MixNotes Etc.

What is Compound Interest?

2011-11-22T11:30:00.001+08:00

Manyof us do not understand or we take too lightly the enormous power of compoundinterest. Because we lack this understanding of its value in wealth building,it is one of the reasons why most of us are impatient and not motivated tosave.

Investopedia explains that compound interest is interest that accrues on the initial principal and the accumulated interest of a principal deposit, loan or debt. Compounding of interest allows a principal amount to grow at a faster rate than simple interest, which is calculated as a percentage of only the principal amount. It is defined simply as interestearned on interest.

To illustrate, let us have this example:

You have a P20,000 investment that earns10% interest every year.

Find the compound amount and compound interest on the principal P20,000 invested at 10% annually for 10 years.

Those who are not familiar with compounding will compute it this way:

Interest for 1 year ----------- P20,000 x 10% = P2,000

Interest for 10 years --------- P2,000 x 10 years = P20,000

Total after years ------------- P20,000 + P20,000 (interest) = P40,000

P40,000 would be the correct answer if you use "simple interest" in the computation. But thanks to compound interest, your money will actually be P51,874 after 10 years. The total interest earned is more than P31,874 instead of just P20,000. This is because the interest earned each year will also earn interest in the succeeding years.

Compound Interest + Time

Thedifference between P40,000 and P51,874 may not seem much. That’s only becausewe limited our computation to 10 years. Had we extended our calculations to 30years, the difference would be about P269,000. For you to gain the enormousbenefits of compound interest you need to give it lots of “time”to perform its job. The more time you give to make it work itsmagic, the bigger your

moneygrows. As the old saying goes “time is money” and the story of Aida, Lorna andFe, will show you that it’s a lot of money. Read their story here, page 8.

By the way, that book Kaya mo Pinoy! 12 Steps To Build Wealth On Any Income taught me a lot about personal money management. It is written in plain English and Filipino and it offers easy to understand and easy to follow advice on how you can accomplish your financial goals and fulfill your dream of a brighter future regardless of how much you are earning now.

I am not sure if this book is available in bookstores but I purchased mine online at P345. If you are interested, just check out their website at http://www.pinoysmartsavers.com/kayamopinoy.html. There was some delay on the delivery but it was okay. I texted the number posted on their website and the author, Mr. Alvin Tabanag is quite friendly and even encouraged me to ask questions about investing.

I let a friend borrow it and I hope he'd share what he'll learn to others.

Before I forget, the table below shows how the original P20,000 principal grows each year.Notice that the interest earned every year is increasing and not fixed atP2,000. So let's start investing now! Don't procrastinate!

YEAR	PRINCIPAL	INTEREST EARNED	TOTAL AMOUNT
Year 1	P 20,000	P 2,000	P 22,000
Year 2	P 22,000	P 2,200	P 24,200
Year 3	P 24,200	P 2,420	P 26,620
Year 4	P 26,620	P 2,662	P 29,282
Year 5	P 29,282	P 2,928	P 32,210
Year 6	P 32,210	P 3,221	P 35,431
Year 7	P 35,431	P 3,543	P 38,974
Year 8	P 38,974	P 3,897	P 42,871
Year 9	P 42,871	P 4,287	P47,158
Year 10	P 47,158	P 4,716	P 51,874
TOTAL INTEREST			P 31,874

Free Cooking Demo

2011-10-17T12:46:00.003+08:00

Our Daily Bread

What can be more visible in our pantries than pieces and loaves of bread? What is breakfast without hot pandesal, toast or croissants? This month of October the Julius Maggi Kitchen offers ideas on what to do with those left-over or over stocked breads on our tables and refrigerators. The featured Chef will suggest and demonstrate dishes from salad to desserts where you can put all these breads in use before they even go stale.

Schedule:
October 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, and 25 from 1:00 – 4:30PM

For online reservation, click here

Source:
http://www.nestle.com.ph/recipe/nestleclub/jmk.asp

The E-Kawayan Technology

2011-08-17T07:17:00.000+08:00

Bamboo is a plant known for its many uses. It has become the best substitute for wood in the furniture, handicraft, and construction industries, not withstanding other benefits as a source of food, biofuel, and for environmental protection. In the Philippines, natural bamboo stands are luxuriantly growing along farm boundaries, roadsides, riverbanks, backyards, and hilly areas. There are about 65 known species of bamboo found in the country but the most commercially exploited species is Bambusa bluemeana Shultez locally known as kawayan-tinik.

Kawayan is a general term for all species of bamboo in the Philippines. It regenerates fast, hence, can be harvested in three years. One mother pole can reproduce more than one shoot. It is the best substitute for wood because its strength properties are comparable with mahogany and other medium hardwood species. Likewise, bamboo and its related industries have provided income, food, and housing to over 2.2 billion people worldwide. In 2000, bamboo contributed $3.81 M to the Philippine economy.

In Region 1, the income registered amounted to P40M in 1999 from sales of bamboo poles and butts alone.

Background

The engineered kawayan (e-kawayan) is an advanced form of bamboo products produced by shaping the round bamboo pole into slats and glued/formed together to the desired sizes.

The principle of engineered bamboo is based on the concept that logs when converted into lumber, can be designed to suit specific uses. Bamboo poles when processed into bamboo tiles can be made into various products.

The Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) introduced the technology through the development of the Kawayan Tile Maker (KTM). The tile machine can convert kawayan poles directly into slats of different sizes of 20-30 mm width by 10 mm thickness by 20 cm to 2 m long. From the kawayan tile machine, the sawn pieces can be made directly into parquet, composites and laminated boards. The butt and middle portions of the bamboo pole, approximately 6 m, are used in producing the tiles.

There are already available technologies generated through the years and now being commercialized. These are:

Kawayan Technology which delves in planting material production
Kawayan Technology on production of poles and shoot or also called as the PoPeYe technology which stands for Pole Per Year
Production of e-kawayan tiles and laminates
Develop of e-kawayan machines

Features The technology features the following:

Design and construction of tile processing machines
Establish of processing plant
Design construction of laminated products
Finishing and packaging
New product designs for bamboo and marketing
Bamboo industry situationer
Feasibility of tiles and laminates products manufacturing

Economic and Social Benefits

Developed new machines for bamboo
Increased utilization of bamboo
Increased farmer's income
Provided employment opportunities
Provided new market opportunities
Developed new linkages with LGUs and NGOs

Equipment and Other Requirements

Kawayan Pole Maker

Power requirement - 2hp 220V
Approximate weight - 80 kg
No. of operators - 1 operator + 1 helper
Width of strips - 25 mm
Length of strips - 0.3 m to infinity
Output/day (max) - 1,150 pcs @ 25 mm x 2 mL
Area equivalent/day - 57 sqm
Work space requirement - 6 sqm
Price - $1500

Kawayan Tile Maker

Power requirement - 2hp 220V
Approximate weight - 90 kg
Machine Dimension - 1 m x 1.5 m x 1.5 m
No. of operators - 1 Thickness of strips - 10 mm
Length of strips - 0.3 m to infinity
Output/day (max) - 741 pcs @ 25 mm x 10 mm T x 2 mL
Area equivalent/day - 37 sqm Work space requirement - 4 sqm
Price - $2500

Bamboo Pole Cutter

Daily max output - 400 cuts
Power requirement - 1hp 220 V
Approximate weight - 60 kg
Machine dimension - 1.5 x 0.75 x 1.5 m
Space requirement - 9 sqm
Price - $750

For more information, please contact:
The Consortium Director Ilocos Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (ILARRDEC)
Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU)
Batac, Ilocos Norte
Tel (077) 792-3402 / 792-3688
Fax (077) 792-3699 / 792-3187 / 792-3191 / 792-2547
Email: ilarrdec@laoag.net; mmsuop@laoag.net; ilarrdec@digitelone.com
Web: http://www.pcarrd.dost.gov.ph/ilarrdec

Dr. Patricio S. Faylon
Executive Director PCARRD, Los, Baños, Laguna
Tel (049) 536-0014 to 20; 536-5907
Fax (049) 536-0016/536-7922
Email: pcarrd@pcarrd.dost.gov.ph
Web: http://www.pcarrd.dost.gov.ph

source: http://www.dti.gov.ph

How to Start a Glass Recycling Business

2011-08-15T17:57:00.003+08:00

Glass never wears out -- it can be recycled over and over again. Most bottles and jars contain at least 25% recycled glass. This article will show you how to start a glass recycling business.

For every business there is always the planning stage. Know the business fully well. Invest in trainings, buy books, and talk to people who know this industry better than you. Know your options and most especially do you have enough funds for this kind of business. If you think that you do then I don’t think that you can not succeed in this kind of business venture. There is a saying that there is money from wastes. This is so true. Empty glass or jars are categorized as trash and recycling glass is one profitable business venture you may to try to invest in. You can start by recycling glass bottles or jars.

Glass bottles are classified as non biodegradable so it will stay in its present condition for millions of years in the landfills. Instead of throwing them where it will just take so much space in our mother earth why not start a business that collects, clean and resell the glass bottles or jars. You can offer the cleansed recycle bottles to those who are making home made jams or you can also search the web for possible customers who are interested in purchasing recycled glass.

You may also consider doing glass aggregates. This is made from recycled glass. You need to invest in machines that produce glass aggregates. There are machines that can fit in to your empty space at home such as your garage or you may also want to invest in a bigger machine but you will enough space for this. Glass aggregates are being used in the making of concrete pavers, terrazzo floorings, tiles for countertops and the likes. This is a lucrative business as this is the latest in the construction industry nowadays. It also used in landscaping, for aquariums and fire pits. Indeed there is a big demand for recycled glass.

You may also want to branch out in making stained glasses out of recycled glass. Stained glass windows look very attractive. There are also several crafts that you can make out of stained glass like picture frames. Materials that you will need in making any crafts out of the recycled glass are glass cutter, emery paper, glass grinder, pliers, and paints. There are several other businesses you can come up with once you are well versed in the glass recycling business. For the meantime focused on just one and try to master it before jumping into another one.

Glass Facts:

Over a ton of resources is saved for every ton of glass recycled -- 1,330 pounds of sand, 433 pounds of soda ash, 433 pounds of limestone, and 151 pounds of feldspar.
Producing a ton of glass from 100% raw materials creates 384 pounds of mining waste. Using 50% recycled glass cuts this waste by about 75%.
Recycling glass reduces air pollution by 14-20% and saves 25-32% more energy than making glass from virgin raw materials.
Recycling one glass bottle saves enough electricity to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours.
Glass containers were recycled at a rate of 38% in 1996.

source: http://www.startupbizhub.com; http://www.lehighcounty.org; photo http://www.hardrainproject.com

World Food Expo Free Seminars

2011-07-27T11:40:00.004+08:00

One of the country's largest and most comprehensive industry events, the World Food Expo 2011 (WOFEX) slated from August 3 to 6 at the World Trade Center and SMX Convention, will offer free demonstrations and seminars for the aspiring food entrepreneur.

On its 11th year, WOFEX continues to showcase the best in the food industry with its combination of established companies and sampling of the latest technology and products.

Free seminars include lessons in cake decorating, food safety and marketing innovations to name a few. There are also seminars charging a fee for those wanting to go into the food business like lessons on how to be a canteen concessionaire. Seats are limited and are on a first-come, first-serve basis.

For the full list of seminars and venues, check out the WOFEX events page here.

source: http://entrepreneur.com.ph; photo: http://filsites.com/wofex-11/index.htm

How to Start a Cellphone Repair Shop

2011-07-25T14:26:00.000+08:00

Cell phones have become a necessity throughout the country. Opportunities now exist for entrepreneurs to start their own cellular phone repair shop.

To start this type of business, it is a must to have a background knowledge on electronics repair, hire a qualified technician to start your business, or enroll yourself in a cellular phone repair course.

Read more...

How to Make Herbal Soap

2011-07-23T14:21:00.001+08:00

Herbal bath soap contains natural ingredients like essential oils from aloe vera, patchouli, citronella, rose, and sampaguita. Other herbal soaps also contain rich vitamins from fruits like papaya, lemon, and calamansi. Read more...

BPI 24/7 Online Banking

2011-07-08T11:15:00.004+08:00

I've been doing electronic payment with BPI for quite sometime and they really provide great service esp for people who has no time falling in line on long queues just to pay bills. With just a few clicks, I do banking transactions instantly without the need to travel unlike before. I also find their employees really friendly and professional (unlike other employees from other banks). Anyway, this is about online banking so I'll just stick with the topic :)

Here are the things you can do with BPI online banking:

View real-time balances of your Deposits, Consumer Loans, Credit Cards, Investments and Express Cash Accounts.
Transfer funds between your own deposit accounts enrolled in BPI Express Online and to the accounts of your family members, relatives and friends.
Pay your utilities, loans, insurance, ISPs, country club fees and a host of other bills online.
Reload your own or someone else's Globe Handyphone or TM prepaid phone.
Apply for a deposit account, auto or housing loan, credit card, E-Credit, or Express Cash accounts online.
Request for a Stop Payment order of issued checks real time.
Re-order checkbooks, request for copies of financial documents and other credit card related services.

To discover more products and services featured in BPI Express Online, you can take a quick look at their Online Tour.

Truly BPI 24/7 Banking gives you the freedom to make the widest range of banking transactions anytime, anywhere.

I just love BPI!

Scrap Price (July 2011)

2011-07-07T10:40:00.003+08:00

Buying Price of Big Junkshops in La Union as of July 06, 2011:

Karton- P6.00/kilo
Newspaper - P4.00/kilo
White paper - P11.00/kilo
Waste paper - P2.25/kilo
Bakal - P18.00/kilo
Lata - P8.00/kilo
Tapa - P15/kilo
Yero - P11.75/kilo

Domain Portfolio

2011-06-25T12:14:00.004+08:00

According to Bill Gates, domain is an internet "real estate". Just like its traditional meaning, their value tends to go up. Setting up domain names is relatively easy. I started last June 2009 and I was able to sell some of them.

I have 3 minisites and 2 parked domain names and they are all for sale. Yesterday, I received an offer for junkshopbusiness.com. I get a lot of traffic from this site and so far, it is my highest-earning domain (thru google adsense). I wish I could post updated scrap prices to attract more visitors.

Anyway, here's my list:

JunkshopBusiness.com - minisite with logo and contents
Creation Date: July 29, 2009
Expiry Date: July 29, 2011
Registrar: Name.com

Bekimon.com - minisite with contents
Creation Date: July 31, 2010
Expiry Date: July 31, 2011
Registrar: Internet.bs

LetsPrettify.com - minisite with logo and contents
Creation Date: July 17, 2010
Expiry Date: July 17, 2011
Registrar: Internet.bs

PokersClub.net - online poker
Creation date: June 26, 2009
Expiry date: June 26, 2012
Registrar: Name.com

SpoonTalk.com - A good domain name related to food reviews, dining, culinary, recipes etc.
Creation date: July 23, 2009
Expiry date: July 23, 2011
Registrar: Internet.bs

fnfy.com
Creation date: August 31, 2009
Expiry date: August 31, 2011
Registrar: Name.com

If you're interested, you can just email me at lilywhite168 [dot] gmail [dot] com

Ube-Macapuno Salad

2011-05-26T19:49:00.005+08:00

I'm going to try this simple ube-macapuno salad next week (I hope). I still have this persistent cough for over a week and the doctor advised to stay away from sweets and cold drinks for the mean time.

Ingredients:

1 cup ube jam
1 pack instant gulaman
1/4 cup (300ml) Alaska condensed milk
1 cup water
1 cup macapuno preserve
1/3 cup toasted pinipig
remaining Alaska condensed milk
1 pack Alaska Crema

Procedure:

To make the ube gulaman cubes, place ube jam, Alaska condensada, gulaman powder and water in a pan. Cook over low heat until gulaman is totally dissolved. Pour in a rectangular mold and let it set. Cut into cubes.

In a bowl, blend Alaska condensada and Alaska crema. Toss in ube gulaman cubes and pinipig. Chill until ready to serve.

Serves 8.

Scrubs for Women

2011-05-14T11:26:00.010+08:00

Five years ago, I took up a short-term course in Medical Transcription. Our instructor was great and I enjoyed every activity we had. On our second month, we were required to wear scrubs and I was very excited to have one. I always admired people with medical training wearing scrub suits. They really look neat! Aside from that, scrubs are loose-fitting, comfortable clothes. It's like wearing your pajamas while working!

I bought mine at a local store. The designs were very limited though. I didn't have other options. That time I didn't know that cheap scrubs could also be bought online. We were lucky to have our on-the-job training at one of the clinics nearby. They impose color-coded scrubs on their employees/volunteers to differentiate positions. We were wearing maroon scrubs though I'd prefer pink scrubs for women like the photo posted above.

Anyway, if you are working at a doctor's office or hospital , you may want to check scrubs for women here, http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/

My Pimple Cure

2011-05-07T10:46:00.004+08:00

Not everything works for everybody but I just want to share what I discovered lately. I found a natural, inexpensive and effective way to treat my pimples --> Apple Cider Vinegar (acv). It gets rid of redness and dries up pimples really quick!

Here's what I do:
Wash face then dab the pimple with acv (yes, I use pure acv since I have very oily skin). Pretty harsh huh! It might sting a bit, just be careful on how long you hold this to your pimple because it will dry out your skin. I usually let it stay for 2 minutes. If you have dry skin then I think it would be better to mix it with water. Rinse. Then moisturize. :)

LC shares

2011-05-06T20:00:00.003+08:00

This morning I bought a few shares of Lepanto Mining (LC) at P0.74/share but sold it too early at P0.79...tsk tsk tsk. It closed at P0.81! I ended up buying again at that price :D

Last Thursday, May 5, the PSE announced that PX acquired 5% interest in LC/LCB at P0.66/share. According to Mr. Gus Cosio, LC/LCB had the richest mineral reserves among Philippine mining companies and Gold Fields was very serious in their quest to see if the reserves were in fact a bankable mining project.

I remember last June 2009, I think it was trading at P0.21/share. Could this become the next PX? Let's wait and see.

Some say there's much more money to be made in mining stocks than bullion.

With that said, I will try to be an investor on this particular stock, not a trader. Kaya? hehehe :))

Ilocano Handmade Blankets

2011-05-04T19:54:00.006+08:00

Handloom weaving is a process where thread that makes up the warp and weft are interwoven in an upright wooden handloom (pag-ablan) by one or two weavers. Ilocano blankets or Ilocos blankets (also called inabel) are made from yarns of cotton, polyester, acrylic and rayon. The different colored yarns are arranged in a wooden handloom (pag-ablan) to create varied and unique designs. The process is intricate and labor-intensive so weavers must master synchronizing the movements of their hands and feet to properly use the wooden handloom.

Not many people know that the century-old tradition of weaving wider Ilocano handloom-woven blankets is produced in Bangar, a sleepy town in La Union (Northern Philippines). For many years, our town has been the main producer and supplier of these abel blankets and has been known to be the weaving center of Ilocandia. Wholesalers from other regions come to our town and buy our products.

Today, however, with the ready availability of cheap machine-made fabrics and the migration of the youth away from Bangar, the abel tradition is in danger of dying out and that makes me sad most of the time. Late last year, I put up an online store selling our handloom-woven products. I was so thrilled when I got an inquiry for the first time! That first buyer was from Laguna. I hope to meet wholesalers and retailers thru my online store. Shipping fee (for retail) is quite expensive though because there are no couriers in our town. I have to go to San Fernando City to send retail orders. Travel time is around 2 hours (back and forth) thru bus. For bulk orders, I usually send thru Buslines and shipping fee is free! I hope other people from our town start to promote our products. I don't really care about competition. What matters most to me is to keep this craft alive and for people to know that these handmade blankets are produced here in Bangar. By the way, aside from blankets and bedsheets, we also have hand woven bath and hand towels, shawls and pillowcases. I hope I could come up with a new design for our pillowcase soon, as I am bored with the old designs.
Before I forget, let's just make a distinction between the two italicized words here because they are used interchangeably: abel is the Ilocano term that refers to the process of weaving, while inabel is the final woven product.

Ilocano handmade blankets (abel blankets) are generally known for their durability and craftsmanship. We have several of these blankets at home. They are very sturdy and beautifully-designed. Among all the Ilocano blankets that we have, wasig orig (made of cotton and polyester) is my favorite. As Elaine from La Pinay Geek described, "the original Ilocos Blankets are thick and will keep you warm against the cold, and during summer months, you can drape it over your tummy and it won't be smoldering hot."

