Entrepreneurship - Binalot (Day 3)

Success stories of Filipino Entrepreneurs - Rommel Juan

Cited by AFFI. Day 3, Rommel had initially planned to position Binalot as a food-delivery service. Seeing customer service as the main tool toward success, the greenhorn entrepreneur felt having an army of riders and motorcylces would answer the demands of the huge customer base they were expecting. As it turned out, all their earnings went to paying for the crews' salary and the small store became crowded with idle employees. When the delivery market faltered, the company was left with a large overhead.

Slowly they evaluated and readjusted their goals. They trimmed down their employee force to the essential personnel and opened a store in Mandaluyong where other riders and motorcycles could be assigned. It was a good move, but not quite enough. Delivery peaked at the opening of the new branch but waned after a couple of months. This was 1998. Two years into the business and Rommel did not know what to do. He was disappointed with the way business was unfolding, but he was not discouraged. Just when he thought they've hit rock bottom, Binalot received an invitation from a major food court.

Rommel convened the board and presented the option. It was Binalot's last straw. The owners decided to give it one more shot, placing all their resources into this new branch in Shangri-La Mall's food court. Backed into a corner, Rommel knew he had to use the company's resources wisely. He set up the outlet with only P24,000. His biggest expenses for the new store were the signage and menu board which, together with the cash register, he was able to buy on an installment plan.

The gamble paid off - Binalot Shangri-La opened to lines of customers. Rommel was unprepared for this warm reception but was happy to be there to personally entertain guests and serve them. The success the company experienced with the new outlet helped Rommel and company overcome their fear of shifting to another business model - the food court. The business and its owners were able to adapt.

The Shangri-La experience paved the way for other food court outlets to open. They took on Robinsons Galleria. Rommel then realized that being in fixed space helped bring in steady sales, and also it was easier to plan expenses. Having two fixed outlets helped Binalot grow and the company was able to regain lost ground by the end of 1998.

From then on, the business operation was smooth sailing, Rommel was able to project an expansion target of one company-owned store a year. SM Makati, MRT Ayala, and Glorietta opened one after the other, all from reinvested profits. But despite the company's growth, Rommel was also looking into franchising, an idea he had been considering as early as 1998.

I had already had a manual because we were really planning to franchise. I joined AFFI but not as an active member since I was not yet a franchiser.

Then in 2002, we met a very persistent franchise applicant. He was Joe Flores of Intramuros and he was indeed very persistent. In August 2004, we granted him our first franchise.

We wanted insurance of return of profit so we initially gave him a cart. We didn't want him to spend money he won't be earning in the end. So we tested the setup. His card made P5,000 a day and this encouraged us to go all the way.

To be continued...

CFC Song - By Your Side

CFC - By Your Side.

By Your Side, This is one of my favorite songs during CLP at Kawasaki Japan last July 2004. It's been 4 years now since I graduated the SFC program. This song really touched my heart and soul. It talks about being faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ, If we will only give complete trust to him all our burdens will be lightened and we will be able to see the abundance of Life.

Cited by Bill FitzPatrick, Submit to a higher power. Look at the big picture. You build your life upon your faith. You cherish your faith. You aren't afrait to tell others of your beliefs. You stand for positive values. You are ethical in your dealings. You pray and meditate to have the courage to face your fears. You pray and meditate to have the strength to accept, endure and triumph over the hardships and small annoyances that the path to success will present. You celebrate the good that you find in the world.

With humility, submit. You are but one fragile, fallible human. Every religion has prayers. A prayer is your conversation with God. Your success and happiness is God's answer. Your selfless good works in helping others are your prayers put into action.

Gratitude is wealth!

Bo Sanchez - Spiritual preacher and Motivational speaker.

Ralph Marston - Feel the way you choose, Whatever you feel on the inside, you will experience on the outside. Life reflects back to you the way you most sincerely and persistently are. When you're having a joyful day it's because you decided to do so. The world you see is directly related to the world you intend to see.

From nothing, in an instant, you can create joy. Where there was none before, you can express love.

Do you realize the awesome power in your ability to feel the way you choose to feel? With that power you can change the world.

You're extra ordinary skilled at changing your feelings, and you've had much experience at doing so. Feel the exquisite beauty of this moment, and watch as that beautiful feeling manifests in the world around you.

This is your moment to live more fully than you've ever lived. Feel the possibilities, and bring them joyfully to life.

Think Win-Win

Bill FitzPatrick - Founder of the "American Success Institute".

Action Principle No.28 >> Think Win-Win, Thinking win-win is a frame of mind that seeks mutual benefit and is based on mutual respect. It is about bargaining fairly, and being open-minded and reasonable to all parties. It is about compromise and a sincere desire to find agreements that occupy the middle ground. Win-win is not taking advantage when it is understood that you are being trusted to act with honor.

