Contemplating a business plan

Since I am dreaming of putting up a business, I took time to find material on how to prepare a business plan.It said there that a business plan is a blueprint of your company presented in standard business format which is logical and well documented. It defines your business, identifies your goals and serves as your firm's resume.

Having a business plan is important as it states the strategic vision of your company. It can be your most important communication tool, key in obtaining working capital and/or investments. It is also a tool for planning, measuring and improving performance and a continuing guide for sound decision-making.

So, how do you make it? In making a business plan you have to state your objectives clearly. This will include your vision, mission and specific objectives. You also have to describe in detail the business, your products and services, and your potential market. Then, you need to identify your competitors, state your pricing policy, and determine your marketing methods.

In addition, you have to identify material requirements and sources of supply, the process and equipment you will use, the key personnel required and the financial resources needed. This could be shown through a projected balance sheet, income and expense and a cash flow statement, or through a budget showing projected sources and application of funds.

I got these from EntrePinoys Atbp. There is also a link there for a free business plan template.

Free seminars

A month or so ago, I came across a posting at http://www.gov.ph/forum/ which announced free seminars on dishwashing liquid and others and I, on pure curiousity, found a way to attend. The seminars turned out to be a quick sessions on how to mix pre-formulated substances to produce them dishwashing liquid, fabric conditioner, handwash, carwash, even perfumes, at just 25% percent, even less, of the selling price of commonly known brands like Joy, Downy, etc.

In the seminars, I learned that you just a have to mix thoroughly a kilogram (500g of something and 500g of another), plus coloring, a bubble enhancer, sodium chlolide, scent and still another substance to produce dishwashing liquid comparable with and maybe just as fragrant as the most popular brand in the market. I also learned that do the same, simple mixing, to make highly saleable products like fabric conditioners, hand wash, liquid detergent, car wash, and perfumes.

The company, W-Rich (am not aware if they have a website), giving out the lectures sells packaged pre-formulated materials raw materials at very cheap prices using a multi-level marketing strategy. For me though, I don't care much of their multi-level scheme, but am pretty happy with the fact that you can produce 12 liters of dishwashing liquid from raw materials worth P395 for a new entrant, P300 for members.

This means you can produce 250ml at cost of around P8, something you can resell in nice bottles which the company also provide, for P25. How about 250ml of fabric conditioner for cost of just P12.40? It's something you can resell in nice bottles for P35. I would say that's a good deal, not counting the networking benefits the company also offers.

For those interested to learn more and attend the seminar, please email me at lumantao@gmail.com, or text 09189387793. You do need a sponsor to attend them seminars.

First ever Innovation Forum

I got this from the Brain Gain Network. They will be conducting the first ever Innovation Forum on March 28, Wednesday, 4 to 6 pm at the Filipinas Heritage Library. The forum is hoped to be a premiere networking and discussion venue for innovation and tech venture information.

The guest speaker this time is Greg Tangonan, a professor of electronics engineering at the Ateneo. Greg is a Caltech trained PhD, retired as chief of the Hughes Photonics and, Communications lab in Los Angeles, CA. He has several published papers and 48 US patents to his name. He will speak about how the Philippines can close the innovation gap. There will be a fee of P500 to cover refreshments and materials.

Cashflow 101 again

What if you can retire in 5 years? Yes, I know, the idea of it is great but very few among us believe that is possible. Early this month though, I attended a workshop which sort of changed my perspective. Come April 15, they will be offering the workshop again.

Would you like to improve your personal cash management? Would you like to know the secrets of successful business and investments? Would you like to learn effective negotiation and communication? Would you like to make the most of your hard-earned savings? Would you like to gain knowledge on starting your own business?

Would you really like to undertand what risk means? Would you want to be aware of opportunities to increase your current cash flow? Would you like to realize how to be able to give more back to the community and society? If you say yes to most of these then consider attending the Cashflow 101 workshop.