Trambia blankets and bedcovers (the ones made of acrylic and polyester) are very popular during the months of December to February. These are usually used as bed covers because of the tassel edging, but they also come in plecos edging and can be used as blankets. I am thinking of other blanket edging that can be used on these handmade blankets. I have seen fleece blankets with satin binding and I think it will look good on our trambia blankets because some customers don't like blankets with tassel. We also have the trambia checkered blankets or Reyes blankets as they are popularly known. Reyes blankets are one of our best-sellers!

I hope the loom-owners also consider using bamboo yarn in producing abel fabric. Or maybe they can mix it with other types of yarn. According to my research, bamboo yarn is more absorbent than cotton, soft, strong and flexible, organic, considered a natural antibacterial and has ultra-violet protective properties. Wow! I'd love to have a handloom-woven curtain, bathrobe, blanket, towel blah blah blah!

5 traits of a successful lifestyle-product exporter

2011-04-18T19:44:00.002+08:00

Filipino design has received acclaim and accolade all over the world. Each year more local designers and entrepreneurs are looking at the export market. But what does it take for a neophyte in the home and fashion lifestyle export sector to make it big?

Rosvi C. Gaetos, executive director of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, shares the secret traits of successful global entrepreneurs.

Passionate. "Do not lose steam. A lot of new designer entrepreneurs who venture into the export market easily lose hope when they face challenges, a little bump here and they opt to close down. You will only survive if you have the passion to push through for your dreams even when times are rough."

Creative. "It is a very competitive industry and the competitive edge of Philippine design is the creativity. A lot of successful designers would think out of the box. Creativity plays an important role in the success of the business."

Innovative. "This industry is all about innovation. Either you innovate or die. You have to have the flexibility to use non traditional materials or non traditional techniques in developing your products."

Skillful. "Filipino artisanship is recognized worldwide as one of the best. No other country in the Asia-Pacific region can lay claim to that."

Business-savvy. "At the end of the day, it is still a business that you have to run--do accounting, inventory, and sales. You need to have a business sense in order to succeed. You must know your market and know what it needs or want."

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

2010-10-29T11:54:00.001+08:00

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of
coffee....

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty
mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.
He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the
golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and
poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space
between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---God, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favourite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. "Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Invest young, retire young

2010-08-13T20:06:00.009+08:00

Young investors have a huge advantage that will allow them to secure their financial future without much effort. There are basic lessons that will help secure your future and allow you to have more fun now.

In order to be financially prepared, it is important they start investing while they are still young and avoid financial pitfalls that plague many of their peers. This requires they learn the basic financial education skills so they are financially prepared.

Have fun and retire young by following these simple steps.

Invest Young - There are powerful financial forces on your side when you start investing young. One of the most beneficial to young investors is compounding interest.
Compounding interest occurs when you invest money and earn a return on what you invest. The amount your investment returns then starts to earn you money. This forms a snowball affect that will make your money grow bigger the longer you are invested.

To break it down, you're making money off the interest your investment already paid you. Then you continue to make money off the interest that you made each year. That means your investments can grow faster and larger each year.

Consistent, young, investment plan. Investing on a consistent basis may allow you to generate long-term gains over time. Most people agree, they will invest more consistently if the investment they choose is simple and something they understand; and consistency over time leads to financial security. Follow a consistent investment plan immediately; then as your investment knowledge grows you can add other forms of potential higher-return investments.

Use investment vehicles that offer tax benefits - Roth IRA may allow you to withdraw money at retirement tax-free. Most are unaware that forty percent of a persons income goes to pay taxes. You will keep more of the money you earn by investing in an IRA. (Not yet sure on its equivalent here in the Philippines).

Diversification - For young investors the stock market can be a great place to start investing. Mutual fund investing is also a good idea. As your account size grows you could take some of that money and move it into real estate or business ventures. (Just an advice: Try to invest your money on undervalued stocks)

Diversification lowers risk. For example, if you have 'all' your money invested in the stock market when prices are declining then 'all' your money may decline in value as well. Now if you diversify your holdings and had a portion of your money invested in the stock market, some in the real estate market and some in businesses you might avoid a big loss.

source: http://www.allmoneymatters.com.au

All About Attitude

2010-07-24T11:44:00.000+08:00

Jerry is the manager of a restaurant.

He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would always reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" Many of the waiters at his restaurant quit their jobs when he changed jobs so they could follow him around from restaurant to restaurant.

The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude.

He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was always there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! No one can be a positive person all of the time.

How do you do it?"

Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, I have two choices today. I can choose to be in a good mood or I can choose to be in a bad mood. I always choose to be in a good mood.

"Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I always choose to learn from it.”

"Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I always choose the positive side of life."

"But it's not always that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice.”

"You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or a bad mood. It's your choice how you live your life."

Several years later, I heard that Jerry accidentally did something you are never supposed to do in the restaurant business. He left the back door of his restaurant open one morning and was robbed by three armed men.

While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him.

Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the hospital. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Want to see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, after they shot me, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared?" I asked. Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the Emergency Room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared.

"In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything."

'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!'

"Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'"

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day you have the choice to either enjoy your life or to hate it.

The only thing that is truly yours that no one can control or take from you - is your attitude, so if you can take care of that, everything else in life becomes much easier.

~Author Unknown~

source: http://www.allmoneymatters.com.au

How to teach children the value of money

2010-07-23T09:42:00.004+08:00

Children start learning about money and how they value it early in life. They learn to be stressed about money if the adults in their life are stressed about money. Or, they learn "money grows on trees" because they get everything they ever wanted.

I did some research on how parents teach their children about money. To them, the most important lesson on how to teach children the value of money is being a good model - practice what you preach. Parents should have a good grasp on money management before you begin teaching this concept to your children. You should be knowledgeable enough about saving, budgeting or investing money.

Here are some examples:

One couple helped their 8th grade daughter open a checking account and had an allowance deposited (like getting a paycheck) each month. The amount of the allowance was jointly decided on by the parents and daughter. It was determined by money needed to cover clothing, activities and other routine expenses. Their daughter learned about balancing her checkbook, ATM fees and overdrafts while having guidance from her parents. This same eight grader opened a credit card account. This was an opportunity to teach about late charges if the bill did not get paid by the due date and how interest can accumulate, all while these amounts were relatively small. These parents did make it very clear if the balance was not paid by the due date she would lose the card.

One family used eating at restaurants as a way to teach their children about the value of money. When the check came to the table, the children added it up to make sure it was correct and figured out the tip. Then the children would bring the money to the cashier. In one family pizza was always the Friday night treat. Dad would only let them order pizza if they could come up with a pizza coupon. There were always pizza coupons to be found in desk drawer by the phone in this home.

Another family planned their vacations with their children. They let them in on how much they had to spend on lodging, transportation, meals and entertainment. They showed them choices available. This helped their children see the trade offs such as a week of camping versus a shorter visit to Disneyland. To make saving money an incentive parents in one family offered to match savings. This worked well to encourage their children to save a portion of their allowance or save all or part of gift money from grandparents for something special they wanted.

On turning sixteen a son in one of the families wanted a car. His parents were agreeable, if he paid for it. After weeks of looking and not coming up with an affordable solution, their son thought of calling family friends who had recently purchased a new car and hadn't sold the old one. The good news was, the car was for sale. The bad news was it wasn't running. For a $1 and towing fee, the car was his. He used savings and his own income to get it running. The parents have fond memories of their son and his friends hanging out in the car parked in their driveway for a full day even though it was not drivable yet. The car became a family legend and the son learned about the value of money.

These stories show how life on a daily basis offers many opportunities to teach the value of money with regard to choices and trade offs. It is important to stick to boundaries originally agreed upon. It is easy out of love or just less hassle to take care of money mistakes children/teens make. Instead, acknowledge their dilemma and ask them for their solutions. Recommended reading for the next bedtime story is The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. This is an inspirational book about the secrets to acquiring money, keeping money and making money earn more money. This is a great story to share with children. Sweet dreams and prosperity!

Source: http://www.allmoneymatters.com.au; Image by Timeout Kids

How to start a salon business

2010-07-05T19:41:00.005+08:00

Almost every mall in Metro Manila is said to have two to eight beauty salons.

According to the 1999 Job Demand Survey of the Levittown Beauty Academy, salon owners receive an average of 174 clients a week. But a chair, a mirror and a pair of scissors are not the only things you’ll need if you want to start a salon business.

Lidwina Morales, owner of Lid Salon in Malate, Manila, invested P500,000 initially on equipment and her parlor’s interior. Janett Pineda, a franchisee of David’s Salon in San Pedro, Laguna, bought the franchise for P2 million and took over the parlor in November 2002.

But you need not spend big bucks right away. Patrick Bishop, author of Money-tree Marketing, says “Don’t overspend. Buy used equipment or rent a space that was a beauty salon previously, but is vacant and includes all the equipment.”

Pick your location well

In a salon business, you must pick your location carefully. One won’t go wrong picking a mall. You'd also want to cater from Class A to C. Spend time looking for a good location and an area that would give you a comfortable size. Consider a place near a restaurant so that it would be convenience for your customers to buy snacks in case they get hungry. It’s also a good idea to pick an area with lots of foot traffic if you think you’ll depend on walk-in clients.

Invest in good equipment

It’s better to buy good used equipment if you can get it. If you prefer new supplies, shops like Hortaleza and Accessories and Beauty Equipment stock everything you are likely to need. It is also important to buy high-quality shampoos and chemicals for nail care, hair treatment and coloring to please your clients. Try to charge reasonable rates, but do not compromise on quality.

Train your staff

Now it’s time to recruit good people for your parlor. Your staff should have the technical expertise especially in hair coloring and styling using international standards as a benchmark. They have to undergo regular training to update them on new products, hairstyles and customer service.

Ricky Reyes Learning Institute offers a three-month cosmetology course that costs P14,900 and includes hair cutting, coloring, perming, styling, make-up, manicure and facial treatment. The Classic School of Cosmetology in Binondo, Manila, offers short courses in hair coloring, blow drying and scalp manipulation, among other things, for P1,500 to P4,000.

Salon franchises take care of personnel training and provide equipment and supplies. They take care of almost everything—even bookkeeping and accounting and the preparation of the payroll. You just wait for your monthly dividend. It’s up to the owner if he wants to visit the parlor once in a while.

It’s important to keep your employees happy to avoid high staff turnover. You may consider giving them salaries apart from commissions. Salon Studio follows a chart system where suppliers reward parlor staff selling their products.

Price your services well

Salon Studio uses celebrities like MTV videodisc jockey Donita Rose and former Binibining Pilipinas-World Daisy Reyes to promote the chain. Reyes Haircutters believes in charging minimal fees for maximum profit. Continuous research is very important to know the latest trends. Think how can you innovate.

According to Les Reyes, founder of the Reyes Haircutters chain of beauty salons, there are a few things you must know about the business before investing in it:

Naming your salon after yourself may not work in the long run. There are icons in the beauty salon business who have successfully built a business around their names. The downside is when they die or grow old, says Les Reyes.

Find your niche. Your target market will determine your choice of location, pricing, promotion strategies, and brand image. Reyes Haircutters is very clear about its market positioning—it’s a clean, well-designed salon offering quality services to the masses, and it doesn’t compete directly with Ricky Reyes and David’s.

Conduct your promotions during lean hours. Few customers usually come in between nine in the morning and two in the afternoon. To boost business during off-peak hours, Reyes Haircutters offers 40-percent discounts to senior citizens and free haircuts to infants.

Keep a profile of each customer. Les Reyes plans to develop a card that will carry valuable facts on each customer. If a client’s regular hairdresser is absent when she visits the salon, whoever assists her simply swipes her card on the computer to obtain information on her preferred services, likes and dislikes.

Assign a person to handle inventory control. Assign accountability for releasing parlor supplies to a stock clerk. He alone should have access to your inventory to make it easier to prevent or control pilferage.

Measure the amount of chemicals needed for each type of service. Know, for example, the number of haircuts and hot oil treatments you can provide using one bottle of shampoo and moisturizer.

Be a hands-on manager. How much money you make is a function of the amount of time you spend in the salon. You have to be there because it will greatly affect the sales, the energy and the customer service, among others.

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph; photo from http://www.cruisereviews.com

List of online stock brokers in the Philippines

2010-06-26T06:00:00.001+08:00

A stockbroker is a person or a corporation authorized and licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to trade securities. The stockbroker can be a live person or an online system.

Here is a list of registered online stock brokers in the country. Normally with an online broker, you are not assigned a live trader. Instead, you do trading all by yourself using the broker’s online system. Visit each online broker to compare their fees, support and service, and quality of their trading system.

AB Capital Securities, Inc.
Website: www.abcapitalonline.com

Accord Capital Equities Corporation
Website: www.philstocks.ph

BPI Securities Corporation
Website: www.bpitrade.com

CitiSecurities, Inc.
Website: www.citiseconline.com

F. Yap Securities, Inc.
Website: www.2tradeasia.com

First Metro Securities Brokerage Corporation
Website: www.firstmetrosec.com.ph

RCBC Securities, Inc.
Website: www.rcbcsec.com

Wealth Securities Inc.
Website: www.wealthsec.net

Philippine Stock Market

2010-06-25T17:29:00.005+08:00

The Philippine Stock Exchange has been continuously educating the public about stock market investing. It is now starting to draw attention from a diverse group of investors from all income levels. The stock market is slowly being noticed as a feasible investment medium despite the economic crisis. A recent study from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) showed that even the middle-income and lower middle-income classes are now investing in the stock market.

It is interesting to note that most of the retail investors trading online earn less than P500,000 a year and more than half of them were 30 to 44 years of age. This group of investors is now presenting a high growth sector for our trading participants. That is according to Val Antonio Suarez, Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) chief operating officer.

For 2009, the study found that in terms of:

Annual Income:
About a third or 33.8% of those who invest in stocks only earn less than P500,000/year. Including the biggest investors (41%) were those in the earning bracket of between Php500,000 and Php1 million yearly, while the rest (25.3%) belonged to the high-income group or those whose annual salaries amount to more than P1 million. Data on the annual income of investors was gathered from 77 brokers.

Gender:
Men are more willing to invest in stocks. Total male investor accounts amounted to 69,589 or 56.4% during the period compared with 53,732 women investors’ accounts which represented 43.57%. The data was gathered from a total of 82 brokers.

Age:
A large part of retail investors belonged to the 45 to 59 years bracket at 40.9 percent. Retail investors in the stock market are mostly professionals. Furthermore, most local retail investors or 86.5% are based in Metro Manila.

The study also showed that local investors continued to grab largest portion of trades in 2009 while the number of foreign investors in the stock market was notably higher as sentiment over the recent global economic crisis eased.

Local investor accounts increased 6.7% to 469,467 accounts in 2009 from 440,104 accounts in the previous year. These comprised 98.6%of the total investor accounts registered at the PSE in 2009.

Data was gathered from a survey of 132 active trading participants submitted last December.

Total investor accounts meantime rose 7.1% to 476,194 accounts from the previous year’s total of 444,680. Of this, foreign investor accounts only represented 1.41% or 6,727 accounts. Despite this, foreign investor accounts grew by a remarkable 47% in 2009 from 4,576 accounts in 2008.

Retail accounts or those owned by individuals grabbed 94.4% or 449,545 of the total investor accounts in 2009. The remaining 5.6% or 26,649 were institutional investor accounts or those held by corporations. Initiatives of the PSE include integrating capital market topics in high school and for college students through business administration courses. The PSE is also studying the possibility of institutionalizing a degree program that is focused on capital markets. The introduction of capital markets at an early stage in the Philippine education system forms a base of future investors. By doing this, the public realizes the importance of savings and investments which also contribute to several economic benefits.

Forex Trading

2010-06-16T15:44:00.005+08:00

Forex trading is an international exchange market whose daily average turnover is more than 1.5 trillion dollars. The word “FOREX” is abbreviated as FOREIGN EXCHANGE and in broad manner we would say it’s a market where one currency is traded for another and this is done in the hope that one can make profits on any losses or gains in the movement of currencies.

The trade of currencies is done in pairs i.e., the currency which one buy’s in the belief that in future its price will rise, the trading term related to this is called “the long position” and the other to sell in belief that its value will fall in future and the profit is made by buying it back on the lesser value, and the trading term related to this is called “the short position”.

The whole profit making in FOREX depends upon the movement between the 2 currencies which is not so high, so to make huge profits, one has to buy hundreds of dollars worth of currency at a time. Independent brokers and currency dealers make up a small percentage of FOREX TRADING but the major part comes from the banks, investment management firms and brokerages and according to The Wall Street Journal, the top ten currency traders which includes Deutsche Bank, UBS, HSBC, Barclays, etc., account for almost 73% of trading volume.

The trading can be done 24 hours a day except on the weekends, so it provides great opportunity for FOREX traders to work at their own conveniences. Due to its extreme liquidity and very high trading volume, the foreign exchange market is quite unique, but it said that FOREX TADING is not as easy as it seems so. A person new to FOREX TRADING should brush up his skills before getting his hands wet and should study both fundamental & technical analyses.

source: dailyarticle.com; photo from www.forexbreakthrough.com

How to get a BFAD license

2010-06-09T21:10:00.004+08:00

How to Apply for a License to Operate (LTO)

Registration for New Clients

Is this the first time you will transact with BFAD? Register at the Client Management Console to get your account number and gain access to the web portal of BFAD. This is where you will regularly transact with BFAD after registration.
After registration, you may apply for initial issuance of LTO through the Client Management Console.

Application

STEP 1. Classify your product(s)

Products regulated by BFAD fall under any of the following product classes:

drugs
medical devices
diagnostic re-agents
food
cosmetics
household hazardous substances

STEP 2. Classify your establishment.

Based on activities the establishment is engaged in, the establishment can be classified under any of the following establishment categories:

Establishment Category Activities

Manufacturer Purchases Raw Materials and Packaging Materials

Produces the product (in own plant or outsourced to a toll manufacturer)

Packs finished products

Maintains inventory of input materials, goods-in-process, and finished products

Distributes finished products

Distributor Purchases finished products

Distributes finished products

Retail Outlet (Drug Outlets only)

Drugstores (private or government)
Hospital Pharmacies (private or government)
Retail Outlet of Non-prescription Drugs

Purchases finished products or compounds and dispenses prescription and/or non-prescription drugs

Your establishment can be further classified based on additional activities that make the establishment fall under any or all of the following establishment types.

ESTABLISHMENT TYPE ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

Importer

Purchases products from foreign suppliers (referred to as “sources”), whether:

* Raw materials and packaging materials of manufacturers or
* Finished products of distributors

The country where the source operates is referred to as “country of origin”.

Exporter

Distributes or sells products to foreign buyers

The country where the buyer operates is referred to as “country of destination”

Wholesaler

Purchases finished products from local suppliers and/or distributes or sells the products to local buyers

STEP 3. Determine the LTO Type required by your establishment.

LTO type is determined by the product class plus the establishment category and the establishment type.

For example, your establishment may need the LTO of a:

Food distributor/importer
Food manufacturer/exporter
Drug manufacturer
Cosmetics Distributor/importer/wholesaler

STEP 4. After determining the LTO Type, determine the type of application you shall apply for:

TRANSACTION TYPE DEFINITION
Initial Issuance of LTO Issuance of License to Operate prior to opening of the establishment and start of operations

Renewal of LTO Extension of validity of the LTO after inspection and approval of BFAD

Amendment of LTO Re-issuance of LTO to reflect changes in circumstance of the establishment, after approval of BFAD

Change in ownership

Change in Establishment Name

Transfer of location of facilities

Addition or deletion of activities

Addition or deletion of products

Addition or deletion of sources

Change in name and address of sources

Replacement of lost LTO

STEP 5. Submit application online and pay processing fees

Now you are ready to access the applicable set of checklist of requirements, fees, and laws and regulations for the LTO type and transaction type you will apply for.

Prepare your application documents and apply online through the Client Management Console.

Pay through the payment option most convenient for you.