It's about thinking in terms of abundance. There is an ever-expanding 'pie,' a cornucopia of opportunity, wealth, and resources, not scarcity and adversarial competition.

>>

I agree with this statement, if we will think win-win there should be no taking advantage in any negotiations, no personal hidden agenda and no feeling of mistrust against concerned parties. It's so nice to be transparent in every dealings. There is peace and sense of fulfillment that can keep within.

Okinawa Seashore

Naminoue - Okinawa Sea shore.

Bill FitzPatrick - Enjoy Quiet Time, Everyone needs quiet time in their day when they can just be with their own thoughts. This isn't daydreaming. The serenity of quiet time can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. It can be traditional Zen or transcendental meditation, but it can also be taking a walk, gardening, making a pot of tea or taking a long, hot shower. You may wish to pray. Each day, take twenty minutes to stop, reflect and enjoy being who you are. Think about the past, present, future or nothing in particular. Relax by yourself and you will feel renewed. Tranquility will re-energize you. Without trying, you will be amazed at how your subconscious mind releases so many good ideas. As you reflect upon the true sense for your existence, you can better deal with hardships.

Just as the time you spend exercising strengthens the physical you, quiet reflection strenghtens the spiritual you. Quiet time also gives you the opportunity to practice minding your own business. Take a deep breath and continue to breathe slowly and steadily. Look around. Use all your senses. You will find contentment in the solitude.

>>

I took this video when I was spending my leisure time at Naminoue Okinawa City. It is really so relaxing to sit for just an hour staring at the sea shore and listen to its natural sound. A good place to reflect about your dreams and visions.

Entrepreneurship - Binalot (Day 2)

Success stories of Filipino Entrepreneurs - Rommel Juan

Cited by AFFI. Day 2, Academically, Rommel was not prepared for business. He graduated with a marketing/ advertising degree, hoping to pursue his creative knack in the advertising field. Being from a family of business owners, he initially tried his hand at doing ads for their company, learning all he could about its marketing direction. Through this exposure, he realized that it was good to have your own company and make the decisions for it.

Further employment at the Toyota Motor Philippines plant and Honda Makati dealership, while educational, sealed his decision to be his own boss.

I took a job at TMP marketing department. Thing is, I was placed in the parts depart division. I wasn't exactly happy there. Still, I was thankful for experiencing the discipline of working for a Japanese firm where they really pu value in work ethics - being on time, meeting your targets, etc. After Toyota, I worked in sales at Honda, then eventually decided to join our own company, MD Juan.

Since Rommel is a third-generation business owner, his entry into the family business was about learning the ropes from his father and aunt - observing more than actually doing. As such, Rommel had a lot of spare time that he wanted to put to good use. It was then that he and brother Raffy laid the groundwork for Binalot.

At the start, Rommel saw Binalot as a project, something fun to do. It was in his personality to inject fun in things he does, including business. He was attached to the novelty of the idea and used his knack for making things fun to come up with the company's image - from its menu, to its mascot, and brand. He was able to use his creativity while building the Binalot concept.

I used to think if the company grew, then, fine, thanks, I'll enjoy the money. But that wasn't my drive. My drive was basically to have a running business. I wanted to enjoy it.

Rommel's passion for the new business made the days fly by quickly. The company gained ground and Rommel faced the challenges of entrepreneurship. He learned how difficult it was to handle people and realized that not everything was fun, even in a business you were passionate about.

One time, when I was in my early twenties, I had to fire someone. I had to tell him that he no longer had a job. It was very difficult, but I learned from it.

After that baptism of fire, Rommel soon encountered one challenge after another in the growing business. He did not let his inexperience get the better of Binalot, although he admitted that there were times he thought the business would actually fold up.

I admit that there were difficult times. Like after the 1997 economic crash, delivery service was in near slump. Unfortunately, the delivery service was the initial business model for Binalot. We didn't know how to react. Using a loan from Dad, I bought a lot of motorcyle units then hired riders. I was surprised to find out later on that our outlet in Jupiter Street had eighteen employees already! That time, I was clueless about income statements. My idea about operations was simple: if there's something lacking, stock up; if there's a problem, fix it. It was simply firefighting. Thus, the delivery operation didn't grow.

To be continued...

Filipino Overseas Workers - Japan

Filipino Overseas Workers - Fukuoka Japan.



General Cleaning in Fukuoka Apartment

Courtesy of Japtrainees >> Fukuoka Japan, This is a true life story in Japan of some Filipino groups. I can testify to their sharing because I also worked here in Japan for almost 8 years now. Being an OFW, you should always motivate yourself in your daily working lifestyle to be able to overcome loneliness especially if you have family way back in the Philippines. It's not because you are working outside the Philippines, you are already living in a comfortable life or you are just enjoying your trip in other country. Some people don't know what's behind the life of OFW. Enjoy watching this video.

