recover your investments in no time.
The idea takes the fear away. You don’t have to worry about what they’d say because first and foremost it is them who’s getting the favor (but i’ll tell you later how they could return it back to you). So even if the client doesn’t like it, it is very unlikely that they’ll reject it (it’s very rude for them if they do, and if they did, these are the type of clients you wouldn’t like to be around, “hard to please rude clients”). It could also be a source of feedback (this is where you get your investment back). You do not take off with a perfect product, especially when you are a start-up, there’s always room for improvements. Be sure to know if they liked the product, what else do they want with it, how can it be improved, etc. The answers should be considered in order to recreate what you offer into something that your market will really value. And doing this regularly, you’d be amazed of how far you could go in perfecting your product that it actually sells itself. Lastly, before you part with the client, ask for a referral, somebody who might need your services or product, somebody who thinks that what you offer has a value.
Things to do
1. Define the particular thing you are trying to give away
2. Define your market and locate them
3. Get to them and make sure to give it to those who have the capacity to pay
4. Get their feedback
5. Ask for a referral
Again, this is a very good idea to get started. you’d learn to improve your product along the way and you’d know if your product really has value. It is hard for a customer to buy your product especially if they still have the “fear of the unknown”. Let them have a good taste of your product first, let them have a good feel, let them take a look closer and if your product really has value for them, THEY WILL BUY IT the next time.
But don’t take this too far or you’ll end up piled with weeks of work without any pay. The following are good points to consider when giving free services:
1. Make sure something will come back - it won’t be in the form of money but potential future business deals, referrals and connections.
2. Limit the alloted time - maybe a day or two in a week might be a good place to start. If this will work well with you, you’ll have enough referrals from these people that could generate a week’s worth of work. But limiting it is very important so keep a record of your schedules and avoid saying YES immediately without planning.
3. Finish it quick - you should always remember that your hour here are being consumed without pay so the quicker you get out of it without sacrificing quality, the better.
4. Pick the ones with a good action plan - when practicing this idea, be careful of those who asks help out of whim, there’s a big chance your work won’t be put to good use. avoid these type of people who just want waste your time.
5. How much value does your work have for them - evaluate if they really need your services. what we are trying to establish here is a relationship. if you think your services would not in any way improve their lives or has no value to them, you have a slim chance of getting the bonds you need for a stronger relationship.
So there you go, I hope this helps!
ONWARDS
When you are self-employed, you look up to somebody greater in your field and say to yourself: I’m going to be like him someday. You are inspired by his works and actions. Everybody in your field talks about him. You can’t think of anyone else that motivates you like he does… so what are you waiting for? talk to him, tell him you like what he does, and is it possible that i work under you for FREE! ok, before you comment on the “free” part, just read on.
You can never imagine how busy these great people are (you’ll know when you are in their position) and they are really looking for guys like you who are enthusiastic about working with them. Don’t be shy to ask because they love to hear from you (you’ll know that too when you are in their position). Who knows? you might end up a part of his team!
Most people are really just shy to ask. Opportunity favors the BOLD, so as far as i’m concerned if you can’t meet them face to face and ask, you can forget your dream of becoming like them because it’s never going to happen. If you still don’t believe me, check out this article about Felix Dennis, a publishing tycoon.
If you are following this blog, I wrote the first thing I did towards a million pesos in Genesis, and to tell you briefly about it. I was walking in Makati trying to figure out how to get one peso for my race to a million pesos. And the first thing I thought of was to ask for it… got turned down several times but i did manage to get one… and another… and another… and finally that thing was getting easier every time (that you’ll get bored after). But not many people would have the courage to do it… I know because I was scared myself at first. But if you can’t pass this stage of fright and move to courage, you’ll never get so far in life because your whole life is based on this principle of ‘asking’. When you were born your mom used to feed you (giving) when you cry (asking), when you grew older your dad will buy you a toy (giving) whenever you have tantrums (asking) at the mall, when you grew older your teacher would praise you (giving) when you do well in school (asking), and this goes on and on to almost any scenario you can think of. even now if you are still employed you are given a paycheck every month (giving) whenever you work for your company (asking). The only thing different in what I did was IT IS DIFFERENT. This is not how the society thinks of how you should get it. But the society will not feed you if you get hungry, so forget about what it thinks and concentrate on what YOU THINK!