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph

Save for your retirement while you are still young

2010-05-21T19:30:00.007+08:00

For almost all young adults who have just started their first job, or who are just getting ready to settle down and marry, planning for their retirement is not at all in their minds. For those who have just gotten their first job, the experience of receiving your paycheck is a thrilling and empowering feeling. Now you have money to spend for the things you’ve always wanted to get. Billboards and glitzy print ads beckon you to accumulate all sorts of products and services that make you enjoy the life that you feel entitled to. At last!

But, listen, time waits for no one. Sooner or later, you will find yourself with a closet full of out of fashion clothes, outdated gadgets, and toys that you have outgrown. Worse still, you may still have credit card bills to pay for these things, and zero cash saved up for even your next vacation to Boracay. This time will come, if you’re not careful. And believe me, that time could just be around the corner.

If you’re smart, you should begin to plan for your retirement as soon as you receive your first pay check! Here are ten reasons why you should prepare now:

If you are employed, and your company is setting aside money for your SSS or GSIS or company retirement, guess what? What your company is setting aside is not going to be enough.
Time is in your favor. Who has more time to save for retirement at age 60? You, or your uncle who is 30 years older than you?
Because of # 1, you don’t have to sacrifice a lot in order to save a lot. If you and your uncle wanted to accumulate P1 Million by the time you’re both 60, you would have to save a smaller amount regularly, because you have more time to save. Right?
You can make more aggressive investments now but get rewarded with higher returns. Usually, these higher risk investments have a way of recovering very well over a longer period of time.
Inflation is not in your favor. You know it. Don’t be in denial. It will cost you more to retire than earlier generations ahead of you. So, don’t think that it will be affordable enough for you by that time.
You can start small and grow. Even setting aside a small portion of your paycheck each month will pay off in big pesos later.
It’s easier to develop the habit of saving while you are young and you have no major obligations.
As you accumulate savings over time, your money will start working for you, rather than you working for money.
No matter how much you love your parents, do you like the idea of supporting your parents because they failed to save for their retirement? Well, don’t impose your failure to save on your children. They deserve a life of their own.
It’s great to enjoy your savings! Imagine the nice and easy life you can enjoy when you have saved enough. If you want to keep working even when you’re old, you will go to work because you like to, not because you have to. And – when you have saved enough to take care of a comfortable lifestyle – you can occupy yourself with work which probably won’t pay much, but which will be fun and self-fulfilling.

source: http://www.save-and-learn.com; photo from www.forbes.com

Richard Gordon for President

2010-05-06T12:03:00.011+08:00

With permission to post from cosmochick, a girltalker of femalenetwork.com

I am writing this not as a passionate advertiser to a person I entrust my vote. I am writing this because I feel that I have to. I have this urge to let others and my friends, who are still undecided to vote this coming election, to exercise their rights and not waste it by voting in futility.

As mandated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, everyone has the right to be informed. Therefore, I am informing you now just a “piece” of the candidate I am voting for. This will not be that long-winded and too lengthy for I know, whatever I put here will surely be an UNDERSTATEMENT of what my President has accomplished.

Because of my PRO-GORDON posts, many inquired why I chose Gordon. I told them, “I will answer your question if you will also allow me to ask you a question. Don’t worry, I accept fairness and equality so I will ask the same thing to you.”

He walks his talk. He is not only a visionary thinker and an eloquent speaker, he is a moving doer who inspires by example. I am one of those inspired by his altruism and pragmatic ideals.

Others brand him as braggart for the reason that he tells what he has achieved. We are talking about our future President not a docile and meek Saint, right? Gordon tells you what you NEED to hear, not what you WANT to hear. If informing the public what one has done for the benefit of many is already a mortal sin, then let there be no politicians and let us just elect scholars whose achievements were seen in books only for the intellectuals to feast on.

Others say that he is not visible in their places this campaign period. Thank you for raising this one for it just proved that your candidates are only visible during campaign periods. May be he has not set his feet in your place now to give flyers and shake your hands, but surely when something happens, a calamity or disaster, he is always there working in action when others are just enjoying political luncheons.

Yes, your Presidential candidate can wage a nationwide campaign BUT what is truly decisive is that CAN HE RUN THE COUNTRY?

Who knows best when it comes to disaster prevention, awareness and preparedness than my President? Your bets, perhaps, were visible during the catastrophic Ondoy and Pepeng. Why not? Even movie actors and actresses made noises. But where were they during Mt. Pinatubo ash falls, Mindanao relief operations, Leyte landslides, Pagoda tragedy in Bulacan, Cabanatuan City earthquake, Wowowee stampede and Glorietta bombings, to name a few? My President has served more than 40 years as a VOLUNTEER in the Philippine National Red Cross and he is our international delegate on this matter. These exemplify that my President is not merely a robust leader but a compassionate server.

I have known people who got sick and those who needed financial assistance and GORDON WAS THE ONLY SENATOR who extended help. This is not a lip service.

A good illustration is someone I knew who is in dire need of the medical assistance. I helped her draft the legal papers / letters (hence, I have personal knowledge and this is not plainly hearsay) to be sent to various Congressmen and Senators (including your presidential bets) and ONLY RICHARD GORDON responded (within 2 hours to be exact!) and has given the financial aid needed.

Again, public service at its finest!

This is not to pull down your candidates. I would just like to stress a FACT and would like to INVITE you to PONDER on these–- Are we going to settle only for these nonsense talks in ad campaigns? “Hindi ako mangungurakot,” “Lalangoy ako sa dagat ng basura at iaahon ko kayo sa kahirapan,” “Galing at Talino,” “Walang mahirap kay Erap” and so on.

Anyone can claim that he or she has GALING AT TALINO (ask any accomplished professionals like lawyers, doctors, accountants and engineers for that matter). Anyone can claim that he or she has that integrity and is righteous not to plunder (which, by the way, has been promised by many politicians). Anyone can claim that he or she can alleviate the poor and the marginalized from the mud they are paddling into.

THEY CLAIM BUT HAVE THEY PROVEN?

It's not merely about clear-cut vision because any intelligent person could make it up (others, with the aid of their thinkers). It is more on continuing your mission. Have you truly seen your man IN ACTION? I HAVE SEEN MINE AND HE MADE ME REALIZE THAT PHILIPPINES CAN RISE AGAIN THROUGH A CHANGE IN MEN. I am voting for him because I dream of that day that my beloved country will regain its pride and dignity.

DEMAND PROOFS FROM YOUR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM THEM.

I do not wish to make this post longer than intended, thus, allow me to introduce my candidate in an unpresumptuous or self-effacing way I can.

WHY GORDON? He is the only presidential candidate who HAS delivered, while others still PROMISE to deliver. The only presidential candidate who has an impressive track record BOTH in the legislative and executive departments. The only presidential candidate who knows disaster awareness and preparedness acts for having been a volunteer of Red Cross for more than 40 years. The only presidential candidate EASY TO DEFEND for he has made a name for himself— a track record of good governance illuminates his aura.

He has a vision and continues to do his mission. He demands change, commands leadership through his accomplished tasks and transforms the country through a change in men. He tells you what you NEED to know, NOT what you WANT to know.

AS TO OTHER REASONS WHY I AM CHOOSING HIM AS MY PRESIDENT-- Res Ipsa Loquitur! (His track record will surely speak for himself).

Galing, Talino, TRACK RECORD, Kredibilidad, Integridad at Prinsipyo, ‘YAN ANG PRESIDENTE KO!

By the way, if you will tell me that “Magaling siya kaso hindi mananalo,” you just insulted yourself and let the surveys manipulate you (merely 2,000 respondents?) DO NOT INSULT YOUR INTELLIGENCE. STAND FIRM ON YOUR VOTE BECAUSE, IN THE END, YOU ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE CHOICE YOU MADE.

With this post, I may arouse a tongue squabble. You may beg to differ. I respect other people's opinion. This is mine. =) I want to believe that I am a proactive voter not a destructive advertiser.

Now, I answered your question. Can you answer mine? Or better yet ask yourself: WHAT TANGIBLE PROOF OF GOOD LEADERSHIP DO YOU HOLD FOR YOUR CANDIDATE?

TO REITERATE, DON'T SETTLE FOR ANYONE LESS IF WE CAN HAVE SOMEONE BEST!

MY PRESIDENT CAN BOAST BECAUSE HE HAS DONE MOST! =D

For a WOW Philippines, RICHARD GORDON, NO ONE ELSE!

Related Posts:
The only thing that can make me withdraw my support to Dick Gordon
Why I chose Gordon over Bro. Eddie
Kay-gibo-ako-noon

Domain Parking

2010-04-21T15:18:00.006+08:00

Domain Parking is a simple way to potentially earn money and improve the chances of selling your unused domains.

I started domaining last June 2009 and so far, I have hand-regged 20 domains (very few compared to a real domainer). Most of them are parked at sedo and others at afternic and namedrive. Afternic charges a very hefty escrow fee. I sold my first domain name at $75, but I only received $15 net. Heavy isn't it! At first, I thought there had to be a mistake, but when I reviewed their fees and rules, their escrow fee is 3% or $60 minimum even for an afternicDLS member. Oh well, at least, I was still able to double my investment ($7 reg fee) in less than a year..but still...huh..nevermind.

Last week, I received an offer for my other domain. It was parked at sedo. Price was $150. I was surprised to receive an invoice request from the buyer. I thought sedo handles these things. The whole point of selling through them is to avoid having to deal with the buyer or seller directly in the first place. Now I can expect an extra day or two for the sales proceeds to be disbursed as this slows down the transaction. Good thing I was able to download a basic invoice template from google docs. Google makes it easy to convert the Doc into a PDF which you can then upload to sedo. Anyway, they (sedo) also made some changes in their fees. They charge 10% commission fee before, but now, they charged me $50 minimum fee. The transfer agent told me that Sedo commission is 10% with a minimum of 50 USD, as outlined in their pricelist, and to qualify for a flat 10% commission, you would need to list a domain at a fixed price, and have it parked with them. That's why last night, I changed my price option to Fixed Price on the rest of my domains. I guess I should check their policies from time to time.

UPDATE (6/25/10)

Just recently, I sold one domain name parked at Sedo. I set it at a fixed price of $75. Sedo's commission was 10%, so I received $67 net. Once you set it a fixed price, your domain cannot be auctioned at the marketplace.

How to make clothing for dogs

2010-04-21T11:44:00.005+08:00

Think "fashion designer," but with the pieces about one-third or one-fourth of an adult's size. You will be sketching outfits, matching material, and coming up with seasonal collections for man's best friend!

Materials:

Fabric, approximately a yard per outfit

Fabric accessories (beads, buttons, fabric paint, Velcro, etc.)

Measuring tape

Patterns

Sewing supplies (fabric glue, paper, pencil, needle, etc.)

*All available in fabric stores as well as in Divisoria

Procedure:

Step 1. Sketch your desired pattern. You can find ideas on the Internet—check out http://sewing.circleofcrafters.com, http://www.make-and-build-dogstuff. com—and just tweak them into your own!

Step 2. Prepare your fabric. Just be sure the material is comfortable for the dog, durable, and washable. To save money, you can also use old clothes you have around to the house. Shop around for desired accessories and details you want to add to the outfit.

Step 3. Using a measuring tape, get measurements around the neck, across the chest (from inner front left leg to inner front right leg), leg, and inseam measurements. The pattern you selected will determine any other measurements you might need.

Step 4. For an easy shirt pattern, fold a piece of fabric in half, lengthwise, and lay it on the table. Measure the dog from across the shoulders, and measure half of that number onto the top edge of the fabric and draw a line. Be sure it curves, as this part of the shirt will go around the neck.

Step 5. Measure from the side neck area to the top front leg area and draw the measurement onto the fabric.

Step 6. Measure from the nape to the mid-back area, adding a couple of inches for hemming, and draw this measurement down the fold part of the fabric.

Step 7. Measure around the dog’s waist, and draw half of that measurement onto the fabric.

Step 8. Then, measure from the midback area to just under the front leg and draw this measurement onto the fabric.

Step 9. Finally, measure around the top portion of the dog’s front leg.

Step 10. Cut the shirt pieces, and sew the garment together—attach the front and back shoulder area, hem the neckline, sew the opposite shoulder pieces together, hem both armhole openings, sew one side seam, hem the bottom, then sew the other side seam. The shirt is now complete!

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph; photo from http://www.mypetswardrobe.com.au

How to make candy bouquets

2010-04-21T11:14:00.004+08:00

Candy bouquets are a new take on the candies and flowers we normally give as gifts or tokens to friends and loved ones. And it can be a good sideline business, too, especially on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and other occasions.

Candy bouquets are also hot items for sale in online stores, so check out the Web to earn dollars from retail websites selling padala items.

Jhoanna Gan-So, president and head of research and design at Businessmaker Academy, says candy bouquet making is a good complement business to gift basket making, selling baked goodies and sweets, and doing balloon arrangements.

MATERIALS AND APPROXIMATE PRICES:

a pair of scissors
measuring tape
mini glue gun
1 mini glue stick (P2.46)
7 pieces of chocolates (preferably the Ferrero Rocher brand) (P14.67 each)
7 balloon sticks and caps (P2.75 each set)
1 flower accent (P10 each)
7 flowerets (P3 for a bunch of 5)
curling ribbon (11/3-yard long)
0.65 yard ribbons (one-inch wide) (P10.50 per yard)
a bow (P11.75)
floral tape (3.5-yard long, size 12mm x 33m) (P40 per 33-meter roll)
2 sheets of non-woven wrapper (P16.50 per sheet, which can make 22 pieces)
scotch tape (18mm x 25m) (P7 per roll)

PROCEDURE:

Step 1: Cut the balloon stick in two. Glue one end of the stick to a balloon cap.

Step 2: Wrap the balloon stick with floral tape to make it look like a real stem. Stretch the floral tape as you cover the length of the stick to make its adhesive hold more firmly.

Step 3: Glue the tin-wrapped chocolate to its paper wrapper and then to the balloon cap.

Step 4: Cut the non-woven wrapper into 8 cm by 18 cm pieces. Wrap this piece like a cone around the balloon cap. Secure it to the balloon stick with a 17- cm curling ribbon. Curl the ribbon's ends.

Step 5: Glue a floweret between the ribbon curls. Follow the same steps for the number of chocolate flowers you'd like in the bouquet.

Step 6: To make a bouquet, gather several candy flowers and tape the sticks together tightly, forming it into a pyramid.

Step 7: Wrap the candy flowers in two layers of non-woven wrappers to create pleats.

Step 8: Tie an inch-wide ribbon around the bouquet to secure it. Attach a bow over the ribbon.

Step 9: For a fancier bunch, add artificial flowers at the lower portion of the bouquet.

To compute its selling price, simply add to the production cost a 150-percent mark-up for a per-stick sale, and 40 percent to 75 percent mark-up if sold per bunch. Hence, a candy flower costs P21.97 to make and can be sold for P55. A bunch of seven candy flowers costs P207.40 to make and can be sold for P300 to P350.

TIPS to improve your bouquet-making skills:

Experiment with different styles of candy bouquets, using various candies like lollipops.
Re-use flower accents, flowerets, bows, and ribbons from old stocks.
Take photos of your creations and use these in replicating designs or in presenting to clients.
Browse the Web for sites and companies where you can market your product.
Buy materials in bulk at Divisoria or Quiapo where these are cheaper.

Contact details:
Businessmaker Academy
Telephones: (02) 687-4445, (02) 687-4645, (02) 687-3416
Website: www.businessmaker-academy.com

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph

Part 2: Stocks Investing

2010-03-29T16:34:00.009+08:00

Part II: What is the minimum amount needed to invest in the stock market?

Trading stocks is done though board lot or round lot system, which means there is a minimum number of shares one can buy or sell at a specific price range.

The Board Lot Table determines the minimum number of shares one can purchase or sell at a specific price range. Therefore, the minimum amount needed to invest in the stock market varies and will depend on the market price of the security as well as its corresponding board lot. Prices of stocks move through a scale of minimum price fluctuations.

The Philippine Stock Exchange uses the Board Lot Table.

How can i profit in the stock market?

Investors can profit in the stock market thru any or a combination of the following;

Capital Gains - These are profits made due to an increase in the market price of a stock from the buying price.
Cash Dividend - A dividend given to shareholders in the form of cash. It is computed by multiplying the number of shares held by the cash dividend rate declared.
Stock Dividend - A dividend given to shareholders in the form of additional stocks. It is computed by multiplying the number of shares held by the percentage of the stock dividend declared.
Stock Rights - Stock rights offering is the option given to the present shareholders to buy additional shares of stock at a price lower than its market price.

Is there any risk involved in investing?

Yes, since risk is always a part of any investment. And because stock investment is the most volatile, a better attitude would be to limit and manage your risk. A maximum level of gain or loss should be set and calculated decisions should be made when this level is reached.

Do I need to keep track of my investment?

Yes! Having placed some amount in stocks, you should spend some time and effort in studying your investment. You should keep track of the stock price and follow closely the developments of the company. This way, you are able to foresee possible gains or losses that will guide you in making sound and wise investment decisions.

Daily quotations of stock prices can be obtained from your stockbroker or from all leading newspapers. You may also get information from our official website: www.pse.com.ph or from the PSE-Public Information and Assistance Center (PIAC) at telephone numbers 688-7602 to 03.

Source: http://www.pse.com.ph

Part 1: Stocks Investing

2010-03-29T16:25:00.005+08:00

What are Stocks? Securities?

Stocks are shares of ownership in a corporation. When you become a stockholder or shareholder of a company, you become part-owner of that company. Securities, on the other hand, are proof of one's ownership or indebtedness in a company. Examples of securities are treasury bills and commercial papers, which are considered as short-term and are traded in the money market; and stocks and bonds, which are long-term and traded in the capital market. Securities are easily bought and sold in the stock market.

What are the types of Securities that I can buy in the Stock Market?

Most of the issues listed in the PSE (Philippine Stock Exchange) are common stocks. Other types of securities such as preferred stocks, warrants, PDRs and bonds are also traded.

Common Stocks - These are usually purchased for participation in the profits and control of ownership and management of the company. Holders of common stocks have voting rights. They are also entitled to an equal pro rata division of profits without preference or advantage over another stockholder. However, they have the last claim on dividends and are the last to collect in case of corporate liquidation.
Preferred Stocks - Its name is derived from preference given to the holders of these stocks over holders of common stocks. Holders of preferred stocks are entitled to receive dividends, to the extent agreed upon, before any dividends are paid to the holders of common stocks. However, preferred stocks usually have a specified limited rate of return or dividend and a specified limited redemption and liquidation price.
Warrants - A corporation can also raise additional capital by issuing warrants. A warrant, normally issued on a detachable basis, allows its holders the right, but not the obligation, to subscribe to new shares at a set price during a specified period of time. It is usually provided free of charge and traded separately in the securities market.
Philippine Deposit Receipts (PDRs) - A PDR is a security which grants the holder the right to the delivery or sale of the underlying share, and to certain other rights including additional PDR or adjustments to the terms or upon the occurrence of certain events in respect of rights issues, capital reorganizations, offers and analogous events or the distribution of cash in the event of a cash dividend on the shares. PDRs are evidences or statements nor certificates of ownership of a foreign/foreign-based corporation. For as long as the PDRs arenot exercised, the shares underlying the PDRs are and will continue to be registered in the name of and owned by and all rights pertaining to the shares shall be exercised by the issuer.
Small-Demominated Treasury Bonds (SDT-Bonds) - The SDT Bonds are long-term and relatively risk-free debt securities issued by the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) of the Republic of the Philippines. The bond is a certificate of indebtedness of the Republic of the Philippines to the owner of the SDT-Bonds.

Where can i buy or sell shares of stocks and/or bonds?

In the Philippines, the only operating stock exchange is the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). Its main function is to facilitate the buying and selling of stocks and other securities through its accredited trading participants.

The PSE has two trading floors - PSE Centre in Ortigas, Pasig City and PSE Plaza in Ayala, Makati City - where trading participants trade daily - from 9:30 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. except Saturdays, Sundays, legal holidays and days when the Central Bank Clearing Office is closed.

You can purchase shares of stock either through IPO (Initial Public Offering) or through the open market. Shares sold through IPOs are offered for the first time to the public by the company (primary market) whereby proceeds of the sale go directly to the company. Shares of listed or publicly traded companies are bought during trading (open market). These shares have since been transferred from one owner to another (secondary market) and proceeds of the sales do not go directly to the company but to the owners of the shares.