Entrepreneurship - Binalot (Day 1)

Success stories of Filipino Entrepreneurs - Rommel Juan

Cited by AFFI. Day 1, GROWING UP, BUSINESS WAS THE LAST THING on Rommel Juan's mind. He was a child with an active imagination, spending his time doing art projects, reading comic books, or watching cartoons. It was his older brother who had the entrepreneurial flair and young Rommel often found himself acting as a sales agent, convincing classmates and friends to buy the cartoon stickers his brother was selling. Rommel enjoyed the exercise, but found more value in the interaction with friends than in the actual profit. He felt proud that he was able to satisfy his customers with the goods he sold, and looked forward to playing with them after the sale.

It was only in college that the entrepreneurial bug bit him, again with the help of his older brother. According to Rommel:

I was a late bloomer. My first venture with Raffy was in college. It was after the San Francisco earthquake; the "I survived the Great Quake" T-shirts became a trend. We used this as an inspiration for own version: the "I survived the Coup d'etat" shirts. This was in 1992, during one of the coups in Cory Aquino's time. It was also the Christmas season - perfect timing - and we sold a lot of shirts. That was the first time I earned money.

It was just a small venture, but it was Rommel's first taste of earning through enterprise. After college, the Juan brothers teamed up again, this time to start a food-takeout counter. Inspired by childhood memories of family outings with Mommy Charito's meals packed with banana leaves, they decided to set up what would be the beginning of today's popular Filipino fast-food-Binalot.

Rommel liked the idea so much; he found that he was aggressively pursuing the business. He liked that the concept was novel. He took charge, started trying out recipes, identifying costs, wrapping food in banana leaves. Unwittingly, he had found his business and had decided to be an entrepreneur.

To be continued...

World-Class Filipino Talent

Filipina World Boxer - Ana Julaton.

Be Inspired! Cited by Jack Canfield, If you are going to be successful in creating the life of your dreams, you have to believe that you are capable of making it happen. You have to believe you have the right stuff, that you are able to pull if off. You have to believe in yourself. Whether you call it self-esteem, self-confidence, or self-assurance, it is a deep-seated belief that you have what it takes - the abilities, inner resources, talents, and skills to create your desired results.

Remain Adaptable

Bill FitzPatrick - Founder of the "American Success Institute".

Action Principle No.27 >> Remain Adaptable, In daily life, through a love of many things, it is possible to remain adaptable. If it starts raining on the way to the beach, you'll enjoy going to the movies. If you are kept waiting for an appointement, don't get angry. Make a few calls or work on your schedule. If you get stuck in traffic, enjoy your favorite motivational audiotape, radio station or CD. Always have a book with you and you will never be alone. The small stuff can't get you down if you are ready to substitute one thing for another.

Reject Rejection!

Jack Canfield - cocreator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Reject Rejection, If you are going to be successful, you are going to need to learn how to deal with rejection. Rejection is a natural part of life. You get rejected when you aren't picked for the team, don't get the part in the play, don't get elected, don't get into the college or graduate school of your choice, don't get the job or promotion you wanted, don't get the raise you wanted, don't get the appointment you requested, or get fired. You get rejected when your manuscript is rejected, your proposal is turned down, your new product idea is passed over, your fund-raising request is ignored, your design concept is not accepted, your application for membership is denied, or your offer of marriage is not accepted.

Rejection is a myth! another concept cited by Jack Canfield. To get over rejection, you have to realize that rejection is really a myth. It doesn't really exist. It is simply a concept that you hold in your head. Think about it. If you ask Patty to have dinner with you and she says no, you didn't have anyone to eat dinner with before you asked her, and you don't have anyone to eat dinner with after you asked her. The situation didn't get worse; it stayed the same. It only gets worse if you go inside and tell yourself something extra like "See, Mother was right. No one will ever like me. I am the slug of the universe!".

Everyone who has ever made it to the top has to endure rejections. You just have to realize that they are not personal. Consider the following:

1. When Alexander Graham Bell offered the rights to the telephone for $100,000 to Carl Orton, president of Western Union, Orton replied, "What use would this company make of an electrical toy?"

2. Angie Everhart, who started modeling at the age of 16, was once told by model agency owner Eileen Ford that she would never make it as a model. Why not? "Redheads don't sell." Everhart later became the first redhead in history to appear on the cover of Glamour magazine, had a great modeling career, and then went on to appear in 27 films and numerous TV shows.

3. Novelist Stephen King almost made a multimillion-dollar mistake when he threw his Carrie manuscript in the garbage because he was tired of the rejections. "We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias, " he was told. "They do not sell." Luckily, his wife fished it out of the garbage. Eventually Carrie was printed by another publisher, sold more than 4 million copies, and was made into a blockbuster film.