The session will be held on April 15, 2007, Sunday, from 12:30 to 5:30 pm at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Center, Benavidez Street, Makati City. Registration fee is just P800. Last day for registration and payment is on April 10. For inquiries, visit this site, or contact Rico Gonzaga at +63 918979 8172 or through the email ad rico.gonzaga27@gmail.com.

Easy, Simple Business Ideas

Franchising indeed is a shortcut to a successful business. However, to most people, getting that franchise is still not easy. Excel V. Dyquiangco writes on "small business ideas with 5k to 10k capital" at the www.magnegosyo.com. He particularly recommends a sari-sari store, a tutoring center, a cellphone load business, cake and pastry business, and a school supplies store.

According to Dyquiangco, these businesses do not require much capital and planning. They also do not require you to rent space as they can very easily be accommodated in some corner of your residence.

Of all these, I am more familiar with cellphone loading. Indeed, you can start by just visiting the load provider's website, registering and loading up by depositing to an identified bank account. This only goes to show that making your first step into business is not that difficult.

Negosyo: To Your First Million

Go Negosyo launched yesterday the book "Negosyo: Joey Concepcion's 50 Inspiring Enterpreneurial Stories" at the National Bookstore. The book is available for a quite affordable price of P280. It contains the success stories of 50 Pinoy enterpreneurs plus lessons from Professor Andy Ferreria of the Asian Institue of Management (AIM).

The stories include, I presume, that of Joey Concepcion III, Jay Aldeguer, Paolo Bediones, Dra. Vicky Belo, Larry Cruz, Illac Diaz, Margarita Fores, Julie Gandiongco, Ray Gapuz, Jr., Atty. Felipe Gozon, the Lopez Family, Ronald Pineda, Socorro Ramos, Les Reyes, Vivienne Tan, Donnie Tantoco, William Torres, Orlando Vea, Gov. Lray Villafuerte, Myla Villanueva, Alfredo Yao and Fernando Zobel de Ayala.

The book entices us to go make our first million like they all did. In most likelihood, it is going to be a bestseller in the coming months, a feat for Philip Cu-Unjieng, the editor.

Franchising Tips

I got some tips on franchising from Entrepreneur Philippines, the magazine. Their March issue focuses on the topic, shows us how to earn big profits from it, allows us to learn from leaders in the field, teaches how to maintain a low-stress tax season and how to convince investors to put money into your business.

Entrepreneur says "franchising offers a shortcut to business success". In fact, it has become one of the most popular forms of business in the Philippines. But, obviously there are things to keep in mind in order to be successful in this field. In the March issue, three top franchisees Figaro, Zen Zest, and Pick & Mix offers some handy pointers to us.

• Know the franchise and the franchiser. Familiarity with the business or franchise makes it easier for you as a prospective franchise owner.
• See where your investment is going. The success of a franchise depends on your skills and abilities. Knowing where to put your money and having a picture of where it's going also helps a lot in picking the right franchise. Make sure you're ready to be hands-on: having a franchise means you have to manage the business and know how to handle it as well.
• Maximize efforts during peak season. According to Ryan Honoras of Zen Zest, "Sixty percent of the success of a franchise depends on the skill and the ability of the franchisee." So do your best on very profitable periods like December for the holidays, year-end sales and or summer vacations, because sales usually go up twice the average.
• Use your experience. You've got to have dedication and fighting spirit to make your franchise grow. But at the end of the day, experience is always the best teacher in everything you do. As Figaro's Tong Sanciangco says, "The franchise is your selling point. You don't need to develop it in the same way as starting on your own." So you see, starting your own business is that easy if you get your own franchise!

Book Hunt

I am a fan of Amazon.com. I like doing searches there and seeing what books are there to buy. Aside from some downloadable ebooks though, I haven't purchased anything else there yet. The price of the books, the shipping cost, the worry of whether I will really get the shipment, have always stopped me from making a purchase, no matter how much I wanted them books.