The Trading Cycle

All equity transactions, whether buying or selling has a settlement period of T+3 (trading day + 3 working days). This means that a seller should be able to deliver the stock certificate, if any, to his broker and the buyer must have paid the cost of transaction to his broker within 3 working days after the trade was done. Historically, settlement was done manually (27-day cycle). With the advent of scripless trading wherein settlement is done via the book-entry-system (thru Philippine Central Depository or PCD), transactions are settled on the third day after trade date. Under this system, the investor has the option to hold on to his certificate (uplift) or deposit (lodge) this certificate in PCD through his broker-participant account.

SDT-Bonds transactions, however, are settled on the same day when the trade is transacted (T+0). There shall be no physical transfer of bond certificates. The transfer of securities shall be conducted electronically by the BTr's Registry of Scripless Securities (RoSS). On the other hand, cash settlement will be coursed through the PSE's two settlement banks namely, Equitable-PCI Bank and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation.

Part II: Minimum Amount Needed to Invest in the Stock Market

Source: http://www.pse.com.ph; photo from freeimages.co.uk

How to Start a Bakery

2010-03-29T11:44:00.004+08:00

If you love to bake, have at least P250,000 in capital, know a good location, and are looking to start a business with a steady and growing customer base, then you should consider setting up a bakery.
By Prime Sarmiento

Although bread is only the second staple food for Filipinos, bakeries can be found everywhere in the country – from the neighborhood panaderia where you get your morning pandesal to popular bakeshops in malls selling pastries and cakes of every ingredient and recipe. The Trade and Industry department reports that there are 30,000 bakeshops in the Philippines.

Given this number, you might think it’s foolish to go into this business as the market seems to be heaving with loaves and rolls. But master baker Ric Pinca, executive director of the Philippine Association of Flour Millers (PAFMIL) says “there’s dough in the bakery business.” “The bread market in the Philippines is under-utilized,” pointing out that a Filipino consumes only 1.75 piece of bread everyday. Singaporeans and Malaysians eat double this number – up to three pieces of bread per day.

The growing population and a slow yet steady economic growth are boosting the market for bakeries, according to Pinca. Combine this with the fact that you can sell bread and other baked goodies at a markup of 45 to 50 percent and you can see why owning bakeshop is a viable business.

But while profitable, putting up a bakeshop is no piece of cake. You need to invest a substantial amount of time, money, and energy to make it in this highly competitive industry.

The first thing you should do is to learn how to bake if you don’t know it yet. Rolando Dorado, lecturer at the Asian Baking Institute, says developing a winning recipe is one of the key factors behind a successful bakeshop. You can’t stay in this business unless you can offer a variety of bread products.

“You have to sell cakes, cookies, tasty bread. Kasi ang iba sasabihin, anong klaseng bakery ito, iisa lang ang produkto?” says Dorado. Not only that, you have to constantly change your product offering to keep up with the customers’ changing preferences. And unless you know how to bake, you won’t be able to keep up.

It also means that as an entrepreneur, you can't just rely on your workers to sustain your business. “You must know how to bake your breads even without your baker’s help. Your operation must not be paralyzed if your baker does not show up,” says Nini Reyes, owner of Pan De Anna, a modest neighborhood bakery in Pateros.

Prior to setting up Pan De Anna last year, Reyes didn’t have a clue about baking. But she was looking for a business opportunity to supplement the family income, and she decided to place her bet on a bakery because there was none in their neighborhood. Reyes studied baking at the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center and surfed the Internet to supplement her new-found knowledge.

Unlike Reyes, Aggy Villabona, co-owner of the 17-year-old Aggy’s Cakes & Sweets, grew up having a mother and an aunt who loved to bake and who served as her teachers. Aggy attended a number of seminars to hone her baking skills, and this was not to put up a business as much as to impress her husband Meo, who was then her boyfriend.

Aggy experimented with various recipes, guided in large part by her mother and aunt. Later, she and cousin Audrey put up a home-based bakeshop called Aggy and Aud’s Home Baked Goodies. They stamped their boxes and sold their cakes and pastries to friends and neighbors.

Their baked goodies were so well received that Aggy was getting orders on her honeymoon night. Aggy would continue the business with Meo as her partner and together they were able to lure corporate clients who bought their baked goodies for giveaways. In 1989, Meo and Aggy borrowed P160,000 from their parents to finance their first store in BF Homes, Parañaque.

Since then, the couple had grown the business to three stores. Aggy and Meo put up their second store at the United Parañaque Subdivision in 2004, and their third in Makati a year later. From the six people they hired to man their first store, the Villabonas now count 30 people in their employ.

Dorado says you can start looking for a good location once you’re done formulating your recipes. Once you have several choices, you should visit each one several times to know the area’s foot traffic and who your customers would be. Your customers’ demographics (their income and age group) and their preferences will determine your product line.

But first, don’t forget to file the necessary business papers. You need to register your business name with the DTI and secure a barangay clearance, a certification from the Bureau of Food and Drugs, and cash register, mayor’s, and sanitary permits. You also need to have your receipts registered with the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

You should set aside at least P250,000 to buy the necessary equipment, including a commercial oven, mixer, stainless table, and molder, and ingredients enough to make your initial product batch. If you’re short in cash, you can buy used equipment, but this isn’t a good option. “It’s better to buy new equipment because you don’t know the quirks of the (used equipment). You might end up wasting time (and money) on repairs,” Meo says.

You also need to hire workers because this business is time consuming. “You prepare the dough in the evening, then you sell your pan de sal early the next morning. After that, you look how much pan de sal you sold that morning. Then you start preparing the dough again to be used for other products like monay, ensaymada and cookies. Yun naman ang ibebenta mo para sa merienda. Sa gabi, mag-uumpisa ka na naman,” Pinca says. When she was starting her business, Reyes says she did everything by herself. But after two months, Reyes had to hire a baker, a helper and a front liner so she could take care of her children.

The best marketing strategy in this business is word-of-mouth – which will only happen if your products taste good. Dorado says you could recoup your investment in two to three years, although Aggy and Meo were able to break even in a year’s time due to loyal clients who spread the word.

BAKERY SETUP 101

Do you think managing a bakery can be your bread and butter? Here are a few tips to make it a hot business for you:

Keep it sweet. Filipinos have a sweet tooth, and Ric Pinca of the Philippine Association of Flour Millers suggests that if you're planning to set up a bakery, make sure that you prepare sweet and soft breads. This is why cakes and donuts are popular in the Philippines.

The secret is in the recipe. It's not enough that you know how to bake; you must also come up with your own formulation and keep it a secret, says Rolando Dorado of the Asian Baking Institute. Otherwise, one of your bakers might steal your recipe and use it to set up his own bakeshop. Having your own formula also means you'll always come up with good products no matter what. Bakeshops that close down are the ones that depend on their experienced bakers. When the bakers leave, the taste of the product changes, the business loses its regular customers, and later, the bakery closes down.

Look for a good location. The best place to set up is where there's a lot of foot traffic. Pinca says it's good to set up a store near a school, a commercial building, and at bus terminals. A good location doesn't only ensure that your bakeshop will be profitable, but you could also easily sell the business when you're tired of running it. "What will make your business saleable is your good location. In fact, people might wonder why you're selling your shop when you're in a good location," Pinca says.

Keep on learning. Consumer trends are always changing, so bakeries have to constantly adapt and innovate. "You don't stop learning in this business. You have to keep studying to stay on top," says Aggy Villabona of Aggy's Cakes & Sweets. Both Aggy and Meo take seminars regularly--from baking to food styling to designing packages--to keep abreast of new developments in the business. They also read a lot of books and magazines.

WHERE TO TRAIN:

Technology and Livelihood Research Center
Telephone: (02) 727-6205 local 208 or 209

Asian Baking Institute
Telephones: (02) 525-0390; (02) 818-4610

CONTACT DETAILS:

PAN DE ANNA
29 P. Rosales Street, Pateros

AGGY'S CAKES & SWEETS
44F Aguirre Ave., BF Homes, Paranaque Telephone: (02) 807-6674

PHILIPPINE ASSOCIATION OF FLOUR MILLERS
Telephones: (02) 811-4366; (02) 811-4387
Faxes: (02) 810-9462; (02) 811-4033
E-mail: pafmil@mail.com.ph

Source:

http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph; photo from http://bakery-display-case.com/

Earth Hour 2010

2010-03-28T19:32:00.004+08:00

Last night, me and my mom turned off all the lights & switched off all our appliances as our small contribution for our planet. Some of our neighbors too. I just stayed outside and did stargazing which I really enjoyed.

Even the simplest everyday activities can make a real difference to the environment. We can make a big difference in our homes simply by making a few small adjustments to our routines. I've been trying to conserve water and energy, not burning plastic/styro/packaging, recycle what can be recycled and telling my friends to do the same thing.

I would like to share the following tips I read from world wide fund philippines

Save energy

Switch off all lights and electrical appliances when not in use – your TV left on standby can still use a quarter of full power
Choose energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs
Let clothes dry naturally rather than using a tumble drier
Keep lids on pans when cooking to prevent your cooker having to work extra hard
On average using a gas oven costs a quarter of the price of running an electric one. Switch to gas if you have the option

Save water

Fix dripping taps – they can waste up to 13 litres of water a day
Don’t leave the tap running while you clean your teeth
Take a shower instead of a bath

Save wood and paper

Return unwanted mail and ask for your name to be removed from the mailing list
Always use both sides of a sheet of paper
Use e-mail to stay in touch, including cards, rather than faxing or writing. Re-use envelopes
Always recycle paper after use
Share magazines with friends and pass them on to the doctor, dentist or local hospital for their waiting rooms

Reuse and recycle

Use washable diapers instead of disposables if you can
Recycle as much as you can – if there are no recycling facilities near you, contact your local council
Give unwanted clothes, toys and books to charity shops or garage sales
Use main electricity rather than batteries if possible. If not, use rechargeable batteries
Use a solar-powered calculator instead of one with a battery
Instead of a plastic ballpoint, use a fountain pen with bottled ink, not plastic cartridges
Store food and other products in ceramic containers rather than foil and plastic wrap

Reduce waste and pollution

Dispose of old appliances – particularly refrigerators with units containing CFCs – responsibly. You may check envirocycle for more information on e-wastes.
Choose environmentally friendly cleaning products containing plant extracts that degrade quickly when washed down the drain
Put sanitary waste and wrappings in the dustbin, not down the toilet.

Source:
http://www.wwf.org.ph

Portable Solar Chargers

2010-03-27T20:13:00.001+08:00

A mobile phone going "low-batt" or losing its last bit of power during a crucial business call is a dreadful thing to happen to any entrepreneur. The search for a timely recharging source to allow resumption of the call--whether a wall outlet, a car's cigarette lighter outlet, or a charging station at a mall or convenience store--can be very troublesome as well.

But it need not be like that anymore. Portable solar chargers are now available for entrepreneurs who use mobile phones or PDAs (personal digital assistants) extensively while out of the office--and they need not fear running out of electrical "juice" ever again.

Among the sun-powered chargers now in the market are three variants of the GreenMobile brand, which are distributed by a local firm, Tritec Integrated Philippines Inc. The product is targeting businessmen on the go and young people who frequently use mobile devices like digital music players, movie players, handheld video games, and cameras. Another major selling point of these solar chargers, of course, is their use of the sun as a renewable energy source, which thus can show their users' awareness of the need for environmental conservation.

The three variants--the clamshell-like GM30, the GM50 with detachable solar panels, and the pop-up GM90--share several things in common. Each has two mono- or multi-crystalline solar cell panels no wider than a grown-up's palm. The 3.7-volt lithium-ion rechargeable battery that stores the energy converted from sunlight can also be recharged using a USB (universal serial bus) charging cable that comes with the product package. Thus, before hitting the road again, the user can alternatively recharge the GreenMobile by simply plugging it into the USB port of the office computer or Internet cafe‚ PC that he or she happens to be working on.

When fully charged by exposure to sunlight for about 10 hours or via USB for about four hours, each of the three GreenMobile models can provide an output voltage of 5.5 to 6 volts, making them capable of fully recharging a mobile phone in two hours. The GreenMobile charger has an output cable with nine different connectors compatible with most mobile phone brands and digital devices.

Tristan San Buenaventura, president of Tritec, says that with April 22 being "Earth Day", it will be very timely for itinerant entrepreneurs to buy a solar charger this month. Aside from enjoying the convenience it offers, he says, they will have such a handy, highly visible way of showing their concern for the environment.

"We are all worried about global warming and climate change," he explains, "and now we have this amazing, eco-friendly gadget that dramatically reduces the energy cost of running our electronic gadgets. It will encourage and enable people to use renewable energy like solar power. It will allow them to power the billions of gadgets worldwide, thus reducing the use of energy from fossil fuels and helping to actually help fight climate change--one gadget at a time."

TRITEC INTEGRATED PHILIPPINES INC.
Unit I, 7/F Westgate Tower, Investment Drive
Madrigal Business Park,
Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Telephone: (02) 807-4211
Fax: (02) 807-3819
E-mail: info@gmsolarcharger.com;
tritecintegratedphil@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.gmsolarcharger.com/

How to make beef tapa

2010-01-04T20:26:00.003+08:00

Beef tapa can come in several ways —as lunch boxes, sandwiches, frozen bulk purchases, etc.—so you have a number of business options. I so love beef tapa from Jollibee -- it's the best (just me speaking) ;) Very, very tasty and the meat is so tender. Last month, I tried this one with matching fried rice and egg.

Materials needed:

Meat pounder, P50 (I also use meat tenderizer)
Stainless steel bowl, P150
Plastic container, P50
Frying pan, P200
1 kg. lean beef (beefsteak cut, round, or rump), sliced ¼ inch thick, P250
Salt
Ground black pepper
Sugar
2 tbsp. finely chopped garlic
½ tsp. MSG
2 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
Soy sauce (optional)
Vegetable oil

Getting started:

Use the meat pounder to tenderize and thin out the meat.
Place the meat into the stainless steel bowl, together with salt, pepper, sugar, chopped garlic, MSG, white vinegar, and 3 to 4 tablespoons of soy sauce. Mix well.
Transfer everything to a plastic container, and let meat marinate for about 12 hours in the refrigerator. Remove and mix again.
You can opt to repack and freeze the meat for a later date. When the meat is ready to be served, fry in a hot pan, using vegetable oil. Enjoy!

source: www.entrepreneur.com.ph

Hand-Painted Pots

2010-01-04T19:40:00.004+08:00

Gardening is one of the fastest growing pastimes in most places. For the entrepreneur seeking to capitalize on the huge demand for garden-related products, look no further than starting a business that creates and sells one-of-a-kind, hand-painted clay gardening pots. More and more people are searching for unique and interesting ways in which to display their flowers and shrubs, so why not create extraordinary planting pots for these consumers and start making money. Simply purchase clay planting pots from a local wholesale company and paint and decorate the pots with unique, interesting and colorful themes and designs. Once completed, the flowerpots can be sold in various ways, including directly to specialty retailers and garden centers on a wholesale basis and to residential and commercial interior decorators and garden planners. You can also sell them by renting a sales table at a local craft show or flea market, or by putting the on the internet.

source: www.entrepreneur.com; photo from www.apartmenttherapy.com

Ways to donate for typhoon Ondoy victims

2009-09-27T19:13:00.005+08:00

Our countrymen affected by typhoon Ondoy needs all the help they can get, so let's do what we can to help them in our own little ways.

If we cant physically help them, we can still donate via Philippine National Red Cross.

SMS and GCASH

For Smart users:
Type RED<space>AMOUNT to 4483. We can send the following amounts: 10, 25, 50, 100. P2.50/msg.

For Globe users:
Type RED<space>AMOUNT to 2899. We can send the following amounts: 5, 25, 50, 100, and 300. P1/message.

GCASH:
text DONATE<space>AMOUNT<space>4-digit M-PIN<space>REDCROSS to 2882.

OTHER WAYS TO DONATE:

Monetary Donations

1. CASH or CHECK
Please send cash or check donations to the PNRC National Headquarters in Manila. Checks should be made payable to The Philippine National Red Cross. They can also arrange for donation pick-up.

2. BANK DEPOSIT
Account Name: The Phil. Nat’l. Red Cross

METROBANK
Port Area Branch
Peso Acct.: 151-3-041-63122-8
Dollar Acct.: 151-2-151-00218-2
Type of Acct. : SAVINGS
Swift Code: MBTC PH MM

BANK OF THE PHIL. ISLANDS
Port Area Branch
Peso Acct.: 4991-0010-99
Type of Account: CURRENT

BANK OF THE PHIL. ISLANDS
UN Branch
Dollar Acct.: 8114-0030-94
Type of Account: SAVINGS
Swift Code: BOPI PH MM

For your donations to be properly acknowledged, please fax the bank transaction slip at nos. +63.2.527.0575 or +63.2.404.0979 with your name, address and contact number.

Credit Card
Please fax the following info to +632.404.09.79 and +632.527.0575:

Name of card member, billing address, contact nos. (phone & mobile), credit card no., expiration date, CCV2/ CVC2 (last three digits at the back of the credit card), billing address, amount to be donated.

In-Kind Donations

LOCAL
Please send in-kind local donations to The Philippine National Red Cross – National Headquarters in Manila. Theycould also arrange for donation pick-up.

INTERNATIONAL

Send a letter of intent to donate to the PNRC
A letter of acceptance from PNRC shall be sent back to the donor
Immediately after shipping the goods, please send the (a) original Deed of Donation, (b) copy of packing list and (c) original Airway Bill for air shipments or Bill of Lading for sea shipments to The Philippine National Red Cross–National Headquarters c/o Secretary General Corazon Alma de Leon, Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila 2803, Philippines.

The PNRC does not accept rotten, damaged, expired or decayed goods. Though the PNRC appreciates your generosity, they also discourages donations of old clothes as they have more than enough to go around.

For online donations you may also visit their website at www.redcross.org.ph

Business Permit

2009-09-04T18:36:00.002+08:00

Here is a list of government agencies that a start-up business needs to register with:

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)

This is where you register if your enterprise is a single proprietorship. The agency will issue a certificate of registration of business name.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

If your enterprise is a partnership or a corporation, this is where you will register. It will issue a certificate of registration.

Cooperative Development Authority (CDA)

If your set-up is a cooperative, register with this body. The agency will issue the certificate of registration.

Local Government Unit (LGU)

You register with the municipality or city where you will set up your business. This office will issue the business permit/Mayor's permit plus the business tin plate.

Barangay Hall

You register with the specific barangay in the municipality or city where you will operate your business. This office will issue the barangay clearance and barangay business permit.

Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)

You register your business with this office and apply for your business’s taxpayer identification number (TIN), registration of books of accounts, receipts/invoice and the like.

Social Security System (SSS)

You register your business as an employer/self-employed, and your workers as employees. This office will issue an SSS number for your business, for yourself, as well as for your workers.

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)

If you employ more than five workers, register your business with this agency. The DOLE is asked to promote gainful employment opportunities, protect workers and promote their welfare, develop human resources, and maintain industrial peace.

Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF)

RA 7742 requires all SSS members earning at least P4,000 a month to register with this agency. HDMF administers the Pag-Ibig Fund.

Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth)

The New National Health Insurance Act (RA 7875) as amended by RA 9241 requires all employers of the government and private sectors and their employees to register with this agency. PhilHealth manages and administers the government health care system.

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph

How to make beaded slippers

2009-08-07T18:15:00.004+08:00

Wearing slippers (tsinelas) as a fashion statement began just a few years ago, but thanks to its extreme comfort and versatility, this trend is here to stay. Women treat flip-flops like dressed-up sandals.

