Pera ni Juan

What! A Medium Mac and a Beans & Beans!

2010-09-26T01:07:00.000-07:00

2 decades ago the McDonalds Big Mac is the largest hamburger in our country. The double patties with another bun in between is the best there is. The taste of the hamburger is oddly unique and has excellent taste that will "hypnotize" the customers to keep coming back for more.

I used to remember when I was in high school, a Big Mac meal for me is fulfilling to my taste and to my stomach. In other words "Busog talaga ako". But now things are different. Today's Big Mac is not "big" anymore. It's more of a "medium" size burger. 1 Big Mac meal for me today is not enough for me anymore. I need to buy another burger sandwhich to complete my meal. And mind you guys, I stopped growing at the age of 18 and my appetite has decreased as I grow older.

The same thing goes with Hunt's Pork & Beans.... As in come on guys. You labeled your product Pork & Beans but all I can see is just beans.... lots of it. Where's the Pork? You should named your item Beans & Beans and not Pork & Beans.

I am not trying to sabotage Mcdonalds and Hunt's in fact I'm a loyal customer of their products. What I'm trying to imply here is that these companies must be true to their word and not mislead their customers. It's really depressing to see a product not according to their standards.

This is also a shout out to those entrepreneurs out there. Give importance to your customers and give "true value" to your end product. As the saying goes "The customer is always right". Once the customers found out that your fooling them they will change their buying habits in a heartbeat.

Coffee Shop got 10,203 customers

2010-05-22T01:08:00.000-07:00

Imagine you have a Coffee shop that have 10,203 loyal customers. That would be amazing isn't it? How do you do that exactly? Well it's been done in the United States and hopefully here in our country soon. Here's the story.

Meet Coffee Groundz. It’s a small coffee shop located in Houston Texas. They serve a variety of coffee (locally roasted), both hot and frozen. They also have wonderful tea, delectable pastries, superb Gelato (also made locally), fresh sandwiches, and great selection of wine, beer and alcoholic drinks.The ambience is great and has incredible service. But one competitor stands in their way….. Starbucks.

Starbucks has quadrillion outlets in Houston Texas and have been in the coffee business since 1971. Coffee Groundz is just new to the industry. How will they match up with the biggest coffee chain in the world? Simple.. Use Social Networking media.

Coffee Groundz Operations Manager J.R. Cohen saw an opportunity by taking “To Go” orders in Twitter (Yes, Twitter). Customers send their orders through Twitter to Cohen before they leave for work. Cohen will prepare the food and drinks and ready to be pick up. It turns out to be a great idea as their customers grew to 1,000 just by using Twitter.

Today Coffee Groundz has 10,203 followers from Twitter. Because of Twitter they came out with an idea of Drive Thru counter so that customers doesn’t have to wait in line to get their coffee. Coffee Groundz may not be Starbucks but they are “in line” with them.

Here's the twitter page of Coffee Groundz for those who are curious.

http://twitter.com/coffeegroundz

It's a great marketing strategy for a small business like Coffee Groundz to get 10 thousand eager customers just by using an online tool such as Twitter. Let this story be an inspiration to entrepreneurs out there.

So keep on tweeting everybody. Who knows your business might be the next big story.

My 6 year goal

2010-04-21T23:26:00.000-07:00

This is my 6 year goal. Living on the beach, relaxing in that hammock, and walking on the white sand of Boracay. Our ancestors originated in the province of Panay. Kalibo Aklan to be exact. We still have relatives staying there.
My plan is to start first in Kalibo, settle anything that needs to be settled, and slowly move in closer to the beautiful island of Boracay.

What I meant was staying there for not just a week, but more than a month. My main source of income comes from the internet by way of blogging, creating websites, writing articles to popular blogs, selling my products online, etc.
If I can accumulate enough funds in the 6 year period, then living in Boracay won't be a problem.

Hell, I know some Australian guy who makes big money just from one blog and rewards himself by traveling the whole world. He roamed majority of the countries in Europe, had been to the United States several times, and has traveled to Asia and the Middle East.
And the beauty of it is he is still earning while exploring the world. He just bring along his laptop and do his work whenever, wherever. Isn't it great?

If that guy can do it then I can do it as well. What I need is a powerful and fast ISP (internet service provider). So far what we have here is the Smartbro plug-it, Globe Tatoo, and Sun Broadband. But the word is the internet speed is still slow.
Hopefully, this 3 telecommunication companies can fix their glitch and improve the speed of their ISP.

If that happens then it's all systems go for me and off to Boracay I go. I could even stay in Boracay as long as I want. No worries of the traffic rush, the pollution, and the routine work of living in the urban area.
This could be my daily regular agenda in Boracay:

3-6 AM: Work on my Internet projects

6-8 AM: Go for a swim at one of the most beautiful beach

8-9 AM: Take a heavy breakfast with my favorite coffee

9-11 AM: Take a cat nap (with the aircon on of course)

11-2 PM: Get back to my work. Eat Lunch and check on my emails and updates.

2-6 PM: "A lot of Free time for me". I have a lot of options; mountain trekking, play beach volleyball, food tripping, shopping, scuba diving, wind surfing, spelunking, or just hang out and read my favorite book on the hammock.

6-7 PM: Dinner time. Time to look for a nice restaurant. Each day will be a different place.

7-9 PM: Go back to my room. Relax a bit. Watch a movie or my favorite TV show.

9-11 PM: Time to go out and Party!!!

So there, that would be my daily itinerary. I was able to do my work for a total of just only 6 hours, enjoy the nature of Boracay, be a food critic like Anthony Bourdain and dine in all of the best restaurants in Boracay, and be a party freak.

And on top of that, I live a healthy lifestyle. No pollution, little stress, eat fresh fruits and vegetables (maybe a little protein), do a lot of exercise, and just enough sleeping time.

And mind you, I can do that everyday of the week.

That is my 6 year plan. So Boracay, please stay clean and beautiful because I will be spending most of my time in your beloved place very soon.

Earn $ 100 dollars a day from cat droppings!

2010-04-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

How funny how nature works. Until now I couldn't believe how can an individual earn $ 100 dollars a day from cat droppings. But these are not your ordinary house cats. This are Civets.

Civets are small, lithe-bodied, mostly arboreal mammals native to the tropics of Africa and Asia. And yes we do have civets here in the Philippines. Civets have a broadly cat-like general appearance, though the muzzle is extended and often pointed, rather like an otter or a mongoose. They range in length from about 17 to 28 in (43 to 71 cm) (excluding their long tails) and in weight from about 3 to 10 lb (1.4 to 4.5 kg).

They live in a tropical rain forest. Their diet is eating fresh fruit cherries which makes their "poops" taste like Starbucks 10 times better. The price of their waste cost a fortune and the Philippines is making coffee beans out of it called "Kape Alamid". As of today we are gaining big profits from exporting to Western countries like the United States.

Interesting story huh? If only we can breed this kind of cats we would all be millionaires. In Indonesia they are already breeding civets.
For those who are interested to breed civets and make a money out of it, let me know. Let's do business together!

Here is a video about how Filipinos makes money out of Civets. Enjoy!

Are you managing your time well Part 2

2010-03-29T23:53:00.000-07:00

Imagine yourself in a place like this.... No traffic, no rush hour, no hassle, and no pollution. This is an escape from your every day routine life. It's just you and mother nature. A perfect spot to relax and unwind, along with your favorite book at your side and with your favorite drink to replenish your thirst of the scorching heat of the sun.
You get to feel the wind as you place your naked feet under the powdered crystal beach sand. And as you doze off you say to yourself that "Wow! this is what you call life".

Okay, now wake up and get back to reality. Your now back to your real world where you have no choice but to do what almost everybody is doing year after year.... working hard.
Nothing is wrong with working hard but like I said in my previous article that it is better to work smarter than work harder.
With working harder you get the chance to go to the beach only and just only on Holy Week, All Saint's Day, Christmas Season, and all the legal holidays that we have. That is just a few.

But with working smarter, you could stay at that beach for a month and not worry on your monthly revenue and expenses. How is that possible? Simple... the answer is creating Passive Income for yourself.
With Passive income you let your money work for you and not vice-versa. Here is an example: Let's just say that your a bank executive in one of the top banks in our country. The company pays you well but still you are not contented with your work. Why? Because of the "No work No pay" system. Your earning great but your losing time with yourself, your family and your friends.

You start to notice that you're living inside a close box. You start to think on how to re-live your life and create more time for yourself. Then you decided to create one passive income for yourself. You invested some of your savings in Real Estate. You bought a foreclosed property and converted it into a dormitory since the infrastructure is near to the school.
Let's just assume that the normal rental fee in one room is Php 3,000 and you got 40 units in your building. So that's a total of Php 120,000 in a month. Not bad for a passive income huh!

Plus you offered the ground floor of your building to Pizza Hut and Starbucks where they pay a rent of Php 50,000 each. That's an additional of Php 100,000. All in all you got a gross income of Php 220,000 a month.
You may now have a privilege to resign your job and continue adding your passive income streams.

Now the scene of you lying on the beach will now come into a reality and you now have the option to enjoy your stay on your favorite vacation spot for as long as you want. Your passive income stream is working hard in order for you to enjoy life at it's fullest. Wouldn't you want that?

Passive income comes in many ways, there is business and entrepreneurship, real estate, stocks, mutual bonds, forex, etc. As long as you don't have to spend your time then that is qualified as a passive income stream. How will you do it? It's totally up to you. Just remember that you don't have to quit your job to start your passive income streams. Keep your job while you slowly build your passive income.
When you notice that your passive income is bigger than your active income (salary) then you have a choice on what to do with your life.

Like you I'm also striving to create passive income for myself. So far I only have one, so my dream of staying much longer on my beach paradise is still a work in progress. But I already started my engine and I'm sailing my way to my goal.

How about you? What is your dream?

Are you managing your time well?

2010-03-04T23:20:00.000-08:00

Most people are like ants. Their mindset is to work from Monday to Friday for 8 hours a day.
They leave their house in the morning and be back home almost in the evening. This people do it in a routine manner that they don't have to set an alarm clock to wake them up. Their body clock is set like ants and they do it 5 days a week.

In the week-end they spend their hard earned money by going to malls and eating out and buying the stuff that they don't really need. Not like ants, they work not for their wants but "only" to their needs. That is why the ants colony have plenty of food during rainy season because they were prepared for it.
And mind you folks, this ants didn't get any proper education. They just do it by instinct. If they don't work they won't have anything to eat.

Unfortunately, we people are the other way around. We are the ones who were educated but it seems we are "dumber" than this tiny creatures. So after this people spend their money in the week-end they have to start the week with no or little money. Their payday seems to be miles away and they have to pay the bills and their personal needs.
That's the time they to do part time jobs or overtime. So their time of work ends not only at 5 PM but they extend it to 7-9 PM. Then they are too tired when they reach home by 11-12 PM.
Tired in a sense that all they can do is go to bed and get ready for another stress-full day tomorrow.

But you know what, it's still the same thing. This people earned a little from their weekly part-time jobs and overtime work just to pay for their debts on the tuition of their kids, their electricity, post paid plans, cable TV, water, maids, car monthly amortization... the list goes on and on...

And they keep on doing that year after year. Always struggling financially and always going for the pursuit of happiness. When they reach 60 years old, they don't have any retirement savings, no investments, and no medical coverage. All they have is unpaid debts, body aches, and unlimited tension.

That is why managing your time is very very important. In fact it is more important than money. Why? I know you would ask that... ok here it goes. Money is nice and everybody in this world either needs it or wants it. But here's the thing, sometimes in life you will lose money. Even the rich ones makes mistakes in their investments from time to time. No one is perfect.
But even if you lose money (even a large portion of it or even to a point of bankruptcy), there is still a chance to gain money again.
All you have to do is work again and do the stuff that you've been doing when you still have the money. One way or the other you will get it all back.

But we can't do that with time. Once it's gone it's gone. For example, you were stuck in the meeting and you miss the basketball game. Or how about you were with your friends in the mall and you were not able to attend your son's soccer game where he scored the winning goal.
Or you got sick and we're not able to dance the boy of your dreams in the high school prom night.
All of us, have experienced something that we regret and wish that we could turn back the clock and fix things up.

That is how valuable time is. You could not go back in time to correct what you made wrong. It may sound corny and the phrase is a little bit old and rusty but the "Time is Gold" phrase is very essential to all of us. Time is really gold, it's priceless. The times together you spend with your spouse..... your wedding day, or perhaps the first time you've met.
The times you and your girlfriend went to Boracay and spend 3 days of fun and adventures at the beach.
All of this has meaning. All of this is memorable. All of this is treasured.

So going back to the people who works hard like ants but still doesn't have money to live happily and no worries... here's my tip to you. You don't have to work hard. There is a better way for it... work smarter. You don't have to work for money, let your money work for you.
Making passive income will solve your financial burdens and you will have more quality time with your loved ones.

I have started one passive income where I let my money work for me. All I have to do is to monitor it consistently and just make it a well oiled machine. Right now I collect my earnings from my passive income and I'm planning to put "another" passive income stream so that in the future I can let go of my "active" income (work) and let my passive income streams do the work for me. Neat huh!

I will discuss this more on my next article. In the meantime, work like ants but also save like ants. In that way you can save money and build your own passive income streams that will bring you to financially freedom and happiness.

Pulverize your competitors with your Polvoron

2010-02-12T19:20:00.000-08:00

You might think that everybody is making polvoron and it's very common. But to tell you honestly, there are areas that the polvoron makers haven't tap yet. Just look at the picture shown here, it's a polvoron but it has the combination of chocolate and milk therefore making it different than the common milk polvoron.
Kids especially like chocolate so much. If you add chocolate to your polvoron, you have also tap an additional target market.... the young ones (ages 3-12 yrs old).

There are polvoron variants that you can create and start with, there are pinipig, cashew, pili, cookies and cream, coffee, strawberry and so many others. Be imaginative and explore your mind. Do a research on what other flavors you can add to your polvoron business. The more flavors you can make the better.
Remember that your polvoron business must have a "niche" where people will know and remember your product. Don't also forget to make your own brand name. Creating your own brand name is an integral part of your polvoron business success.

Start first with just a few variants.... 5-6 flavors is a nice number to start with. It will not confuse you but at the same time it will give choices to your customers. Then once you perfect your polvoron, create a brand name. Then comb divisoria and quiapo for the right packaging. Packaging is also important to catch the eye of the prospective customer. Once the customer see the nice packaging, you already 50% sure of closing the sale.
Make a mark-up of your product. Food should have a bigger margin than other business products. Then do you pricing. Make one for retail and one for wholesale.

Begin selling with your friends, neighbors, families and relatives. Why? Most likely they will buy your product because they know you already. Get their comments and negative reactions. Gather feedback on what you need to improve and develop.
Once you find a common ground on your product then you can go full blast on your marketing campaign.

There are a lot of ways of selling your polvoron. You can join trade fairs and bazaars. This is a perfect way to expose your items. Remember to give your customers your calling cards or place your contact numbers on your product label. If you do this, there is a possibility of the customers calling you. They can order your product in bulk, some will do dealership and sell to their areas (provinces), some will offer consignment on their spot and restaurants, and some can offer to export your merchandise to other countries. The possibilities are endless.

You can also target the malls. SM and Robinsons are the best mall to contact with. You can tap their supermarket and place a merchandiser to do your product introductory for you. Or you can get a kiosk inside the mall. The choice is all yours. Rent may be pricey but it's worth it because of the heavy foot traffic.

One more option is distribution to schools, hospitals, government institutions, small groceries and sari-sari stores, airports and seaports, bus terminals, hotels, church, villages, etc. You will need several aggressive sales representative to reach your sales to the maximum.

The internet is also one way of exposing your polvoron. Almost everybody is online nowadays and promoting your product on the net is not only cost-effective but it is also global. I said global because one guy in Japan might be able to see your website and decided to order from you. Now you are not selling only to the Philippines but to Japan as well.
You can contact me if you need me to help you in this category.

So before you start doing your polvoron, let me tell you a story of a couple who started with their polvoron business with just a capital of Php 1,000. They use their capital to buy ingredients and plastic packaging for the powdered milk candies. Their housemaids help them with the production and they started selling to relatives and friends. Once they started receiving volume orders they quit their daily jobs to give more attention to their new business.

Today they have more than 30 workers at home who help them out with their polvoron business. They sell an average of 1,200 24-piece packs worth Php 72,000 a day. And in a year they were able to gross Php 21 million.
They are also now in to export and is planning to reach neighboring countries in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, America and Europe.

Polvoron business looks small and diminutive but it can be a heavy weight type of business if you really dig into it. So go on, start making your polvoron today.

Do you want to be a Sports broadcaster?

2010-02-09T04:38:00.000-08:00

Get a chance to land your dream job offer! Ever wanted to be on ESPN Sportscenter? Audition now! Top 10 commentators shortlisted by ESPN Star Sports will be interviewed via Skype video calling. Winner gets to present a segment on SportsCenter Asia.

ESPN (originally an abbreviation for the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting and producing sports-related programming 24 hours a day.

SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major sporting events , along with commentary, previews and feature stories. The show has proven highly durable, having been aired more times than any other program in American television, with more than 30,000 unique episodes. It celebrated its 30,000th show on February 11, 2007. The show is taped in ESPN's HDTV studio facilities in Bristol, Connecticut and Los Angeles, California.

For those who are curious on how much does an ESPN anchors make, well it is not that much. It is only $1.5 million a year or Php 69 million a year. That's about Php 5.75 million a month. Not bad huh? Some anchors earns less (around $500-600k or Php 23-27.6m a year). All the anchors needs to do is get to know the topic that they are presenting on TV. If your a sports buff then you already have an advantage because you already have a background on that department.

Back in 2004, ESPN started this American reality television show called Dream Job. The premise of Dream Job was to find a new anchor for ESPN's popular sports news program, SportsCenter, The winner of Dream Job would get a one-year contract with the network, and would play a trivia quiz on SportsCenter to determine her or his annual salary. The winner would also receive a new Mazda 3. Cool isn't it?

Here in Asia, ESPN still has to disclosed the salary and the benefits that will be given to the winner of the ESPN SportsCenter audition contest. But I'm sure it will be more than you expected.

So before you make an audition. Get to practice first in front of the mirror. Know your strength and weaknesses. Dig down on yourself and find the charm inside of you. Then when your ready you can log to http://www.starcommentator.com/

Once your log on you will be interviewed via Skype. Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. Calls to other users of the service and, in some countries, to free-of-charge numbers, are free, while calls to other landlines and mobile phones can be made for a fee. Additional features include instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing.

So bring out the star in you and rise to the challenge. You may be the next asia's ESPN SportsCenter commentator.

Be a New Port City Real estate agent

2010-02-07T05:04:00.000-08:00

Do you know Bonifacio Global City? It is used to be a military camp but was privatized for commercial used. In Bonifacio you can see the Market Market Mall, Bonifacio High Street, Serendra, St. Luke's hospital and several business establishment. Indeed Bonifacio has come a long way.

Now there is a new one... New Port City. New Port City is not far way from Bonifacio and it used to be a camp for the Philippine Air Force. Here you can see the NAIA Terminal 3, 5- Star Marriot Hotel, 18 hole Villamor Golf course, a 4 story high-end shopping mall, a business IT district, and a first class casino.

Newport City is a 25 hectare Residential Resort located near Villamor Air Base. Since the thrust of the company is to boost the Tourism Industry, they have been accredited as the Country’s First Tourism Ecozone and designated as the new Gateway to Tourism and Entertainment.
Newport's development is a multi billion investment with an infused capitalization of $600 million dollars for the Resort World and $140 Million dollars for the residential units.