A few months ago I came across nationalbookstore.com.ph and have since been an avid visitor. What can I say, this is more real. You can do the same searches and find books within your buying range. And, you can either purchase them online using your credit card or G-cash, or you may go to the nearest National Book Store and buy them there. Shipping costs are quite reasonable too.

In fact, "cheap" me did a search for books priced between P1 to P200 and found some very interesting reads, for me at least. This include:

• 2000 Word Drills by Gregorio Ching at just P90;
• A Pocket Book of Short Stories by Simon and Schuster at P85;
• Aling Charing's Filipino and Foreign Recipes by Rosario Fabian at P160;
• Arabic Reading, Writing and Grammar by Mohammad Tuusi at P85;
• Attitudes that Attract Success by Wayne Cordeiro at P175;
• Basic First Aid by the National Safety Council at P175;
• Basic Japanese by Yukihiro Shimamura at P99.50;
• Business Writing: Barnes and Noble College Outline Series at P135;
• Cat and Dog Theology: Rethinking with our Master by Bob Sjogren and Gerald Robison at P200; and
  
• Chinese Proverbs by Gregorio Ching at P135.

This is just an initial list. I am not even half-way through the search results yet. This is just to show what you can get for money equivalent to a meal or two at your favorite fastfood house. Yes, there are a lot of things you can read online and for free, but if you are like me, there is nothing like holding a book with your own hands and going through its pages one by one. Nothing, really.

Change Things with a Weekend

My friend who invited me to the Cashflow 101 workshop sent me another invitation, this time to a weekend training entitled "Enlightened Success and Wealth Weekend" which promises to change your life with an interesting guarantee. Read more about why you have attend here.

Speakers include Lourdes Elardo, Jhet Torcelino-van Ruyven, John Calub, Jerome San and Raju Mandhyan, all successful individuals recognized both locally and internationally. It is expected to be a warm and cozy affair as enrollment will be kept small.

To attend, you will have to register and pay the "initial investment". There are discounts for students, groups, among others. To register, you may go here, or text Rico at +63 918 979 8172.

Business Franchise Ideas

The "spirit" may be willing, but people like me really don't have the experience and money to get into business. A quick solution is an affordable booth franchise which provides you with the minimum supply, equipment and training to start your business for an affordable amount. More affordable than others, anyway.

For example, I found this post at http//allfranchise.blogspot.com which announces booths for a business of your choice at only P15,000. The package include a collapsible booth, 1 piece tarpaulin banner, 1 set of uniform, 1 business kit, P500 worth of products to sell, training of personnel, use of business name and logo, and 1 business account.

The choices include Super Pizza, Pizzito Melano, Melano Home and Personal Care Products, Ice cream r Us(Milko), Hydronom(Water Station), Cd Cart, Belgian Waffle, Tita Tsaron, Dimsum Republic, Froothies, Starlaser(Laser Printing), CelfonBiz, Bread Concepts, Chicken ala King, Super Donuts, Cafendesal, NorthLand Deli(Meat Shop), Suhiro Japanese Food, Dencio's Wine, Liquors, Cigarette etc., Pinoy Big Burger, Home Rice Depot, Ay' Caramba, PotatoMaster and Party Kamp.

That's a lot of choices for the common Pedro. For those interested, you may visit Fort-Am Bldg. #170 Pasig Blvd. Ext., Brgy. Bagong Ilog, Pasig City, or http://www.svfci.com.ph/main.html, or call (632) 747-0268.

Notes on Cash Flow 101

Financial freedom is getting out of the rat race. It is said the poor spend every penny they make, have no assets, instead have liabilities. The middle class on the other hand, while earning more than others, also accumulate more debt as they become more successful. A pay raise qualifies them to borrow more money which they usually use to buy personal items. As income increases, so does personal debt. This is what they call the rat race.