Materials needed:

Long nose pliers, P35 to P120
Fishing line (30mm thick), P40 for a big roll
Heavy duty glue gun, P200 to P300,
Small glue stick, P3 to P5 per piece, (All available at hardware stores)
Scissors
Needles
1 pair of plain rubber slippers or flip-flops, P25 at wholesale price (available at department stores or Divisoria)
1 to 1.5 yards of satin or organza ribbons, P4 to P8 per yard
Various accessories (i.e. beads, pearls, sequins), P0.05 to P10 per piece. (Both available at fabric stores)

Getting started:

Check the flip-flops to make sure there is no damage or defect, and the surface is clean and dry.
To provide a strong base on which to secure the accessories, you’ll need to wrap the thong especially on the top middle part where the toes are inserted with a ribbon.
Keep wrapping the ribbon around the thong, continuously using the glue gun as you go to secure placement. Make sure the ribbon lies flat on the thong, especially on the top middle part where the toes are inserted. Finish on the upper part of the flip-flop, so as not to make the wearer uncomfortable with the bump the glue may form.
It’s best to plan how you want the accessories to be placed on the thong. Once you’ve decided, cut about half a yard of the fishing line and thread it through the needle. Sew on the accessories, stitching from the top middle part going downwards, and making sure that the knotted part is on the top of the thong.
Survey your work to check that both sides have a balanced design. Then, tie a strong but clean knot on the end for durability.

Tips:

When starting out, don’t buy too much of the same accessory. You don’t want to invest all your profit on one item when you only really need a small amount.

Keep a good supply of sturdy needles. The rubber thong material on which you’ll sew the bead is quite hard and thick.

How Much Will You Make

Jaja Beltran of Colors and Me spends about P47.25 to create a pair of child-sized flip-flops, and sells them for P65 – P75 to dealers, and P90 to P100 for outright sales. With these figures, Beltran already recoups her P1,000 starting capital after selling about 20 pairs of flip-flops.

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph; photo: http://www.sulit.com.ph

How to Make Polvoron

2009-07-18T10:35:00.004+08:00

Just like pastillas, polvoron has become a favorite gift to give to overseas friends and family. There is such a huge demand for polvoron that in a survey conducted by the Business section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer last 2007, Goldilock’s Bakeshop named polvoron as their top-selling item—it sold more than their cakes!

Materials & Ingredients needed:

Mixing bowl
Measuring cups and spoons
Wooden spoon
Saucepan
Japanese paper or cellophane
Polvoron molder, P24
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups powdered milk
1 1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups sugar

Getting started:

On a pan, toast flour in moderate heat for about 15 minutes, or until light brown, stirring constantly to avoid burning.
Remove the pan and transfer the mixture into a big bowl.
Add the powdered milk, and toss for another 3-4 minutes.
Add sugar and melted butter. Mix well.
Fill the polvoron mould with the mixture, press it hard by using a spoon, then release it. If it is still too loose, add more butter or olive oil. Make sure that you could pick up the polvoron without it crumbling straight away.
Place the polvoron in an airtight container, then chill in the fridge until firm.
Carefully wrap the polvoron individually in japanese paper or cellophane.
Keep the polvoron refrigerated until you want to eat them. You can store them on the fridge for about a week, or you can freeze them.

Credit Card Tips

2009-07-11T17:29:00.007+08:00

I applied for a secured credit card at BPI last year. I find it very convenient because I don't have to carry cash all the time. When me and my friends go shopping, I ask them to give me their cash and use my card instead. By doing that, I get more reward points and use that cash in short-term sidelines/investments/rackets. I am given 20 days to pay my bills..so I use that time to earn some money.

There are other promos included, like for example, if I use my card within that promo period for a minimum single transaction of P1,000, I get a free food item from Chowking. I was able to take out 2 pork siomai and 2 siopao asado last Wednesday. It's really nice to get freebies! I don't like having credit cards before but seeing as I can be creative with it, why not ;)

Just remember to always use your credit card wisely and pay your bills on time.

How to Make Empanada

2009-06-28T16:27:00.004+08:00

An empanada is one pastry that crosses income segments. It can be sold to the masses at mall kiosks, or to the well-heeled at Sunday neighborhood markets or even at 5-star hotels! It’s up to you to decide.

Materials needed:

Measuring cups and spoons
Mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Chopping board
Baking tray

For the crust:

2 cups flour
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tbsp salt
1/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup ice water

For the filling:

1 medium sized onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tomatoes, peeled
2 cups cooked beef, chopped
1/2 cup beef stock
1/4 cup raisins
1 tsp. vinegar
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. ground cumin, P105 for 500 grams
Salt and pepper to taste

To make the filling:

Saute onions and garlic in hot oil until translucent.
Add meat, sauté 5 more minutes. Stir in tomatoes, stock and remaining ingredients.
Simmer for 30 minutes.

Getting started

First, make the crust. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Cut the shortening into the flour as though you were making a pie crust by working it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Sprinkle dough with just enough cold water so that it will just hold together. Knead together briefly and allow to rest, covered about 10 minutes.
Roll dough out on a lightly floured board to circles about 3-4 inches in diameter.
Place a spoonful of empanada filling of your choice on one side of the circle. Moisten the edges of the circle with a small amount of water and fold the dough over the filling to make a half circle. Press the edges together to seal.
You can opt to make a pattern on the edges of the crust by pressing on it with the tines of a fork. Vary your patterns if you are making empanadas with different fillings to distinguish one from the other.
Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes.

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph

How to Make Puto Kutsinta

2009-06-26T19:49:00.004+08:00

Puto kutsinta is a Filipino delicacy that is brown in color, sticky and glutinous. It is made of rice flour and served with grated coconut. It is one of my favorite snacks :)

Materials needed:

Mixing bowl
Measuring cups and spoons
Wooden spoon
Muffin pans or small, shallow bowls
2 cups cassava flour
2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp. lihia or lye water, P22.50 for 250 grams (available in supermarkets)
2 cups pandan juice
8 tsp. butter
2 cups brown sugar
Freshly grated coconut as topping

Getting started:

Mix the butter and sugar.
Sift the all-purpose flour and cassava flour.
Combine this with the mixed butter and sugar.
Pour the pandan juice and lihia (lye water) and mix again until it the texture is smooth.
Pour into a muffin pan or shallow bowls, making sure to leave room at the top.
Steam for 20 minutes.
You may sell this with grated coconut on the side.

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph; photo from http://www.forkpress.com

How to Make Pastillas

2009-06-22T11:11:00.003+08:00

Pastillas is so easy to prepare because it can be made with just milk and sugar. You can also make flavored pastillas like ube, nangka, mocha, pinipig etc.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups powdered milk
1/2 cup condensed milk
1/4 cup melted butter
white sugar (for rolling)
cellophane paper

Procedure

Sift powdered milk into the condensed milk and butter.
Mix and blend well.
Knead and set aside 5 to 10 minutes before shaping into small balls or 1/2" thick logs.
Roll in sugar and wrap in cellophane.

See? I'm really fond of sweets! But I make sure not to consume them in just one sitting lol! Takot akong magka-diabetes ;)

Scrap Price Monitoring

2009-06-21T14:07:00.002+08:00

I'll try to regularly post scrap prices for those who wants to be updated, however, selling price is within La Union PH only. Scrap paper and scrap plastic are to follow.

Scrap Bottles (per piece)

gin round post - 1.00
2x2 - 2.00
4x4 - 2.25
gsm long neck - 2.25
gsm solo - 1.10
angelito - .60
catsup - .50
tanduay/emperador long neck - 1.30
generoso - .60

Scrap Metals (per kilo)

bakal - 11
yero - 6.50
lata - 3
tanso pula - 170
tanso dilaw - 120
radiator - 90
radiator loose - 90
condenser - 75
jalousy - 45
aluminum light - 45
aluminum heavy - 45
aluminum cans - 30
kaldero - 30
alum caps - 15
stainless - 40
tingga - 30
zinc - 15

Non-working batteries (per piece)

1 snf - 180
1 smf - 180
2 smf - 240
3 smf - 300
6 smf - 500
2d - 550
4d - 650
8d - 850

How to Make Chocolate Candies

2009-06-20T13:51:00.004+08:00

Chocolate candies are perfect giveaways at weddings, as party favors, as gifts, or simply as desserts. And another good thing is they’re easy to make, as chocolate candy molding involves only a three-step process: melting, pouring, and setting.

Materials needed:

Pan
Stainless or heatproof bowls
Plastic molds (local ones are priced at P90 each while an imported one starts at P120)
Wooden and stainless spoons
Chopping board
Knife
Disposable plastic gloves
A clean cloth
Toothpick, lollipop stick, or plastic straw.

If you have the budget, you may also buy a double boiler and an artist brush for making designs on the chocolate mixture.

To make 44 pieces of almond shaped dark chocolate, you will need:

Bittersweet chocolate, P67 per 500 grams
Peanuts, P3.12 per 40 grams, for fillings. Other fillings may be raisins, marshmallows, walnut, pecans, almonds, or cashew nuts.

For packaging:

Fluted paper cups, P10 per 100 pieces
Boxes sized 3.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches, P40 per 10 pieces

Getting started:

Make sure all your utensils are clean and dry. Put on your plastic gloves and cut the chocolate block into small pieces so they melt faster. Place the chocolate blocks in a pan small enough to fit inside the boiler. If you don’t have a boiler, just use a bigger pan that can accommodate the pan for melting chocolate.
Place the boiler containing water over the stove and let the water simmer.
When the water simmers, put the pan containing the chocolate blocks inside the boiler, taking care that the water level doesn’t reach the pan’s rim. Stir constantly using the wooden spoon until the chocolate melts completely and becomes smooth and thick.
Pour the melted chocolate onto the mold or heatproof plastic containers. Use the stainless spoon to scrape off the sides of the pan. If you want fillings like nuts, marshmallows, rice crispies, dried fruits, or raisins, pour a tablespoon of chocolate first, then the filling of your choice, and coat with another spoonful of melted chocolate. Tap the mold or use regular straw to fix the fillings and remove air bubbles from the chocolate mold. Make sure the mold is fully covered.
Cool for a few minutes and then put the chocolate mold inside the freezer for three minutes. When the three minutes are up, remove the mold from the freezer. Turn a mold upside down on a flat surface and tap gently to remove the candies. (Another way to find out if the candies are ready is to see if the sides of the mold have turned white or cloudy.) If the chocolate doesn’t come off easily, return the mold to the freezer to allow it to harden more.
Place the candies in fluted paper cups and arrange them in a box. Decorate box with ribbon and card. The chocolates can last up to two weeks.

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph

How to Make Banana Chips

2009-06-20T13:08:00.004+08:00

Believe it or not, good banana chips are highly in-demand overseas. So be patient in perfecting your cooking skills—you may be looking at exporting your products soon!

Materials:

5 to 6 raw bananas
Stove
Fryer
Oil
Salt
Sugar (optional)

Getting started:

Peel bananas and put them in salted iced water.
Slice bananas into bite-size pieces and lay across a cloth for 10 minutes to remove all moisture.
Heat up the oil in the fryer until smoke is rising.
Fry banana slices in one-layer batches for a minute or two or until crisp.
Lift chips out with slotted spoon and lay on paper towels to remove oil.
If you want to make the sweetened kind, sprinkle sugar heavily on the cooked bananas and leave overnight in a covered container.
Fry again the next day.

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph

How to make Perfume

2009-06-15T14:15:00.003+08:00

Because people love to smell good, making perfume and cologne can be a profitable home-based business for small start-up entrepreneurs. The steps in making them are easy and the profit margins can be as high. You just need to follow a standard formulation to make quality scents.

To start, you will need the following laboratory equipment:

10kg weighing scale or kitchen scale
plastic cups
stirring rod
small beaker and a 1,000 ml beaker
volumetric flask with cover.

The raw materials for this project are as follows:

70g triple deodorized alcohol (TDOH) at about P200 per liter
15g fragrance at P500 per 100g
5g muscol (MCL) at P400 per 100g
5g moisturizer (propylene glycol or PPG) at P250 per liter
5g distilled water at P10 per 300 ml.

For packaging, you may use either an atomizer bottle (spray) with a net content of 5 ml (P15 per bottle) or roll-on glass bottles with a net content of 10 ml (P16 per bottle). These are available at the Divisoria Market in Manila.

Procedure:

Step 1:

To start, put all the raw materials-except the alcohol-in small plastic containers or beakers for weighing. The alcohol needs to be weighed last because it easily evaporates when exposed to air. For accuracy, all of the ingredients must be weighed in grams. Getting the exact weight is crucial because If you bungle the measurements, you'll bungle the formulation.

First, weigh the beaker or the plastic cups on the weighing scale. Make sure to adjust the scale to zero before taking your measurements. While on top of the scale, fill the beaker or the plastic cups with the ingredients and weigh.

Step 2:

When the materials are ready, pour the MCL into the beaker containing the alcohol. To make sure that the container of the MCL is thoroughly emptied of the MCL, rinse it with the weighed alcohol, mix the resulting solution with a stirring rod, then add the thoroughly mixed solution to the MCL in the beaker. Stir the contents of the beaker until the MCL is fully dispersed in the alcohol.

Step 3:

Add the PPG to the mixture and stir. Always stir each time you add another ingredient, and make sure to completely disperse the substance before adding another ingredient to the mixture.

Step 4:

Finally, add the distilled water. To completely clean the empty container of the remainder of its contents, rinse it with water and add the resulting solution to the mixture in the beaker.

Step 5:

Thoroughly mix all the ingredients in the beaker until the perfume solution becomes homogeneous, then get your bottles and fill them with the perfume. Label and package your perfumes as desired, based on where you intend to sell them.

This formulation for 100 grams of perfume yields 12 to 13 roll-on bottles.Your fragrances and perfumes must be kept in dry, cool, and dark places because light can adversely affect their chemical properties. As much as possible, use dark-color bottles for storage and packaging.

Each time you need to get some of your raw fragrances, transfer them into smaller bottles. This is to minimize their contact with air, which may adversely interact with them. By using a volumetric flask with cover, you can keep your perfume intact and well-sealed until you are ready to package it.

The perfume can be sold to friends, families and co-workers; you may also use them as giveaways for weddings and other special occasions. If you are marketing the products to teenagers, it's better to put your perfume in spray bottles. If you are targeting office workers, however, putting the perfume in roll-on bottles would be a better option. Avoid using plastic as packaging material; they have dioxins that may mix or interact with your perfume.

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph; Ronald Barangan of Ultima Entrepinoy

The Benefits of Mutual Fund Investing

2009-06-14T19:44:00.006+08:00

The power of a mutual fund lies in its ability to pool together funds from so many different investors. Imagine a thousand investors each with P5,000 to invest who decide to pool their funds together. That’s already a pool of P5 million! Now imagine that instead of just investing P5,000 each, some investors put in P10,000, P100,000 or even P1,000,000. The size of the collective pool would even be bigger. And when it comes to investing, there is strength in numbers. P5,000,000 can gain better access to more diversified investment instruments than P5,000.

A mutual fund is a vehicle that allows investors to combine their resources. Because of this, you don’t need a large amount of money to gain access to a well-diversified portfolio of top-performing investments. A mutual fund makes this possible. Here are some of the key benefits of investing in mutual funds.

Professional Management

A mutual fund is managed by an experienced, full-time fund manager who is focused solely on analyzing the financial markets and seizing market opportunities as they present themselves. By investing in a mutual fund, you benefit from the fund manager’s experience and market insight.

Potentially Higher Returns

By pooling together the funds of thousands of investors, a mutual fund is able to access potentially higher yielding investments that require large minimum investment amounts. Thus, investors are able to access potentially higher yields that may not normally be available to them due to the size of their individual funds. Moreover, the fund manager ensures that the mutual fund generates the best possible returns for the given level of risk of the mutual fund.

Diversification

Simply put, diversification means not putting all your eggs in one basket. This is especially important in investing. Through proper diversification, losses in one investment can be off-set by gains in another. In the process, overall risk is minimized. Investing in a mutual fund provides you with immediate access to a diversified portfolio of funds. By virtue of the size of the pool of funds, the mutual fund is able to purchase many different investment securities and diversify.

Liquidity

You may have your shares in a mutual fund redeemed at any time and just need to wait a maximum of seven (7) banking days to gain access to your funds.

Safety

Mutual fund operations are governed by the Investment Company Act whose implementing rules and regulations specify particular limits and constraints in the investment activities of all mutual funds. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sees to it that all mutual funds comply with these statutory regulations. Moreover, mutual fund companies are regularly audited by an independent auditor. The assets of the mutual fund are held by a third-party custodian bank.

source: http://www.philequity.net

List of Mutual Fund Companies in the Philippines

2009-06-10T15:01:00.000+08:00

According to the Investment Company Association of the Philippines (ICAP), there are a total of 22 mutual funds in the country. Six (6) of these are bond funds, five (5) are equity funds, while the remaining ten (10) are balanced funds while one is a money market fund.

Stock Funds

Index Funds

Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp.

Balanced Funds

Bond Funds

Money Market Funds

source: http://www.icap.com.ph

What is a Mutual Fund?

2009-06-10T14:23:00.004+08:00

A mutual fund is an investment vehicle that pools together the funds of various investors---both individuals and corporations. The pool of funds is managed by a professional fund manager who uses the funds to create a diversified investment portfolio consisting of various investment instruments such as stocks and bonds.

Types of Mutual Funds in the Philippines

Stock or equity funds invest in shares of stock of Philippine corporations listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange. Equity funds offer the highest possibility of growth among all mutual fund types, but they also have a corresponding high amount or risk.

Bond funds invest primarily in fixed-income securities such as bonds or treasury notes issued by the Philippine government and commercial papers issued by reputable Philippine companies. Because these bonds are normally guaranteed, the possibility of loss is very low. Investing in bond funds provide capital preservation while maintaining conservative asset growth.

Balanced fund is a mixture of equity and bond funds. The high potential growth of equity investments is tempered by the conservative growth of fixed-income securities. Obviously, the return of a balanced fund is normally somewhere between the return of an equity fund and a bond fund.

Money market funds are similar to bond funds because they also invest in fixed-income securities and the growth of the fund is conservative. The main difference lies, however, in the term of money market fund investments, which is usually short-term such as one year or less.

Choosing which mutual funds to invest in ultimately depends on the investor’s growth goal and risk tolerance. If the purpose is capital growth, equity funds are the way to go. Bond funds are chosen, on the other hand, if the investor prefers capital preservation over risky capital growth. For those who want medium risk and medium growth, balanced funds are the best option. Money market funds are for those who wish to earn a conservative amount of return in the short-term.

According to the Investment Company Association of the Philippines, a duly recognized association of investment companies in the country, there are currently a total of 22 mutual funds. Six (6) of these are bond funds, five (5) are equity funds, ten (10) are balanced funds, while one (1) is a money market fund.

What are the benefits of investing in a mutual fund?

For an affordable initial investment amount, you gain access to various potentially higher yielding investments normally available to investors with much larger funds to invest. A mutual fund makes this possible because it pools together the funds of hundreds or even thousands of small investors. The pool of funds is therefore large enough to access these potentially higher yielding investments.

Mutual fund investors also benefit from the investment management expertise and market knowledge of the team of professional fund managers that manages the pool of funds. These fund managers ensure that the funds are optimally invested and diversified at all times. Therefore, you don’t need to watch the markets yourself since there is a team that is already doing it for you.

How much will I earn if I invest?

Mutual funds are not time deposits and therefore do not pay out a fixed rate of return. Mutual funds invest in stocks listed on the stock exchange as well as bonds issued by the government and corporations. As a result, the value of your investment fluctuates daily depending on the performance of the underlying investments. Because of this, your return cannot be guaranteed. Your actual rate of return depends on many factors such as the performance of the underlying investments as well as general market and economic conditions. However, over the long-term, investments in mutual funds outperform traditional time deposit placements.

Is my principal secure? Can I lose money? What are the risks of investing?

As with all other investment instruments, investing in mutual funds involves a certain amount of risk. Stock and bond prices go up and down daily. So as the value of the underlying instruments in which the pool of funds was invested fluctuates, so does the value of your mutual fund investments. Depending on market conditions, there may be periods in which you may lose money. However, until you actually liquidate or withdraw your investment from the fund, these will simply remain “paper losses” which can be recovered when market conditions stabilize.

Moreover, the fund managers of the fund also do several things to control and minimize risk. First, they analyze all investments thoroughly before including any stock or bond in the portfolio. Second, they ensure that the fund is properly diversified, i.e., invested in many different stocks or bonds. As such, a drop in the price of one investment may be off-set by gains in another. Third, the fund managers are subject to regulatory and internal investment restrictions that prevent the fund from being invested from certain speculative investments and encourage proper diversification.

While there are risks in mutual fund investing, the returns can also be rewarding in the long-run. There is always a risk-return trade-off in any investment. What is important is to know how much risk you are willing and able to take and select an investment whose risk profile matches yours.