The Resort World Manila is an 8 hectare development project within the 25 hectare Newport City with 2 hotels, Marriott Hotel and a six (6) start Maxim’s Hotel and Casino in which the latter is 40% owned by the Genting Group of Malaysia. Star Curise is Genting’s Flagship and is the 3rd largest cruise with 200 destinations and 3 million passengers annually.

Newport City is a prime location. It is near the business district of Makati, top schools are located around the area, hospitals are not that far away, it is accessible to major highways (EDSA, C-5, SLEX) and has the convenience of luxury of several commercial establishments in the area.

This is the best time to make an income opportunity. You can be a Newport city real estate agent. There are several condominium units that are still available. There is the Residential Resort, the Parkside Villas, and the PalmTree Villas. All of this is owned by Megaworld Newport Properties Inc.

For more information you can log on to their website at www.newportcity.com.ph or contact them at Tel no: 855-7580, 855-7583, 855-7586, 855-7594.

You can also be like Superman....

2010-02-04T05:06:00.000-08:00

Yes, you too can be Superman.... I'm not talking about you getting his super powers like extra ordinary strength and x-ray vision, but you can be "super" in your very own way.

Remember that Superman was also an ordinary person back in his hometown planet "Krypton". He only became super when he arrived on earth. All of a sudden Superman became a "hero" in the planet earth just by doing what is normal for him. In Krypton, Superman was known as "Kal-El" when he was an infant. On earth, Superman is an icon and a symbol of excellence.

What is Superman have to do with you.... well you can be like him if you really put your mind into what your good at. Yes, each one of us is unique. God made us special and gave us a specific and exceptional gift.
Some of us is great in music, some are excellent in sports, some are great inventors, some are good in numbers, some are great poets and writers, some are good in cooking, some are experts in computers, and some are good in dealing with people.

You see each one of us have a unique gift and talent. People like Micheal Jackson, Brad Pitt, Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods are over pouring and oozing with talent. This individuals that I mentioned are great in their category.
Micheal Jackson, a gifted singer and dancer, is probably the best entertainer of all time. He earned a fortune on his record breaking albums and concerts.
Brad Pitt used his pretty face to be widely known in the movie industry. Known as one of the world's most attractive man, Brad Pitt captured the hearts of many female admirers.
Micheal Jordan brought basketball to a different dimension. Jordan won 6 NBA championships and several MVP awards. He is known as the world's best basketball player of all time.
And Tiger Woods, the most successful golfer and the most highest paid athlete in the world. He earned an estimated $ 110 million from winnings and endorsement.

But to most of us unfortunately, we are not aware of our gifts and talents. Or worse don't even bother to look to their hidden gifts and talents. You don't have to be like Michael Jackson or Tiger Woods. You can be great even in a small and different way.
In the Philippines there is one guy I know who used his love for animals (specifically dogs) for business purposes. He has this St. Bernard and he brings this huge and lovable dog to Burnham Park in Baguio. There he earns money from tourist while taking the picture of his dog. He gets to walk and bond with his dog in the park and earns a profit at the same time. He gets the best of both worlds..... business and pleasure.

Then there is this woman who is an accountant. She has a family of 5 and works in a small company in Makati. Her salary is just enough for their monthly expense. Little did I know that she has several passive income streams on the side. She has earnings from her rental on her real estate business. She has several investments on mutual bonds, stocks, and other paper assets.
She even have 5 extra small business to add to her income streams.
She told me that her passive income streams is much much bigger than her monthly salary.

I also knew a guy who was a struggling musician all his life. He told me that he was a failure and he has no place in this world. I sympathize with him and told him to let go of his depression and I even joke with him to cook something for me. He took my joke as a serious comment and cook something for me. When I tasted his dish I was overwhelmed and told him instantly that this is what you have been missing all your life.
I told him the reason why he was struggling as a musician because God has different plans for him and he was on the wrong field. His arena is into food and he was destined to be a great chef. With just one joke everything click for him. Now this guy has 3 big restaurants in town.

So you see, there is something "super" inside of us. We just need to discover what is it. It could be your passion or your hobby. Or it could be something that you don't like to do but you excel in it.
Sometimes it's better to ask from a different perspective and ask the opinion of a third party. This person might see something that your loved ones haven't seen. Ask around and get their honest comments about you.
You could go on a retreat on a quite and serene place. In that place you can ask our creator what is your hidden gift and talent. God may not answer you directly and I'm pretty sure he will sent down a sign or signal for you.

Remember it doesn't matter if your a garbage man, a helper, a security guard, a waiter, or a clerk. As long as you are doing your best on your field everything will be alright. Rags to riches story doesn't only happens in the movies... they happen in real life as well.
Just know what is "super" within you. Make the most of your gift and talent and use it to the best of your ability.

It is better to be Lion for a day than a sheep all your life. Don't settle as Clark Kent. Take off your coat and be the Superman. And when you discover your hidden gift and talent, don't forget to share it to the rest of humanity. Share your blessings, give something back, help the needy. Then everybody can call you the true "Superman".

Earn Php 10k at home

2010-01-31T05:09:00.000-08:00

For those who don't want to leave the comfort of their own home but still get the income of a call center agent. Introducing Kgb Special Agents. This agents answers online text questions right in the comfort of their home and in their own preferred chosen schedule.

Imagine there is no hassle of commuting, no dress code and more money saved from transportation and food. Plus you have more time to spend quality and quantity time with your family. And you get the chance to earn as much as Php 10k a month.

kgb has been in the knowledge business for over 15 years. They are dedicated to providing callers with up-to-the-minute pinpoint accurate answers 24 hours a day 365 days a year.
Kgb believe that customers want a simpler, faster, more efficient way to find the information they need.

Interested? Here's more:

Philippines Special Agents – Work @ Home

The Mission:
To research and respond to 2-way text inquiries quickly and accurately. Special Agents combine ingenuity with research skills to solve real problems for real people every day. Some questions require a serious answer, others require a sense of humor, and some require both.

Philippines Requirements:
* Must be at least eighteen (18) years of age
* Must have a Philippines Social Security System number or validated E1/E4/E6 Form
* Must have a Philippines mailing address
* Must submit paperwork at one of our call centers in Makati City or Santa Rosa, Laguna; if you live in a remote area and cannot visit a center, you can submit information via courier service (additional details to follow about this during Registration)
* Must agree to work a minimum of 10 hours per week, but scheduling is flexible
o Maximum per day is 6 hours; Maximum per week is 36 hours
o You will be required to work at least 2 hours of your 10 hour weekly commitment between 6AM Saturday and 6AM Monday Philippines time (pending shift availability)
* Cannot already be employed by kgb or any of its subsidiaries
* Must have access to a computer with a high-speed internet connection and Mozilla Firefox web browser

Philippines Qualifications:
* Skilled Internet researcher
* Ability to quickly identify keywords
* Excellent grammar and spelling
* Fast and accurate typing
* Enthusiastic, passionate, creative, clever, curious, and dedicated

Philippines Work Schedules:
kgb Special Agents fit their “Special Agent life” around their normal activities. When the kids are at school. When they’re between college classes. Any time. Mornings. Afternoons. Or nights. Special Agents sign up for shifts based on their weekly availability. Since we want people 24/7, we’ve probably got just the times that work for you. And, since we know you want to be busy fielding questions when you are logged in working, weekly shift selection helps ensure exactly that.

We require an easily attainable minimum number of hours to work – 10 hours per week – to make sure that agents remain engaged and up-to-date with kgb’s processes. Special Agents have the freedom to select when and how often they work.

Philippines Performance Measures:
Special Agent text responses will be scored in accordance with kgb’s Quality Standards. Quality Standards will be explained in detail during kgb Special Agent Training.

Philippines Compensation:
Imagine making some extra spending money by answering questions while you sit in the comfort of your home. That’s what kgb Special Agents do. They use their superior question answering skills to earn extra dough just by being smart – and get paid for the questions that they answer.

Compensation is “per piece” and is based on response type:

* 3.4 PHP for each full response – query is investigated and answered by the Special Agent

* 1.7 PHP for each validation response – answer automatically populates from our Knowledge Database and is forwarded on by the Special Agent

Today, most work will be full response. As our Knowledge Database grows, the amount of validation response work will increase. Some of you might prefer full response work, and others of you might prefer to zip quickly through validation response work. And, sometimes, the choice will be yours as Special Agents are always presented with more than one question and can choose the question they want to field.

Given these choices, which would you pick? How would you describe the color green? (something like this would probably require full response)... or… Why is grass green? (something like this would probably require validation response). And, because of our weekly shift selection philosophy, we intend to keep the questions coming regardless of type, so that you are busy earning while you are logged in.

Philippines Payment Calendar:
Payments are direct deposited into Special Agent’s accounts based upon the normal kgb_ Philippines pay cycle.

To apply you can visit their office at:

kgb Philippines
11th Floor, RCBC Plaza Tower 2
Ayala Ave. cor. Sen. Gil Puyat Ave.
Makati City, Philippines 1200
632-755-1600

BTS Facility, SRE 2A Commercial
Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay National Road
Brgy. Don Jose, Sta. Rosa, Laguna, Philippines
632-7567-500

or log on to their website at:

www.kgb.ph

Fundacion Pacita Batanes

2010-01-28T05:30:00.000-08:00

Tired of going to a crowded place like Boracay.... Well why don't you try a place that will give you the "real vacation" that you truly need. The peace and tranquility that will relax your busy minds and enjoy the true nature of Batanes.

Fundacion Pacita is a resort that was once the home studio of internationally acclaimed artist Pacita Abad. It was refurbished by her brother Butch who envisioned the nature lodge to provide peaceful accommodations amid a lush garden.
Every room was designed to resemble a gallery, with the walls adorned by masterpieces of both well-known and up-and-coming artists.

Accommodations feature the works of Ivatan artists who won the annual Batanes Art Competition. Each room is furnished with air-conditioning, mini-bar, and spacious bathroom with hot and cold water. Most rooms are equipped with Wi-Fi access, a rare luxury in Batanes.

What is the best here is the view. The resort is located on top of the cliff with a 270-degree view of the sea, mountains and the sky. There's even a suite where you can view the awesome sunrise. It is called the Upper Sunrise Suite (Terrace Suite #3).

I brought up this article not only for you to visit and experience this wonderful place but this is also an opportunity for you to enlightened your mind..... your entrepreneurial mind.
You don't have to have a nice land like Fundacion Pacita. All you need is a nice idea and make your place/land a place to visit. You don't have to have a white sand beach.
Even black sand beaches will do.... as long as your place is serene enough. It's not really the beach that their after but its the relaxation and time away from the busy streets of the city.

My uncle has a beach house in Batangas. The place is not a beauty. It's very far from the vicinity of the beauty of Fundacion Pacita. But there is house to stay, a nipa hut to relax to feel the wind from the ocean, and a beach for you to swim.
My uncle's resort also gets reservation especially in the week-end where the Manila-uenos take a 2 hour trip from the city to unwind.

Anyway going back to Fundacion Pacita, if you want to encounter a beautiful place like this you could take flight to Batanes via Seair. Price starts at P6,750/person subject to 12% VAT (Monday to Wednesday promo).

Package Inclusions:

*3 Days 2 Nights Accommodation
*Daily breakfast
*Roundtrip airport transfer
*half-day heritage tours of the mainland

Optional Tour that requires prior arrangement
*Sabtang Island Tour
*Hiking and biking arrangements
*Fishing, scuba diving, and other water activities

Your Batanes vacation won’t be complete without exploring the various heritage sites and natural attractions that this province is known for.

Visit the following places of interest near our Batanes seaside resort:

San Carlos Borromeo Church – located in Mahatao, this church is listed as one of the country’s National Cultural Treasures by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) because of its cultural significance and architecture. It was built during the 19th century. Near the church is the oldest and smallest lighthouse in Basco.

House of Dakay – found in the town of Ivana, it is believed to be the oldest vernacular house in Batanes. This was built in 1887 and is the only stone house that was left after a strong earthquake hit the province.

Honesty Coffee Shop – add a unique twist to your Batanes vacation and visit this famous landmark. This shop has a unique concept, as it has no storekeepers, and customers pay for the merchandise by simply leaving their payment in a box inside the shop.

Marlboro Country – known locally as Payaman or pasture area, this site offers a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean

The Lighthouses – explore the three different lighthouses in Basco, Mahatao, and Sabtang

Valugan Bay – a boulder beach found in the south of Basco

Sabtang Island – a picturesque island located 30 minutes away by faluwa from Batan Island.

For more info visit their website at: http://www.fundacionpacita.ph

Making Valentine Gift Baskets

2010-01-25T04:32:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is almost near and once again this is the perfect time to make profit for people who buys roses, chocolates, stuff toys and valentine cards for their special someone. Hallmark cards made a fortune mainly on selling cards on Valentine's day.

Why should we let Hallmark have all the fun when you can make a killing by making Valentine Gift basket. Gift baskets are extremely easy to put together, but you have to be creative enough to make the results look stunning. Since the theme is Valentine's day you could place items that are related like red roses or daises, a black gorilla stuff toy, a "La Maison du Chocolat" chocolate set, and most important of all a letter from the sender indicating how important that person is.

Making gift baskets is the easy part, what to put in is a little bit tricky. It will entirely depend on the buyers needs and desires. If the customer wants to send a Valentine gift basket to his boss, a couple of good branded wine, some chocolates, cigar maybe, and a note requesting for a pay increase or a promotion. If the buyer wants to please their mothers on Valentine's day he or she could include in the gift basket a good set of new books to read, some good soap and shampoos, chocolates (if she is not diabetic), flowers, and love letter thanking their mom for bringing them to this world.

Gifts basket are not only for Valentine's day. There are a lot of occasion that you could use a Gift basket. There is Christmas, Birthdays, Wedding Anniversaries, Baptism, Graduation, Job Promotions, Thank You gift, Easter, Halloween, and Engagement gifts. There are numerous themes that are out there, you just have to use your imaginative mind.

Gift baskets are suitable for people who cannot decide on one particular gift item, so they prefer giving away an assortment of goods all wrapped up (or, in this case, placed) in a nice package. And the best thing about Gift basket is the target market is huge. Anybody from all walks of life are being tap in. No age or gender targets. It doesn't matter if the customer is rich or poor as long as they can pay your products.

Once you have your theme you can promote it on the internet to get customers. Remember the internet is the fattest way to expose your Gift basket products. If you want help to promote your Gift basket business on the net you can log on to: http://pinoybusinessbooster.blogspot.com

Here is some guidelines on how to start your Gift basket business:

Materials Needed:
* Empty basket
* 2-3 yards or wired ribbon or a ready-made bow
* Scissors
* Glue
* Clear tape
* Ribbons
* Valentine flowers
* Gift items to be placed inside the basket

(All available at supermarkets or bookstores)
Gift items to be placed inside the basket.

5 Easy Steps to Make a Gift Basket
1. Decide what the basket “theme” will be first – is it for Christmas presents? Mother’s Day? Birthday? Your decorations will revolve around that theme. For this project, we are making a Valetine-themed basket.

2. Place the gift items in the basket starting with the tallest items toward the back, forming a “wall.” Place medium-sized items in front of the “wall” (so that they are leaning against it); the smallest items will fit along the front rim of the basket.

3. Wrap a colorful ribbon around the handle of the basket.

4. Fill in the other blank spaces of the basket with Valetine flowers and other trimmings.

5. Using the same ribbon, make a bow. Measure 8 inches from the end of the ribbon and pinch the spot firmly between your thumb and index finger. Make a loop and pinch tightly, then make a second loop and pinch over the first two pinches. Repeat this process, forming as many loops as you want. Pinch and tie all the loops together with tape or wire. Trim off the excess, and glue this bow to the front of the basket.

Tips: When buying ready-made bows, make sure the size is right for your basket – for example, don’t hide a small basket with an oversized bow.

How Much Will You Make:
Your production cost will vary depending on the amount of the items inside the gift basket. However, a safe bet would be to put a mark-up of 20 percent on the final price.

Gift baskets are fun to create especially if you make the customers come back to buy more products that you produced. This small business venture can turn to be a big time business if you got the right target market. Target the high-end market. This people love to buy things that won't waste their time. Their time is to much valuable to make Gift baskets for their loved ones. It's you should be doing it for them... with a price of course.

Set up your own Garage Sale

2010-01-22T05:07:00.000-08:00

Garage Sale are becoming popular nowadays. Before the purpose of a Garage sale is to dispose your old and unwanted stuff to the nearby houses or within your community/village. They usually do this once a year when home-owners clean up their house and notice that they have lot of old piles of things that they don't use anymore.
That is why Garage sale was invented to dispose their unwanted things.

Now it's different especially here in the Philippines. They make Garage sale into a business. And they do it every week. They just don't sell their personal stuff they buy from "ukay-ukay" or divisoria and they sell it with a profit margin.
In the States they sell their old furnitures, equipments, and clothes. But here everything is edible and for sale.
There are a lot of things that you can buy from a Garage sale here in our country. There's clothes (both old and new), shoes, slippers, sandals, jeans, shorts, jackets, hats, caps, jewelries (the not so expensive ones), wrist-watch, beads, and sunglasses.

There are electrical equipments too. There's cellphone, i-Pods, digital camera, TV (usually the 21" inch), microwave, stove, oven, electric fans, aircon, stereo, playstation, PSP, X-box, computer monitors, laptops, desktop, washing machine and even freezer.

Sometimes you could see a good quality mountain bike or a scooter that you can still use. And sometimes you get the chance to buy an old antique furniture (this very rare).
There are also old books and magazines, and even dog cages. You will be surprise but sometimes they include their dogs with the dog cages that they sell (just hope it's not an adult Rottweiler).

The trick here is to go to high-end villages and know when do they held their Garage sale. If you got a friend or relative who lives in a high-end villages contact them immediately and tell them to call you if there is a Garage sale coming up.
You can get the chance to buy a 2nd hand 52" inch flat screen TV at only Php 15k (I'm not kidding). Or avail a kitchen showcase at a minimal price where you can use the equipments to put up your own bakery (they sell good baking equipments).
Clothes they sell are relatively new (2 months used) and are branded. Either you use it or sell it again at a minimal margin.

Aside from high-end villages you can comb divisoria, quiapo, or tutuban. Buy things that you think your community will need. Normally it's clothes, sandals, toys and home equipments that are popular. Don't increase your selling price. Set a price that is enough for you to have a profit. Remember, you are not in a mall, there's no rent. Therefore there's very minimal expense on your Garage sale venture.

Set up an inventory and let your maid help you with guarding your stocks when there are customers. Theft is common in Garage sale and you need to be sharp on looking at shop-lifters.
Week-ends is the best time for you to open your Garage sale since most people are free from their weekly jobs and students don't have schools.

Just don't forget to inform your community about your Garage sale. Send out flyers and give it door to door. Post an advertisement on the village association bulletin board. You can also give flyers to people who goes to Church to hear mass.

Garage sale is not only to dispose your unwanted stuff. Nor it is not just a sideline money making one-time scheme. You can really make it a regular business. If you know the ins and outs you will earn good profit from it.

Taho!

2010-01-20T04:26:00.000-08:00

Tahoooo.... Tahoooo.... that's the sound that you hear in the morning. Skinny men carrying two big tin containers filled with soya drink or Taho. They connect the two tin containers with a long sturdy stick in able to place the containers on opposite side. Therefore this will allow the Taho vendors to carry the two containers at the same time.

So what is a Taho? Taho is a Philippine snack food made of fresh soft/silken tofu, arnibal (brown sugar and vanilla syrup), and pearl sago. It is a staple comfort food and it is very affordable. The cheapest is just Php 5.