I had the same experience once with my mentor in the post production field. He’s Avid Liongoren of Rocketsheep. I had no way of reaching him except directly so I gathered all the strength I have for that day and emailed him. And he did reply, with much excitement I told him my story and he offered help and train me under him. Much of my work flow improvement in post production came from him and I dramatically increased my productivity and efficiency (but his art was totally out of my reach, it’s a different story). Later on he employed me on several sequences on his Saving Sally project, some of his computer needs, and he is a very close friend now. Talk about getting close to your dreams! This wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t ASK!
The advantage of this principle is that you can get so much knowledge in your field and you can literally skip all the pitfalls that you have to go through and head straight to your success!
So what I’d like you to do right now is:
1. List all the BIG players in your field
2. Try to figure out the shortest way to get to him (a personal email address, a friend that might know him directly, etc.)
3. List all the things you can help him with (your skills and specialties) and come up with a very nice way to present your story
4. ASK!!! don’t hold back, remember, Opportunity favors the BOLD!
You can never go wrong with volunteering under a mentor. You can get up close (and personal in my case) with the great people you look up to, you can learn so much and further you career, and you will have the opportunity to work WITH them. Of course it will be hard (nothing’s easy nowadays), I was working my day job from 9am-6pm and work for free from 7pm-2am and the cycle goes on. I’m only home Wednesday nights and Sundays. But it all paid off…
There you go, I hope this helps you get started in your field. By this time all you have to conquer is your fear.
ONWARDS!!!
You think you can do it?
OK, you know your craft, you think you can do better than those who offer the same service AND for a lower price, you know you have what it takes to be successful and you are really inspired in doing your thing, but the problem is… you don’t know where to start. In this series, I’ll share with you the same principles I used to get started in my journey to a million pesos.
Many newly self-employed/freelancers or whatever you call them are having a hard time getting started. If they are stupid enough (me included) they’d end up resigning from their stable jobs and taking the leap of faith, but you can’t blame them! Seeing famous entrepreneurs earn big, talking to a freelance about how much more time they have after quitting their jobs, and coming over at your friend’s house seeing him still asleep while you are rushing to go to the office. They are fantasizing over these things. And if you are reading this, I know you are, too!
But at this point, I am thinking that you are reading this because you took the first step (resigned from your job, congratulations! if you haven’t I suggest you draft the letter tonight) but you don’t know the next step (i’m sorry to hear that, did you submit the letter to your boss already?) I won’t lie to you about it, IT IS HARD! And if you are not prepared for it, please do your country a favor and don’t be unemployed! I have a daughter and a wife who depends on me and it was really a big risk that we were up against.
Assumptions
I am assuming that you are self-employed by now. Some of the tips here may work for you if you are still employed but chances are, you will have a very hard time implementing it. I also assume that you already know your craft well or you already know what your passion is but don’t know where to go at this point. Lastly, I assume that you have no more than your skill to begin with, so no network, office or whatsoever to help you.
So here are the 7 Ways to Get Started:
- Volunteer under a mentor
- Give it away for free first
- Find the need below your capacity
- Product first before the proposal
- Build a network around you
- Don’t turn down any offer
- Proactively seek an opportunity
I personally learned it in that order (which you might want to follow) but each principle could stand on it’s own and could get you started. If it doesn’t, TELL ME, (and I’ll rip it off my list!) Or you can contact me and let me know, then we could work it out where you are doing it the wrong way.
Come back soon as I discuss each of the principles and logically explain how it worked for me and how it would work for you. Or you could already try it out and see for yourself!
ONWARDS!
Hermie Cabrito
if you need any help, please email me, kaimeerah@yahoo.com. I am always glad to hear from my readers!
[ About the Author: Gaile Ramirez loves to write and considers it as one of her passion. She dreams of publishing a book someday. Currently, she is working for Haribon Foundation. Thank you very much Gaile for producing this article for us 
- Hermie ]
If I will not grab the opportunity, the management of Tork will give the business to someone else. […] It’s a lost opportunity for me”
These were the most evocative words our group received from the owner of Hotels, Restaurants and Institutions (HRI) Marketing. Our quest for a million peso has led us to the couple who owned this company which started as a small distributor of Tork and Green Cross products.
It was a typical hot summer Saturday. But the weather did not stop us from finding HRI Marketing along this heavy traffic zone called E. Rodriguez Avenue. The bright greens and blues of their small office welcomed us and made us feel at home. Buboy and Monette, along with three other staff, were working when we arrived. It was only after a few minutes when Buboy sat with us and embraced the start of our agenda with them. Here we began listening to his success story.
