Showing posts with label Entrepreneurs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Entrepreneurs. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

BANKS: The Only Option For Savings?

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Money is an object we as adults work hard for. It is a medium wherein we use to exchange for something that adds value to our life. Every people have different definition of what money is and what it is for – positive or negative or both. This allows us to have things that answer your basic needs and wants. The more money you have, the more you become comfortable mentally simply because you are assured that for the coming days your basic needs would be provided for. It really makes the world go round.

All our lives, rich or poor, educated or not, we work just to earn money. Poor people, as early as they can think, they are trained to make money in whatever way possible – begging, collecting and selling garbage, and sometimes committing crimes. For us educated people, we were trained for 16 years more or less from nursery to college also to make money. We specialize on a certain field which will turn out to be our career that would provide us high paying salaries or business earnings. At the end of our formal educating years, what do we do next? Yes, make money. Everyone does, except of course kids who don’t want to work because they have filthy rich parents.

Once we start earning money, we take care of our basic personal needs. Then when our salaries will eventually be bigger than our basic needs we now can afford things beyond our basic needs – shopping, travel, etc. But there will be a time, either right away or later, when you would realize that this wouldn’t go on forever. Thus, we start saving money for our future.

Before, saving money is very simple. Keep it in a safe place in your house which would make it very vulnerable or keep it in a bank. This traditional way of saving is still being used right now. Banks certainly bring a lot of convenience to us. Deposit in your account, and the bank would be the one to protect it. Need money? Withdraw using ATM or through the bank teller. This makes us love banks even more. But will your money ever grow with them? I don’t think so.

Savings account earns 1% minus tax. Time deposit earns you 3-5% minus tax depending on the amount of deposit. Our inflation rate sometimes reaches to 5%. TRANSLATION: Your money isn’t earning well in the bank or sometimes the value even depreciates. Not everybody understands this, but you should! Your hard earned money depreciates in value over time in the bank. What if 10 years or so of saving you still haven’t found an investment vehicle? Then your money just depreciated before your eyes.

Are there any other savings tools aside from banks? My answer could create different reactions: LIFE INSURANCE. How? Through investment linked products of Life Insurance. Yup Life Insurance today isn’t just about claiming a lump sum amount when somebody dies. You can use it as a savings tool that earns 6% or more.

This savings tool is a bargain because it gives you life insurance coverage for free. The moment you open an account, not only did you simply open an account, you also are covered immediately. How’s great is that for a savings account? And just like the bank, you can withdraw and deposit.

That right there is an alternative when it comes to savings. But I am not saying that you empty your bank account and move it to insurance companies. Your bank account should be for immediate cash need purposes and Life Insurance for long term savings purposes because it out grows inflation rate and earns way bigger than banks.

So my question to you is, do you just let your hard earned money depreciate like that in banks? Or do you let it grow for savings purposes until you have come up with an idea where to invest it? What’s your pick? - DE

P.S.

Do you have a better savings tool? Comment here or contact me! Should you want to know more about investment linked products of life insurance, you watch out for my coming blog about that it. It would be a simple explanation of what it is. But if you want to know about it in full details, you can contact me through email first. Cheers!

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Wednesday, August 4, 2010

World Food Expo 2010

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WHAT: World Food Expo 2010 “The Country’s Biggest & Most Effective Food Show”


WHEN: August 4-7, 2010


WHERE: SMX Convention Center & World Trade Center



Check out what ACTIVITIES to attend to.

For more information visit WOFEX 2010 Website.


Top culinary experts and scrumptious food awaits you. This would be a great show! See you there!- DE

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Monday, August 2, 2010

What You Need To Know Before Buying A Franchise

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Any business franchise opportunities may seem to exciting when you first see it especially in franchise expos where franchisors need to make their business look very nice. Upon seeing how their business looks like, our emotions get high and we get excited to acquire one. However, we shouldn’t be rushing when it comes to business. Take time to know everything about the business you’re about to get in to. Rather than regretting in the end, study everything about the business you want to purchase.