It may sound funny but even you can make big profits out of taho. You can start at your own backyard or garage. You can use your space at your house. It doesn't matter if it is a garage, a laundry area, a backyard, or a stock room. As long as you don't disturb the neighbors in the wee mornings and as long as you don't pollute the surroundings in your vicinity you will do fine.

Curious? Here are the details on making the famous snack food.

HOW TO MAKE TAHO:

1.) Soak soya beans for 30 mins. in topwater.
2.) Dehull the soya beans using your hands until skin of beans are peeled.
3.) Soak the soya beans for 8 hours with generous amount of water. After 8 hours, grind the soaked beans as fine as possible(you can use a blender), then cooked it and let it boil in 180 degrees for about 20 mins.
4.) Drain the cooked soya beans to separate the soya milk to the soy pulp. Make sure you squeeze all the soya pulp for excess soya milk (you can use a fine piece of cloth).
5.) Then apply a coagulating powder. Stir one or twice until gel-like form is achieved.
6.) Put toppings: Sago and Syrup.
7.) Start selling!

For the Taho/Tawa syrups
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
Dissolve sugar in water and let it boil for 5 minutes. Use more sugar and cook longer if you want thicker syrup.

Remember this procedure is only use for small backyard operations. If you want a large scale production, you better attend seminar first. You can visit a Taho factory to see what they are doing. Befriend them if you must.
Back in the day, I used to buy reject taho or "sapal" at a cheap price from a taho factory. I used this "sapal" as a additional food additive for my pigs in my farm in Batangas. I normally buy 6 big containers a week. So that makes me their "suki" or regular customer. As a "suki" I have the privilege to see and watch their operation in their taho factory.
I normally go there at 3 am. That's when they are halfway done cooking taho. Inside the factory I could see their large Taho cooking equipments. There are lots of people too who have different types of duties in the taho factory.
If you want to learn from the experts better use my method.

In making income, what you need to do is gather a lot of taho sellers (mag-lalako). You sell your taho (finished product) at a wholesale price to the taho sellers. The taho sellers will then sell it to their designated areas at a retail price. In this case it's a win-win situation. You earn profit, your taho sellers earns profit.

Let's just assume that the selling price of a taho is Php 10 per cup. If your taho seller was able to accumulate 80 cups in one day then he has a gross income of Php 800. But that's only one taho seller. What if you got 20 taho sellers, you can reach a gross sale of Php 16,000 a day.

The key factor here is your taho sellers. If you make them happy and let them have a "fair" share of the taho earnings, they will keep coming back to you. This giving you more revenues.

You can also make tokwa, soya milk and other soya by-products for additional earning. Mind you that most Piggery owners buy "sapal" from taho factory for their pig needs.

Taho is not only nutritious on your health but it is also nutritious on your financial department.

Running your own Daycare Center

2010-01-17T05:35:00.000-08:00

The Philippines has an estimated population of about 92 million people and it is the 12th most populous country in the world. This may be a problem for the Philippine government but for you it's an opportunity. Why? Because in every minute there are 3 Filipino babies that are being born.

These babies will be needing a lot as they grow up. Their parents are probably both working and are out normally on week-days leaving their children to their nannies or yaya's. Although they are reliable, these parents would prefer to send their kids to a place of a more formal structure. A place where they can get education and socialization with kids of their own age. That is where Day Care Center comes in.

If you think that Day Care centers are for Western countries your gravely mistaken. More Filipino moms have to work after their baby is born. Nowadays there are very few families that are able to make ends meet on one income. Gone are the days when only the daddy's that goes to work. Mommy's needs to help financially to keep up with their expenses.
A Day Care center is like a second mom or dad that will come to aid and guide their kids while the parents are away from work.

So before you decide to open up your own daycare, you need to check with your government agencies to find out what rules and regulations you need to follow. For example, you are only allowed to have a certain number of children per square foot of space your building has, so you need to know this right off the bat.
You will need to locate a site that is large enough to house the number of children that you plan to care for. Many have been successful with purchasing actual homes, and making any needed renovations. You may also have some luck with your local churches or city organizations, either with locating a space, or possibly leasing space from them.
It is crucial that you pay attention to all of the zooming rules in your area, so you don’t rent a place, then find out you are not allowed to run a business out of it. It does take quite a bit of overhead to open up your own center, a lot of which goes into getting the location you need.

If you own a house that is big enough to accommodate children then you already save money from your initial capitalization. You can use the save money to purchase tables, chairs, playing mats, play pens, etc.

Remember that your revenue will come from your customers.... the children. That means your place should be a sanctuary where the kids can be safe and away from harm (something the parents initially sought for a Day Care). Hire the right personnel. Get people who are devoted to children. If you have teachers then you can combine your Day Care business to Pre-Schooling. Double income for you.

Once you have pretty much gotten everything down as far as laws and your location taken care of, you will need to advertise your new center. One of the best ways to do this, especially if you are on a busy street, is to have a nice sign up that states your business name and that you are accepting children. You will also want to let people know the hours your center will be open, and what days of the week, and most importantly, have a contact number shown.

If you can’t get all of this information on your sign, at least have your business name, hours, and phone number, then potential customers can call you for more information. You may also want to drop off fliers at your local pediatrician’s offices, schools, or maybe run an ad over your local newspaper. If you don’t let people know what you are offering, and get the word out, how can you expect to have clients?

Another major decision to make is choosing what hours your day center will be open. If you really want to make an impact, I would recommend being open outside of the normal business hours, maybe opening at 5 or 6 am, and staying open until around 7pm. This would help you get clients that many other Day cares are unable to cater to, giving you more customers.

Keep in mind, that you will most likely need to provide meals, so if you are open the above hours, you will probably be serving three meals a day. You will want to make sure you remember that when you determine what the cost per child will be. Remember that you also will need to provide at least two healthy snacks a day. Let the parents know what you will be offering, so they will know what they are paying for.

Children tend to do best when they have set routines, so you will need to make a basic daily plan, and give your teachers and parents a copy. It is important that you plan the day according to the age range of the children. Include in a rest or nap time, or two for the younger ones. You will also want to have some learning activities, arts and crafts, outside time, free play time, and story time. If you will be accepting children that are working on toilet training, you will need to set aside specific time slots in the day to be potty time as well.

When you know how many children you will have, and what their ages will be, check the city government laws to find out how many teachers you need. Depending on the children’s ages, you need one teacher for every so many kids. When hiring your teachers, look for moms or young adults that have taken some early childhood education courses. You want to try to get certified teachers, if possible, to ensure that you not only have a caring center, but one that offers learning opportunities as well. If you can fit it in your budget, it is also a good idea to have some kitchen staff, maintenance people, and possibly even a nurse in case of emergencies.

All parents will need to fill out medical forms for their children, letting you know their history and of any known conditions or allergies. You will need a release to seek treatment form, contact numbers for the parents in case of emergencies, and contact info for the child’s doctor. It is important to be prepared in advance, in case any emergency situation did arise.

Your center will need to have a designated outside play area, equipped with safe, sturdy toys for the children to play with. This area should be fenced in with locked gates to protect the children. You will want to have swings, sandboxes, slides, any kind of outside equipment you wish, as long as it is safe, and age appropriate.

Stock the individual rooms with toys, books, games, televisions, educational movies, maybe a computer or two for the older children, anything that you wish to have on hand for the teachers and children to use. You will need to have an eating area in each room, and a place for naptime, diaper changes, etc.

When dealing with parents and financial issues, you will be better off asking them to pay the month or week in advance. By having them pay ahead, you aren’t dependent on them for the funds to buy needed supplies, or pay teachers, and don’t have to worry about losing children due to non-payment. A lot of daycare centers have to close because they financially cannot make ends meet, usually due to parents not being able to pay them when payment is due. Let parents know that you need them to pay in advance so that you have sure funds to use to care for their children with.

You may want to run the center yourself for the first little bit, to keep costs down, and to ensure that everything is running as you want it to. Eventually, when profits rise, and everything is going well, you may want to hire a manager to oversee the day to day running of the center for you. They would be responsible for hiring teachers, taking care of new customers, purchasing supplies, planning lesson plans, meals, etc. You basically would sign the checks, and still make all of the major decisions, but would free to pursue other endeavors if you wish.

Children are gifts from God not only personally but financially. Running a Day Care center is like having an extended family that has a population of 20-30 kids. How's that for family?

Nuffnang Job opening

2010-01-13T08:43:00.000-08:00

Nuffnang is Asia's first blog advertising community. In layman terms it is like advertisement in a newspaper. The difference is they put advertisement on the internet. Those people who have websites or blogs can get advertisement from Nuffnang and they get paid depending on the number of viewers on their site.

Nuffnang.com currently has offices in 4 countries, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Australia.

It is from these offices that their teams actively seek brands to match with the niche of the bloggers (website owners). Their advertiser roll call includes blue chips such as Citibank, Nokia, Sony, Proctor & Gamble, Nike, Nestle, Disney Pictures, Honda, Samsung and more.

Nuffnang is constantly looking to hire aspiring individuals:

Positions Available at Nuffnang

1) Media Sales

In short, the people in Media Sales at Nuffnang mainly spend their days out of the office, meeting potential clients, pitching and preparing exciting campaign proposals for more blog advertising campaigns. Our Media Sales Nuffies are typically extroverts and confident in public speaking.

2) Ad Ops

Our Ad Ops Nuffies (Short for Ad Operations) are given the responsibility of servicing our clients and executing our blog advertising campaigns. Yes, that also means that these are the people in charge of deciding which ads to place on which blogs.

3) Blogger Liaison

If you love dealing with bloggers, you will love this job. Our Blogger Liaison Nuffies spend a lot of their time planning events for our Nuffnang community and liaising with bloggers on any campaign or events that we manage to get our Nuffnangers invited to. Blogger Liaison Nuffies are typically bloggers themselves and love planning events and parties.

5) Software Engineer

In every web company, there are the Techies that build, maintain and develop new features for their site. If you are a programmer who has excellent PHP/MySQL and Javascript skills and love toying around with Ajax to build Web 2.0 applications, this is the role for you.

6) Web Designer

Our web designers do everything from the design of new parts of our website to designing creatives for clients. If you are good at CSS and Adobe Flash then this is the perfect role for you. Knowledge of Action Script is a bonus.

To apply you can contact them at:

Philippines Office

Unit 2E03-2E05 Bldg. 5,
Bonifacio High Street,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
Philippines
Office No : +632 856 7688
Fax No : +632 856 1439
Website : http://www.nuffnang.com.ph/career/

Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting

2010-01-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

You want bake a cake for business purposes but you don't know how to start. Chocolate cakes are very common and you want something different.
Why not try Carrot cake with cram cheese frosting. It's delicious and nutritious since it's main ingredient is carrots. Carrots are rich in Vitamin A which is good for your eyesight.

Carrot Cake never goes out of style. One bite will tell you why. This rich and moist spice cake, full of grated carrot and toasted nuts, has great flavor, especially when covered with a cream cheese frosting. The interesting part is that while those pretty orange flecks of grated carrot give the cake color and texture, along with sweetness and moisture, its flavor is almost indistinguishable.

Here is a recipe on how to make Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting:

Carrot Cake Recipe:

1 cup (100 grams) pecans or walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

3/4 pound (340 grams) raw carrots (about 2 1/2 cups finely grated)

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

1 cup (240 ml) safflower, vegetable or canola oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Note: For a moister carrot cake, add 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple (well drained) or applesauce to the batter when you add the oil and vanilla extract. You may have to bake the cake a few minutes longer.

Note: This cake can be baked in a 9 x 13 x 2 inch (23 x 33 x 5 cm) pan. Just increase the baking time to between 30 to 40 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups (230 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract

finely grated lemon zest of one lemon

Garnish: (Optional)

1 cup (100 grams) toasted and finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Marzipan Carrots

PROCEDURE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter or spray two - 9 x 2 inch (23 x 5 cm) cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with a circle of parchment paper.

Toast the pecans or walnuts for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

Peel and finely grate the carrots. Set aside.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.

In bowl of electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs until frothy (about 1 minute). Gradually add the sugar and beat until the batter is thick and light colored (about 3 - 4 minutes). Add the oil in a steady stream and then beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. With a large rubber spatula fold in the grated carrots and chopped nuts. Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After about 5 -10 minutes invert the cakes onto the wire rack, remove the pans and parchment paper, and then cool completely before frosting.

To assemble: place one cake layer, top side down, onto your serving plate. Spread with about one third of the frosting. Gently place the other cake, top of cake facing down, onto the frosting, and spread the rest of the frosting over the top and sides of the cake. If desired, press toasted and finely chopped nuts on the sides of the cake and decorate the top of the cake with marzipan carrots. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.

Serves 10 - 12.

Frosting:

In bowl of electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese and butter, on low speed, just until blended with no lumps. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and beat, on low speed, until fully incorporated and smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract, and lemon zest.

So there you go.... your very own Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Start first by selling to your neighbors and let the word of mouth do the trick. Don't be afraid to commit mistakes.Trial and error is important for your Carrot cake business to succeed.

Create wealth through Passive income 2

2010-01-03T01:27:00.000-08:00

Welcome back! This is a continuation of my article about creating wealth through Passive income. So without further ado let's move to the next method:

MUTUAL FUNDS:

This is what you call money from paper. You collect specific pieces of paper and then let your money grow through interest (much higher than a bank). Mutual funds are paper assets. It is like saving in a bank but the difference is you get higher yield and you can diversify your funds.
You don't have to be afraid and ask if mutual funds are for the rich. Hell no! In fact, Mutual funds are created for people who have limited funds and savings. It just that the rich took advantage of this because of their early awareness. Why should the rich enjoy all the fun... when you can be a part of it too.

You can start investing in Mutual funds for as low as Php 5,000. Every month save money from your salary and start you Mutual funds passive income. There are lot of Mutual fund companies out there that are eager to help you grow your money. Just remember to check on the background of the company first before you invest.

There are a lot of various Mutual funds options. There is balanced funds, equity funds, peso funds, dollars funds, even euro funds.
Mutual funds is a very good addition to your Passive income streams. This is another method where you let your hard earned money work for you.

STOCK MARKET:

Stocks? Is that gambling? The Stock market has gained a negative impact to the common people because of the market crash and the economy crises. But mind you, it is not only the Stock market that is affected by the crisis.... it's affects all. So the answer to the question is Stock market considered gambling..... if you're not careful you can say it's gambling. But if your well prepared, studied the strengths and weaknesses, and you got a mentor who is into Stocks then it is not gambling.

Stock market is not gambling, it is a science. There is a proven method on how you can truly earned from it. The technique here is you should not be afraid even if the market is crashing. Don't pull your investments out, in fact buy more stocks that is in financial difficulty. Be patient... one of this days your time will come where your eggs (investments) will hatch and you will reap all the rewards.

If you know the method of investing in Stock market this could be another tool of gaining more access to financial freedom.

MONEY FROM THE INTERNET:

Welcome to the future! This is where people will earn their money a few years from now. In fact, there are a lot of Filipinos that are earning from it today. They create websites or blogs and gained profits from advertisers like Google. They get paid in dollars.
Others promote their business through the internet and gained more customers and higher sales not just locally but globally. If you have a business and want to attract more customers/clients from the internet you can log to this website http://pinoybusinessbooster.blogspot.com/

If your fast in typing you can apply as a Virtual assistant and get outsource work from abroad and earn dollars. If you get 1-2 clients a month this could replace your daily job and you can finally work at home and spend more time with your family.
How about an online shop like Ebay, Amazon, or even Divisoria.com........ You can sell your old materials that you don't need and put up your own garage sale... only your customers are online and they buy your stuff from your website.

There are a lot of ways from earning from the internet and the ones that I mention are only a few. People nowadays are relying on technology.... the internet is one if them. Everybody goes online and a lot of people are taking advantage of this phenomenon. Will you let this opportunity pass by? Who knows, your idea could make you the next big time millionaire.

If you want to create a passive income from the internet where you can spend just 4 hours every week you can reach me at:

Francis Isberto
email: icebert_04@yahoo.com
landline: 494-7185
cell: (0918)201-3458

I hope this article could help you in your pursuit for financial freedom. Creating passive income is the fattest and surest way of giving you more wealth. Passive income will release you from financial burden and you will enjoy the true meaning of life.... being free and you can do anything that you want anytime, anywhere, anyday.

Create wealth through Passive income

2010-01-01T19:29:00.000-08:00

If you look at this picture it is asking you what will you do with your extra time if your passive income streams supplied all your family financial needs. There are a lot of things that will come to your mind like a long vacation where you can travel with your family on a paradise that you've been dreaming to visit once you had the time.
Or just simply hang-out with your wife, kids, friends, special someone all the time you want and let your passive income stream do the work for you.

So what is passive income? Passive income is a type of earning where it does not require direct involvement from you (owner/merchant). In other words your money does all the work which will free up your valuable time. This is a lot better from an active (earned) income where you normally work from 9-5 during the day, 5 days a week.

My advice to you, keep your job just to bring food on the table but start creating your passive income streams. It doesn't have to be huge.... start small and build more as you move along. In time your passive income will grow until you have the luxury to let go of your job, let your money work for you and spend your time to relax and have fun.

Do you want to have your own passive income? There are a lot of methods to do it. You can start with one.... one that your familiar with then move on to the next one once it is established.
Let's begin with the most familiar one.

BUSINESS:

This is always the advice of the experts, if you want to create wealth go into business. Employment is a good start just to satisfy your daily needs but is not enough. Business on the other hand will make your money grow.... maybe double to what you are earning.
The good thing about business is you don't have to leave your job giving you an extra income stream that will generate more income for you. You have income from your salary plus you get your earnings from your business.

Just remember to look after your business and be "hands-on" whenever you had the time. Hire someone that is trustworthy and reliable.
Ask around to some successful entrepreneurs and find what made their business prosperous. Research and attend seminars if you must. You can start at home and make your hobby or passion of yours into a money making machine.
This method is the most tried and proven one. If you have the an extra time during week-ends or a house-wife that has nothing to do I advice you should start with this method first.

REAL ESTATE:

Normally people will back away from this method knowing it requires an obscene amount of money to set it up. But you don't need to be an Ayala or an Henry Sy just to buy a property. Just remember the basics.... always start small. If you're an employee you can use your Pag-Ibig plan to avail an housing loan. Once Pag-Ibig has given you the funds acquire a house in the vicinity of the low-cost housing project (normally they are located in Cavite or Fairview). Don't worry about the monthly payments, get someone to rent your property and let your earnings pay the amortization.

This is where your money will work for you and your passive income comes in. You don't need to spend, work and give to much attention to it. In time your Pag-ibig loan will be fully paid and you will still get the benefits from the rental earnings plus you have an additional property (I assume you have a primary house).
Once you complete the Pag-ibig payments you can apply for another housing loan and add more earnings and properties. You can even ask small banks and lending institutions about housing loan and you can speed up your housing rental project by acquiring two properties at the same time. This is risky though and I suggest you start first with one unless you have somebody who is an expert in the real estate industry.

So there, that's all for now. Look up for my next blog "Create wealth through Passive income 2" for additional passive income streams.
In the meantime concentrate first on the two methods that I gave you and start building your passive income.

Remember Work Smarter, Not Harder!!

Free Range Chickens

2009-12-28T06:43:00.000-08:00

Being Organic! It's now popular nowadays and being organic is nice way of living a healthy lifestyle. Free range chickens is one of them. These chickens are more healthy compared to chickens that are raised in big commercial farms. Why? Because everything they eat is organic. They eat any organic material that are found in the soil that they are being kept.

One good thing about free range chicken is that they don't have "salmonella". It's a virus that came from commercial raised chicken where it can inflict humans.

