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Featured Success Story: Lojen and Val Pascual Former OFWs turned Entrepreneur

This is the 3rd part of the series featuring success stories in my blog.  If you want to read the first 2 articles in the series, you can click the links below.

Today, please meet Lojen and Val Pascual. This husband and wife team was one of the first couples who believed in me when I was starting to venture into business. I met Lojen when I facilitated a Cashflow 101 board game in 2011. He was one of the participants. Coincidentally, I also met his wife Val the day before in an Online Marketing Workshop where we both volunteered to serve to get in and learn for free. 🙂

Lojen is a former OFW who has already been to many countries like Saudi, Singapore and Malaysia working as an Instrumentation Engineer. The turning point of his life came when he experienced being away from home and missed being on his wife Val’s side while giving birth to their first born son. It was an emotional time, and he knew right there and then that he didn’t want to experience the same feeling again. That’s why he chose to come back home to the Philippines and stay with his family.

At one point in their budding entrepreneurial career, their immigration papers for Canada got approved. They had to make the difficult decision to choose whether to grab the opportunity and migrate to Canada or stay and support their growing business, with little assurance if it would work out or not. In the end, they decided to grab the opportunity to live and work in Canada.

It did not come without a price. They had to leave their growing business team. It was not easy to say the least. They had a growing international team in Japan and the Philippines at that time with both teams gaining momentum and at a tipping point to grow leaps and bounds. As they say, I’d rather have one great leader than a thousand of followers. True enough, their momentum fizzled out. Their business team, encountered lots of challenges. Without a leader to guide and hold their hands, the price of leaving had to be paid. It was a painful lesson.

But I am amazed by this couple’s tenacity and entrepreneurial spirit. Realizing the potential that they have lost, they went back to the country with a vengance. They relaunched their business in the country, tried to rebuild their business team. Now, they are starting to gain momentum once again.

Watching by the sidelines, I realized Lojen and Val is working so hard because of the same reason why Lojen gave up opportunities working abroad when his son was born. He desperately wants to build his business, and grow it even more, but at the same time he keeps his main goal intact of ensuring they stay together as a whole family in the process. True enough, when his second child was born, he was by his wife’s side. No amount of money can compensate for the TIME you spend with your loved ones. Lojen and Val believe that they do not have to go abroad to create the lifestyle they want for their family.

However long the journey is, I am proud of this couple. They are very down to earth, humble and tenacious in spite of the numerous challenges they have encountered over the years.They have inspired a lot of people in our team to DREAM that it’s possible. Now, they are one of the top directors in our company, and have managed to earn $1,000 in a single week part-time.

That has helped them build a comfortable future for their growing family of 2 kids. With the part-time income they have earned, they managed to buy their own BRAND NEW MITSUBISHI MONTERO. They don’t have to worry about flood anymore. or getting stuck commuting in traffic. Their 2 kids can sit comfotably at the back while they get to their destination.

Lojen and Val’s story is still being written. Every day, they are growing more as leaders. They have learned a lot of lessons. But they have also gained a lot in return. I am very excited to see them conquer the next challenges ahead and come out victorious. This is just a start of their success story. There’s more to come. For now, please watch their video interview here to learn tips on how to start your own business just like them.

P.S. This month, I am looking for 4 new associates to join my growing team. 1 slot already taken, 3 slots left. Contact me or reply to this email if you’d like to know how.

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Featured Success Story: RJ and Jacq De Lara, Engineer & Accountant turned Entrepreneurs

This is a continuation of a series of success stories that I am featuring in my blog.

Meet RJ and Jacq De Lara. RJ is a former Electrical Engineer from Meralco while Jacq De Lara is a former Certified Public Accountant (CPA) from Shell.

In 2011, they had a great career working for them. But they had dreams wanting to get fulfilled. They were boyfriend-girlfriend when I met them, but now they are a husband-wife team with a young daughter. They even made me their godfather! Imagine that. Of course, I am honored but at the back of my mind I asked myself if I am “that” old to become a “Ninong” for a wedding. 🙂

Interestingly, I met RJ and Jacq at a time when I was also trying to shift from employment to entrepreneurship.

I was tired of reading hundreds of books, and attending seminars left and right with nothing to show for it. Then I finally got my hands on starting a business but failed miserably being a one-man team. I knew then that I lacked so many skills necessary to become a successful entrepreneur. I don’t speak a lot. I am comfortable writing but not in talking with other people face to face. I liked doing things on my own. But I realized early on that if you want to become successful in business you need all the help you can get. Business, as they say, is a team sport. I knew I needed to learn all these things, that’s why I decided to give it another try and shared my experiences in this blog.