Questions to ask to the franchisor directly are:

  1. How long have you been in this business?
  2. How long have you made your business available for franchising?
  3. How many franchise stores do you have? How many of them are owned by the original franchiser?
  4. Can I buy an existing corporate-owned store instead of building one from scratch?
  5. Can your business be duplicated including quality and service?
  6. How much is the initial franchise fee and what does it include?
  7. Is the franchise brand name registered with the Intellectually Property Office of the Dept. of Trade and Industry?
  8. Does the franchise have a logo a brand name, and logo-text?
  9. What are the control systems that the franchise has in place? (such as a central commissary, secret ingredients and operation manual, accounting systems, etc)
  10. What kind of pre-opening support do I get?
  11. When the business is operating, what kind of support do I get on a continuing basis?
  12. Can I spend a week observing an actual franchise operating?
  13. Do I have exclusive territorial rights?
  14. How much do I have to spend for my store’s construction and initial inventory?
  15. Where do I buy succeeding inventory supplies?
  16. Would succeeding inventory supplies be delivered? How much would it cost?
  17. Do I have to buy my inventory exclusively from you (the franchiser) or can I procure them elsewhere?
  18. Can I return merchandize (inventory) for credit?
  19. How much do I have to pay you in royalties when my franchise is already operational?
  20. Is the royalty fee based on my store’s gross sales or based on my purchases from the franchiser?
  21. How much are you going to charge for joint advertising fees? What kind of advertising and marketing programs do you have?
  22. In your corporate stores, how much are you making per store? Can I see your financial statements for that store’s operations?
  23. Give me a list of your other franchise holders whom I can talk with about the business.
  24. Has any of your franchise holders defaulted or closed shop? Who are they (names and phone numbers) and what were their reasons for their defaulting or closing?
  25. Can I have a copy of your franchise agreement for my review?
  26. By how much can I deviate from the franchise agreement concerning products I can sell in my store?
  27. How long is the duration of franchise agreement? Is it renewable and what are the renewal rates?
  28. Are there penalties if I withdraw earlier from the franchise?
  29. If I decide to buy another franchise from you, do I get a discount?
  30. If I recommend another franchise holder, do I get a referral fee?
  31. Can I change the location of my franchise store (at my cost) if the present one is not viable? Are there any additional fees to pay for the change in location?

Once this checklist is accomplished, weigh the pros and cons. Think of what you can do to compliment the cons and how you could flourish with the pros. Sometimes a business is too good but you may not be ready for it. If you can’t see yourself doing the business with the information you gathered, it would be best to look for something else.

Franchises are presented the best way you can imagine to entice entrepreneurs to buy their business as soon as possible. It would be wise to let the emotions subside and study the business before you decide. Good luck with your venture!- DE

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Friday, July 30, 2010

Know What You Want Then Chase It

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People never really get satisfied of what they have. We always want to have something better than what we have or something that we cannot acquire yet. No one can just get what he wants easily. Do you know what you want? What is it exactly? Be it material things or not, why aren’t you receiving such things?

When someone asks you “what do you want to happen in your life?” you must be able clearly answer the person back. If you can’t answer the question, then my friend, you’re lost. When you become lost, time flies so fast you wouldn’t feel years have already passed you by. You’ll be surprised 5, 6, 7 years after college, you’re still as broke as you started or haven’t made your life moving. Many people are victim of this. Not knowing where to go doesn’t make you move forward.

Think about it, you don’t get what you want because you don’t know what you want. This goes for everything and anything that has to do with your life. It should make sense because you would be receiving something that you really didn’t want consciously or subconsciously.

It all starts with a dream, big or small, it’s still a dream. When we were kids our imaginations are through the roof, maybe better than what adults have right now. But what happened? Most of us stopped dreaming where in fact we shouldn’t. Our dream should get bigger as we get older. Not just ordinary dream, but enormous dreams that would make people think your dream is impossible. These must be well defined as well.

Imagine, Steve Jobs didn’t stop his imagination and got satisfied with just a first generation iPod. Or Bill Gates didn’t settle with Windows 98. Or Henry Sy didn’t just build one SM Mall. Our lives were changed and touched by their dreams that they pushed to become a reality one way or another.

Before they became business magnate, they were once ordinary people. If they can, then we all can. There’s no such thing as too big of a dream. So I suggest you make a dream book and/or dream board. I got this from my company where they let me cut our pictures, write, and draw the exact things I want to have and want to happen in my life. The exact color, model, year, make, of the car I want. The exact gadgets, exact place and look of my house, the exact net worth I want to be, etc.