So if you want to indulge into free range chicken you can look up for Solraya Sunshine free range chickens. If you want to become successful in raising free-range chickens, study these effective tips from Dr. Rey Itchon, a veterinarian and advocate of Sunshine Free-range Chickens in the Philippines. He always shared these tips to his attendees in all his seminars on raising free-range chickens.

1. Be sure to prepare the place for birds before ordering them. The first 21 days are very critical. That’s the period for brooding. The chicks should be placed in an enclosed but well ventilated enclosure not accessible to cats and rats that might eat them. And provide one square foot space per bird.

2. Newspaper may be used as bedding for the first few days. Don’t use plastic sheet as this will not absorb the moisture in the manure. After several days, the bedding might be changed with fresh rich hull or better still, carbonized rice husk.

3. The brooding area should be provided with heat to keep them warm. The source of heat might be an electric bulb, LPG or charcoal. In using electric bulb, Dr. Itchon recommends one watt per bird. A 100-watt bulb is good for 100 chicks. But the bulb should be placed at the right height. If it is placed too high, the heat might not be enough. It is easy to know if the heat is just right. The birds are not crowded and are well distributed below the light.

4. When the day-old chicks are newly arrived from the supplier, don’t feed them right away. Instead, give them water added with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar. This will rehydrate the chicks. After several hours, you can give them chick booster feed. Don’t feed them with rice. The birds can’t digest the rice grains, and rice don’t have enough nutrients.

5. After 21 days, released the chicks from the brooding house when they are fully feathered. They are ready for the range. The range maybe an enclosure where there are grasses for them to eat. They may be given also commercial feed to supplement the grasses and insect they eat in the range. This will give them a boost to grow faster.

6. If there is only one enclosure, green feeds could be grown elsewhere then cut and carried to the birds. These could include Napier grass, ipil-ipil, madre de agua, green corn stover, legume and the like.

7. If there is ample space, several grassy enclosures may be made for the birds to be release on a rotation basis. Fish net is a practical material for enclosing the chicken range. A simple housing is required. This will be their home at night and protection from inclement weather.

8. Clean everyday the waterers and the feeding troughs. Bacteria and other harmful organisms thrive under dirty conditions and they will hamper the growth of the chickens.

9. Strengthen the immune system of the range chickens. Vaccinate the chicks with B1B1 on the seventh day and B1 Lasota strain on the 14th day. This will help protect them from diseases. The vaccines are simply applied through the drinking water.

10. Add Biolyte, a formulation of vitamins, mineral and beneficial microorganisms produced by Dr. Rene Sumaoang of Novatech Agri-Foods Industries. With enhanced immune system, the chickens are able to better withstand diseases and other stresses.

Additional Tips From Andry Lim and Rafael Onggona

Andry Lim: Mixes finely chopped bamboo leaves in your feeds during the first day of feeding. Bamboo leaves will lengthen the intestines of the chicks. This will enable chicks to ingest and absorb more nutrients that make them grow faster.

Rafael Onggona: Chickens suffering with colds can be given one teaspoon of VCO per bird. It work like miracle for Mr. Onggona, for his suffering birds became well right in the next day. He administered the virgin coconut oil by means of a dropper.

There are many people who are in to organic and marketing your free range chickens won't be a problem. Start with a small population then expand by adding more birds.
Organic is the way of the future and free range chickens will not only give you profit but will promote a good healthy lifestyle.

Breeding Pugs

2009-12-25T19:35:00.000-08:00

Look at this pictures.... Aren't they cute. I know you want to have one...but why not get two or even more. In fact, why don't you breed pugs and sell their puppies (offspring) for profit.
Breeding pugs are profitable and rewarding at the same time. I know that for a fact since I also breed pugs. So how do you start? Begin first with buying and taking care of one pug.

The responsibility of having a pug is extensive. Like any other dog, pug has to be feed with proper diet (not left-over food), grooming, exercise, and most especial of all love and attention. Pugs also have health problems. They are susceptible to eye injuries such as puncture wounds and scratched corneas and painful Entropion.
Pugs also have compact breathing passageways, leaving many pugs unable to breathe properly or efficiently or their ability to regulate their temperature through evaporation from the tongue. A pug's normal body temperature is between 38 °C to 39 °C. If the temperature rises to 41 °C they are no longer able to cope with cooling themselves and their oxygen demand is greatly increased, and requires cooling down immediately. Should the temperature reach 42 °C, the internal organs begin to break down at a cellular level which can lead to severe long term health issues or even death.

But don't you worry, with enough research and fact-finding you will be able to withstand the health problems of taking care of a pug. And mind you, there is also veterinary services that can help you to prolong the life of your pug.

Once you get the feel of taking care of a pug, you can now start in making your own pug breeding kennel. You can now add more pugs. The ideal number of pug for breeding purpose is one male (stud) and 5 females (dam). Your male/stud can mate your 5 females/dams and produce puppies. Generally a pug have an average of 2 to 4 puppies. But there are cases where they can have a litter size of 6 to 7 puppies.
In a year, a pug can give birth once or twice. So there is a possibility that your pug can produce 4-8 puppies in a year. If you have 5 females/dams, you will have 20-40 puppies. That's a lot of pups!

A male pup cost about Php 10-12 thousand but a female pup cost more around Php 17-20 thousand. Let's just say that you have a 50/50 ratio of male and female pups.... if you have 40 puppies you will have 20 male pups (Php 240,000) and 20 female pups (Php 400,000). That's a total of Php 640,000 thousand a year or an average of Php 53,333 thousand a month. How's that for a business?

But you have to deduct your operating expense like dog food, vaccinations, veterinary check-ups, housing maintenance, and other miscellaneous expense. Still, you can have a net income of Php 30+ thousand.
If you want to generate more revenues you can add more female pugs for breeding and/or you can make your male/stud available for stud purposes where you can charge for Php 1-3 thousand per one stud service.

Money from your pug breeding business is only your secondary satisfaction.... the real pleasure is you get to enjoy the company of this special breed for the rest of their dog's life span.

Monterey Meatshop

2009-12-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

You could never go wrong with food. It's a basic necessity and people will save on everything except food. Because let's face it, they need to eat at least 3 times a day. The essential staple food in the table are rice, pork, beef, chicken, fish, vegetables, and fruits. And as of today the total estimated population in the Philippines is close to 90 million and still growing rapidly. There will be a huge demand for basic food today and to the coming years. Why not take advantage of it by putting up a Monterey Meat Shop.

Monterey’s commitment to total quality extends from its farm to its countrywide distribution network. Its quality meat products are delivered by refrigerated Monterey trucks and are available in a variety of Monterey outlets, namely Monterey Neighborhood Meatshops, supermarkets, and Monterey satellite outlets.

Monterey meat products are part of everyday Filipino life. With its “farm to market” concept, the Filipino consumer is assured of quality meats for every meal.

Franchising for Monterey started in 1990 with only 4 meatshops. Due to the continuing patronage of many Filipino consumers, this number has increased significantly over the years. Today, Monterey’s franchised meatshops are found nationwide, distributing Monterey quality meats to Filipinos from Luzon to Mindanao.

Monterey Neighborhood Meatshops are stand-alone outlets that exclusively sell a wide range of Monterey pork and beef cuts, as well as Monterey Ready-to-Cook Meats, Magnolia Chicken, Purefoods hotdogs and other selected San Miguel products. Each Monterey Meatshop boasts of modern meat fabrication equipment and display showcase. It is manned by a crew of butchers and merchandisers trained in the Monterey Meat School-to assure customers of courteous and efficient service.

Monterey will continue to expand its franchise network, true to its commitment of providing Filipino families with world-class meat products. We invite you to be part of this commitment and growth. Invest in a Monterey Meatshop and be a part of our growing family of franchisees.

Franchise Details

Estimated Initial Investment : Approximately P3.2 Million

Franchise Fee : Php 224,000

Construction : Php 640,000

Equipment and other supplies : Php 1,500,000

Rent (with deposits) : Php 90,000

Merchandising materials : Php 20,000

Royalty Fee : 2% of monthly purchases
Advertising Fee : 1% of monthly purchase
ROI : 2-2.5 years
Area Requirement : 80 square meters with a frontage of at least 5 meters

Monterey Meatshops Have To Offer:

1. Products

Monterey fresh pork and beef products
Monterey Ready-to-Cook Meats
Magnolia Chicken, Milk, Butter, Cheese & Cooking Oil
Purefoods selected cold cuts and canned goods
Other selected San Miguel products

2. Support Services

Store design
Monterey Signages
Training of crew
Operations support
Marketing support

Contact Information

MEATSHOP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Sales and Franchising Department
Business Development Group
Monterey Foods Corporation
17F JMT Corporate Condominium ADB Avenue,
Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Telephone Number: (632) 702 5569 / (632) 702 5000
Fax Number: (632) 9148750 / (632) 637 8172

Email : pperez@smg.sanmiguel.com.ph

Website : www.monterey.com.ph

Donut Empire

2009-12-17T21:14:00.000-08:00

Just look at this picture. I bet you want to get a piece of it. The image above has flavors that consist of Typhoon Oreo, Almond Pit, and Choz O'Latte. This are just a few of the mouth watering donuts. So where can you find this kind of donuts?

You might be thinking that they came from Dunkin Donuts, Mr. Donuts, or even Go Nuts Donuts. I'm sorry to disappoint you but they don't have that kind.
Alright they came from Krispy Kreme. Close but no cigar. They don't have that too. In fact this donuts are not yet available in the Philippines. They can be found in Singapore.

Introducing Donut Empire. The largest donut chain in Singapore. Donut Empire currently has 13 outlets in Singapore, 2 in Malaysia and is opening outlets in Dubai, Indonesia, India, Brunei and China.
In the year 2007, Sky and Steven Chiew (founders of Donut Empire) drew up a plan to put up a donut chain based on their passion for food. Their first outlet was set in Tanjong Katong Road. Their business grew up from there and was widely known through out South East Asia.

So what are the donuts menu. Here is a one sample picture:

D Haven - consist of real fresh quality Durians mixed with egg-free custard

plus you got a mango glazed donut, tiramisu donut, cappuccino donut, green tea donut from Japan, and liguid cheese donut from Australia. This are just to name a few.
For more donuts menu information log on to : http://www.donutempire.com.sg/

Donut Empire is so unique that they even have a mobile outlet where they put all there donuts in a mobile truck or van and open it up in an congested area. In that way it can save rental cost and they can reach areas like schools, parks, beach, villages, etc.

Be the first Filipino to get a franchise outlet (yes, they do franchise). Be the first one to set it up in the Philippines.
For more information about franchising, you may email their Business Development Manager at franchise@donutempire.com or call 6742 2322 (Singapore).

Here are some more websites about Donut Empire:

http://donutempireblog.blogspot.com/

http://donut888.blogspot.com/

My advise to you.... Grab this opportunity or someone else will.

Burong Bangus

2009-12-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

Bangus (Milkfish) is one of the most popular fish and seafood in the Philippines. And there are different ways of cooking them like fried bangus, sizzling bangus, bangus belly steak, nilagang bangus, rellenong bangus, smoked bangus, lumpiang bangus, paksiw na bangus, bangus sa tausi, bangus bistik, afritadang bangus, and bangus kare-kare.

All of these bangus recipes will be an additional menus on your restaurant or canteen. You can't simply go wrong with bangus. Even if bangus is much "bonier" than other fish, it's the taste is what people are after.

Bangus is popular in the province of Pangasinan, a province devoted to aquaculture. So if you want to get good bangus source go to Pangasinan.

I have one more bangus dish to share with you. It's Burong bangus.

Materials Needed:

1 kilo bangus
75.2 grams salt
17 grams angkak (red yeast rice)
5 cups rice

Here are simple steps to process “burong bangus” for business:

1. Remove the scales of the skin
2. Debone the bangus.
3. Cut the fish into butterfly fillets. Cut into serving pieces.
4. Add 75.2 grams of salt and allow to saturate for one hour.
5. Cook five cups of rice by boiling in water. Cool.
6. Add the 17 grams angkak to cooked rice.
7. Mix 400 grams salted fish and 850 grams cooked rice. Pack rice and fish alternatively in sterilized glass jar.
8. Place the remaining rice on the upper layer of fish. Cover with plastic film. Place the remaining rice on the upper layer of fish. Cover with plastic film.
9. Ferment for seven days at room temperature.
10. Saute in cooking oil, garlic and onions before serving.

There you go. Hope this recipe will add sales to your restaurant.

Plumbing Services

2009-12-14T06:40:00.000-08:00

Plumbing services. It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it. That somebody can be you. It may not be your typical work or business but if you get many customers/clients money will sure come in.
For those who have no idea what plumbing is it's a skilled trade of working with pipes, tubing and plumbing fixtures for drinking water systems and the drainage of waste. The plumbing industry is a basic and substantial part of every developed economy due to the need for clean water, and proper collection and transport of wastes.

An uncle of mine has that kind of business and caters to big restaurants like Pancake House, Shakey's, Red Ribbon, Dencio's, Wendy's, and Hua Lan Cuisine. In Wendy's alone they service the commissary plus the 40 branches. Plumbing business could be a money making machine if you maintain big restaurants.

So how do you service this restaurants? There are many different ways. One is giving a monthly preventive maintenance. This is to prevent any leaks and waste clogging in the kitchen. They also check if there are pipes that are needed to be replace. And they suck all the waste in the sewage. Last time I check they charge a monthly fee of Php 3,500 per outlet and branch.

So if you do the math if Wendy's has 40 outlets multiplied by Php 3,500 that equals to Php 140,000 a month. And that's only one restaurant, if you got 10 big food chains with 40 outlets... you could have a gross income of Php 1.4 million a month.

Other services given to restaurants are declogging of toilet bowls, sanitary line installation, line repiping, cleaning of over head tank, etc. Each services has its own cost.

Restaurants are not only the target market. you could go to schools, hospitals, hotels, resorts, villages, etc. Any area that's needs plumbing service is reachable. Just learn to have your own niche where your plumbing business will be known.
My uncle concentrated on big food chains and now he handles majority of the big restaurants not only in Metro Manila but in the rural areas as well.

To start you should hire good plumbers. One that you can trust with. Pay them generously. Your plumbers is the heart of your business.
Next get all the equipments needed. You will need drain cleaning machines, pipe threading tools, basic masonry and carpentry tools, and a vehicle. A close van will do or an AUV.

Your next goal is to get permits and licenses from the DTI, BIR, Mayor's permit, etc. Once you established all that you can now start doing your marketing. Advertise your business through newspaper, billboards, flyers, and the internet. If you need help promoting your business through the internet you can log to www.pinoybusinessbooster.blogspot.com/

If your target is schools in the metro, go to each and every schools and set a meeting with the school administrator. Prepare your business proposal and letter of request. Start with one school then move on to the next one once you've mastered it. Your business will be a well oiled machine once you reached 10 big schools.

Are you ready to be a plumber? It is not as elegant as other business but it still brings home the bacon.

Growing Orchids for Profit

2009-12-11T19:25:00.000-08:00

You can earn money by growing orchids out of your backyard. If you have a passion for plants and flowers this could be your thing. But before you start you need to do a research and study the background of orchids growing.

WHAT ARE ORCHIDS:

Orchids or Orchidaceae is the largest family of the flowering plants. It's popularity ranks among the top including roses.

Orchids are grouped according to two basic growth habits, namely: monopodials and sympodials. Monopodials are orchids with one main stem with grow taller every year. The stem lengthens, adding new leaves to the top and aerial roots occasionally form along main stem. Flowers are always borne laterally (between leaves) and successively from older nodes towards young nodes. Monopodials include Phalaenopsis, Arachnis, Vanilla, Aerides, Vandopsis, Vanda, Phyncostylis, Ascocentrum and Trichoglottis.

Sympodials are orchids with creeping ground stem or rhizome which sends out shoot which eventually develops into stem and leaves. This new growth produces its own roots and leaves at maturity. Flowers are formed at the terminals or at the sides of the stem. After flowering, another shoot is formed at the base of the proceeding growth to repeat the cycle. The stem is sometimes thickened and fleshy, forming pseudobulbs. Cattleya, Dendrobium, Oncidium, Coelogyne, Bulbophyllum, are examples of orchid general with sympodial growth habit.

Flower
Despite the complexity of the variety of orchid flowers, the structure is like any monocot flower. There are three similar sepals and petals but one of the petals is highly modified into an attractive structure known as labellum or lip. The lip attracts pollinators and serves as landing platform for pollinating insects. In the center of the flower is an organ called gynostagium, gynandium, or column. On the inner side of the column is the stigma, a shallow depression which produces a sticky solution where pollinia are deposited.

Orchid Plants
Unlike seeds of other flowering plants, orchid seeds are so minute consisting of an embryo with little or no stored food. Orchid seeds are produced literally by the thousands or even millions (Cattleya labiata) but only a few develop into mature plants.

Life of orchid seed is very critical during early stages of germination. Unless a symbiotic relationship with a beneficial fungus is established, orchid seed will die. The fungal aid or mycorrhiza is a mass of fungus hyphae, usually of species Rhizoctonia. During germination, mycorrhiza infects the basal end of the seed and releases an enzyme which converts starch, an energy of germination and enhances further its development. Orchids are limited to the environment with suitable fungus, where sugar and amino-nitrogen compounds are readily available for seed germination.

Genera/Species/Hybrids
The family Orchidacease consists of about 20,000 to 35,000 species distributed into 800 genera. This constitutes roughly 10% of all flowering plants in the plant kingdom. There are many hybrids and cultivated forms which continue to increase at an average rate of more than 1,000 per year. Many endemic species are found in the Philippines, which have gained worldwide recognition by orchidists. There are about 130 genera and 941 species, of which 25 genera and 140 species based on consecutive estimates are of commercial value.

Dendrobium
The genus Dendrobium contains a very large number of heterogenous species. It has erect, cane-type pseudobulb and bears flowers with relatively long vase-like. This group is naturally distributed in warm and humid areas, thus resulting hybrids require warm and humid environment with abundant sunlight for optimum growth and development.

Hybrids
• In the Philippines, the following Dendrobium hybrids appear promising for cutflower production: Purple:
• Den. Tomie, Jacquelyn Concert, Den. Norman Jackson, Den. Vera Patterson x Den. Betty Hecht; Off-White-
• Den. Jacquelyn Thomas; Yellow: Den. May Neal Crosses, Mary Mac, Bethy Ho; White: Den Water Oumme,
• Den. Neo Hawaii, Den. Jack Hawaii, Den. Multico White, Den. Jacqueline Thomas x Den. Alice Spalding,
• Den. Singapore White.

Vanda
This group is generally sun-loving and robust with colorful, beautifully-shaped flowers, heavy substance and long-lasting.
Vandas are divided into three:
1. Strap-leaf Vandas – These are epiphytes with flat, channeled leaves.
2. Terete Vanda – Mostly terrestial plants with cylindrical, pencil-like leaves. Most commerciallyimportant hybrid is V. Miss Joaquin.
3. Semi-terete Vanda – highly floriferous, making them desirable for cutflower. These are derived from crossing terete hybrid with strap leaf species/hybrid.

Cattleya and its Allies
Modern Cattleyas consists of a complex group of hybrids created by combining cattleya species or hybridization with closely allied genera such as Laelia, Brassavola, Broughtonia. Known as “Cattleya Alliance”, these are natives in Brazil, Columbia, Central America and Mexico. Genus Cattleya is a very interesting diversified group of orchids with broad spectrum of colors and types.