What is diversification? Why is it important?

Diversification simply means “not putting all your eggs in one basket”. This is especially important in investing. In a well-diversified portfolio, losses from some investments can be off-set by gains in other investments. This reduces the overall fluctuations or volatility of the value of the portfolio. By investing in a mutual fund, you gain instant access to a diversified portfolio of investments. It is, however, also important to realize that not all risk can be diversified away. There are certain economic, market and political factors which may affect all investments adversely.

How do I invest in a mutual fund?

You can participate by buying shares of the mutual fund. The price of these shares, also known as the Net Asset Value Per Share or NAVPS, changes daily depending on the performance of the underlying investment portfolio. As the NAVPS increases, the value of your investment also increases. The mechanics of investing in a mutual fund are very similar to buying shares in the stock market.

What is the net asset value per share, or NAVPS?

The net asset value per share (NAVPS) is the value of each share of a mutual fund. A fund's NAVPS is calculated daily and is the price used when purchasing or selling mutual fund shares. To determine the value of your shares, simply multiply the number of shares you own by the NAVPS.

How do I withdraw my money from the mutual fund?

You simply need to sell your shares in the mutual fund. The price at which you sell these shares is the NAVPS for the day.

What happens to my investment if something happens to me?

Your shares in the mutual fund will form a part of your estate and will be distributed to your heirs (usually surviving spouse and children) accordingly. Rest assured, your investment will not disappear, or be "taken back". To ease the transfer of the fund shares you may want to consider opening a joint account or trust account.

Is my investment covered by the PDIC?

No. A mutual fund is not a deposit product and is, therefore, not covered by the PDIC. However, when you invest in a mutual fund, you are considered a shareholder and in effect are entitled to your proportional share in the total assets of the fund. The PDIC, on the other hand, only insures up to P250,000 of your total deposits with a bank and not your entire investment amount.

source: http://www.philequity.net/

Beating Inflation through Mutual Fund Investing

2009-06-10T12:19:00.000+08:00

Our mother always tell us stories about how they could survive with five peso a day in the old days -- 50 cents for a soda and the rest for food and fare. Now, the same five peso cannot even get us a decent stick of barbecue. One reason for this is inflation.

As a young adult, you wonder how your meager income can help you achieve your financial goals - a roof above your head, education for your children, and a few luxuries. The ever-increasing cost of basic commodities makes a reasonably comfortable future seem like a distant dream. How then can you beat inflation?

If you have modest savings, simply putting your money in the bank is not going to help you beat inflation. For P10,000, commercial banks offer interest rate of roughly 1.6% a year. This is substantially below the 6% - 7% inflation rate expected by the government this year. Directly investing your savings in the stock market also has its own difficulties. What stocks do you buy? When do you buy them? Will my stock investment decisions earn a return higher than inflation?

If you are at a lost as to how you can make your money grow, you should consider investing in a mutual fund. A mutual fund is a vehicle that allows investors to combine their resources. It is money pooled together from various individuals that are invested by professional investment managers in a diversified portfolio of assets like stocks and bonds.

In exchange for the money you put in, you will receive shares of the mutual funds. The value of the mutual fund shares will depend on the prevailing market price of the underlying assets invested by the mutual fund. If you want out, all you have to do is sell your shares back to the company handling the mutual fund.

When deciding on the specific mutual fund to invest in, you must consider your investment objectives and tolerance to risks. You should also look at the stability of the mutual fund company, the appropriateness of the products, and the expertise of the investment managers.

Check out the list of mutual fund companies in the Philippines and compare their features. Just remember that when you want to invest in a mutual fund, you should think long-term. Most mutual funds in the Philippines require a minimum initial investment amount of only Php 5,000 and minimum additional investments of Php 1,000.

For me, I consider mutual fund as a good inflation hedge.

*Disclaimer: Readers are solely responsible for their own investment decisions and should thus conduct their own research and due diligence and obtain professional advice.

How to Make Puto Pao

2009-06-10T10:03:00.000+08:00

Puto-pao is a bun with asado toppings or fillings.

You‘ll need the following to get started:

bowls
ladle
wooden ladle or whip
spatula
measuring spoons and cups
kitchen weighing scale
serving tray
pressure cooker or casserole
wok or skillet
steamer
knives
gas stove

ingredients:

- 1/2 kg all-purpose flour
- 250 g white sugar
- 1/4 cup baking powder
- 2-1/2 cup water
- 3 tbsp or 30g melted butter

For the asado, on the other hand, you’ll need the following ingredients: - 1/2 kg of ground lean pork

- 1 piece laurel leaf
- 1 piece star anise
- 1/2 cup or 112ml of soy sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup or 125g of white sugar
- 1tsp or 2g cornstarch
- 2 cloves garlic

Start by cooking the asado. While preheating the pan or a skillet over low heat, mince the garlic. Once the pan is hot enough, put all the ingredients together. Mix them to a good blend. Continue mixing until the meat is cooked and becomes tender. Discard the star anise and the laurel once the meat gets tender. (The star anise and laurel leaf are only meant to give a savory aroma to your dish.)

Don't sauté or braise the meat so it won't become crispy. Cook it only in water and soy sauce. Let the meat absorb all the liquid until it dries out. After that, turn off the stove and set the cooked meat or asado aside. This asado can fill four sets of your bun recipe. Let it cool and start doing the buns.

Get all the dry ingredients and mix them in a bowl. Then add water. Using a wooden ladle or whip, dissolve all the ingredients. Continue mixing them until you achieve a smooth texture. Make sure all the lumps are dissolved. Then add the melted butter (you could also use cooking oil as an alternative). Mix. You’ll know when the mix is ready for steaming when there are no lumps left.

Afterwards, get the ounce-size molds. Pour in the mixture until each mold is three fourths full. Then put one teaspoon of the asado on top. If you want to make it a filling, then fill the mold a quarter full and put one teaspoon of asado. Then pour in the mixture until it’s almost full. Arrange the molds in the steamer, which should contain enough water. Steam for 30 minutes in boiling temperature.

Make sure there’s enough water to steam your puto-paos. After 30 minutes, take off the puto-paos from the molds. Your yield for this set should be 48 pieces, which by then should be ready to be served with other merienda treats.

Josie de Jesus, lecturer at the baking division of Ultima Entrepinoy Forum Center, advises that you shouldn’t re-steam puto-paos repeatedly. Once re-steamed, they should be consumed at once, she says. Otherwise, the quality and taste of the putopao deteriorates and it becomes prone to spoilage.

source: Mishell Malabaguio, http://www.entrepreneur.com.ph

Carrot Yema Balls

2009-06-02T18:22:00.000+08:00

Last month, I attended one of my friend's birthday party. She knows most of us have a bit of a sweet tooth so she prepared something new this time. She usually just buys ice cream. She calls this carrot yema balls. I so love yema when I was still a kid. I know I should eat right but when my sweet tooth starts calling, I can't seem to ignore it ;) So I asked for her recipe and here it is:

Ingredients

1 cup carrots, boiled and mashed
1 301 ml condensed milk
6 pieces egg yolks
1/4 cup macapuno in syrup
1/3 cup crushed cornflakes
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tbsp chopped peanuts
1 cup white sugar

Procedure

In a pan, combine all ingredients except the white sugar.
Cook mixture over low heat while stirring until thick enough to hold its shape. Cool.
Form 2 tsp of mixture into balls and roll in sugar. Wrap in colored paper or cellophane.

Yum! yum!

**I just found out she got this recipe from nestle website lol!

How to make icing flowers

2009-06-02T18:03:00.000+08:00

For decorating debut and wedding cakes, nothing can beat icing in the form of flowers. And during kiddie parties, who hasn't seen boys and girls quarreling over the four pieces of icing flower from the party cake?

To get started on this project, you need a mixing bowl that can be either plastic or stainless, a flour sifter, a measuring cup, and a pair of scissors. You will also need the other materials listed below, all of which can be bought for around P1,200 from Divisoria in Manila or from the supermarket nearest your place: (prices may not reflect real market conditions)

12" pastry bag (P140), with tips 3, 36, 67, 103 or 104 (P35 each tip)
Medium size rubber scraper (P230)
No. 7 flower nail (P50/pc)
Portable mixer (P500)
Code P-100 plastic ware for packaging (P6.50/pc)
12" floral wire (P26/pack of 100 sticks), or magnetic wire #27 (P492/0.5 kg)
Toothpicks (P9.50 per pack)
Bond paper (P10/20-sheet pack), or wax paper (P500/5-kg roll)
454 g powdered sugar, sifted (P28/box)
1 tsp calamansi extract (P0.50)
2 pcs egg white (P4/pc)
4 colors gel-paste food color (P62/1 oz bottle of primary colors and P75/1 (oz special color)

PROCEDURES

STEP 1. First, separate the egg white from the yolk by cracking it into halves and letting the yolk stay in one shell while the white drips. Set aside the egg white and extract the juice from the calamansi. Then get the sifted powdered sugar, make a well at the center and pour the egg white and calamansi dew onto it. Circularly blend the three ingredients together using a portable mixer that is set to speed no.

The egg white will serve to bond all the three ingredients together, while the calamansi dew will serve as a stabilizer that can hasten the texture of your icing.

STEP 2. When the powdered sugar dissolves, turn the mixer to speed no. 2. Continuously mix until it smoothens. You'll notice that as the mixture smoothens, its shine begins to disappear because the egg white is getting mixed well with the powder. Once the three ingredients are well blended, the mix becomes creamy. Your icing is ready if sharp and pointed edges develop as you mix.

Once you notice those pointed edges, you can now put color to your icing. To do that, get a half-cup of icing using a rubber scraper and put it in a bowl. Cover the remaining icing with a damp cloth and set it aside. Then, apply your desired color to the half-cup of icing by dipping a toothpick in the color container and spread the color. Three dips are usually enough for this amount of icing, but you can reduce or add more color based on your preference.

STEP 3. Mix until the color is evenly distributed throughout the icing. Make sure there's no dull or pale portion left. After that, get the pastry bag, cut its tip using scissors, and insert the tip 67 for leaf making. Then, transfer the colored icing to the pastry bag. You can now color the remaining icing and put them in bowls that are covered with damp cloth.

Lay down a clean sheet of bond or wax paper on the table. To make a leaf, position your tip 67 at a 45-degree angle; the tip should lightly touch the surface of the paper and the wide opening of the tip should lie parallel to the paper. Squeeze out hard the icing to build a base and lift the tip slightly. Continuously squeeze while pulling steadily. Once you achieve the length you want, stop squeezing the pastry bag and lift away from the surface. You'll notice that the tip of the leaf is created as you pull the bag towards you. Do this repeatedly until you have emptied your pastry bag.

STEP 4. Now you can start making full-bloom flowers, like roses. Make flower buds first for your roses by using tip 36 for the shell design or tip 3 for the plain design. Insert a half-inch of the floral wire inside the tip. Squeeze out the icing while you are slowly pulling out the wire. Before doing that, however, make sure that you have arched the tip of your floral wire so it can serve as anchor for your flower. Stop squeezing once you have completely pulled out the wire. Place your flower bud in a Styrofoam to let it dry for an hour.

While waiting for the buds to dry, prepare the icing for the petals. You may use pink or purple colored icing, and tip 103 or 104 for making petals. When the buds are set, get one and start putting the first layer of petals. Hold the bud on your left hand, and the bag on the other hand. Position your tip 103 parallel to the lower part of the bud, with the wide opening of the tip touching the cone of the bud.

STEP 5. Make sure that the narrow opening points up and slightly inward. Now squeeze out the icing as you slowly rotate the bud counterclockwise, then move the tip up and down to cover the peak of the flower bud with another layer of icing. Don't loop the tip to the bud; just move it slowly up and down to create a swirling effect. Let it dry again for about an hour. Do this to other buds.

For the wild rose, however, you can directly make its petals as soon as the buds have hardened. Just hold the bud with your left hand again and the bag with your right hand. Position your tip 103 or 104 at a 45-degree angle to the bud. The wide opening of the tip should slightly touch the bud.

STEP 6. Then squeeze out the icing and hold as you slowly turn the bud clockwise, such that the icing is stretched. Then move the tip closer to the bud before lifting it away; this way, you can stick the end of the petal to the bud. Do it five times to complete the flower. To replicate your wild rose, just do the same procedure.

After an hour, you can go back to your rose base. To add petals, do the same procedure just like when you were doing the wild rose. The only difference is that you'll do three petals for the first layer and they will be in a closer position. Then you'll add another layer of petals-four in all-after one hour or when the first layer have dried. And for the last layer of petals, you'll need to do five that are in full-bloom position.

Keep your icing flowers in dry and airtight containers. After drying for 24 hours, you can bunch the leaves together with the flowers or put them in your cakes.

STORAGE

Icing flowers last long when they are kept dry. Rosario Tan, sales manager of Penco Powdered Sugar, suggests that you improvise a light box that can serve as a dryer and storage facility. Just make a box using plywood, providing it with a door and incandescent light bulbs at the opposite side. Put layers of chicken wire where you could hang your icing flowers. The incandescent bulb provides heat when it is turned on, so you can be sure that your icings are keep dry and moisture-free.

Because icing flowers are brittle, it is recommended that you use a square or cylindrical plastic jar with a screw-type cap. A P-100 square plastic jar can contain about 100 icing flowers, which is ideal if you're going to supply icing candies to grocery stores, school canteens, or sari-sari stores. Your yield for this recipe is around 500 pieces of icing flowers. If you're doing only drop flowers or leaves, your yield would be much higher.

source: http://entrepreneur.com.ph; Erlinda Ferrer, Resource Speaker from ESF Cakes and Bread House

A Guide To Investing Early

2009-05-29T22:00:00.000+08:00

Young people often think they don’t know enough about the market to jump in and start investing. But fear of the unknown and the misguided belief that retirement planning can wait can cost you big in the long run. There are numerous advantages to getting into investing while you’re young, but the single biggest advantage is time. When you start investing in your 20s, you get way more returns for you money. With compounding interest, your money grows significantly over time, and a little more time can make a big difference. Additionally, the more time you have to invest before retirement, the more ability you will have to recover from any market losses. Here are some essential points for young people to remember when they start investing:

Start now no matter how much money you have to invest

You don't need a large sum of money to start investing in the market. There are mutual funds that have minimum investments of $250 or less. Mutual funds are ideal for young investors because they allow you to own a bunch of company stocks without putting up a bunch of money. The earlier you start investing, the less you will have to put in the market to meet your goals. For example, if you wanted to have $1,000,000 saved for retirement at 65 years old and assumed a 10% rate of return, you would only have to contribute $179 per month if you started investing at 25 years old. That’s a total of $85,920 over 40 years. If, however, you waited 20 years to start contributing at 45 years old, you would have to put out $1,381 per month. That’s a total of $331,440 over 20 years. It will have cost you $245,520 by waiting to invest.

Keep Your Eye on the Long-Term Horizon

When investing in equities, you can't let the day-to-day trials and tribulations of the market scare you off. Both new and old investors are often spooked out of the market by short-term losses, but if you try to time the market, you can lose more than you save. In the current market cycle, stock prices have fallen sharply, but that does not mean you shouldn’t still invest in some equities. In fact now is probably a good time for young investors to buy in because you can get more shares for your money. If and when stock prices rise again, you’ll enjoy even larger gains.

Don’t Forget Debt and Savings

As important as investing is, you can’t neglect to pay off your debt and build a healthy emergency fund. Getting out of debt will save you in interest payments and improve your credit score. If you have a credit card with an 18% interest rate, paying it off is almost like getting a return of 18% on your money. The current economic crisis has shown the true importance of having liquid savings on hand. Financial advisors have long advised people to have 3 to 6 months of expenses in emergency savings, but lately that recommendation has been revised up to 6 to 12 months. Your savings should be kept in a short-term vehicle like a certificate of deposit (CD), or money market account, so that it’s easily accessible if you lose your job or have to cover for emergency expenses like car repairs or medical bills. When starting out, it’s important to allocate your money to paying off debt, building savings and investing. When your debt and savings obligations are met, then you can focus primarily on investing.

source: http://shine.yahoo.com; photo from http://njamf.org

TRC Training Schedule (June 2009)