The Power of Dissatisfaction
“Eto ang kaloob sa atin ng Dyos, kaya dapat maging masaya na tayo dito. Ang importante magkakasama tayo.” Do these statements sound familiar? The problem with us, Filipinos, is our mentality to be contented with what we have. We abhor wanting more for we think that that is being greedy. Our faulty beliefs unconsciously make us romanticize poverty. Who ever said that eating only once a day is romantic? There’s nothing wrong with this character just as there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be rich. This was what Buboy felt years before he started his business. He knew that his earnings were not enough for him and his wife, more so, to have a child. He did not accept his situation simply because he knew that he can do better than this.
Having the Eye for “IT”
Here comes the part where we have to strive. Of course, getting the breads is not just a matter of psychological motivation. It is not just about “who needs it.” Certainly not about “who wants it the most.” It is also about “who knows where to get it.”
Buboy and Monette had several sidelines when they were still employed. It wasn’t easy—they actually failed a couple of times until Buboy has been exposed to the operations of Tork as an employee. This gave him the opportunity to see the potential and learn the nitty-gritty of this business. He knew that at that time, Tork distribution in Quezon City was still small and a handful of opportunities were waiting for him. He saw the potential in it and this he grabbed with little hesitation.
It’s All About Risks
Buboy did not have what it needs to establish his own business. He only had Php150,000 when what was needed was around 3 to 5 million pesos—enough reason to make the Tork Management think twice over giving the distributorship to Buboy. But he found more ways than one to get just what it calls for. The biggest risk that Buboy took was perhaps closing the deal with the Tork Management even before he had the resources needed in his hands. “If I will not grab the opportunity, the management of Tork will give the business to someone else. It’s a lost opportunity for me.” But he found refuge through a high-interest lending company that does not require financial statements and collaterals. The couple resigned from their stable jobs to be able to focus fulltime on their new business. He can confidently say that what he had was more of lakas ng loob than a carefully laid out business plan.
Humble Beginnings
They say a journey of thousand miles begins with a single step. Let’s face it: thousands of multi-billionaires out there started with nothing much in their pockets, but they eventually gained revenues. Buboy’s very own house was their office and stockroom for a good two years, utilizing all the spaces available. So what if it’s not much of an eye candy? After all, there’s more than what meets the eye. They just started with the basics. He, himself, did the routing and the delivery, with just one truck and a few extra hand to aid him.
Getting to Where They Are Now
Running their own business was not easy for the owners especially during their crucial first year when no pool of accounts has been established yet. Buboy had to do client calls and bear with the different personalities of the clients he met. But with proper motivation and right strategies, the couple was able to progress eventually. After two years in the business, they witnessed their movement from a debt-laden person to a millionaire.
To date, they are opening at least ten new accounts per month through the help of four agents. A rented office space and bodega now houses the twelve employees and their stocks. From one truck, they now have three to deliver their products. With a brand quality comparable to top labels, it wouldn’t be long before they have a well-defined niche in the market.
Last Words
At the end of our conversation, Buboy can not tell us any hard and fast fool-proof tip for those who want to set up their own business. Strategies depend on the kind of business you are engaged in. This, then, means that you have to really know your business and what it entails to be successful in it. But listening to him made me confident to state a few lessons learned:
- A lot of men and women in business lost in their first try before finding the winning combination. The key in business life is persistence. Pick up your lessons along the way and apply them as you try your luck again.
- We can only take so much risks. Living in a dog-eat-dog world, just one mistake can make you lose everything you’ve been dreaming of. Aside from the proper motivation, the basic knowledge on how to run a business and money is also necessary. What’s vital is not really the capital but the management.
- Master the art and science of delaying the gratification. Don’t think of how to spend your money even before they earn it. Once in a while, it is good to address some of our indulgences, but we have to discern only to which we will give in.
- Have a little pride as well. Don’t make the management feel that you don’t have enough money even if you started small. It might cause you your business in favor of other interested entrepreneurs. Pride, in this case, is beneficial.
- Start small but dream big. Your business does not have to be big at the onset—start as small as your money can afford.
- Take the first steps now.
It is not a sin to dream to be rich, more so, to be rich in actuality. It is what we do with our wealth that spells the difference. With Buboy’s story, I guess it only goes to show that when push comes to shove, we can thrive and we will survive.