Some of the more famous hybrids are:
1. Purple Cattleyas, like Lc. Bonanza, Blc. Norman’s Bay, Bc. Culminant;
2. White Cattleyas, like C. Bow Bells, C. Bob Betts, C. General Patton, and C. General Japhet;
3. Semi-Alba Cattleyas – also caled white with colored lip. Hybrids derived from C. Mossiae and C. Warscewiczis which are white with purple lips;
4. Yellow Cattleyas – Blc. Malworth, Blc. Jane Helton, Blc. Malvern and Lc. Lorraine Shirai;
5. Red Cattleyas – Slc. Falcon “Alwanderi”, Slc. Jewel Box, Lc. Desert Orange and Lc. Rojo.

Phalaenopsis
The graceful bearing of the Phalaenopsis, whether native species or advanced hybrids is quite pleasing to the eye. The long, slender flower stalk bears the flower high and the arcs away from the leaves appearing fragile yet regal.
The following hybrids are promising for cutflower production:
1. Large White – Phal Anne Cavaco, P. Grace Palm, P. Dos Pueblos and P. Quisumbing; 1.
2. White with Red Lip – Phal. Eva Lou, P. Queen Emma and P. Ruby lips; and
3. White Stripes – Phal. Percy Porter

Growth Requirements
Basically, the growth requirements of any plants are temperature, water, light, aeration and nutrition. These are the environmental factors which a good grower should try to stimulate for each type of orchids.

Temperature – cool-growing orchids prefer night temperature of 10 deg. C to 18.3 deg. C and 15.6 deg. C to 21 deg. C day temperature, like Cymbidiums, Odontoglossums and some Phaphiopedilums.

For the intermediate group like Cattleyas, some Dendrobiums and Oncidiums, night temperature needed is 12.8 deg. C to 15 deg. C and day temperature ranges from 18.3 deg. C to 21 deg. C.

Most orchids grown in the Philippines are warm-growing where night temperature is below 18.3 deg. C and day temperature rising to 21 deg. C to 32 deg. C. These temperatures are ideal for growing Renanthera, Vandas, Phalaenopsis, Aerides, Trichoglottis and Dendrobiums.

Light – sun-loving orchids are Arachnis, Renanthera, Arandas, and terete and semi-terete Vandas.

Partial shade orchids need lower light intensity for healthy growth. Example: Dendrobium, Phalaenopsis, Cattleyas, and strap leaf Vandas.
Orchid plants which receive enough light have short plump stems with yellowish-green leather leaves. Those receiving too much sunlight are yellowish, stunted and even scorched. Those under too much shade become green, soft and succulent with thin spindly stems.

Water – generally, orchids prefer an atmosphere where relative humidity ranges from 50% to 85%. A constantly saturated atmosphere (100% relative humidity) is just as harmful as constantly dry environment. High humidity and relatively low night temperature are conducive to the development of many diseases and pathogens especially soft rot. Growers often water the plants early in the morning so that before nightfall, the leaves are already dry. During sunny days, it may be necessary to increase humidity of the atmosphere by misting or wetting orchid house floor to enhance vaporization.

The need and frequency of watering depend on interacting factors, such as size of containers, potting media, temperature, light intensity and air movement. Orchids in large containers dry out more slowly than those in smaller pots. Plants in baskets, twigs and slabs require more water than those in pots. During drier months, more frequent watering is required. Plants suffering from lack of water become flaccid and stems and pseudobulbs become shrivelled.

Aeration – orchids must have free circulating air around them. Orchids are found where there is constant breeze. Stagnant air does not allow drying of potting medium and foliage.

Nutrition – apply fertilizer either through liquid or dry method. By liquid feeding, dissolve water soluble salts and apply resulting dilute solution to plant. The amount and kind of fertilizer required by orchids depend upon growing conditions, potting media, species and stage of development.

Young seedlings are usually given dilute solution of nitrogenous fertilizers or complete fertilizers with higher nitrogen content plus phosphorous and potassium (4-1-1 or 2-1-1). Pig manures, chicken or fish emulsion may be prepared and applied once a week or once a month. As plant gets older, increase phosphorous and potassium level correspondingly.

Generally, under conditions of more frequent rainfall, practice more frequent fertilization as leaching is higher. When plants are dormant or inactive, do not fertilize plants. Plants exposed to higher light intensities also require higher fertilizer or nutrients than those grown under heavier shade.

Potting and Repotting – potting of orchids varies according to genera or species.
For Cattleyas, some growers use clay pots with charcoal as potting medium. Remember not to over pot them as medium remains wet for a long time in big pots. Place the bulb close to rim of pot with the lead towards center. An old Cattleya needs repotting when the plant has overgrown its pot and when potting materials has deteriorated.

For Vandas and Ascocendas, small seedlings are potted with little osmunda fiber and a little charcoal. For older plants, coarse tree fern or charcoal maybe used for potting. Another method is by mounting them in twigs on driftwoods or by hanging them in wooden baskets.

For Dendrobium, pot them in clay pots or mount them on driftwoods. For large-scale production, clay pots with charcoal are ideal.

For Phalaenopsis, mount them in acacia or kakawati wood cuttings, or fern slabs. Or mount them in pots with charcoal and little osmunda fiber.

In potting, the general rule to remember is to allow quick and complete drainage of the potting medium.

Some types of orchids are planted directly in well-drained bed or in soil pots.
Propagation

There are two groups of propagating orchids; asexual (vegetative propagation) and sexual (seed and embryo culture).

Asexual or Vegetative Propagation
Vegetative propagation can be done in any of the following methods:
• Division – Cattleya, Dendrobium, Paphiopedilum and Cymbidium can be multiplied through division. Separate three to four canes or bulbs from mother plant to form new plants by cutting through rhizome and pot them individually.
• Formulation of Keikis and offshots – occasionally, a bud will give rise to a young plant at the top, side of pseudobulbs, canes or at the nodes of flowering stem. The Hawaiians call these young plantlets from vegetative or flowering stem ‘keikis’. Filipinos call them ‘anak’. Once the young new roots develop, remove plantlets and pot separately.
• Top cutting – monopodial orchids, such as Vandas, Ascocendas, Arachnis, Renanthera, Trichoglottis, and even Phalaenopsis and Doritis, are best propagated by top cutting. When plant becomes leggy, cut off top part, retain few roots and pot it separately. New roots develop readily by top cutting.
• Tissue Culture – Tissue culture is one of the most rapid methods of multiplying vegetative plant. It develops new plants in an artificial medium under aseptic conditions from very small parts of plants, such as shoots tip, root tip, pollen grain. Thousands or even millions of identical plants can be produced from a small tissue in a relatively short time.

Sexual Propagation or Seed Embryo Culture
Orchid sexual propagation is done through seed embryo culture. Orchid seed is so minute, devoid of stored food for seed germination. However, during germination, fungi infect orchid seeds and help convert complex starch to simple sugars, which serve as energy source. That fungi and orchids have symbiotic relationship during germination.

Under artificial or laboratory conditions, a sterile artificial medium with sugar and other nutrients is required. Through research, an excellent medium for growing seeds without fungi was developed. Inside the bottle where orchid seedling is grown is a miniature glasshouse which protect seedlings from unfavorable environmental conditions. Using artificial media has insured the growing of nearly all orchid seeds into mature plants.

1. Flasking and reflasking or protocorms – when orchid seed or embryo is planted in a culture bottle, numerous seedlings germinate in a very limited space with little available food. The first sign of successful germination is when orchid seed starts to swell and turns green. As growth continues, the embryo becomes bigger and assumes a flattened top shape called protocorm. A small amount of seed sown produce hundreds of tiny photocorms growing in limited space. At this stage, transplant them into fresh medium and table for further development and rapid growth.

2. Composting and Repotting Seedlings – Orchid seedlings are ready to be transplanted from culture bottles when roots and leaves are fully developed. Dendrobiums may be potted after 4 to 6 months. Vandas, Phalaenopsis and Cattleyas in 6 to 8 months after reflasking before seedlings are ready for community pots. Seedlings should be potted only in sterile potting medium and pots to avoid damping-off.

Potting medium may consists of sterilized fine Osmunda fibers, charcoal, chopped tree fern (paslak).

After removing seedlings from bottles, wash out all agar from seedlings and wash them in fungicide suspension. Drain excess moisture and sort out seedlings according to size. Small seedlings are planted in community pots, while the bigger ones are potted individually in small pots.

Flowering
Like most plants, orchids must attain a certain degree of vegetative growth before they are capable of flowering. This is referred to as the stage of ripeness to flower.

For Phalaenopsis, the minimum number of leaves is 3 before they will flower, 8 in Vandas, and 14 in Aranda. Vegetative growth of seedlings can be accelerated to attain the stage of ripeness to flower. Optimum growing conditions such as high temperature, humidity, adequate and continuous light, frequent application of dilute fertlizer have shown hastening of flowering in Vanda and Phalaenopsis.

Factor affecting flower bud initiation
Photoperiodism – is the development of plants as conditioned by the length or duration of light. There are 3 orchid categories based on their response to photoperiod: 1) short-day; 2) day-neutral; and 3) long-day groups.
Temperature – for some orchids, low temperature is required to induce flowering. Temperature interacts with photoperiod as regards to flower induction. Some orchids required low temperature to induce flowering, as follows: Cymbidium, Cattleya Mossiae; Dendrobium, Phaphiopedium, Phalaenopsis, Schilleriana.

Harvesting
Orchids flowers do not mature until 3 to 4 days after they open. It is important to know how old the blooms are before harvesting. Flowers cut before they mature will not hold up nor last as longer as the matured flowers. Spray-type orchid present no problem. Each floret opens 1½ to 2 days apart. If 3 or more flowers are open on the spike, the lower flower is mature and can be separated.

You will be surprised that more men are more engaged in orchid growing than women. This is just to show that orchid has tap every market available.

Running a Taxi Fleet

2009-12-08T06:38:00.000-08:00

What is a Taxi? A Taxi or a Taxicab is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice. In New York, you will see a yellow taxicabs piled in one line stuck in a traffic jam. In Mexico, you will notice the "Vochos" (green Volkswagen taxi beetles).
In Hong Kong, the red taxicabs is the most familiar one. And in the Philippines, where the most common is the white sedan.

So how do you operate a Taxi or a Taxi Fleet? First off is you should choose which the type of car will you use. Normally the top Japanese car models are the best (Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan). Their resale value is better than other Korean car models and passengers would prefer riding in a Japanese car model for no reason at all.
Toyota has the best economical spare parts and the availability is almost everywhere. So I suggest get a Toyota Vios. It is not that expensive, it's fuel efficient (1.3 L), and has good leg room and ample space.

Getting a brand new car for a taxi is much better than buying a 2nd hand taxicab. It will cost you big at first but will save you money in the long run because 2nd hand cars will require more maintenance and gas consumptions is way of the chart. I advised you get a 2-3 year old car and convert it to a taxicab. This will save you around Php 100,000 - 200,000. That amount can be used for getting a franchise.

Next is the permits and licenses. Get a taxi franchise from LTFRB (Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board)

Then the most important part.... looking for a driver. This is the most common problem of a taxi operator. There are only a few taxi drivers that are trust worthy and reliable. I suggest you hire somebody that you know. A distant relative in your province who needs a steady job or maybe the husband of your child's yaya. Give your driver a good share so that he will stay longer and he will treat your vehicle with proper care.

Taxi is a lucrative business if your drivers are well experience in driving cabs and knows the in and outs of metro manila. Normally the boundary is Php 1,300 a day. That is what the owner gets. The rest of the gross income will go to the driver. Gasoline expense is generally covered by your driver. So minus the number-coding scheme, your taxi cab will be on the streets for 6 days in a week which can accumulate up to Php 7,800 a week or Php 31,200 a month.
That is gross income. You still have to pay taxes and leave allowance for maintenance like tires and batteries.

Here are some tips to save your taxi business money by lowering the operating cost:

1.) Get a trusted mechanic and electrician to fix all mechanical and electrical repairs. Remember that your taxicab runs almost 24/7 and will wear out for the everyday use. You need to take care of your car. You will lose money if your taxicab is not running. You need your taxicab to be in good running condition to reach your target income.

2.) Get a smaller engine car (1.3 L) or install an LPG on your taxicab to save on gasoline expense. This will help your taxi driver to reach the boundary faster and will take care of your vehicle better.

3.) Start first with one unit. Get the feel of it. Know all the problems them expand by acquiring more units. It's not practical to only have one. What if your only one unit was smashed by a truck. Your taxi business will die immediately. You need a few more units to cover the expense of the smashed taxicab. 20-30 taxicab units will be feasible.

4.) Get a good and reliable source of tires, batteries, spare parts for your units. Befriend with your source and get a good price. Buy in volume if you have to.

5.) Give incentives and bonus to your drivers. Remember that your drivers not your vehicles runs the show. Discontented drivers will just leave your vehicle out of nowhere giving you all the problems. Take good care of your drivers. Your income will be steady if you keep your drivers happy.

But the most important of all, be "hands-on". Just like in every business you should be on top of things. You presence and dedication to the taxi business will give you success.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-12-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

What's the one word that comes to your mouth? Yummy! Yeah, That's what I thought. Chocolate Chip Cookies are easy to make and a favorite of both children and adults alike. Chocolate Chip Cookies are one of the most convenient treats to take to potlucks, family holidays, and to give as gifts. They do not need to be refrigerated and are easy to carry.

How about making your own brand of Chocolate Chip Cookies. With good packaging and marketing, this small business venture could turn to a mega type of business. Just be innovative and search on how to improve the quality of your product.

For starters, here is one home made recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Crisco (Vegetable Fat)
1/2 Cup Butter
1 1/4 Cup White Sugar
1 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
2 eggs
4 Cups Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2 Cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips

EQUIPMENT:

Mixer (a hand mixer will do fine, but we use a Kitchen Aid)
measuring spoons
3 cookie trays
spatula
measuring cups
cooling racks

1st PROCEDURE:

Beat together the following ingredients until sugars are blended well and mixture's consistency is light and fluffy. This is the secret to a mouth watering chocolate chip cookie.

1 Cup Crisco

1/2 Cup Butter

1 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1 1/4 Cup White Sugar

Half way through this step you will want to scrape the sides of the bowl. This will prevent any granules of sugar from not being mixed in.

2nd PROCEDURE:

Add the Eggs. Now once you are finished mixing these first ingredients and your mixture looks fluffy add the eggs and vanilla. Mix these in until well blended.

3rd PROCEDURE:

Mixing Dry Ingredients.

Combine in separate bowl:

4 Cups Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Salt

Now mix this together very well.

Now slowly add the dry ingredients to your fluffy concoction in the mixer while mixing on low speed (you can do this too manually).

Once you have mixed your dry ingredients in your cookie dough it should look like a moist texture.

4th PROCEDURE:

Adding the Goodies.

Now it is time to add in:

2 Cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips

*If you are not using a Kitchen Aid mixer hand stir these goodies in.

Hint: Freezing your Chocolate Chips before mixing them into the dough will prevent them from smashing and turning your cookie dough brown.

5th PROCEDURE:

Shaping the Chocolate Chip Cookies. When shaping your cookies it helps to use a ice-cream scooper.

We suggest that you place a sheet of baking parchment on the pan, and putting the cookie dough on top of the parchment paper.

If you don't have parchment paper, just place the cookie dough directly on the baking pan. Do not grease the baking pan.

6th PROCEDURE:

You will want to bake your cookies for 13-15 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees.

After about 5 minutes of cooling on the cookie sheet remove them and place them on a cooling rack until they are no longer warm. Refrigerate if you prefer.

So there, you know have your own Chocolate Chip Cookies. Start selling to your friends and relatives and let the word of mouth do the marketing. Enjoy!

Christmas Caroling

2009-12-01T01:33:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas time once again. You could feel the cool breeze. Christmas lights and decors are everywhere. And as you look to your Christmas Gift List you noticed that the number has doubled. You begin to ask yourself how am I going to buy all these gifts. There's a way my friend. Make profit by doing Christmas Caroling.

But I don't know how to sing? Or I am not a songbird like Regine Velasquez. That's alright, you don't really need to sing. What you could do is gather enough kids who are in the age bracket of 4-9 years old. The more that you can gather the better. It doesn't even matter if their good in singing. People find kids adorable and they are looking more for their appearance like costumes than their voice (although it wouldn't hurt if you got a singing group).

Plus their voice, even if it is not yet at it's peak, is music to every adult ears. They are like small birds standing in a tree branch gathered all together. Ever heard the sound of a children choir inside the church. They are so good that you don't need a musical instrument to make it worth while.

Okay so how will you do it. Look at your immediate family first then go further to long distant relative, friends, neighbors, and the community. You can start with your kids or your younger brothers and sisters. You can contact your niece and nephews as well. Tell them to call their friends and ask them if they want to join. A group of 20 kids would be nice but you can start with just 10.

If you don't know how to play any musical instrument then you can search for somebody who knows. Usually a guitar will do but you will be better if your equip with a pipe organ, flute, clarinet, saxophone, bass trombone, harmonica, harp, ukulele, violin, snare drum, and maracas. If your able to manage that then you have yourself a mini-symphony orchestra.
Plus if you got kids that have soprano, alto, and tenor voices then you got yourself a money making machine.

Start with your village and community first. Send them letters with your contact numbers on it. Let the homeowners set the time and date (usually they are free on week-ends). A normal charge for one house visit in a exclusive subdivision is usually Php 500. But if you have a good singing group, you can charge higher ranging from Php 1,000 - Php 5,000.
Let's just assume that you charge Php 500. If a certain village has 4,000 residential units and you just got 25% of the total population. Php 500 multiplied by 1,000 is Php 500,000. If you have 20 kids plus 3 musicians plus yourself (that's a total of 24). Then you divide the total amount of Php 500,000. Each individual will get a net profit of Php 20,833. Not bad huh?

It all depends on you. It's your prerogative. But the main thing here is not the profit. That is just secondary. The real pleasure here is giving joy to the community and to the kids. Enjoying the Christmas spirit by singing Christmas songs. Eating together as a group and walking to each and every house. That experience is priceless.

Starbucks Sensation

2009-11-28T17:06:00.000-08:00

Do you know how big Starbucks is? As of today Starbucks has 16,635 stores in 49 countries. That's a lot. In the Philippines, you could see a Starbucks joint on each corner in Ayala Avenue in Makati City. It's like mushroom. Once a Starbucks joint sprouted in one area, others Starbucks joint will follow. In fact I saw two Starbucks joint facing each other (only a street that separates them).

Starbucks is the pioneer of coffee shop around the world. The original Starbucks was opened in Seattle, Washington in 1971 where at that time their main purpose was to sell high quality coffee beans and equipment. It was only when entrepreneur Howard Schultz, who joined the company in 1982 as Director of Retail Operations and Marketing, started selling coffee and espresso drinks. The rest as we all know is history. Howard Schultz is now Starbucks' Chairman, President and CEO.

Because of the Starbucks sensation and popularity, other coffee shops came into play. There's
Coffee Beanery, Figaro, Gloria Jean's, Seattle's Best, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and so on and so forth. Each coffee shop has each own niche and target customers. But to me, even if I'm tired of the taste of Starbucks coffee... I would still put them on top of my list because of the numerous outlets in the country. It's like BPI ATM machine. It's always there when you need them even if you're in top of the mountain.

One thing I like about Starbucks is the Hotspot (Wi-Fi) where you get Internet access inside their outlet. The place is my definition of peace and tranquility. You're objective is to relax and unwind. Some people used Starbucks as a place to meet and talk business. Others is just to meet friends and talk about the newest gadgets or gossips in town.