2009-05-29T13:39:00.000+08:00

Available Courses for June 2009	Date/Time	Price
Trendy Balloon Decors Lecture/Hands-on: material requirement and supplier, cost requirement, balloon twisting and how to make balloons as decorations.	June 1 8-4:30	1,815
Hair Trimming, Perming, Dyeing and Make-up Techniques Lecture: Structures, divisions, forms, characteristics and styles of hair; purposes of make-up, facial balance and applications. Hands-on: Hair trimming (short, medium and long length), perming, dyeing, make-up (daytime, evening and glamour) Bring model, scissors, cape, towel, hairpins and comb.	June 1-2 8-4:30	3,399
Basic Digital Photography Lecture and workshop: fundamentals of digital photography, photo shooting techniques including indoor and outdoor photo activities. Bring digital camera and USB.	June 2-3 8-4:30	3,399
How to Make Fashion Accessories Lecture: Methods used, sources of tools and materials, costing. Hands-on: necklace, earring, cellphone charm, bracelet, bag charm and ID holder. Bring long-nose pliers and sharp scissors.	June 3-4 8-4:30	3,399
Operation and Management of an Import-Export Business Lecture: basic of exporting and importing including technologies, procedures and products in big demand locally and abroad, sales and marketing aspects of export-business offer, packaging and alternative profit centers for overruns.	June 4-5 8-4:30	2,959
Silkscreen Printing Lecture: computer/digital art preparation, photographic stencil making, finishing - curing and drying, pressing techniques. Hands-on: t-shirt, ceramics, decals, glass and metal printing. Bring #0.5 technical pen, ink and USB.	June 5-7 8-4:30	3,729
Accounting and Record Keeping for Small Businesses Lecture: bookkeeping, reporting and analysis of transaction results for small business operators and owners. Bring calculator.	June 6-7 8-4:30	2,959
Fresh Flower Arrangement and Flower Shop Operation and Management (with field trip) Lecture: creativity, balance, proportion, texture and color harmony, flower shop operation and organizational management, costing, pricing and sourcing of materials. Demonstrations on standing flower arrangements for inaugural, funeral and other important occasions. Hands-on: traditional round center piece, long and low arrangements, floral bouquet, line, plane and mass arrangements. Bring garden scissors.	June 6-8 8-4:30	3,729
Setting up a Travel Agency Lecture: role and functions of a travel agent, organizing the business, requirement for travel agency set-up, rules and regulations governing travel agencies, basic travel agency operations and office procedures, professional code of ethics, the travel agency and other providers of travel products - transportation, accommodations, etc.	June 8 8-4:30	1,375
Personal Care Products Lecture: material specifications, whitening and anti-ageing product formulation, BFAD regulation, supplier sourcing, costing and pricing. Hands-on: whitening and anti-ageing soap, lotion and cream.	June 9-10 8-4:30	3,399
Layer Production (Table Egg) (with field trip) Layer breed, production management, housing, nutrition, feeds and feeding management and production economics.	June 9-11 9-4:00	3,289
Setting up a Micro Lending Business Lecture: lending act, financing act, type of microloans, simple interest & effective interest rate, different method of computation, micro-lending & credit cooperative, procedures in granting loan, documents used in granting loans.	June 11 8-4:30	1,375
Commercial Breadmaking and Bakery Management Lecture: Functions of ingredients, proportions and product formulations, equipment and material sourcing, costing and pricing, bakery management. Hands-on: pan de sal, monay, ensaymada, raisin bread, buns, bread rolls, loaf bread, and bread with fillings. Bring calculator, apron and canister.	June 11 & 13-15 8-4:30	4,169
Jewelry Appraisal and Pawnshop Operation Lecture: gold testing and diamond grading, pricing, valuation and identification of gemstones, government laws and implementing guidelines related to pawnshop operation. Hands-on: determining genuine stones and appraising of gold and diamond, plating of jewelry (gold to gold). Bring calculator.	June 13-14 8-4:30	3,399
Perfumes and Colognes Lecture: starting a perfume business, formulations, blending of essential oils, types of perfumes and colognes, product requirements, materials specifications, cost and return analysis. Hands-on: oil-based and water-based, cream perfumes for men and ladies, body splash, gel colognes and eau de toilette.	June 15 8-4:30	1,815
Event Planning, Marketing and Management Lecture: basic knowledge of event planning and management for wedding, parties, local trade exhibits, meetings, consumer events (tiangges), seminars, conventions, conferences conceptualization and topical development, etc. and profitability and traffic for the event; a thorough knowledge of management functions is a requisite for successfull events.	June 16-17 8-4:30	2,959
Quail Raising Quail egg production and management, feeds and feeding, cost and return analysis, health management.	June 16-17 9-4:00	2,959
Coffee Shop Management and Operation (with field trip) Lecture: personnel administration, organization, site selection, marketing, materials and equipment, cost analysis. Hands-on: different coffee concoctions/preparations.	June 17-19 9-4:00	3,729
Aromatic and Decorative Candle Making Lecture: types of waxes, formulation, art of blending of essential oils and uses, melting method, proper wick fixing, techniques in forming/moulding candles, design techniques and cost and return analysis. Hands-on: hurricane candle, floating candle, hand-formed candle, and candles in glass containers with application of aromatherapy oil.	June 18-19 8-4:30	3,399
Laundry Soap and Detergents Lecture: material specifications, product formulations, costing and pricing. Hands-on: Laundry bar soap, liquid and powdered detergents. Bring calculator.	June 20-21 8-4:30	3,399
Operating a Laundry Shop Business (Small-Scale) Lecture: plant layout and design: production flow, job function; customer service and its place in the textile care industry; operating a small laundry washing machine, pressing, laundry washroom chemistry, market strategy including pricing, promotion, site selection. Environmental management concerns.	June 20-21 8-6:00	3,289
Swine Production (with field trip) Starting a piggery business, general management for piglets and fatteners, housing and equipment, feeds and feeding, record keeping, analysis and interpretation, health management.	June 20-23 9-4:00	4,059
Chinese Dimsum Lecture: principle of Chinese cooking, utensils and equipment, functions of ingredients, etiquette of Chinese dining, costing. Hands-on: wonton soup, siomai, almond jelly, quekiam, siopao, pork dumplings, crispy spring rolls, seafood chow mein and crispy butterfly prawns. Bring apron and hand towels.	June 22-23 8-4:30	3,399
Pangasius Culture Lecture: status of the industry, site selection, hatchery/nursery operation and management, grow-out culture mixturing various types of culture systems, nutrition, cost and return analysis.	June 23-24 9-4:00	2,959
Specialty Cakes and Pastries Lecture: material and equipment specifications, functions of ingredients, product formulation, costing and pricing; Hands-on: mousse cake, black forest, crema de fruta, sans rival, apple pie, swiss roll, puff and danish pastry varieties. Bring calculator, apron, hand towels and canisters.	June 24-25 8-4:30	3,399
Jewelry Appraisal and Pawnshop Operation Lecture: gold testing and diamond grading, pricing, valuation and identification of gemstones, government laws and implementing guidelines related to pawnshop operation. Hands-on: determining genuine stones and appraising of gold and diamond, plating of jewelry (gold to gold). Bring calculator.	June 25-26 8-4:30	3,399
Basic Meat Processing Lecture: meat preservation technology, production and quality control guidelines, packaging, handling and storage, new trends in the business. Hands-on: bacon, tocino, pork and chicken ham, pork sausage (fresh native and canton), corned beef, hamburger and beef tapa. Bring apron and hand towels.	June 26-27 8-4:30	3,399
Setting up a Travel Agency Lecture: role and functions of a travel agent, organizing the business, requirement for travel agency set-up, rules and regulations governing travel agencies, basic travel agency operations and office procedures, professional code of ethics, the travel agency and other providers of travel products - transportation, accommodations, etc.	June 27 8-4:30	1,375
Basic Reservation and Ticketing for Travel Agencies (with field trip) Lecture: introduction to travel agency ticketing procedures and preparing a passenger ticket.	June 29-30 8-4:30	2,959
Catering Business Operation Lecture: table setting, equipment, menu planning and preparation, costing and pricing. Hands-on: table skirting and napkin folding techniques. Bring calculator.	June 30-July 1 8-4:30	2,959
Commercial Breadmaking and Bakery Management Lecture: Functions of ingredients, proportions and product formulations, equipment and material sourcing, costing and pricing, bakery management. Hands-on: pan de sal, monay, ensaymada, raisin bread, buns, bread rolls, loaf bread, and bread with fillings. Bring calculator, apron and canister.	June 29-July 2 8-4:30	4,169

source: http://www.trc.dost.gov.ph

Swine Flu Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment

2009-05-26T17:54:00.000+08:00

One of my close friends just texted and asked what are the symptoms of swine flu. I immediately checked the Department of Health website and got the following info:

What is Influenza A (H1N1)?

Influenza A(H1N1) is caused by a novel virus that resulted from the reassortment of 4 viruses from pigs, human and birds.
It is a new virus causing illness in people.
It was first detected in people in April 2009 in the United States.
This virus is spreading from person-to-person, probably in much the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread.
There is no vaccine yet to protect humans from this virus.
There are existing and recommended medicines that are effective in treating these Influenza A(H1N1).
Influenza A(H1N1) can be fatal to humans due to severe respiratory distress (pneumonia)

Why this new Influenza A(H1N1) virus is sometimes called “swine flu”?

This virus was originally referred to as “swine flu” because laboratory tests showed that many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs in North America. But further study has shown that this new virus is very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs. It has two genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia and avian genes and human genes. Scientists call this a “quadruple reassortant” virus.

Do pigs carry this virus and can people catch this virus from a pig?

At this time, there is no evidence that swine in the United States are infected with this new virus. However, there are flu viruses that commonly cause outbreaks of illness in pigs. Most of the time, these viruses do not infect people, but influenza viruses can spread back and forth between pigs and people.

Are there human infections with this virus?

Yes. Cases of human infection with this virus were first confirmed in the U.S. in Southern California and near Guadalupe Country, Texas. The outbreak intensified rapidly from that time and more and more states have been reporting cases of illness from this virus. Other countries with confirmed cases include Mexico, United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, China (Mainland China, Hongkong), Portugal, Poland, Guatemala, Spain, Costa Rica, Colombia, Denmark, El Salvador, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Brazil, Argentina, Panama.

In the Philippines, there are now seven new Cases Under Observation (CUO), all of whom are from NCR. Since May 1, 2009, the DOH has monitored 120 CUOs, two of whom were confirmed cases of A(H1N1). Of the 120, 111 have been discarded since they are negative for Influenza A(H1N1). The laboratory results of the remaining seven are still pending (Last Updated: Tuesday, 26 May 2009 15:48).

Is this new virus contagious?

Yes, Influenza A(H1N1) virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human. However, at this time, it is not known how easily the virus spreads between people.

What are the signs and symptoms of this virus in humans?

Similar to the symptoms of regular flu such as:

Fever
Headache
Fatigue
Muscle or joint pains
Lack of appetite
Runny nose
Sore throat
Cough
Some cases have reported diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.

How severe is illness associated with this virus?

It is not known at this time how severe this virus will be in the general population. Experts are studying the medical histories of people who have been infected with this virus to determine whether some people may be at greater risk from infection, serious illness, or hospitalization from the virus.

How does Influenza A(H1N1) virus spread?

Coughing or sneezing by people with influenza
Touching things with flu viruses on it and then touching one’s mouth, nose or eyes

Can I get infected with Influenza A(H1N1) from eating or preparing pork?

No, you can’t get influenza A(H1N1) by eating properly handled and thorough cooked pork and pork products
The virus is killed by cooking temperatures of 160 F/70 C.

What is the incubation period?

Seven (7) to ten (10) days from the time of exposure to the first onset of signs and symptoms

How long can an infected person spread Influenza A(H1N1) to others?

Infected person maybe contagious from one day before they develop symptoms to up to 7 days after they get sick. Children might potentially be contagious for longer periods.

Are there medicines to treat infection with AH1N1?

Yes. Oseltamivirr or zanamivir are the recommended drugs to treat and or prevent infection with this virus. You have to consult a doctor before using these drugs to avoid resistance.

Is vaccine available to protect people from getting infected with AH1N1?

No, at present there is no vaccine against this virus.

How can we prevent the spread of the virus?

1. Observe proper personal hygiene:

Cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing
Wash hands regularly with soap and water, at least for 20 seconds (or use alcohol-based hand sanitizers) especially after handling patients and specimen, before and after eating, after using the toilet and as necessary.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

2. Increase your body’s resistance

Have at least 8 hours of sleep
Be physically active
Manage your stress
Drink plenty of fluids
Eat nutritious food, especially fruits and vegetables

3. Social distancing

Avoid crowded places.
Avoid close contact with sick people.
Stay home if you are sick until you are free from symptoms to prevent the spread of the virus.

What to do if somebody gets sick?

If there is flu like symptoms, consult the doctor immediately. Report to the proper health authorities .

Is there a pandemic risk on Influenza A(H1N1)?

Yes. If the Influenza A(H1N1) establishes efficient and sustained human-to-human transmission then it can cause an influenza pandemic. The impact of a pandemic is difficult to predict. It depends on virulence of the virus, existing immunity among people, cross protection by antibodies acquired from seasonal influenza infection and host factors.

source: http://www.doh.gov.ph/h1n1/

Good Debt. vs. Bad Debt

2009-05-14T14:07:00.000+08:00

When it comes to debt, most consumers fall into either of two camps – those who fear debt and those who embrace it. Let’s call the first group the debt-o-phobes. To these folks, debt is to be avoided at all costs. They don’t carry a credit card and refuse to buy anything, except a home perhaps, on credit. We’ll call the other group debt-thusiasts. As long as they can have whatever they want right now and can afford the monthly payments, they don’t care how much debt they are in or interest they will pay.

Neither extreme is healthy. The debt-thusiasts never get ahead and have little chance of building wealth.

The debt-o-phobes, on the other hand, can save a considerable amount of money in interest, but they have less money available to fund revenue-generating investments.

Bad Debt

What exactly is bad debt? Bad debt is availing of a loan that would be used to purchase something that would depreciate or decrease in value over time. It is money you owe on something that does not increase your earning potential. Generally speaking, if you go on a spending spree with your credit card, you are taking on bad debt.

Good Debt

Good debt is when you avail of a loan to buy an asset that would appreciate over time or will give you good value or use over the years. It is money you owe on something that increases your earnings potential sufficiently to pay back the debt. Examples of good debt include availing of a loan to buy a house or fund a business that would generate income for you.

Debts have a cost attached to them. You have to pay for the cost of borrowing, which is interest. And when you miss a payment, you would also have to pay other charges including penalties, depending on what's covered in your loan contract. This is why one should think twice about going into debt. If you can, take only good debt.

Consider these things if you are serious about availing of a loan:

When choosing a home, consider its location. It should have the potential to appreciate in value over time. Some indicators of good location and appreciating value include proximity to schools, shopping malls, business districts, and commercial areas. Visit the location first before committing to buy a home.

Think of ways to maximize the use of the asset you’re buying. For instance, you can rent out the property if your family will not use it as a residence, or rent out one room to a boarder. If you are getting a car, consider carpooling so as to lower your gasoline cost.

Shop around for the best terms before signing on the dotted line. Go to several banks and financing companies and compare rates and other terms. Generally, in-house financing offered by real estate companies and car companies are the most expensive. Choose the one that offers the best.

Find ways to lower your cost of borrowing. Check out loans available with the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, and PAG-IBIG Fund. If you are buying a car, consider trading in your old one to lower the cost of purchasing a new car. It may even be wiser to buy a one-year-old car than a brand new one. It will be cheaper, yet still give you good mileage.

Always read the fine print before signing documents. Read about penalties, defaults, and the like. Find out if there are penalties for prepayments. If none, pay off the loan faster if you can to save on interest expense.

Safeguard loan documents. Keep them in a safe place but make sure your spouse knows where these can be located.

A debt can be a good tool to secure your financial future. Go into it only after careful thought and manage it well. Financially healthy, wealthy, and wise individuals are not opposed to taking on debt, but they are very proactive in limiting bad debt and maximizing the power of good debt.

source: inquirer.net, (photo) blog.thebittingerteam.com

*Disclaimer: Readers are solely responsible for their own investment decisions and should thus conduct their own research and due diligence and obtain professional advice.

What you want vs. what you need

2009-05-12T20:53:00.000+08:00

There is nothing wrong with wanting things that you don't need, but there may be a problem when you buy things that you don't need and you can't afford. When you want something and it is not a priority in your life, the wise thing to do is to save the money to buy it.

There is a difference between what you want and what you need:

What you want are things that you see, or hear about, that makes you feel the urge to possess them, whether you need them or not.
What you need are basic items that help sustain you for the good of your health and your everyday living experience.

There is nothing wrong with getting something that you want at a later date by saving for it but your priority should be spending the money that you have on the things that you need.

Saving your money is possible, especially if you develop and incorporate a good plan for saving and a budget strategy that you can live with. Learning self-control and self-discipline can go a long way in helping you save for the things you want.

Remember, if you start a savings account and put money into it on a regular basis, your savings will soon grow and you will have more buying power in the future.

I'm reposting this from my blog at destroydebt.

How to make strawberry jam

2009-05-09T14:32:00.000+08:00

For this project, we will make strawberry jam. Keep in mind, though, that other similarly pulpy and juicy fruits can also be made into jam.

You will need a total of P2,508 to buy the ingredients for this project in bulk. If you just want to try out making jam, though, you need not buy the whole lot. For instance, you can simply buy 200g of citric acid for P50 instead of paying P110 for a whole kilo.

Most of the utensils and equipment you will need for this project should already be available in your kitchen: measuring spoons and cups, gas stove, casserole, pressure cooker, ladle, containers, mixing bowl, and packaging bottle with lag-type cap (a box of 24 pieces of this costs P150).

STEP 1: Measure the ingredients and put them in individual containers. Then mix all the dry ingredients—the sugar, the food gel, and the citrus pectin. You may also mix the citric acid together with the other dry ingredients. Usually, though, the citric acid is best added after cooking the jam. This is because jams, depending on the quality of sugar and fruit used, tend to become either too sweet or too sour after cooking. So to get the desired taste—whether you want it on the sour or sweet side—add just the right amount of citric acid.

You must also carefully choose the quality of the sugar you are going to use. Keep in mind that commercially available granulated sugar is milder in taste than the finer sugars. Recommended for this particular jam recipe is the refined sugar that’s available in public markets.

STEP 2: After putting all the dry ingredients onto the bowl, mix them thoroughly until all the ingredients could no longer be individually identified. You need to make sure of this because if the ingredients are not mixed well, the citrus pectin won’t dissolve in the mixture. (Citrus pectin also does not dissolve directly in water.) Afterwards, set aside the mixture. Get the strawberries, wash them thoroughly, and remove their sepals (these are the leaf-like parts on top of the fruit). Press the fruits in a bowl using a spoon until you obtain 1/4 cup of the crushed fruit, including its juice. Make sure that you have thoroughly crushed the strawberries. Set aside.

Pour the water into the casserole, followed by the crushed strawberries, the juice and the mixed dry ingredients. Stir and blend all the ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed.

STEP3: When the ingredients, except for the pieces of the crushed strawberry, have already dissolved, allow the mixture to simmer on high fire. Continuously stir to prevent scorching and forming bubbles. When the mixture starts to boil, lower the fire and allow the mixture to simmer until it achieves a thick enough consistency.

STEP 4: There are actually two techniques for determining if your jam is thick enough and ready to be packed—the plate test and the gelling test. In the plate test, you need to scoop out some jam using a ladle or spoon and then let the jam drip from the edge of the ladle or spoon back into the casserole. If the jam does not drip completely from the edge of the utensil, then the jam is already thick enough. If it drips completely, then you would need to simmer it a bit longer. The gelling test, on the other hand, is done by dripping a drop or two of the jam in water placed in a container. If the jam does not disperse in the water, then it is thick enough.

Add the flavoring and check the jam for taste. If the jam is too sweet, then add a little citric acid and mix. Although the strawberry flavoring is artificial, it has the exact taste and aroma of the real fruit. This is what makes it a “nature-identical” flavor.

STEP 5: You can now pack the jam in bottles. Don’t wait for the jam to cool before packing it; otherwise, the jam would solidify into gel. You may pasteurize the product to prolong its shelf life to up to a year.

Pasteurization is the process of heating a substance to kill pathogens that can cause spoilage or disease; it also slows down the growth of microbes in the product being pasteurized. To pasteurize bottled jam, you can use the kitchen pressure cooker, designed to create 10 psi (pounds per square inch) to heat the bottles for two hours.

Entrep Tip: Don’t use a blender to press the strawberry fruits because doing so would make your jam cloudy instead of clear. Bubbles will form when you use a blender. Don’t use too much flavoring. Your jam won’t smell good and won’t taste well if you do this. Use labels that will appeal to your target market. If you’re targeting kids, the labels must be colorful and attractive. If you’re targeting health buffs, it would be good to make the label carry health tips and cite the nutritional benefits of the fruit.

Production cost & pricing

To compute your production cost, divide the buying price per kg of each of your ingredients by 1,000, then multiply result by the volume you actually used in making the product. For example, white sugar is P38 per kg. Divide that amount by 1,000 to get the cost per gram (a kilogram is equal to 1,000 grams). You will get a quotient of P0.038 per gram, which then has to be multiplied by 250g, which the actual amount of sugar you mixed with the jam. Do the same arithmetic for the rest of the ingredients. Add up the results to get your total production cost.

Following the above formula, you should get this equation: P9.50 (sugar) + P0.275 (citric acid) + P0.5 (strawberry flavoring) + P7.20 (strawberry fruit) + P3 (food gel) + P7.20 (citrus pectin) = P27.68. Add to this sum the cost of the bottle, which is P6.25 per piece, and add 10 percent for your overhead costs (electricity, gas and water).

You may price the jam at P80 to P100 per 230g bottle. However, depending on your market, all-natural fruit jams may be priced from P150 to P200 per 230g bottle. You may choose to just add 100 percent profit margin to your total cost.

source: Mishell Malabaguio of www.entrepreneur.com.ph

The Buena Mano Concept

2009-05-04T15:09:00.000+08:00

Buena mano is a Spanish phrase that literally means “good hand.” In Philippine business practice, buena mano means the first sale of the day, which is believed to bring good luck to the business for the rest of the day. The meaning of the phrase is flexible, however; it can refer either to the transaction itself or to the first paying customer of the day.

One of the quaint rituals Filipinos perform in homage to this belief is patting goods with the money they received from the first sale of the day. It is believed that the ritual will make for better sales.

Whatever its true origins, buena mano is something many Filipinos take very seriously. This is why local customers always make it a point to ask for a discount if they think that theirs is the first transaction of the day. Filipinos expect that if they are the buena mano, their requests will most likely be granted. Only in the Philippines!

source: Reeza Singson of entrepreneur.com.ph

Make Big Bucks

2009-05-03T10:13:00.000+08:00

I always wanted to put up a school supplies business. I've learned that we have a very huge market as school opening is a great chance to make big bucks! These items doesn't have expiry dates so there's no fear of losing your money.

Filipinos tend to put a premium on education, and buying their children’s school needs is usually on top of any family’s list. This is good news for entrepreneurs, especially since school opening season in June is fast approaching.

This is indeed a huge market, and the numbers will support it.

1. There are an estimated 20-million school-age children that will enroll for the current school year. That translates to 20 million potential customers, with needs ranging from shoes, school bags, uniforms, pens, pencils, and the like. That is of course assuming that each student will only get one set of their basic needs. For children whose parents are better off, that number could double.

2. They would require at least 100 million textbooks, assuming that only one book per subject is bought for them for these five basic subjects in the elementary and high schools: mathematics, science, English, Pilipino, and Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies).

3. The weather will also factor in. Since June is also the start of the rainy season, these schoolchildren would need millions of personal accessories like jackets, umbrellas, raincoats, and rubber boots—not to mention medicines for colds and other season-related ailments.

4. And, with the advent of technology, they will also need cellular phone loads, not to mention they will ride jeeps, eat meals, and do other activities.

5. College students will also come in droves. They will need dormitories, coffee shops, internet cafes, printing shops, and other creature comforts. All 13 million of them.

Although a school opening business may sound seasonal in nature, its ever-growing range of services and the growing needs of its clientele makes it an evolving and ever expanding business. You too can grab a slice of this huge market, and hopefully make lots of money doing so.