Unknown to me at that time, RJ and Jacq chanced upon and read one of those articles and got interested to meet up with me. They were venturing in real-estate at that time and knew the people I was working deals in real-estate with. That chance meeting over coffee turned out to be a turning point in our lives. That was the starting point of a partnership that I am very grateful up to this day.

When I met this young couple and talked about doing business together, Jacq had so many questions. What if this happens, etc. It’s understandable because she was trained to become meticulous as a CPA. Good thing I was not doing business by myself then, my mentor was with me and explained to her in detail how it would all work. I was just there listening, thinking and analyzing. You see, I was also trained being an IT consultant to analyze things…sometimes it works in my favor, sometimes it doesn’t. Especially when I use it as an excuse not to act, and I get bogged down with analysis paralysis. 🙂

I remember when I met them 4 years ago, RJ was the jolly guy who knew a lot about selling. In fact, because of him, they were able to close one of their real-estate deals. Jacq was a bit more reserved, but I knew then she was someone who would pour her hearts and soul into something she’s passionate about and believe in. Also, she knew what she wanted in life. She wanted to become successful because of her humble beginnings growing up. It turned out, they were actively looking for an opportunity to make their dreams come true at that time. I was the 5th person they were checking to do business with. I don’t really know what they saw in me, but to this day, I am thankful they trusted me even though we just met that day.

Life works in mysterious ways. Sometimes, people you hardly know (in the beginning) make the biggest impact in your life. That has been true for me in the case of RJ and Jacq.

When they got started, they were the most consistent in our business. They were eager to learn. They read books, attended trainings. Did everything they were told. But months after, the success they were aiming for has not come as fast as they wanted to. But they were not ones who get discouraged easily. They persevered, got a little bit of success, but a new challenge would soon come up. They hit a wall…worked over it, around it, under it but to no avail..Until something finally worked! After a couple of years, they finally hit their breakthrough.

People think that the fastest way to success is a straight line. Never ever failing. But I beg to disagree. If you want to become successful fast, you need to fail faster. Do things. Break things. Fail at it. Then you will learn, FAST. But if you’re afraid to even try, something will always hold you back. You will never start. Sometimes, you just have to close your eyes, and say $*%* let’s do this!

Being a mentor to someone gives you that special priviledge to watch those you coach become better, and stronger as day goes by. Sometimes, it gets to a point wherein they turned out better than you thought they would be.

Here’s a picture of RJ and Jacq while enjoying the white sands of Club Med Kani in Maldives! I haven’t been to Maldives but they got there for FREE as part of their travel incentive in our company. They say it’s one of the dream destination for most people. Even celebrities like Leonardo Dicaprio went there. Imagine going there for free because you were able to grow your business income by at least USD $7,800 in one quarter! That’s what RJ and Jacq did! 🙂

But one of the things I enjoy more these days is I get to travel for FREE and be with friends and business partners at the same time! Last June, RJ and Jacq were also awarded a FREE trip for 2 via Royal Caribbean Cruise just like me and my wife. It gives me joy when I see people who trusted and believed in me enjoy the fruits of their labor. I know I can’t take credit for their success, because they did it, not me. I just feel very fortunate to have been part of their journey to getting there.

We’ve been through a lot growing our businesses together. There were times when they were thinking of giving up. I too for the most part, have thought of quitting so many times. But just like in life, it matters more who you are with going towards your dreams! When you know someone else is depending on you, it’s a wake up call to roll up your sleeves and get to work. I am thankful that our lives crossed.  They have taught me so many things. They challenge me to be better. A better leader. A better mentor. A better business partner.

I wish for you to find business partners who you can rely on to be there through thick and thin. I have been blessed to have known RJ and Jacq. Now, it’s time to learn directly from their success story. Watch this video we made while doing a photoshoot for our team. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed their success story. I pray that you find great business partners like RJ and Jacq in your entrepreneurial journey.

P.S. I am looking for 4 new assosicates this month to mentor and work with just like RJ and Jacq. 1 slot is already taken. 3 slots left. Simply hit reply and send me a message if you received this on your email. Or contact me through my Facebook Page @ http://www.facebook.com/allaninocente111. Who knows? You may be the next RJ and Jacq I am looking for.

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Featured Success Story: Will and Chelle Abriza – IT Consultant and Housewife Turned Entreprener

In the next few days, I will be featuring success stories of people I’ve worked with in the past 4 and half years doing business. My goal is to inspire you to go for your own success story. Who knows? Time will come, perhaps you will be the next one featured in this blog.

Today, I will be featuring my good friends turned business partners, Will and Chelle Abriza. Will is a former IT consultant for 10 years while Rachelle is a former call center agent.