If it's possible, I like to have a Starbucks franchise outlet just inside my village where it can cater up to 4,000 homeowners. You would monopolize the whole subdivision. Homeowners don't have to go out anymore of their village. They can just walk in their relaxing house clothes with their friends and/or families. In fact, delivery is also an option since there is no traffic inside the village and homeowners can get their coffee still hot.

So if you want to be a successful coffee entrepreneur, just follow the Starbucks Sensation and follow their business module. You can be a Starbucks franchisee (only in U.S.), a Barista, or you could make your own coffee shop.
Customers will keep on coming in if your coffee shop has a good ambiance, has Wi-Fi, and the coffee is gratifying.

Just remember follow the Starbucks sensation business module. Who knows you might have 100 outlets in the future.

Work in 24 hours like an Ant

2009-11-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

Just a story of inspiration about the work habits of an Ant which in someway should be followed by human beings. Since humans normally work from 9 am- 5 pm, Monday to Friday, and are sometimes forced to work overtime. This workers (humans) got nothing to do but complain that they work long hours and they are not paid accordingly (underpaid).
Little did they know that they are blessed because of the employee benefits that they get. This are: No work on week-ends, regular holidays, vacation leave, sick leave, maternity leave, bereavement leave, 13th month pay, and special holidays (declared by the president if you're living in the Philippines).

And the bottom line is they are being paid. Do you think it matters if they are underpaid or not? To the majority yes but do they know that they still received the fruits of their labor (even if that amount is just a tiny chunk).
Humans can also avail salary loan from the their company or the government and they got retirement pay as reward for their loyalty. The rewards and benefits are endless.

Not unlike the Ant. Do you know that ants don't sleep. An ant doesn't have eyelids for its compound eyes, but it does have periods of rest lasting several minutes, where its brain and biological functions slow down and it stops moving. So that means that ants can work for almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No day-off, no vacation leave, no special holidays, and no week-ends. They just work, work and work.

Each ant has a specific job. The queen lays eggs to populate the colony. Workers collect food, feed members of the colony, and enlarge the nest. Soldiers are large workers that defend the colony and sometimes attack ants who are strangers. All these hard-working ants are female. Males have wings to fly to another colony, where they mate with a queen and die soon afterwards. Well at least they have roles.
I specifically like the role of the male ant where their role is just to fly and look for queen that they like, have sex, and die (cool isn't it?).

But no matter what specific job or role that the ant has they don't get compensated for their long and hard work. That means no 13th month pay or Christmas bonus, no overtime pay, no salary loan, no promotion and worse they don't get paid. They just follow their specific orders.

If you look at the advantage of it. If humans can at least minimized their sleep to 2 hours a day without affecting their health, that would be a lucrative way of doubling their income. One individual can have two jobs in one day and get two separate salaries from two different companies. That's double everything including benefits, overtime pay, 13th month pay, and promotion.
If you're in the Philippines you can have your normal day job. Go home at 5 pm, exercise, rest a little (perhaps you can take your 2 hour sleep), bond with your friends and/or families then go back to work at around 9-11 pm in a Call center. Pretty neat huh? But that is if your like an ant the problem is you're not. You have to work the human way like everybody else. At least you get paid.

So if you feel like you don't like going to work or to tired of doing the everyday routine that makes you feel like your a robot. Think of it this way.... You are much much better than an ant.

Vazbuilt

2009-11-22T19:32:00.000-08:00

Everybody's dream is to have a House and Lot. To those who have already they still want to have another one for additional revenue by leasing the property. Problem is it is to costly to build a home which is the main reason why Filipinos are hesitant on indulging to Real Estate investment.

Vazbuilt has come to solve that. Vazquez Building Systems Corporation (VAZBUILT)
was incorporated in February 1991 primarily to engage in the supply and construction of houses and other forms of structures using its own patented building systems known as the VAZBUILT Building Technology. VAZBUILT has pioneered the prefab building technology in the country more particularly the "Modular Housing", a highly engineered method of producing buildings for residential and commercial purposes.
Another innovation of VAZBUILT Building Technology is its application as a total fencing solution. In 1997, VAZCRETE Prefab Fences was launched in the market to provide affordable yet stylish fences to cater subdivisions, industrial estates, highways, residential and commercial establishments and even building partitions. One of their finished product is the SCTEX (Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway). The fences which surrounds the roads are made from Vazbuilt.

The VAZBUILT Building Technology was invented by Mr. Edgardo G. Vazquez, President & CEO of VAZBUILT. This invention garnered a lot of recognition and awards from various sectors both locally and abroad. In 1993, Mr. Vazquez was awarded the Golden Medal Award as Most Outstanding Inventor of the year in the Creative Research Category by the Filipino Inventors Society. In 1995, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) based in Geneva Awarded him Best Invention of the Year for his modular housing system.

VAZBUILT manufactures pre-fabricated reinforced concrete columns, wall panels, tie beams, (at 2,500 to 3,500 psi), which are eventually assembled into modular housing units.

The VAZBUILT system is practical and cost-effective. It does not require special skills or heavy equipment, which allows for easy assembling and dismantling of components for expansion and home improvements. Due to the simple construction requirement, a VAZBUILT house takes less time to build with lesser workforce.

As a Contractor, it has earned a Triple "A" accreditation - the highest accorded by the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB). Likewise, the VAZBUILT system is accredited by the Accreditation of Innovative Technologies for Housing (AITECH) from the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) of the Philippines.

VAZBUILT tiny homes ranges from 215sq.ft., 322sq.ft., 387sq.ft., and expandable to fit your needs and budget. VAZBUILT can accommodate and adjust to a whole line of needs from home office to vacation homes or full-time residences.

Here are the advantages of Vazbuilt:

1.) Strength – 2,500 psi, easily endures twice the prescribed earthquake load of the National Building Code.

2.) Low labor-cost – you can build your own house with only 6 laborers & a foreman.

3.) Extra space – thinner but solid wall panels gives your home a conscientious use of space.

4.) Beauty – ready made designs to chose from Build your own Vazbuilt Tiny House Now!

If you want to indulge to Real Estate business, Vazbuilt will show you the way. Here are the five business opportunities you can choose:

1. For contractors – Vazbuilt is looking for OFWs with experience to build houses or supervise construction, who will be trained (two to three weeks and sent for site visits in the different Vazbuilt or its partner plants) on the Vazbuilt prefab technology so they will be sent by Vazbuilt to clients who want their homes build using Vazbuilt’s labor or contract pool.

2. Sales people (part time or full time) – Vazbuilt is looking for sales people, whether part time or full time and those who will refer clients to the company for a commission/fee so that they can augment their current incomes.

3. Hardware Store – Vazbuilt is looking for entrepinoys who have existing hardware stores to sell the Vazbuilt lines to augment the distribution of the company products.

4. Licensed architects – Vazbuilt is looking for licensed architects that can present the company with proposed designs using Vazbuilt materials and these designs will be kept in the company’s catalog that clients will refer to and when the individual architect’s design is chosen, the architect will be given a royalty for every order of his design.

5. Partnership – Vazbuilt is willing to get into partnership for those wanting to manufacture its technology in their respective areas, preferably in Visayas and Mindanao, so that more Filipinos can benefit from the Vazbuilt technology. The company will give the partner a license to manufacture Vazbuild products.

The Real Estate business is booming again. Thanks to remittances of our dear OFW and the investments of foreign investors, without that Real Estate will be in dismay. Vazbuilt surely help the Real Estate industry by making the projects cost-effective and change the outlook by promoting Modular Housing.

For inquires you can call them at:

Tel Nos: 412-3294/371-2345/393-1901
Cell No: 0917-8444524
Email: inquire@vazbuilt.com
Website: www.vazbuilt.com

M.C. Chillers

2009-11-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

Want to have a business that will quench the thirst of your customers? Then apply a business franchise with M.C. Chillers.

M.C. Chillers was established in 2001, in line with the company’s main thrust which is to offer healthy and affordable food products, serving fruitshakes, fresh fruit juices, milkshakes and coffee blended shakes.
Despite the craze on “powdered” fruit and milkshake like Zagu, the company geared away by offering products that can be served the natural way (and healthy too). The company opened its first outlet in Poveda Learning Centre.

Realizing the demand for M.C. Chillers products and the success of offering a healthy alternative, the company decided to concentrate and put all its effort to make M.C. Chillers available in other schools. At present, M.C. Chillers has stalls in La Salle-Greenhills, Poveda Learning Centre, University of Asia and the Pacific, Ateneo de Manila University, Miriam College, Immaculate Concepcion Academy and its first commercial outlet in Tiendesitas.

Do you want to indulge in to this cool business? Here are the details for Franchise applicants:

Franchise Details

Franchise Fee : Php 150,000.**

Inclusive of :

Rights to business Trade Name and other Proprietary Marks
Site Approval for the Franchised Outlet
Training for the Franchisee and required Employees
Procurement Program
Marketing and Promotional Assistance
Pre-Opening and Grand Opening Assistance
Operations Manual
Product Research and Development

Franchise Term Agreement : Five (5) years
Franchise Renewal Term : Five (5) years
Total Estimated Initial Investment : Php 350,000.**
Continuation Service Fee : Php 250.**/day
Preferred Site : Shopping Malls, School Canteens and Commercial Areas.

Contact Information

M.C. CHILLERS
45-D Hillside Loop
Blueridge A, Quezon City
Tel. No. : (632) 440-1931
Fax No. : (632) 440-1931

Mushroom Growing

2009-11-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

When you think about mushrooms what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Mushroom Burger. Yeah me too, I love Mushroom Burger joint that is located in Tagaytay.
Aside from Mushroom Burger what else does comes to your mind? It is good for your health. Yeah that's true but your missing the point here... Mushroom can give you profits... lots of it.

Mushroom growing can be undertaken by urban dwellers as well as those living in the countryside. It can be undertaken as a commercial venture or just as a hobby for producing one’s own home requirements of mushroom.

Mushroom growing offers a number of advantages. Growing mushroom only require a small place and little amount of time. It has a very short gestation period. If your start with purchased fruiting bags, you will be able harvest your first mushrooms after only several days. Planting could be staggered so that harvesting could be done on daily basis or some other frequency desired by the grower or the demand of the market. The capital required is also minimal.

The great advantage of growing mushrooms, especially organic oyster mushroom in the urban area is that the market is right in the city and it is a big market. These include institutional buyers like restaurants, subdivisions homeowners, weekend market and the like. Your fresh harvest of organic mushroom can command high price in these markets.

If the harvest is many and present buyers cannot absorb all the fresh harvest, you can make them into powder of dried mushroom. Or you can make pickled mushroom.

Interested? Do you want to produce mushrooms at your own home and sell it to your neighbors, relatives and friends?
You can attend a seminar about mushroom production at AANI URBAN FARM 01 EARL ST., KINGSVILLECOURT, SUMULONG HIGHWAY, ANTIPOLO CITY.
It's a whole day seminar with hands-on training. You may call their office 497-2755
or text (0919)2033178 email: teddylaurie@ymail.com they have mother spawn available:
oyster mushrooms:
1. florida
2. sajor-caju

Joel Torre's Bacolod Chicken Inasal

2009-11-15T19:27:00.000-08:00

If you haven't eaten in one of JT's Manukan Grille people might think of you that you've been in a long hunting trip or even perhaps been to the planet Mars and stayed there for several years. But to the majority I'm pretty sure you have heard or even eaten to this famous spot.
Joel Torre, an award winning actor, owned a roadside restaurant that is known for the famous Bacolod Chicken Inasal. Chicken Inasal is popularized in Bacolod (Joel's hometown) and is known for its special marinated sauce.

The other secret is in the pre-cooking that is why the meat is more tastier. The customers have to wait a little longer for their order but it's worth the wait. Aside from the Chicken Inasal they also served Sinamak (aged palm vinegar dip) and Kansi (Ilonggo Bulalo).

Joel Torre started this business venture in 2003 on a 24 sq.m area along Granada St. (formerly Gilmore) in Q.C., which has only 7 tables. Their capital was less than Php 300,000. After 3 months they were able to recoup their investment. According to Torre it is not only the quality of food that they served but the location also help. The restaurant is located in a busy area which accommodates customers from different walks of life from CEO's to Taxi drivers. JT has expanded two more outlets in Scout Esquerra St., Q.C. and in Malugay St. in Makati.

When they first opened, JT's had 40-50 customers a day. But before they knew it, they were taking in 100 customers daily and that doesn't include the takeouts. Today, JT's serves 500-600 dine-in customers everyday at the main branch alone. Wow! Amazing isn't it?

Here's a tip, if you want to have 500-600 customers a day in your restaurant get a good chef (or cook for that matter). Although Joel Torre grew up with food through his Mom's catering business, he doesn't have the skill and time to do so. So what he did was he got a partner (Cristy) who's her aunt had a very popular restaurant in Bacolod.

If you have cooking skills then you're blessed and you can start anytime you want. But if you're an ordinary guy/girl then you have to attend seminars or you can go to Bacolod look for a good chef and "pirate" him/her. It may sound impolite but that how things go not only in the corporate world but in business as well.

So get a good chef or cook. Get a nice location that has a traffic like an army of ants. Prepare your capitalization (you can loan or borrow if you lack funds). And watch your restaurant grow like Joel Torre. Just don't forget to invite me in your restaurant okay.

Candle Making

2009-11-08T06:46:00.000-08:00

When you think of candle the first thing that comes to your mind is for emergency black-outs/brown-outs. Or they are more popularized in the event of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. But nowadays candles are been used to many other different needs. They are now serve as decorative in our homes and it release our stress by the candle's wonderful smelling mechanism. It also offers pleasant light to romantic restaurant dinners and relaxing bath in sauna.
So how do you make candle making into a business venture? Here it is:

INVESTMENT COSTS

Materials Qty. Cost
Paraffin wax granules (P75.00/kg.) 10 kg. - 750.00
Polyethylene wax* (P180.00/kg.) 10 kg. - 1,800.00
Crystal wax (P192.00/kg.) 8 kg. - 1,536.00
Gel wax (P270.00/kg.) 5 kg. - 1,350.00
Dyes (P60.00/pk.) 5 packs - 300.00
Separator (petroleum jelly, cooking oil, liquid soap, etc.)- 120.00
Nylon wick (P36.00/pk.) 2 packs - 72.00
Bamboo sticks (P30.00/bundle) 1 bundle - 30.00
Scent (P85.00 to P360.00/bottle) 3 bottles - 255.00
Subtotal (6,213.00)

* Polyethylene from Germany (P150.00 /kg.) and Thailand (P70.00 /kg.)

Tools and Equipment Qty. Cost
Heat source (P300.00/unit) 2 - 600.00
Heating pans (P350.00/unit) 2 - 700.00
Molders (P350.00/molder) 5 - 1,750.00
Subtotal (3,050.00)
TOTAL COST (9,263.00)

* Based on 2009 prices

GENERAL PROCEDURE

Prepare the waxes. For every Kg of paraffin wax, add 100 grams of polyethylene wax and 30 to 50 grams of crystal wax. If the paraffin wax is in a slab form, break it first into small pieces.

Heat the wax in a container other than the dipping tube. The safest way is to use a double boiler. If without a double boiler, heat the wax slowly in a pouring pot or saucepan.

Wax is completely melted if the liquid is clear and the bottom of the container is seen. DO NOT BURN WAX (indicated by smoky fumes and brown coloration).

Remove from heat source and transfer contents into another container either in dipping tube or metal cup with spout. Add dye and scent (optional). The wax is now ready for dipping and/or molding.

A. DIPPED CANDLES (Oldest and simplest way of making candles)

Cut wick(s) into several inches longer than the desired candle length.
If you wish to dip several candles at the same time, tie the wicks 2 to 3 inches apart on a rod or a hoop.
Dip the wick into the melted wax. Withdraw the wick and pull on the other end to make it taut. Dip the wick again after the first layer of wax hardens.
Continue dipping the candles until it reaches the desired thickness. Allow each layer of wax to cool and harden after every dipping.
To make the bottoms of the dipped candles flat and smooth, heat a metal spatula over a gas flame or electric burner. Rub the candle bottoms against hot metal surface, melting away until the bottoms are flat.

B. MOLDED CANDLES (Molders can be purchased, made or found).

Prepare mold to release candle by applying the inside of the molder with a thin layer of separator.
Prepare the wick. The size of the wick depends on the size of the candle. The wick is usually placed in the mold before the wax is poured. However, certain candles require that the wick be inserted after the candle is made. This is done by piercing a wick hole in the candle with a hot ice pick.
Hold mold in a slanting position. Pour hot wax from pot to metal cup with spout, then, from cup slowly into the mold.
Cool mold by placing it in a pail with cold water. Hold down with a heavy object.
After cooling, notice that portion about the wick recedes. Puncture and pour wax into the cavity until filled.
Cool the mold again. After the wax has set, remove mold from water. Pull wick gently to release the candle. Trim excess wick.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

Always have a fire extinguisher within reach.
Never use water to extinguish a wax fire. Liquid wax behaves much the same way as oil, and therefore needs to be treated like an oil fire.
NEVER LEAVE MELTING WAX UNATTENDED.
Constantly monitor the temperature of the wax. If wax reaches the flash point, then the vapors produced are extremely flammable. The flash point of wax is typically above 300° F. Never let wax exceed 250 oF.
Always use a double boiler. A double boiler helps distribute heat and prevents dangerous temperatures. Never melt wax directly on your stove.
Use an electric heat source if possible. If, by accident, the wax reaches the flash point, vapors may find a flame and become ignited on an electric heat source. Any open flame such as that found on a gas stove, will ignite wax vapors.
Always use a thermometer to monitor the wax temperatures. Put it on your list of things to get before you start making candles.

Start selling through your friends and relatives and let the word of mouth do the selling for you. If you need to expose your candle making business in the internet and generate more sales; you can log on to this website for more help: http://pinoybusinessbooster.blogspot.com/

Sarah Geronimo; best endorser

2009-11-06T01:59:00.000-08:00

Unica Hija, Belo Essentials, Jollibee, Bench, Sunsilk, Hapee Toothpaste, Globe... This is just a few of Sarah Geronimo's commercial endorsements. Why are these top and successful companies, who are known to the public, needs a celebrity like Sarah to promote their products? I have two words for you.... More Sales!

Sarah Geronimo is the hottest endorser in the country today. Her success from her music, albums, concerts, TV shows, and movies made the companies craving for her services. Sarah is such a hot commodity that you can see her everywhere (billboards, magazines, etc).

It's becoming a trend now when it comes to endorsement. Before companies would go for hot celebrities like Sharon Cuneta and Kris Aquino. They even grab boxing champ Manny Pacquiao. Companies nowadays goes to the hottest celebrity and pays them a fortune to get their services. Is it worth it? The answer is astounding Yes. You will be surprise to why is this trend so effective.
For one, let's look at Sarah Geronimo. Guess how much fans and followers does she have? a hundred? a thousand? Sarah's fame generated more than a million fans. Tendency is these followers will folllow or buy what Sarah Geronimo is endorsing. Why? Because they idolize her, they trust her, she is a role model for the youth. They are like copy cats and will emulate what their idol is using.

Sarah Geronimo captured her fans and followers from almost every department. She have a lot of followers from the music industry (sold out concerts and top recording albums). Sarah also has a lot of fans from the TV and Movie industry (box-office hits). She has multiple streams of fans and followers everywhere.

It's so simple, why would companies go for an endorser who is not hot and famous. How many followers do you think do they have? Not much. That is not good enough to companies. They want a stud, a top-gun, an ace, the best of the best. It doesn't matter if they pay a huge amount of money as long as they will generate huge sales from their hot endorser.

So how much would it cost to get Sarah Geronimo to promote my business? Php 5-6 million. What? Correct me if I'm wrong but that' s what Sarah received as talent fee for the Tesda commercial.