The bigger money you need, the more complicated it gets. It’s easier to get money when it is small. You can just ask for it, you can offer your services (where they would pay you 5 pesos gladly), or anything simple enough that can be done in a few minutes. However, when you want something bigger, you need to upgrade your offers. Remember the part where I made up a story to sell, in a way you should upgrade your story, too.
Advertise
Using this blog, we got pledges from individuals who agreed to pay us when we post their company and contacts in the blog. So far we are doing well with it and even had to setup interviews about our sponsors’ success stories (they are also millionaires already, so it might be well to learn from them too!). But it became too easy again.
The Cycle
By this time you’ll be seeing the pattern on how your attitude on money works:
1. You do small things for small money.
2. Then it gets boring when you become good at it.
3. Then you look for ways to increase what you get.
4. After you get good results at the increased value, you get bored again.
And the cycle goes on and on until (this is just a conclusion for now) you are satisfied.
Satisfaction
So when should you be satisfied? I think people tend to feel satisfied [about money] when what they make covers their “wanted” lifestyle. But why do people don’t stop wanting money? Because they upgrade their lifestyle whenever paychecks increase. When you get a raise, people tend to think of luxury/expenses first like upgrading their cellphones, installing cable tv, upgrading the tv, a vacation, [type here all the luxuries you want in life], etc. Instead of, and what I’m doing right now, saving it or investing or buying assets (more of the assets in a while). But what you tend to think about when you get a raise, whether it be an expense or asset, will largely fall on what you “think” would satisfy you. People who buy luxuries tend to satisfy themselves when they get them while those who save finds themselves satisfied whenever they have savings (it can also be called delayed gratification). These two different types of people are separated by the type of “thinking” they have on satisfaction, one thinks instant gratification, the other thinks delayed gratification. But if you want to accumulate so much money that is more than your lifestyle (regardless of your thoughts on gratification), I call that “greed”.
Asset and Liabilities
One of Robert Kiyosaki’s discussion on Assets and Liabilities takes us to a different perspective on our spending habits. Normally, people regard assets as things that increases your net worth and liabilities as things that decreases your net worth. Now Kiyosaki doesn’t have any problem with that. The problem lies on the things which we consider assets or liabilities. When you purchase a house, for example, you increase your net worth so that the house is considered an asset. However, paying your mortgage, maintenance of the house, repainting, cleaning, house keeping, all of these are expenses linked to the house you bought. Now Kiyosaki explains that the difference between an asset and liability is that assets put money in your pocket while a liabilities take money out of your pocket. So clearly, even if the house is considered an asset, by Kiyosaki’s definition, it would be considered a liability. I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy a house but you should consider the after-purchase-expenses if your income could support it with your lifestyle.
Back to the Quest
So here I am trying to think of ways to increase money and ideas are just overflowing (by this time, keep pen and paper close by). But the things that are popping out of your head requires something (well, not all, but most of it). It requires you to upgrade your knowledge. Sweeping the floor, running errands, etc. are too easy to deserve more than 5 pesos (it requires a small amount of knowledge). So in order for you to deserve a larger amount of money, you should know more than just sweeping.
Acquiring knowledge
Acquiring knowledge doesn’t need much money (schooling is a different story, don’t argue with me on that), but it takes up so much time. So as you do the same boring things you are doing to increase wealth, you should spend time upgrading your knowledge so that more ideas would come in handy when you need it. Right now, the idea that came across requires both money and knowledge about it, the knowledge I already have (after reading some tutorials on the internet) but the money not yet. So now we continue with the boring things until we get the money…
So how do you make a million? This is a question that many people find very difficult to answer and it is! It’s a question that has been daunting me for years and years and I never got to any single solid answer. An answer that you can apply anywhere and guaranteed to work 100%. Well my friend our quest starts here.
Day One
After attending Tim Bennett of Millionaire Anonymous seminar, we guys gave it a shot. The requirement is “just” to make a million from zero. how you get it is completely up to you. Of course you can’t do any illegal stuff because dirty money is never worth it. Remember the money you took from your parents’ drawer without asking permission? Well, it’s going to bite you back in one way or another. And here’s what happens, when you get a small money that way, you tend to get big money at the same way and I tell you, nobody is going to do business with you (well, i won’t). So the premise is it should be legal, moral and ethical. And you can’t sell anything that you currently own, you can’t ask from your parents, etc. So it will simply be zero to a million.