4. In 1998, Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page approached Yahoo! and suggested a merger. Yahoo! could have snapped up the company for a handful of stock, but instead they suggested that the young Googlers keep working on their little school project and come back when they had grown up. Within 5 years, Google had an estimated market capitalization of $20 billion. At the time of this writing, they were about to launch an initial public offering auction that eventually raised $1.67 billion.

One step beyond is actually one step within!

Bo Sanchez - Spiritual preacher and Motivational speaker.

Ralph Marston - Go ahead, Go ahead and switch on the power to your life. Look back just long enough to remember what you treasure most, then go ahead and expand upon those treasures.

When you feel an excuse coming on, crush it under the wait of your desire to move forward. When you meet up with a challenge, delight in your ability to improve your way through it.

This is your opportunity to taste life's sweetness more fully than ever before. This is your moment to make a positive difference that will forever add value and meaning to the universe.

This is a day in which you can experience your passion from a new and empowering perspective. Surprise yourself and be delighted at how authentically beautiful you are.

Choose with your thoughts and actions to lift yourself up. Then make it all exponentially more wonderful by lifting up another, and another.

Go ahead and fully feel the white-hot energy and marvelous uniqueness of being you. Go ahead and let your own special beauty explode into every corner of life .

Entrepreneurship - Aquabest (Final)

Success stories of Filipino Entrepreneurs - Carson Tan.

Last part. Continuation... With his drive to be an expression of God, there is no doubt that Carson and Aquabest will work hard and smart to live up to its name as the best in purified water. Carson says that this does not end with their product, but also with the type of service they provide their consumers and franchisees.

Currently, Aquabest offers zero interest on 12, 15 and 18 months financing of their machines. They also have low down payment plans, which allow more entrepreneurs to begin their businesses.

In the Aquabest pipelines are plans to come up with machines that will be affordable alternatives for entrepreneurs without compromising quality. Brand names such as Aquabest.Com, AquaRevo, AquaSpree, Alkaline Plus, Mineral Plus, and OxyPlus have been registered with the IPO.

"Life is about choices, so choose the best", the Aquabest slogan says. This is why Aquabest and Bestlife give franchisees a lot of choices when it comes to products. There is something for everyone's needs and budget.

Right now Aquabest is at P420,000. It's a package which includes: Korean Aluminum Signage; six sets of uniforms; electronic gadgets to check the water quality; streamers; banners; flyers; start-up inventories; use of name; business assistance; training, etc. You can also just buy the machine for P300,000. If your budget is P250,000, we can also accomodate you. If you want alkaline then we can do it for you. If you want oxygenated, we can do it. So we would like to offer something that, with only P100,000, one could already open a water station.

Today, Bestlife has over 350 water stations nationwide. It continues to explore more possibilities to improve the quality of life of the Filipino people by providing the technology and solution to make the production of pure water more affordable and within the reach of the poor.

It also plans to offer various water-related products and services to widen the scope of its domain. This includes distributorship of bottling equipment to supplement the ever-increasing demand for bottled water. In the process of registration, Bestlife Franchising will transform from a mere WRS franchising firm into a water-and environment-solution company named Global Quality Waters and Environmental Solutions Technologies, Inc. with engineered design systems to meet the specific needs of its clientele. With Carson Tan's long-term vision and God's blessings, these plans will soon become reality.

Don't Be A Perfectionist

Bill FitzPatrick - Founder of the "American Success Institute".

Action Principle No.26 >> Don't Be A Perfectionist, Trying to be perfect takes too much time and effort. It creates too much stress and is impossible anyway. Instead, strive to relax at the 90% level. This is the personal mastery level. Following the Action Principles, reaching the 90% level in most of your financial and social endeavors will be something that you don't even have to think about. It will happen through your persistence, determination, hard work and nice personality.

Right now, learn about the income and the lifestyle level of those in the top 100% of your profession. If you aren't content earning more than 90% of your co-workers, choose another profession.

It is possible to try too hard business, exercise and relationships. Overwork can produce stress and anxiety, which is the opposite of the inner peace you seek. Your best is good enough. Live to a high standard, not to an impossible obsession.

Throw your trash!

Bo Sanchez - Spiritual preacher and Motivational speaker.

Ralph Marston - Do something about it, Are you frustrated and burned out? What are you going to do about it? Is there something you really want to achieve? What are you going to do about it? Have you just become aware of an incredible opportunity? What are you going to do about it? What are you going to do today? right this moment? What actions will you take to end your frustration, to achieve your dream, to take advantage of opportunity?

Success and achievement depend not on how much you complain, or on your ability to garner symphathy from others, but on what you do. And right now is the time to start.

Go ahead and move beyond the frustration, begin to work toward the dream, and make the most of your best possibilities. Go ahead right now and do something positive and effective about it.