Personally, Sarah Geronimo is worth every cent even at a steep price of Php 5-6 million. Her fame, status, and personality will not only boost your business sales but you business will be known through out the country.

If only I have that kind amount of money, my business sales will definitely hit the roof!

Homemade Bacon

2009-11-04T16:36:00.000-08:00

Homemade bacon is a staple food on your breakfast table. Bacon goes along with fried egg and fried rice. If you prefer sandwhich, you can insert bacon in any kind of sandwhich that you like. Bacon is also good in Hamburger (ever heard of the bacon mushroom-melt burger). Kids crave for bacon and they can eat bacon all day to breakfast until dinner.

Bacon comes from pigs and they get bacon from the pig's belly (liempo). If you know how to make bacon you can make it into a sideline business by selling it to your neighbors and office mates.

Here are some list of Homemade Bacon Recipes

Homemade Bacon
by John D Lee

Ingredients:
One 5 lb. slab of pork belly, rind removed. Ask your butcher to take of the rind.
1/4 cup of salt
1 tsp pink salt, a mixture of about 93.5% regular salt (kosher salt is good as it has no iodine) and 6.5% Sodium Nitrite.
Generous half cup of maple syrup or honey. (You could also substitute a half cup of brown sugar if you prefer.)

Procedure:
Rub the pink salt all over both sides of the bacon and then slather on the salt and maple syrup or honey as well, trying to get all exposed surfaces coated. Pop the pork belly into a large Ziploc bag, and keep it in the fridge for a week, turning every day. There will be some liquid accumulating in the bag; this is normal, don’t remove it.

After a week, take the bacon out of the bag, wash off any salt that remains…and voila, you have bacon.

Now fry a little piece cut out from the center of the belly. It’s bacon after all, so it should be salty; but if you think it is too salty, try soaking it in cold water for about an hour. This will leach out some of the salt. Repeat the tasting and if you still think it’s too salty, give it another hour in a new batch of water.

You now have great tasting bacon that’s ready to enjoy; and you can either now slice it up and watch how fast it disappears from your fridge, or get ready to take it the next level by hardwood smoking it.

The smoking stage will make this bacon even better, but you’ll be amazed at how good the bacon already tastes. All the excess water has been removed through the dry curing; so the tastes are concentrated…and you’ll never see your homemade bacon shrivel away to nothing in the frying pan.

Commercial bacon is pumped full of water, and when you cook it, all this water is released. Adding water is a great way to make more money when you’re selling bacon by the pound, but not such a good way to make delicious bacon. Recipe found at Hubpages.com

Natural Homemade Bacon
by Geoff

Ingredients:
5 pounds pork belly
Quarter cup Kosher salt
Flavorings: 1/2 cup of maple pure syrup or some molasses and mustard powder
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and black peppercorns and crushed garlic

Procedure:
Step 1: Thoroughly rinse and dry and then place your pork belly in a non-metal container large enough to accommodate it.

Step 2: Apply salt to both sides of the belly and rub it in. Kosher salt works perfectly for this, as the grains of a traditional table salt are too fine, while those in sea salt are too coarse.

Step 3: Now is also a good time to contemplate flavorings. Like maple flavored bacon? Lightly rub a half cup of pure maple syrup (you know, syrup that has only “pure maple syrup” as an ingredient, not that stuff sold in plastic containers) on to the belly. This is a really good time to be creative. Some molasses and mustard powder, perhaps? A more savory bacon can be made by adding a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and black peppercorns and crushed garlic to the mix. Play around a little. Developing your own cures for specific purposes can be a lot of fun.

Step 4: Stash the container in your fridge. 24 hours later, pull them out. Poke the belly. It should be a little firmer than when you put it in. Liquid will continue to be pulled out of the meat, which will cause the belly to become continually firmer throughout the process. Drain and discard the liquid and lightly dust the belly in additional salt (a couple of pinches should do the trick) and back in the fridge it goes.

Step 5: Repeat this process so that your meat is cured at least three days. You can cure your meat pretty much as long as you’d like, just remember that you are increasing the level of salt and reducing the level of moisture each day. I’ve found that about 5 days is my ideal curing time. Your preference may vary, so experiment a little. Once your cure is complete, remove the belly from the container and rinse completely.

Step 6: Smoke the bacon with hickory or walnut wood at 200 degrees until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 150. (This usually takes about 3 hours, your results may vary.)

If you don’t have access to a smoker, you can certainly rig one up with a ceramic pot and a hot plate, a la Alton Brown (About the 7 minute mark of this video) or you can cook the bacon in your oven. I would suggest braising it in a foil pouch in the presence of a cup or so of liquid in a 200 degree oven until the bacon reaches the desired temperature of 150. The addition of liquid smoke to the braising liquid will give the bacon a similar smoky flavor, but it won’t be close to the results you can achieve in a smoker.

Step 7: Once your bacon has cooled, it’s time to slice. A night in the fridge will firm the belly up, making it much easier to slice. If you don’t have a counter-top slicer hanging around, just take your sharpest knife and slice as thin or thickly as you’d like. Recipe found at imafoodblog.com

How to Make Bacon
By Mishell Malabaguio

Materials Needed:
* Gas stove
* Casserole
* Oven
* Bowls
* 30ml syringe
* 21G x 1″ needle
* Knife
* Cotton thread or ham net
* Paperlyne or cut wrap for curing and packaging

Ingredients:
* 1kg of liempo or pork belly

for PUMPING PICKLE: (good for 10 kg of meat)
* ½ cup & 2 tablespoons salt
* 5 cups water
* 6 ½ tablespoons white sugar
* 3 tablespoons phosphate
* 1 teaspoon curing salt
* 1 ½ teaspoons powdered ascorbic acid
* 1 drop oil of anise
* 1 drop oil of cloves
* 1 drop maplein
* 1 ½ teaspoons smoke flavor

for DRY CURE (good for every 1 kg of meat)
* 1 ½ tablespoons salt, P15 per kg
* 2 ½ tablespoons sugar
* 1/4 tablespoons phosphate

Procedure:
1. Dissolve the salt into the water and then dissolve the following ingredients: phosphate, sugar, curing salt, ascorbic acid, oil of anise, oil of cloves, maplein, and smoke flavor.

2. Once dissolved, get ½ cup of the pickle and put it in the syringe. Make sure there is no air inside the syringe.

3. Get the liempo and inject the pickle into the lean portion of the meat in several points 1/2 inch apart. After each injection, slightly massage the meat to evenly distribute the pumping pickle in the meat. Set aside.

4. Mix the ingredients for the dry cure. Get the meat and rub the dry cure on the meat, starting from its fatty portion all the way to the lean portion. Afterwards, wrap with paperlyne or cut wrap.

5. Cure the pork for 8 to 10 hours at room temperature and then 5 days inside the refrigerator. After curing, wash the meat thoroughly with running water for 30 minutes to make sure that all excess curing ingredients are removed. Then drain the meat.

6. Roll the meat and then tie it tightly with the cotton thread. You may also use a ham net. After tying the bacon, freeze it.

7. Once the bacon has been frozen, slice it thinly. You may now pack and sell it. Recipe found at Entrepreneur.com.ph

Where to look for supplies:
SPICES & FOOD MIXES
107 E. Rodriguez Sr. Ave. Quezon City
Telephones: (02) 411- 1349; (02) 742-0826

Where to train:
ULTIMATE ENTREPINOY
107 E. Rodriguez Sr. Ave., Quezon City
Telephones: (02) 411- 1349; (02) 742- 0826

COTTAGE INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY CENTER
20 Russet St., SSS Village, Marikina City
Telephones: (02) 942- 3974; (02) 948- 2875
Fax: (02) 942- 0107

There's money in Junk

2009-11-03T19:18:00.000-08:00

It's a dirty business but there's money in it. Junk shop is one of the most disregard business in the entrepreneurship world. People always look at the clean ones and the easy ones. Little did they know that if you collect a lot of junk you can make serious money out of it. From metals to plastics to papers and rubber... everything can be converted into cash. You just need a large space to collect your junk.

And since we are Eco-friendly, the junk shop business comes hand in hand with the government recycling program.

Here is what you need:

Open lot or idle property (if you have no vacant lot look for an old warehouse that is for rent)
Weighing scale (Bascula)
50-kg. countertop/hanging weighing scale
2 Metal push-cart (cartilla)
Acethyline Torch and Gas Tank
Pulley
Tools (steel saw, pliers, vice grips, screw drivers, hammer, “baretta de cabra”, etc.)
Vehicle, pick-up-truck (an old jeep will do)

You need all the manpower that you can get; you need to assigned somebody to monitor the inventory and you need several helpers to carry those junks.

Sourcing of Potential Clients
Clients are recycling agents to whom the junkshop owner will be selling the junk items, which have been sorted and segregated. The junkshop owner must search the market for several possible recycling agents to get the best deal possible such as a lock-in period with regard to the buying price of a specific item within one month. Cost of delivery/pick-up also affects the price and should always be taken into consideration. The junkshop owner must bargain for the best deal possible and coordinate with the respective recycling agents as to the payment schedule and volume of deliveries or pick-up. You can talk to Barangay Captains and Village Managers get source of junk. One village alone can bring you a lot of junk.

Walk-in Procedure for Retailers
Retailers are the scavengers, with or without pushcarts, and residents of nearby communities and local business establishments.

Buying

Search for potential wholesellers who have by-products in their businesses that would fall under the categories that the junk shop owner would be buying.
Buy directly from wholesellers/establishments with by-products or junk items.
Tap scavengers by providing them wooden pushcarts (kariton) on the condition that you will have the priority of their junk products and these will be bought at a lower cost to cover for the cost of the cart.
Give incentives (e.g. allow advances up to a certain amount to maintain the in-flow of materials, with the limit on advance and up to the prerogative of the junk shop owner)

Selling
Sourcing of potential clients must be a continuous process.
The following are the basic factors to consider as to whom each type of item/material is to be sold: a) payment terms; b) schedule and volume of pick-up and/or delivery.
If there is a broker or agent for the client, it should be pre-agreed upon by both the Junk Shop and the Client that all payments should be made directly to the Junk Shop owner or his duly authorized representative.

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

Business Name Registration
For Sole Proprietorship:
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) within the National Capital Region (NCR)

12/F Trafalgar Plaza, 105 H.V. Dela Costa St., Salcedo Village, Makati City
Tel. No.: 811.8232 loc. 208
2/F Park N’Ride, Lawton, P. Burgos Ave., Dr. Basa St. Ermita, Manila
Tel. No.: 536.7153
G/F Highway 54 Plaza, EDSA, Mandaluyong City (across SM Megamall)
Tel. No.: 706.1767
5/F Araneta Square Mall, Monumento Circle, Caloocan City
Tel. No.: 332-0854 / 332-0829

For Partnership/Corporation:
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
SEC Building, EDSA, Greenhills
Mandaluyong City
Tel. No.: 584.0923

or contact the concerned Office in the province where the business is located

License to Operate
Mayor’s Permit/Residence Certificate and Sanitary Permit
Contact the local municipality or provincial municipality
where the business is located.

Application for Tax Identification Number (TIN)/
Application for Authority to Print Receipts and Invoices/
Registration of Books and Accounts
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
BIR National Office Bldg.
Agham Road, Diliman, Quezon City
Trunklines: (632) 981.7000 / 981.8888
Email: contact_us@cctr.bir.gov.ph
Website: www.bir.gov.ph

or contact the Regional or District Office where the
business is located.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Technology Resource Center (TRC)
TLRC Building, 103 J. Abad Santos cor. Lopez Jaena Sts.,
Little Baguio, San Juan, Metro Manila
Tel. Nos.: (632) 727.6205
Website: www.trc.dost.gov.ph

List of Recycling Centers

Batteries / Tires

Philippine Recyclers, Inc.
Marilao, Bulacan
Tel: 299.6202 to 03

Tire Recycling
711 Vermillion St., Agro Homes
Muntinlupa City
Tel. No.: 861.6350 Fax No.: 862.1452

Caltex Julia Vargas
“Bantay Baterya Project”
Mandaluyong City
Tel. No.: 634.3812

Computers

Envirocycle Philippines, Inc.
Daystar Industrial Park, Pulong
Sta. Cruz, Sta. Rosa, Laguna 4026
Tel. No.: 520.8618 to 19
Fax No.: 520.8546

HMR Super Surplus Bodega
Pioneer corner Reliance Street,
Mandaluyong City
Tel. No.: 634.0526

Paper

Container Corp. of the Phils.
60 Old Samson Road, Balintawak 1106
Tel. No.: 361.9801 to 06
Fax No.: 362.3607

Globe Paper Mills
1000 Gov. E. Pascual Avenue
Malabon, Metro Manila
Tel. No.: 361.2516; 242.7321
Fax No.: 242.0198

Asia Paper Industrial Corp.
62 Gregoria de Jesus St.,
Balintawak, Kalookan City
Tel. No.: 432.8000; 983.8000

Sunrise Paper Mills
3549 M. Delos Reyes St.,
Gen. T. De Leon, Valenzuela, City
Tel. No.: 293.3002; Fax No.: 291.5117

Plastics

PEMA Plastic Mfg., Corp.
80 Mendez Road, Baesa, Quezon City
Tel. No.: 361.2844

Synber Mfg., Inc.
Meliton Espiritu Avenue
corner Sucat Road, Parañaque City
Tel. No.: 825.5356/ 826.7827
Fax No.: 826.7228

Polysterene Packaging Council of the Phils. Rm. 900-1 Victoria Bldg.,
UN Ave., Ermita, Manila
Tel. No.: 526.0889 Fax No.: 522.4354

Interpolymer Corporation
Malabo-Maysan, Valenzuela City
Tel. No.: 292.4878 Fax No.: 292.7726

Metals

Alliance Foundry Shop & Eng., Inc.
135 J. Teodoro St., cor. 10th & 11th Ave.
Caloocan City
Tel. No.: 362.0039

Kim Bee Foundry
329 J. Theodoro St., cor. 9th Avenue
Caloocan City
Tel. No.: 361.1173 Fax No.: 365.8783

A. Metal Recycling Corp.
380 Barangka Drive cor. Hinahon St.,
Mandaluyong City
Tel. No.: 533.4719 Fax No.: 533.4717

Hilton Mfg. Corp.
648 T. Santiago St., Linunan
Valenzuela City
Tel. No.: 292.8134

Apac

2009-10-30T19:06:00.000-07:00

To those who are Night Owls and like to have a night life, why not work in one of the leading Call Center company in the country today. APAC Customer Services Inc. is a leading provider of customer interaction solutions for market leaders in financial services, insurance, telecommunication, healthcare and logistics.
APAC partners with its clients to deliver customer solution that enhance bottom line performance. APAC Customer Services Inc. pioneered the field of outsourced customer relationship marketing. And today, Apac is one of the largest firms in their industry-the most driven to excel in providing solutions that produce success.

APAC Philippines is opening exciting career opportunities to be based in Alabang, Cubao and Leyte sites.

What are the requirements?

Finished at least sophomore year in college
Excellent oral and written communication skills
Possess listening and problem solving skills
Must be an effective team player, with flexible and amiable personality
Proficient in MS Office and have knowledge in computers and the internet
Good typing skills, can type 25 words per minute
Ability to multi-task in a fast paced environment
Must be willing to work on shifts particular night shifts

What are the benefits?

Highly competitive starting salaries
Meal and transportation allowances
Health and life insurance
Incentives and bonuses where applicable
Aggressive internal promotion

Apac is aggressive when it comes to employee career growth. If you have good attendance rating, you have a good chance for promotion.

I suggest you apply personally to one of Apac sites. They prioritize walk-in applicants.

This is the address for the Alabang site:
APAC Customer Service Inc.
4/F Plaza C, Northgate Cyberzone, Filinvest Corporate City
Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Tel. No. 757-6500 Fax No. 757-6530

For more information log to www.apaccustomerservices.com

or you can view their job opening at http://job-search.jobstreet.com.ph just type in the keyword APAC to check their listing.

Live the APAC life!

Wanted Story tellers!

2009-10-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

Adarna House, the country's leading publisher of storybooks for children is looking for story tellers. Here is there invitation:

"If you have a lot of free time, a passion for telling stories, and a penchant for the company of kids, start gearing up for your audition! We need you!

Storytellers must be available most of the time during the work hours of weekdays. Most of our storytelling sessions are done in schools, so we need storytellers who can make themselves available for such events.

Experienced or not, our storytellers are able to make our stories come alive through their craft. We are eager to add to our pool, and we are looking for people who have great stage presence and share our passion for literature, literacy and early childhood education.

Send us your resume and weekly schedule through grace@adarna.com.ph, or call 3723548 local 110 for details. Individuals with regular nine-to-five jobs need not apply."

In addition to developing storybooks for more than 25 years, Adarna House has also worked with many agencies, both local and foreign, on other publications for children. Our dedication to Filipino children is not limited to giving them a library of quality books. Adarna House has also mounted educational programs for the community.

Adarna House’s distinction lies not so much in the number of awards it has garnered, the books it has produced, or the extraordinary longevity it has sustained. Our distinction is that we, through the endearing characters and memorable stories of our books, have nourished the imagination of generations of Filipino children. Our real business is the business of inspiring Filipino children to dream, to explore worlds, to enjoy their childhood, and to take pride in being Filipino.

So to Story tellers out there this is your time to shine. Share something to the community by helping the youth to enlightened their minds and give hope to their bright future.

To those who have a strong passion for children, this will be like a sanctuary to you. The amount of your salary won't matter that much because you're enjoying every minute of it.

For more information log to www.adarna.com.ph

200,000 glasses of milk from one Cow

2009-10-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

Did you know that a Cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime?

Approximately that's 22 glasses of milk a day. Enough to feed your entire family.
Or you could turn it into a business venture by delivering milk to your village or community.
Or you could process it by making cheese, butter, yogurt, and even ice cream.
Those who have sweet tooth will be floating on air to have this by-products. If you have a pastry or confectionary, having a Cow will be beneficial to your business.

The natural lifespan of a dairy cow is approximately 25 years, however in commercial farms dairy cows are rarely kept longer than five years. This is done to maximize the dairy farms productivity.
If the Cow can't produce the milk quota ( production below 12 to 15 liters of milk per day are not economically viable) they will be sold and slaughtered. It's a pity but that is how the Cows lived in commercial farms. If you can't produce get out.

A Cow will produce large amounts of milk over its lifetime. Certain breeds produce more milk than others; however, different breeds produce within a range of around 4,000 to over 10,000 kg of milk per annum. The average for dairy cows in the US in 2005 was 8,800 kg (19,576 pounds).

Production levels peak at around 40 to 60 days after calving (giving birth). The Cow is then bred. Production declines steadily afterwards, until, at about 305 days after calving, the Cow is 'dried off', and milking ceases. About sixty days later, one year after the birth of her previous calf, a Cow will calve again. High production cows are more difficult to breed at a one year interval. Many farms take the view that 13 or even 14 month cycles are more appropriate for this type of Cow.

Dairy cows may continue to be economically productive for many lactations (the period of milk production). Ten or more lactations are possible. The chances of problems arising which may lead to a Cow being culled are however, high; the average herd life of US Holsteins (a certain breed of cow) is today fewer than 3 lactations. This requires more herd replacements to be reared or purchased.

Before large scale mechanization arrived in the 1950s, keeping a dozen milk cows for the sale of milk was profitable. Now most dairies must have more than one hundred cows being milked at a time in order to be profitable, with other cows and heifers (a young cow) waiting to be "freshened" to join the milking herd . In New Zealand the average herd size, depending on the region, is about 350 cows. That's a lot of Cows.