Yes, dreams may seem too big right now, but you shouldn’t care! Mark Zuckerberg (Co-Founder of Facebook) became a billionaire at age 23. If his imagination can, so can you! Even if you can’t get it now, go after it every time you wake up.

If you just let life dictate your life, then nothing really exciting or significant will happen to your life. Whereas when you know what you want clearly, instead of being lazy getting out of bed, it would be your very reason why you wake up in the morning and why you work your way towards it. Think big, dream big!- DE

“The journey’s what brings us happiness not the destination.” – Peaceful Warrior, 2006

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Thursday, July 29, 2010

Never Seek Advice of Experts In Failing

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All of us have encountered having troubles about certain incidents in our life that our brain cannot solve it alone. Producing no answers is the time we ask other people for solutions and answers. It is also part of the learning process. Everyone in this planet has encountered this, especially in the formative years of a kid, to the time we enter school, and up to now that our brain is still working.

Our mind never sleeps, it keeps on thinking. And if our brain cannot answer a problem or question, we ask or seek for answers. We never get satisfied unless that question is answered. The more questions you have, the more answers you would have. The more answers you have, the more knowledgeable you become.

Professionals have tons of questions that got answered, thus they have supreme knowledge. However entrepreneurs do have more answers than questions, thus they earn tons of money by answering people’s problems and adding value to their lives.

Although professionals and entrepreneurs have different paths, they started with asking and seeking advices. Not just from anyone, but advices that came from people who have been successful on the field they want to take.

Who would you rather seek advice from? Is it from people who have no idea or have failed in the field you want to take? Or do you seek advice from people who have been successful?

Think about it. If you have problems solving math equations, do you seek advice from an English Literature expert? Or if you want to build a house, do you seek advice from banker? And if you wanted to put up a business, would you rather ask someone who have a failed business how he did it or ask someone who made millions with it?

An example would be John Gokongwei. Although I haven’t talked to him personally, I can say that he doesn’t know a lot about business when he was born. I believe he studied it and sought advice of other entrepreneurs in the said fields before he entered an industry. Even if he have a highly successful Universal Robina Corporation (country’s largest snacks manufacturer), he tried to find out and learn about other industries such as telecommunications and airlines, thus Sun Cellular and Cebu Pacific Airlines. Imagine if he talked to a lot of failures in the past, do you think he would be successful in what he does?

Seeking for answers means you want to be better than what you are right now which is something that we all must be. Never stop learning because there’s no such thing as you know everything even if you’ve been doing what you do for years. Even the richest people in the world never stop letting knowledge get inside their brain.

This is a simple lesson in life that we don’t acknowledge. Maybe we should start re-thinking about what we want to happen in our life and re-shape it by seeking advice of successful people rather than experts in failing. - DE

“Once you stop learning, you start dying.” – Albert Einstein

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Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Contact

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Greetings from earth!

Lemuel Kiong here! Got my Degree in Entrepreneurship from De La Salle Canlubang. Currently I'm a Financial Planner and a blogger.

I don’t mind sharing my thoughts to everyone, thus this blog. My usual topics are about money.


Should you want to reach me, for ultra violent reactions or whatever your concern is, you can do so by hitting me with a comment or sending an email at

dropoutentrepreneur@gmail.com

lemuelkiong@gmail.com


Feel free to comment and share your thoughts about my blogs. If you spot errors just let me know. Criticism are highly appreciated!

DISCLAIMER: These are just my opinions and realizations with people I encounter in my lifetime. I suggest you don't get offended.

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What is Dropout Entrepreneur about?

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Welcome to Dropout Entrepreneur!

Why is it called Dropout Entrepreneur? Because rarely do academically smart people get wealthy. However, a lot of ordinary graduates and drop outs do. Financial education is badly needed by everyone.

Schools don’t teach everything we must know that are vital to life after college.

This is a blog about my realizations in everyday life mostly related about money. My blog are about my conversations with a lot of earthling in my lifetime. I hope my realizations could help other people open up their mind, get their mindset right and start chasing their dreams the right way. We’ve got a lot of opportunities, I hope this helps you meet them more! Read on!


Dropout Entrepreneur

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