I would say I am just in between poor and middle class, deep into the rat race. I found it refreshing therefore to see things from a different perspective. Though the terms assets and liabilities are not new to me (being a CPA), it was the first time I heard assets being described as something which puts money into your pocket, liabilities as something which takes money out.

The key to getting out of the rat race is having passive income. It is income derived from assets like real property, businesses, among others, without you exerting so much effort. It is different from earned income which is income derived from labor, income which you have to sweat for. As soon as you have more passive income than your regular expenses, you can say you are financially free.

To get passive income one will have to take risks. But, as they say, in life, nothing really is without risk. Only when there is too much risk do we say it is risky. The point is, just depending on our pay check for the rest of your life may just be as risky as taking a chance at improving your asset column and finding that passive income which will free you financially in your later years.

These are my notes on the Cash Flow 101 workshop I attended last Sunday. To learn more, visit this page. You may also want to attend the workshop yourself. It is being conducted by the official Cash Flow 101 workshop provider in the Philippines once a month. I will be glad to post the details here as soon as it is available.

More trainings this month

I got this from a post at http://www.thegrapebunch.com. This was subtitled TipidPC seminars from tipidpc.com. I tried to get more information from the site, but I could not find the exact page. Will just update this post once I get more info.

The seminars will be conducted at the Roofdeck of Capinpin Place, Capinpin Street, San Antonio Village, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Registration fee is just P280 per topic. The topics include Basic Network Setup and Configuration and Administering and Managing Windows Network conducted last March 4.

Upcoming topics include Voice Over IP (Batch 3) and Home Video Editing scheduled this March 18 at 8:30am to 1:00 pm and 1:30 and 6:00pm respectively. Interesting topics for an affordable fee.

Getting Rich Quick?

“If you’re going to work hard anyway, you might as well get rich… and the quicker the better.”

This is one of the main lessons in a book I got for free from a friend. It was written by T. Harv Eker described as someone who borrowed $2,000 from his Visa card to open a business which allowed him to earn more a million dollars in two and a half years.

Eker teaches that getting rich quick is possible despite our natural tendency to doubt such a claim. He shares, in very simple language, that success is a learnable skill. In fact, he recalled that before he made his $2,000 dollar initial investment he first spent around 6 months of studying and learning. He calls his method as Speedwealth and vouches that his experience is replicable.

Of course, he insists that for one to succeed he has to be in the right position. Frankly, he says, dreaming about making a million dollars in a job is like trying to see the ocean from the middle of Nebraska. You’re just not in the right place for it. To “get rich quick”, you have to have or start your own business.

And how does a business succeed? Eker believes in taking advantage of opportunities. Our time he says is a time of change. “Change brings opportunity, quick change brings quick opportunity.” This according to him is the key in “getting rich quick”.

For those interested in getting a copy of the book Speedwealth by T. Harv Eker, please feel free to email me, or post your request as comments to this post. I can email you the free electronic copy.

Trainings and Seminars this March

I checked my favorite government seminar providers and found the following schedule for March. The Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) will again be conducting several seminars with an unbelievable registration fee of P75. The topics include how to start a business, putting your business online, and corporate culture: filipino values in the workplace. For inquiries, you may call (632)831-9988/834-1344 to 49 loc. 318 or email tbmd@pttc.gov.ph or info@pttc.gov.ph.

On the other hand, the Technology and Livelihood and Resource Center (TLRC) continue to offer their regular offerings including setting up a travel agency for P1,375, basic reservation and ticketing for a travel agency for P2,959, and catering business also for P2,959. For inquiries call, 727-6205 loc. 208, 209 / 0928-5022684.

The UP Institute of Small Scale Industries (UP ISSI) will also be offerring for the 23rd time their starting your own business (SYOB) course this March 3 to April 14. Of course, the course fee is a whopping P8,000. For inquiries, call 632-9206923, 9279238, 9287076.

Incidentally, I added a calendar on the sidebar of this blog in order to maintain a schedule of all these seminars that you and I may want to attend.