Back here it is profitable to keep 2 milking Cows. This is more than enough to sustain your family needs. Or could help your business venture.

If only there's way to keep your Cow in your backyard. :)

Petron Bulilit

2009-10-26T07:07:00.000-07:00

I am not rich, I don't have the capital to raise funds for that kind of business! That will be your initial reaction when it comes to owning a Gasoline station. It's true that setting up a Gasoline station cost you a fortune but Petron has found a way to minimize it.

Introducing Petron Bulilit! Petron found an oppotunity of providing fuel in areas with untapped volumes. Yes, you can put one just near your village. Petron's goal is to expand its network in the fuel market. You can choose from 6 customized types depending on the potentials of your proposed service station location.

The Selection Process
The selection process described here applies for Bulilit Stations only. It involves three phases:

Phase I – Screening
Phase II - Training
Phase III - Project Implementation

I. Screening:

* Dealer is required to have a potential lot that he/she owns or leases

* Dealer to submit letter of Intent with the following attached documents:
1. Lot Plan
2. Vicinity Map
3. Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT)

* Dealer Application to be submitted to Regional office for processing
1. Dealer is evaluated against criteria
2. Proposed lot found suitable for service station operation
3. Financial soundness check
4. Recommend site for approval of District Manager

II. Training:
A 3-day course will be given to the dealer on the basics of service station operation by the assigned Sales Executive in the area.

* Dealer may be required to enroll himself in a 4-week Dealer Management Course (DMC) offered by Petron Corporation, to be held in Petron Training School

III. Project Implementation:
Applicants who pass the screening stage and received confirmation of site approval, will be required to sign a Lease to Company (LTC) for at least 10 years and deposit a cash bond of Php100,000. Petron will provide dealer applicant with the construction drawings embodying the designs and specifications of the Bulilit Station while the dealer shall secure all necessary permits required by both National and Local Government Units (i.e., Locational, Building, ECC, Occupancy, Business, and other necessary permits).

Dealer investment consists of capital expenditure for the construction cost of the Bulilit Station, including site preparation, pre-construction phase of the project, as well as, working and operating capital requirements in business operation.

Application Guidelines
1. Get to know the service station business by reading the Primer on Petron Dealership Program.
2. Accomplish the Service Station Dealership Application Form and Letter of Intent.
3. The initial screening will be based on the content of the initial documents submitted. Put “NA” in the blank if information sought is not applicable to your case.
4. Submit applications to:

Luzon applicants:
Luzon Regional Reseller Manager
Petron Corporation
Jesus St., Pandacan, Manila
Tel. Nos.+632-5638521 to 40
Loc 282
Rosette P. Sanchez

Visayas and Mindanao applicants:
VisMin Regional Reseller Manager
Petron Corporation
Mandaue Terminal
Looc, Mandaue City
Tel. Nos.+63032-3447341to 51
Jenny D. Lado

5. Applicant will be informed in writing, of the status of his/her application after the preliminary screening phase.
6. Petron shall only process applications forms duly filled-up and with complete attachments. There is no need to follow-up applications as all applicants shall be informed of their status.

For more information log on to : www.petron.com

Business + A Van = Money

2009-10-25T01:36:00.000-07:00

Ever thought of using your car for business and personal use at the same time. Does your car seems to be a little small for your family. Or you just need extra space from your vehicle for cargo. Get a Van. It works for you in so many ways. Let's cut down the details :

Space, Space, Space:

A sedan can accommodate 5 passengers. An SUV can fit 5-7 people. But a Van has the space to fill up passengers from 15 up to 21. That's a big margin.
Cargo, not a problem. The van has a long bed of space to fit a piano, a dining table, or a long bench. Something a normal car or an SUV can't do.

Save Gas:

Most of Asian Vans have diesel engines. Again a plus point. With a diesel engine vehicle, you can travel more distance compared to vehicles with normal gasoline engines. With our economy's unpredictability, it's nice to know that a Van can save a few liters of gas.

An aid to your business:

Delivery problems? Having trouble with picking up your supplies and raw materials? All of this can be solved if you have a Van. Having a Van can save your business operating cost. There's no need to rent a vehicle. The luxury of having a Van is you can put majority of your stocks in one travel only compared to using a sedan or an SUV. You got 60 boxes of your product to transport, no problem. How about 40 sacks of rice, sure thing go ahead and fill her up.

Cash cow machine:

Here's the good part, you can make profit from your Van. The options are endless. Here are the things that you can start with:

Rental Service (Rent your Van to companies or SME owners)
Shuttle Service (Transport passengers to and from)
School Bus
Transport for Tourist (Coordinate with Travel Agency's clients)
Delivery Vehicle
Mobile Restaurant (How about a moving Pizza chain joint)

This is just to name a few. A Van gives you a lot of flexibility and options to your business.

But how can I avail a Van? Well you can trade your car to a brand new Van. There's no need to worry on the monthly amortization, with a lot of income producing stream that your Van can produce. Your Van can be paying for its monthly amortization saving you the trouble.
If your limited on funds, there are a lot of 2nd hand Vans out there that are still in good condition.

Here are the types of van that I recommend:

Nissan Urvan
Toyota Hiace
Mitsubishi L300 Versa Van

So there you go. A Van helps you in lot of ways. Go and get one now.

There's money in Worms!

2009-10-24T01:20:00.000-07:00

Worms? Majority of the people will say that worms are irritating, dirty, bad for your health, slimy, yucky, etc. Worms gives a negative mindset to people. But you can make money from this pesty worms. How? Through Vermicompost.

Vermicomposting is producing quality organic fertilizer by breeding earthworms. The species of earthworms being used in these technologies is the African night crawler (Eudrilus euginae). It has a high reproductive rate (an adult breeding earthworm produces 3.6 cocoons per week) and can thrive in a wide range of environments that duplicate it's ideal living conditions. Earthworms can be used as live feed or vermimeal for fish, prawn, chicken and birds.

Vermicomposting is a fast way to convert organic farm waste into organic fertilizer. The organic fertilizer is an excellent soil enhancer for organic farming.

Large-scale Vermicomposting is practiced in the Philippines. Some systems use a windrow, which consists of bedding materials for the earthworms to live in and acts as a large bin; organic material is added to it. Although the windrow has no physical barriers to prevent worms from escaping, in theory they should not due to an abundance of organic matter for them to feed on. Often windrows are used on a concrete surface to prevent predators from gaining access to the worm population.

Small-scale or home systems

Such systems usually use kitchen and garden waste, using "earthworms and other microorganisms to digest organic wastes, such as kitchen scraps"This includes:

All fruits and vegetables (including citrus and other "high acid" foods)
Vegetable and fruit peels and ends
Coffee grounds and filters
Tea bags (even those with high tannin levels)
Grains such as bread, cracker and cereal (including moldy and stale)
Eggshells (rinsed off)
Leaves and grass clippings (not sprayed with pesticides)

Large-scale or commercial

Such vermicomposting systems need reliable sources of large quantities of food. Systems presently operating use:

Dairy cow or pig manure
Agricultural waste
Food processing and grocery waste
Cafeteria waste
Grass clippings and wood chips

I. ESTIMATED INVESTMENT COSTS

The initial capitalization in starting a small vermicomposting business on vermicompost production will depend on the scale from backyard (P5,000) to commercial (P50,000).

Tools:
Gardening gloves
Strainer/Sifter
Spading fork
Shovel

B. Raw Material/Packaging Material
Vermi (Worms)
Foodwastes, fruit/vegetable trimmings and peelings, dry leaves and stems, animal manure
Vermi Bed or earthworm bed (Dimension: 2×1x0.3m)
Black plastic garbage bags
Plastic sacks (50-kg. capacity)

C. Equipment
Mechanical shredder (optional)
Bicycle-powered sorter (optional)

II. PROCEDURE

1. Collect biodegradable materials such as food wastes, fruit/vegetable trimmings, peelings, and dry leaves and stems.
2. Shred/grind the food wastes, fruit/vegetable trimmings, peelings, and dry leaves and stems.
3. Mix old animal manure and chicken droppings (2 months old) with shredded vegetable waste. This will improve the nutrient content of the finish product. Do not use fresh manure for the ammonia produced will give discomfort to the worms.
4. Sun-dry these materials for at least three days and let them undergo partial fermentation.
5. Weigh the shredded grinded materials before putting in the compost bed to determine ratio of compostables and worms.
6. Before stocking the earthworms, make sure that all materials in the vermi bed are prepared.
7. Moisten the bedding with water and cover it with black plastic garbage bag, old sacks, net, or banana leaves to start “anaerobic process”, which is completed after 1-2 weeks.
8. After the anaerobic process, remove the cover and stock the vermi bed with earthworms.
9. Maintain the vermi beds’ moisture content and temperature through regular checking. Protect the worms from predatory animals.
10. Vermicompost is harvested when most of the materials have been consumed by the worms. This takes about 30-45 days depending on environmental and culture conditions.
11. In harvesting, separate the “vermi” from the vermicompost either manually (handpicking) or using a strainer/sifter.
12. Properly pack vermicompost in sacks and store in a cool dry place.
13. Harvested/sifted vermi from the vermi beds may either be used for the next vermicomposting cycle or for expansion by constructing additional vermi beds.
14. The offspring or produce of the initial vermi in the vermi bed can also be sold to would-be vermicompost producer or to fish pond owner as fish meal.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Department of Agriculture (DA)
Bureau of Plant Industry – Crop Research Division
692 San Andres St., Malate, Manila
E-mail: cu.bpi@da.gov.ph; buplant@yahoo.com
Tel. Nos.: (02) 524.0734
Fax No: (02) 521.5775
www.bpi.da.gov.ph

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB)
University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna
E-mail: erdb@denr.gov.ph
Tel. Nos.: (049) 536.2269 / 536.2229
Fax No.: (049) 536.2850
- Training and pilot demo on vermicomposting and supply of breeders

Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development
Jamboree Road, Brgy. Timugan, Los Baños, Laguna
Email: pcamrd_email@yahoo.com; pcamrd@laguna.net
Tele/Fax No.: (049) 536.1582

- PCAMRD Manila Liaison Office
2/F, Room 205, PTRI Building,
Gen. Santos Ave., Bicutan, Taguig, Metro Manila
Tel. No.: (02) 837.2071 loc 2430
www.pcamrd.dost.gov.ph

Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines
Unit 9, Citiland 8, # 98 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City
Email: info@swapp.org.ph
Tel. No.: (632) 830.0005
Fax No.: (632) 830.0051

Buro-Buro Vermi Farm
Sitio Balogo, Brgy. Concepcion, Talisay City
Email: owapam@gmail.com
Tel Nos.: (034) 433.6880 / 433.0362 / 712.1100
Batchoy Henares: 0917.8543939
Pamela Henares: 0917.3015250
www.vermiphil.com

Banana Chips!

2009-10-23T01:56:00.000-07:00

Banana chips are tasty and is not messy. You can eat it anywhere. Banana chips can be a good sideline business if you sell it in small packs. Do your costing and add a little margin to it and you're good to go. Here is what you need to do:

Ingredients:

5 kg Green matured banana (saba or cavendish)
1 kg sugar (refined)
1 L water
6 L oil

Utensils/Supplies

knife (stainless)
stove
chopping board
absorbent paper
banana slicer
measuring cup
strainer/ladle
carajay
colander
plastic sealer
basin/mixing bowl
thermometer (100 – 250Â°C)
weighing scale

Packaging Materiaks : PE/PP bags

Procedure:

Prepare 50% sugar solution. Mix 1 kg sugar in 1 L water until it dissolves. You may heat the solution to ease in dissolving and then cool. Set aside.
Wash and soak bananas in chlorinated water (100 ppm) for 10 minutes.
Peel and slice thinly (0.05 – 1 mm) green, mature bananas. Apply oil to the slicer to ease in slicing.
Wash sliced banana chips to prevent sticking during frying.
Put slices in wire mesh and fry in cooking oil at high temperature (150Â°C – 175Â°C) until light brown or when bubbling ceases (approximately 3 minutes). Remove from cooking oil (first fried).
Soak in sugar solution for 2-3 minutes and then drain.
Fry again the sweetened slices in cooking oil until golden brown or when bubbling slows.
Drain and cool in trays lined with absorbent paper.
Separate sticked chips.
Pack in large, clean glass bottles, large cans or PE plastic bags.

You can add more flavorings like chocolate banana chips or strawberry banana chips. Honey dip flavor is good too. Improvise if you must. Be more creative and unique. Your product may stand out.

Remember to put a label to your banana chips. Add your contact numbers to your label.

Banana is in demand in other countries, you may consider exporting your product. Or if you have a restaurant, you can add banana chips to your menu as side dish. Either way banana chips can be a lucrative business if you put your mind into it.

Aristocrat Restaurant

2009-10-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

Aaahhh! Who can forget the juicy and tasty Chicken Barbeque of Aristocrat. After all these years, Aristocrat still shines among the best with their delicious food menu and great service.

It all started in 1936. Founded by Aling Asiang (Dona Engracia Cruz-Reyes), started small as a snack mobile serving Filipino and native dishes. Now Aristocrat has grown into a restaurant enterprise with several branches in Metro Manila.

The Family owned Aristocrat has diversified into an integrated complex, which includes the following:

The Aristocrat Bakeshop (Bakerey, Inc.)
Aristomart, a 24-hour convenience store (Aristore, Inc.)
Property management such as the Aristocrat Apartments (Tanglaw Realty, Inc.)
The Franchise Office (Heirs of Alex & Engracia Reyes, Sr., Inc.)
The Aristocrat Robinsons, Ermita Branch (Legacy of Alex & Asiang, Inc.)
The Aristocrat Franchise Corporation (Aristocrat Franchise, Inc.)
and a Product Research & Development Division which manufactures processed foods such as sausages, cured meats, bagoong, atsara, and a variety of other products for the local and exports markets.

If you interested to get a piece of the pie of Aristocrat's success, you can apply for Aristocrat Franchise. You can start operating in Greater Manila Area only. Here are the details:

Franchise Details

The ARISTOCRAT FRANCHISE CORPORATION offers INDIVIDUAL AND MULTI-STORE Franchise units for the development and operations of THE ARISTOCRAT RESTAURANT.

Franchise Fee: P2,000,000.00 (exclusive of VAT)

Inclusive of:

Intensive and comprehensive training program.
A copy of the Operations Manual and complete business opening assistance.
Continued use of the ARISTOCRAT RESTAURANT name and trademarks.
Access to operating systems.
Marketing assistance.
Ongoing business development.
Consulting and other benefits that come with being a part of THE ARISTOCRAT RESTAURANT organization.

Total investment ranges from P10,000,000.00 to P20,000,000.00 depending on:

Type of store - mall, strip mall, free standing
Size of store

Royalty Fee: 5% of gross sales
Franchise Term: Five (5) years, renewable twice for a total of fifteen (15) years
Required Space: must be at least 250 square meters for mall stores, 250-300 square meters for strip malls and 300-500 square meters for free standing stores with provision for parking space

Contact Information

ARISTOCRAT FRANCHISE CORPORATION
432 San Andres St. cor. Roxas Blvd.,
Malate, Metro Manila
Tel. No.: 524-7671 to 80 local 247
Fax No.: 523-0136
Contact Person: Ms. Carol Timbol
Email: franchising@aristocrat.com.ph
Web: http://www.aristocrat.com.ph/franchise.html

Raising Capital for your Business

2009-10-22T01:45:00.000-07:00

You have an idea. A new invention or a new product. Or perhaps a service oriented business. You did the feasibility study and have a target market. Everything is in place, but you don't have the funds to start with. What should you do?

Normally you dig from your own pocket and try to find money. If you have savings from the bank that you saved for so many years, well congratulations! You can start with that. Using your own money is the safest way to finance a business. But fact of the matter is there are a few people who have that luxury. Most of us does not have savings--well not as large as you think.

So what should we do then? Next thing that comes to your mind is of course your close relatives and friends. The advantage of this is your able to get away with paying very low interest or none at all. On top of which they are more flexible...No deadlines or penalties. Not even contracts. But this could be a double edge sword. If somehow your late on payments or worse you don't have the money to pay back, Your relationship might dwindle.

So what else can we do? Look for outside source:

Credit cooperatives – These are a popular and easy source of credit especially in the rural areas. It may therefore be very useful for you, as entrepreneur, to join one. Usually a credit coop will lend an amount up to five times bigger than the money a member has deposited in it. Interest charges are often minimal.

Lending investors – These are business enterprises engaged in money lending operations. Considered a cross between money lenders and banks, lending investors extend short-term loans quickly to individuals and businesses with or without collateral. Interest rates are higher than bank rates but lower than those charged by money lenders – usually ranging from 3 to 5 per cent a month. Lending investors have proliferated all over the country and have become an important source of credit to small enterprises.

Formal sources of credit – These include banks, financial institutions and certain government development agencies and development-oriented non-government organizations. They are called formal sources of credit because they have the legal authority or mandate to lend money to individuals and businesses.

Credit Cards - This is only useful if you're planning to acquire an equipment or device that you will need on your business. Credit cards sometimes give 0% interest or deferred payment scheme. But be careful, Credit cards will kill you if you don't pay them. They will charge you with late payment interest and monthly fees. You use it wisely. As much as possible pay all your debt or at least pay the monthly minimum balance.

SME-friendly Banks - Yes! There is a bank that exist. You just have to look for it and see if it fits your criteria. Talk with the bank manager. If the manager accommodates you and values your time then you're in good shape.

There a lot of ways of raising money. You can sell your old stuff that you don't use anymore. You can apply for a part time job. Or if you can, get two jobs. Anything is possible. You just have to think outside of the box.

Philippines to import rice again

2009-10-21T00:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng Vietnam expects to start signing rice-export contracts with the Philippines earlier than usual this year after storms damaged harvests rice crops.

During the old days, the Philippines is one of the top rice producers in Asia. In fact, neighboring countries like Thailand travel to the Philippines to study the technique of Rice production. But due to corruptions and natural disasters, our country is lagging behind to Thailand and Vietnam.

Today the Philippines will import 250,000 metric tons of rice at the end of this month. If we are Hong Kong it's alright to import rice since Hong Kong doesn't have the idle land to plant rice crops. On top of which Hong Kong's economy is making stride with their local tourism. Hong Kong can afford to import rice. The Philippines on the other hand is a country in debt and is struggling financially. It's a good thing that we have OFW remittance and BPO services or else we will be more in debt.

The Philippines is rich in natural resources and has the land to invest in Agriculture. We should give importance to this sector by making use of idle lands and converting it to basic goods. We could therefore use it locally or have the option to export internationally.

Local BPO is still booming!

2009-10-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

Good news to Call Center peeps out there.
The Philippine BPO sector can raise revenues of up to $100 billion by 2020 by properly developing the talent pool and increasing the value chain of service.
If the country would continue to match its BPO personnel skills to industry demands, then it will have a lot of potential to get a bigger slice of the BPO market (expected growth at $1.5 trillion in the next 10 years)

The Philippines still rank 2nd in the global BPO industry (India at 1st). However, the Philippines has an edge on English language skills and their familiarity to Western culture, specifically to the United States.

By year-end, the local BPO industry, which has over 400,000 personnel, is poised to grow 23 percent by year-end with revenues between $7.2 billion to $7.5 billion.

The BPO industry is still a sunshine industry in the country with between 30-40 percent growth and by year-end we eye a conservative growth of 23 percent with revenues of about $7.2 billion to $7.5 billion.

The forecast of these analysts reflect that the BPO industry is really astounding in numbers and with the development of talent and infrastructures, the country will become a $100 billion industry by 2020.

This is a shout-out to BPO critics out there. BPO is still booming and it sounds like they are here to stay.