We have a forum member at entrep PH who offers an initial inventory package for starting a school supply business for a minimum investment of P10,000. For inquiries, you can email him at jefmarenterprises(@)yahoo.com

source: entrepreneur.com.ph

Save Money and Energy at Home

2009-04-18T15:00:00.000+08:00

Making smart choices at home includes budgeting, saving and the like. Sometimes we miss out on other important things like being energy efficient that can lead to saving more money. So I decided to make an easy-to-do list on how we can save energy at home.

Use compact fluorescent light bulbs with the Energy Star label.

Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.

Unplug TV's, DVD players, toasters, cellphone and other chargers when they’re not in use, or plug them into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use (TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power).

Don't use air fresheners that have to be plugged in.

Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher's drying cycle.

Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.

When in the market for an appliance, make sure you buy what suits your needs. Items too large or too small waste electricity and your money.

Upgrade to Energy Star products. Not all appliances are equal. Whether you're in the market for a new fridge, cordless phone or computer, look for Energy Star choices, which offer the best energy savings

Turn off lights because a good chunk of lighting expenses is from rooms that stay unnecessarily lit.

Clean or replace the air filter on your air conditioner.

Clean the coils on your refrigerator using a tapered appliance brush. Your fridge's motor won't have to run as long or as often. In addition to saving energy dollars, you'll prolong the life of the appliance.

It's nice to know that saving energy does more than save you money: It helps save resources. Using less energy pollutes less and results in less global warming. Even if you do nothing more than the 11 free things listed above, you will have made a difference in your budget and a difference in the world. Not bad for free.

Producing Restaurant Placemats as an Advertising Medium

2009-04-17T15:03:00.000+08:00

The concept is simple: Give free paper placemats to restaurants in your area with either a prominent color ad or their menu in the middle, and 2" x 2" ads around the edge. These ads will make so much profit for you that if you run up against a stubborn restaurant owner, you can even pay him or her to take your placemats and come out way ahead. They'd be a fool to refuse!

The first step is to contact printing establishments in your area and find out what kind of blank or ready-made paper placemats they can either print or have printed for you. Get a quote on at least 5,000, including at least two-color printing. Compare your quotes and find the printer that will do the best job for the best price. Make sure this is a printer that will work with you on the layout of the placemats, if this is new to you.

Once you have your printing costs, which will be your primary costs, you can figure out how much profit can be made. Your profit will depend, in part, on how many ads you can put around the perimeter of the placemat. For example, if the placemat is 11 x 15, you can put a total of 20 ads around the sheet, leaving a one inch margin around the edge for the printer. Divide the printing cost, together with your other estimated costs (phone, travel etc) by the number of ads, and you have your cost per ad. For example, suppose your estimated expenses will be P24,000. Divide that by 20 ads and you have P1,200. This is how much each ad contributes to covering the cost of the placemat. Now, figure a target profit margin. In an area for example, an ad that will be seen by 5,000 people over an extended period of time could go for P3,600. This would be a P48,000 profit!

Now, make a list of restaurants that would be likely prospects for this service. The best prospects will be locally-owned family-oriented restaurants that are visited by residents of the area. Small, family-owned, restaurants will be your best bet.

GETTING THE RESTAURANTS: Offer to provide the restaurant 5,000 free paper placemats with either a large color ad or a color menu printed in the middle of the placemat. Local advertisers will be featured in small ads around the outside. When you say the words "5,000 free paper placemats," you probably won't even have to go any further! If the owner's a hard case, offer to pay them to take your placemats! Offer P2,000 and 5,000 placemats. This breaks down more barriers than you can imagine! If the restaurant owner has a pre-made ad or menu available, this can be reduced or enlarged by your printer to fit the center area of the placemat. Be sure the restaurant's section dominates the placemat.

Now, contact businesses that are in the immediate area surrounding the restaurant. Good prospects will be video stores, dry cleaners, grocery stores, book stores, any business that is frequented by families. Tell them that you have an advertising opportunity which will put their name and offer in front of 5,000 people for an extended period of time. Contact as many possible advertisers as you can. The more you contact, the more ads you'll sell. If your prices are competitive and you deliver honest facts, you should have an easy time selling the placemat ads.

Now, take the ads to your printer and layout the placemat. Put the restaurant's ad/menu in the center, and the other ads around the perimeter. Have the printer print the requested quantity, and deliver them to the restaurant. It's that simple!
This whole process can be done easily in less than a month. But, even if it takes you a month, the example above cleared P48,000 profit (or P46,000 if you actually had to pay the P2,000).

This is just an example, and your profits could be higher or lower, depending on your area. But, it should be fairly obvious that this can be an easy-to-run, profitable business that you can start part-time and quickly move into a full-time business!

How to Put Up a Hardware and Construction Supply Business

2009-04-16T19:55:00.001+08:00

With the increase in population, the demand for living quarters also increase. No doubt, the market is there. It is up to you, as an entrepreneur, to tap and take a share of that market.

Capital Investment

"How much capital do I need?" That is always the first question that pops up in our heads when we think of business endeavors. Let me just clarify that question. I think there is a more appropriate way to ask that because from there, we can determine the kind and extent of hardware/construction supply business we intend to undertake. It should be: "How much capital do I intend to invest? Is it or will it be enough to start the business?"

Okay, so let's break down the capital investment into two: Fixed capital and operational/working capital.

Fixed capital refers to immediate expenditure like construction of the place of business, rental; registration fees, cost of printing of invoices, delivery receipts, other business forms; store equipment and fixture such as tools, chairs and tables; cost of product display preparation; cost of warehouse if any; cost of delivery vehicle if any; initial product stock inventory.

Operational/working capital refers to the monthly expenditures: manpower remuneration and salaries; bills (water, telephone, electric); monthly rental (if leasing the place of business); gasoline expenses for delivering vehicles; payment of monthly stock purchases. When starting, you won’t always rely on the money your business will generate. What if you won’t be able to generate your expected payables? You should have a back-up capital. A capital investment budget must be prepared and set aside for the first two months of operation which can be arrived at after computing and estimating the aforementioned items.

In preparation, it is best to make your own checklist for the fixed and operational capital investment. After doing so, we can now compare and answer the question -- is the amount of capital you intend to invest sufficient enough to start your business?

Registration of the Business Enterprise

The easiest part in starting a hardware/construction supply business is how and where to register. One must first decide on the status of the enterprise you intend to put up - whether single proprietorship, partnership or a corporation.

Once these are settled, you can now register your business enterprise with the following government bureaus:

- Department of Trade and Industry (Single Proprietorship)
- Bureau of Internal Revenue
- Security and Exchange Commission (for Corporation)
- Mayor's Office

It is necessary to register with the BIR to get a Tax Account Number for the annual income tax return. The TAN is also required in the printing of business invoice. If you want it registered as a corporation, you need to register with SEC. For this, you will need to prepare corporation officers and by-laws. This is also necessary if you intend to export/import items. For the mayor's permit and license, you would need a barangay clearance and a barangay business permit. Your business enterprise will also have to undergo inspection from the City's Electrical/Fire/Sanitation Department before the mayor's permit & license will be released.

Location/Site Selection of the Enterprise

Everyone is aware that the location and site of one's business plays a major role in determining whether it will succeed or not. Strategic location is the key. Set up your store in places that are starting to boom. Don't up a hardware in a place where you see it is already fully developed or in a place where every corner has one already. The viability of the business site is primarily determined by one factor: in plain view and easily accessible to prospective customers. If this factor is satisfied, then one can expect to generate a bigger volume of sales. Aside from a good location, there are other factors to consider such as the size of the site for product display and stock storage (warehousing capability), ample parking lot, nearness to other competitor hardware stores, and most especially the rental cost of the business site.

Manpower/Personnel Requirement and Selection

The personnel needed to operate a hardware/construction supply enterprise are as follows:

store manager
purchaser
secretary/filing/acct. clerk
cashier
salesmen/salesladies
store helper(s)
delivery driver
delivery helper(s)

The store manager is also the owner of the business. He oversees the smooth flow of work, both operational and marketing. The purchaser is responsible for maintaining the stock inventory level as well as determining which product is viable or not. A secretary/filing/accounting clerk is a necessity in the hardware business. He/she is responsible for all the paper work in the business. The function of the cashier is most often times also taken by the manager. Whether to hire a cashier or not is determined by the volume of the business. The store helper(s) also serves as the stockman. He is responsible for receiving and releasing the product line of the business. The delivery driver and helper(s) ensure that items for delivery reach customers in good condition.

Product Line Identification and Selection

Hardware and construction materials should be broken down into two categories: Structural/Construction and Finishing/Hardware. Under the category of structural materials will fall the following:

gravel and sand
cement
hollow blocks
steel bars
lumber and wood
pvc and GI pipes
galvanized iron and roofing sheet

Under the category of finishing materials will fall the following:

paints
plumbing fixtures
electrical and lighting fixtures
ceramic tiles and wood parquets
kitchen sinks
aluminum and glass
hardware items

As for the items you will be selling, suppliers usually give terms. Like for finishing/hardware items, they usually give a 120-day term. For the structural/construction items, shorter terms are given e.g. 15-30 days, and sometimes cash basis.

Here's a tip: Finishing/Hardware items give a better profit compared to structural/construction materials, so you have to really compete with others. You must be aware of your competitor's price. You have to be always updated on construction/hardware materials.

Store Preparation, Design and Display

The presentation of one's business plays a big role in the sales of your product. Display counter must be designed and placed in such a way that they are readily accessible for customers inspection. This is particularly true for most hardware items. It is advisable to categorize the products on display to facilitate and serve the customer's requirements.

Sample Checklist on Capital Investment Requirement

FIXED CAPITAL

Registration Fees
Construction or Rental of Store (Advanced Deposit)
Warehouse
Delivery Vehicles
Store Equipment and Fixtures
Store Design and Display
Initial Stock Inventory

OPERATIONAL/WORKING CAPITAL

Monthly Rental
Water/Electric/Telephone Utilities
Salaries of Personnel
Delivery/Vehicle Expenses
Other Expenses
Stock Replenishment Budget

Product Stock Inventory and Control

Upon completion of the product identification and selection, as well as preparing the store display and design, one is now ready to make initial purchases for stock inventory.

A warehouse for the incoming stocks must, therefore, be ready and prepared. This is the most strenuous part of establishing and starting a hardware/construction supply business. One must have a listing of supplies with their corresponding product line. One must get in touch with them, canvass their prices, and get the highest possible terms and discount.

In most cases, suppliers have sales representatives, and you can ask them to visit you. One can get a listing of said suppliers from the telephone directory, advertisements of product, or through friends in the hardware/construction supply community. When you have identified the product you intend to carry, it is advisable to concentrate first on these items. There is always room for production expansion later.

One should start purchasing the common and essential items since this is necessary for a presentable store display and showcase. The level of stock inventory of each item is determined by the saleability and disposal of said items. To ensure facility and ease in making inventory, stock cards must be used. Items must be properly entered and coded in the stock card. This is also essential to be updated to regulate and control product items. Catalog the stock cards according to product items to be able to easily discern stock availability. Proper warehousing and stocking of products must also be pre-planned. Again, product categories and separations must be made. Stock control can only be achieved if updated records of incoming and outgoing stocks are kept.

Operational Guidelines and Procedures

This refers to organized and systematic flow of work. The manager must establish specific methods of doing thing. He must see to it that all aspects of business operation is guided by standard methods, pinpointing the personnel involved and the procedures to be followed to facilitate a smooth work flow. Incoming stocks, for example, must be properly received and checked if they are in good condition, etc. Release of goods to customers must also be done according to the dictates of the purchases made and covered by S.O.P. This is specially essential in the delivery of goods to customers.

Proper procedures in selling must also be well-established from the moment a customer comes in to the time he/she left. Specific cases, as in damaged goods (who shall be held accountable) or returned goods is another example. Guidelines and procedures - from the simplest task to the most difficult, to the unexpected cases that will occur - all store personnel must be well equipped to properly handle them.

Sales and Marketing Strategies

In any marketing endeavor, providing good service is essential. The salesman must establish a personal interaction with the customers to gain their confidence, and thus, ultimately make a sale.

Regular and prospective clients of the hardware/construction business are mostly architects, engineers, homeowners. These are targeted group and hence, any marketing thrust must be directed on them. Although pricing is a significant factor considered by these group, it entails a lot of lad work and honest to goodness relationship that the salesman must be able to establish to generate a sizable volume of sales. Aside from having in-house salesman, the trend today is to have field salesman who will go out and close a deal with prospective clients. It is also common to see big advertisement of SALE being made by hardware and construction supply enterprises. The manager must develop his own unique method of attracting more to generate more sales.

Projected Return on Investment (ROI)

Everyone is aware that to open a hardware/construction store, one must have the intention to be in the business for quite a long time. It is not like a simple sari-sari store that one can close shop anytime. No matter how much minimum capital is invested, any loss is something to reckon with. In short, the return on capital invested is not instantaneous. The projected ROI can, however, be estimated based on the business' monthly sales. A simple method to estimate the length of time of the ROI would be the following:

Get the gross percentage of profit from the monthly sales.
Deduct the monthly expenses (operational and working capital, excluding stock replenishment budget) to get the net profit.
Divide the net profit from the fixed capital invested.

Ceiling Lamps
Formica
Penlight and Spotlight
Bathroom Accessories (towel rack, ring, soap dish, robe hook, soap & paper holder)
Water Heater
Wire Basket
Kitchen Sink (porcelain Enamel and stainless)
Range Hoods
Medicine Cabinets
Door bills & Chimes
Telephone Shower
Motor Pumps
Power tools
Bath Tubs
Shower Enclosure
Glass Blocks
Rubber & Aluminum and Brass Stair Nosing
PVC Door
Gypsum & Acoustic Board

Download: How to put up a hardware and construction store manual

Ten Ways to Survive the Depression & Make a Profit

2009-04-16T15:20:00.000+08:00

Only attempt to make money where you KNOW you can really make it. Don't attempt to make money in new directions unless you can 'test the water' very cheaply and can afford to lose the time and money that you have invested.
Have a good long look at your expenses. Where can you obviously cut down? What can you do without?
Try to pay all your bills immediately. By doing this, you gain greater peace of mind because you can always delay paying if necessary. You may need a cushion to fall back on which you won't have if you are already paying bills at the very last moment.
Keep track of your spending and try to spend less. For example, when you go shopping and normally spend $20, take only $19. This will FORCE you to cut back. If you are in business, keep track of each days expenses compared with each days takings. Never spend more than you take. Compete with yourself on the smallest weeks expenses and largest weeks takings.
Look, look, look all the time for LOWER prices on the items which you must buy. Check the quality first; it is amazing the savings that can be made.
If you have the time but little money, don't spend that time brooding or getting depressed. Read books that will uplift you. Learn more on the subjects that could help you make more money and plan your way to more money. Keep active. You won't get anywhere if you don't.
If you don't have time, it is still important to keep your spirits high. Record some lifting chapters or quotes from books and play them while you are working. Keep a note-pad handy and write down any ideas you have to improve your situation. Try to find fifteen minutes to half an hour each day to plan your work and make a plan for the future. This is vital as it will save you more than the half an hour spent.
Before borrowing to raise capital, look around your house and find unwanted things that are obviously saleable. You could raise quite a few hundred pounds this way if you are lucky.
Don't go for big money fast. Only a very small minority EVER achieve it. Aim to cut costs a little each week and increase your income a little each week.
If you really need to borrow, always remember that you Must pay it back PLUS interest. There is nothing wrong with borrowing if it is carefully planned. Take into account your initial expenditure, advertising costs and the time it will take before you will get paid. NEVER borrow unless you have thoroughly tested as much as you possibly can first and even then, plan for things taking longer than you thought as well as being much harder than you first thought.

'Slow but sure' is a must. The good thing is that if you can survive during a depression, you will be sure to find it easier after it.

Ways to earn money without spending a penny

2009-03-23T17:27:00.000+08:00

It doesn't take money to make money. You just have to be resourceful. It also pays if you develop other skills then offer your services. Here are some ways to make some money without spending anything.

Freelance Writing - if you are good at writing, you can try your hands on this one. You might as well take advantage of your computer and internet connection. You won't get rich off of it, but you will surely earn a few bucks and it's a good chance to improve your writing skills.
Recycling - If you have some junks lying in your backyard or basement, take them out, collect them and bring them to your nearest recycling center. There are so many types of recyclables: used bond paper, old newspapers/magazines, soda cans, plastic bottles and other kinds of scrap plastic, glass bottles and glass cullets and a lot more. You can also get money for recycling your old computers, old printer cartridges, cellphones and other electronic wastes.
Tutoring - Market yourself in different schools in your area. Offer them your services. You just have to decide first what you want to teach.
Computer Services - If you happen to be good at PC troubleshooting, then you can offer your services to a lot of people esp to those who don't have a basic grasp of taking care of their PCs. Help them set up their firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware etc. Help them install drivers if they happen to buy a printer.
Blogging - If you have writing skills and are willing to put in some effort on how to market your blog, there's a chance you can turn blogging into a part-time job. Open up an account with Blogger or Wordpress, start writing and learn how to monetize it. There are a lot of tutorials online on how you can properly monetize your blog.
Cleaning Service - You can offer to clean other people's homes and small businesses for some extra cash. The work isn't glamorous but it's a great part-time business to be in. If there's a dorm near your place, many students would be willing to pay you to have their room swept, vacuumed, mopped, dusted and organized.
Babysitting - there's always a young couple around that needs time to themselves and would like to unwind, and maybe needing someone to take care of their kids. If you need some extra money, consider starting your own Friday and Saturday night daycare service.
Bookkeeping - If you have knowledge on accounting, offer your bookkeeping services to small business establishments in your area. Most of the time, they have no more time left to do these things. Some of them also doesn't know how to compute their taxes.
Graphics Artist - Offer your services if you have the artistic skills necessary to develop cool graphics/logos. Submit your sample works to businesses. They may be needing logos for their signage, calling cards etc.
Affiliate Marketing - If you are good in promoting products and if you happen to know a lot of people who are fond of purchasing items online, then you might have a chance earning some money in affiliate marketing. There are so many tutorials online on how to do affiliate marketing. You just have to make a thorough research first.

How to earn your first million

2009-03-12T20:16:00.000+08:00

Wondering how to earn your first million? It starts with a good business idea. Unfortunately, some people have a hard time starting a business because they can't think of a good business idea. If you're stumped for business ideas, here's a free business idea that could make somebody rich.

Good business ideas start with identifying a need that isn't currently being addressed in the marketplace.

Coming up with a good business ideas isn't that hard, as we try to show in this example. For this particular business idea, the need in the market goes something like this: For starters, humans need to sleep. When they don't get sleep, it makes them grouchy. So, if they are having trouble sleeping, they are probably willing to pay P1,000 for a device that will help them sleep.

You wouldn't identify this need unless you have been through the experience of having a three-year old walk into your room at 4:00 AM and ask "Is it time to get up yet?" For parents, that is a situation that sucks. You might be able to get the kid back to sleep, but then you can't fall asleep. End result? A grouchy day where you are not effective in your work and other life pursuits. If you can pay P1,000 to fix the problem you will, right? So, the invention that fixes this problem is called a "No Time Clock" - as in "Buy This Clock and You Will Be Sleeping Soundly in No Time." Young kids cannot read a digital clock that says 4:00 AM because they don't know their numbers. So, putting a clock in their room doesn't solve the problem of their waking up way before they should and knocking on your door.

The solution - the No Time Clock - recognizes that young kids do know their colors. Hence, the No Time Clock lets the parents set the child's wake up time just as you would on a normal alarm clock. But the No Time Clock doesn't have numbers - it only has colors. If it's before wake up time, the front of the No Time Clock is red. If it's after wake up time, the front of the No Time Clock is green. A three-year old gets the concept. If my clock is green, it's OK to wake up mommy and daddy. If it is red, I should go back to sleep. Problem solved. If you sell it for P1,000, you can probably make P500 in profit. Sell 2,000 clocks and you've made one million pesos.

See how easy it is to think of a good business idea? Just think of a problem and then think of a clever way to solve that problem. If people are willing to pay for your solution and they will pay more than it costs you to deliver the solution, then you've come up with a good business idea.

source: http://www.gaebler.com