So where do we start? When you have nothing, you start small. Do you think one peso would be hard to produce? Of course not! (But I will take that back later on as you will read a little bit later). So we start there. But to make things harder a little bit, i made a twist. You see I’ve always believed that money will never be given to you freely, there should be something in exchange for that. So what do I have at this very moment that people will give me one peso for? I’m not really sure so I tried to find out.
The Hard Part
Remember when I said ‘Of course not!’? Well, I’m taking it back… I said to myself, how in the world are you suppose to get a peso from somebody if you don’t look like you need it? I was dressed casually in Makati streets trying to figure out they’d believe me. I found a woman passing by and I told her ‘Miss, can do anything for you just for one peso’? She told me she was busy and have no time for this. So I said ok but in my head i was yelling ‘how can you make this work?! you are on your quest to a million and you have a problem getting a peso?!’, but I said, ‘Ok Hermie let’s try again’. I went pass to a car which has a driver in it and an open window. But right before I was about to ask, something pulled my legs and I went straight passing him and I told myself, ‘this is really embarrassing, why am I doing this? I could easily earn a thousand a day but I’m having problems generating one peso’. But I went anyway (and by then i really felt more stupid because he has seen me almost stop there and walk away) with the same lines and he went, ‘No I don’t have time for that, I’m just waiting for somebody’. I said to myself, ‘ok Hermie, there must be something wrong with how you do it’, by this time i was already sweating because it’s pass 10am and the sun is really killing me. What am i doing wrong? Well, there’s nothing wrong with what I’m doing but there’s probably something wrong in how I present it. People tend to put you away when you don’t have any story. So to make up for it, I invented a story, my story.
What’s Your Story
‘Hello, good morning, I’m Hermie, a psychology student trying to make an experiment on how people value services, what can i do for you in exchange of one peso?’ For the first time, a security guard that i’m talking to thought for a while. I said to myself, ‘what a success, now people are trying to think rather than putting you away’ Then the security guard said, you could’ve brought me medicine but somebody came before you and did it for me, do you know him? ‘Oh my god, somebody else came before me and did the same thing and got the one peso, i must be on the right track!’. So i hurried and went to the next guy I could see across the street.
There where two guys talking and laughing over a conversation so I went in and did the same line (notice that my this time, i wasn’t ashamed because i knew i had a story i could sell). They thought for a while like three minutes and they said, why not give your opinion about the ZTE scandal? (Ok, my answer was completely my opinion and I don’t want it shared here because it’s not in any way going to get us to a million, believe me) So i told my opinion and they gave me 5 pesos. By this time i felt weird, why would somebody pay me for my opinion, for talking crap for 3 mins? The it hit me, editorial pages in the newspaper, showbiz magazines, tabloids, all of these make money just posting their opinion on something… Hmm, I wonder what else can they pay me for.
It Becomes Easy
Second one told me to buy bottled water that was just at their back! I didn’t have move my legs that much, but you see how people use their money? They’ll pay you 4 pesos just because their too lazy to stand up (hmm, what other things are people lazy with?). Third one told me to sweep their area but here they where so embarrassed for letting me sweep the floor. Well, it’s because of how i dress up but the thing is, I was embarrassed to ask for money on the first time, now they are embarrassed to have you do your job. By this time I’m thinking people are really weird. They didn’t want me to finish the other half and just give me the 5 pesos, but i did it anyway because that’s the service you promised to give, and i believe you should give it 100% because it’s the only way to have return customers. Fourth one just gave it as donation, and I accepted it whole-heartedly because I was getting tired for walking.
By this time I had, 16 pesos all in all for 2 hours of work. And i tell you it’s going to get boring. When you passed through the shyness stage, creating small money becomes easy so you eventually want to increase it in a way that doesn’t tire you so much. But what can you do with 16 pesos? you can’t do trade at this moment (you don’t have enough to sell anything worth buying), so I went back to Tim and found my team mates there.
Brainstorming
One of Tim’s stories inspired us where you can get money… Advertisements… Well, where are you going to have people advertise with you with just 16 pesos per person (and Robin had 3 pesos, he never passed through the shy stage by this time). We can’t think of anything free but the Internet… Thus we have this blog.
About This Blog
Well, we thought of, ‘hey, if other people are getting money from this talking crap, why can’t we’? Well, we do not intend to sell crap here, what we sell is our story and our quest to a million pesos, so far (and I’m really hoping), advertisements would come in and fill our humble pockets with cash to get us to the next level.
So what’s the plan after this? That one we will be discussing on our next blog entry…
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