I met this young couple in 2011 while venturing into real-estate. The first time I met this couple, we were having a family day with friends. They were already an established real-estate group and my wife and I were invited as guests. One thing that struck me about them was how young looking and kind they were.

We were only acquaintance then but I have proven their trustworthiness even before venturing together in business. One day, a reader of this blog inadvertantly deposited a payment to a seminar to Will’s account. I emailed Will right away, and lo and behold without much hassle, he immediately refunded the money and I was able to return it back to the reader of this blog. Everything went smoothly. The error was corrected. But that day, I knew I could count on Will to do the right thing when someting unexpected happens.

Fast forward a few years after, I saw Will again in a wealth summit seminar. He looked stressed. Unknown to me at that time, he was undergoing a heavy financial difficulty. I shared the opportunity to do business together with him and he grabbed the chance right away.

The first years doing business together were challenging. We are both IT programmers, shy and don’t speak a lot. We lacked a lot of things, skills and the right mindset.  But we had one thing going for us — we were both hungry to learn and become successful.

It took some time, but their business breakthrough finally came. After a few years, they have finally built one of the most dynamic international organizations in our company spanning a global operations in countries like Singapore, Japan, Canada, Malaysia and the Philippines. Their financial burden was finally solved through their business. They became multi-millionaires.

Even with their continued success, they have remained down to earth and humble. Due to their strong determination, they have helped a lot of people get their dreams. Because of that, they have been blessed much as well: 3-time recipient of an all-expense paid Asian Cruise travel for two, multiple awards here and abroad (Top 23 Philippine Growth, *Million-Peso Achievers, 4x-Quarterly Growth Awardees, etc). Now, they are the proud owners of BRAND NEW FORD EVEREST.

As much as I’d like to take the credit for their success, it’s through their own hard work and determination and keeping an open mind that has allowed them the success that they desired. I was only an instrument to show the opportunity that they have been looking for at that time.

I want to leave you with this video interview we did together a few months ago, while we were doing a photoshoot for all people who have bought their own cars in our group.  Watch this video and learn directly from Will and Chelle how to become successful in business. Cheers!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4nMa5TxHKA

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Featured Success Story: Former Engineer and CPA Couple turned Entrepreneur Gets Their Dream Car

About 3 years ago, one reader of this blog emailed me to ask about the business that I was involved in at that moment. I didn’t personally know them at that time. When I had a chance to meet them up for coffee they said they read my article in 2011 about my 3 goals for the year and they were curious how to be a part of it. It was a long journey from that day to who they have become now with many ups and downs…but the rest as they say is history.

I really admire this couple for their tenacity, for their drive and ambition and never-give-up attitude. RJ De Lara is a former Electrical Engineer, a jolly guy who is very approachable and accomodating. He makes you feel at home and welcome even though you just met. Jacq De Lara is a former Certified Public Account. She’s the energy and passion behind their success in the business. This husband and wife tandem is like a speeding and powerful car. Jacq, the wife, is the engine, and RJ is the wheels and body of the car.  Early this year one of their dreams, came true. They got their dream car, a Mitsubishi Montero nicknamed “KC”. Just like this muscle car, they too are UNSTOPPABLE.

Recently, I got a chance to interview them for a feature in this blog.  I’d like to share their story with you in the hope that you learn from their journey as well. Read on and enjoy!

1) Can you give us a background on what you were doing prior to doing business?

We were electrical engineer at a known electric utility company and an accountant/ financial analyst in a known petroleum/energy company respectively.

2) When did you realize that you wanted to go into business?

It all started when we read the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. That time, we realized that even if we have good corporate careers, we figured out that we still in rat race, living pay check to pay check. That book opened our mind into the world of passive income through starting an income generating asset like a business on the side while being employed. Why work for something you cannot own if you can work for something that you can own and pass on generations to the next generations.

3) What was the greatest challenge you encountered and how were you able to overcome it?

The greatest challenge was the fear of rejection and criticism. We overcame those by attending trainings that shifted our mindset and beliefs. Also, we hangout with like minded people who shares the same attitude and drive to get what they truly deserve in life.

4) What motivated you to continue your business even when the results were not very encouraging at the start?

We have a deep why bigger than fear, rejections, doubts and negatives around us. We both came from very humble beginning so we want our future children to experience the life that they deserve. Though money itself can’t buy happiness. But money can buy things that makes our family happy and comfortable. Money will help us to pay our utility bills, to pay our basic necessities, send our future children to excellent schools, visit different places around the world, buy things that our family want. If we have financial independence, then we will get our time freedom as well…spending our precious time with our family rather than spending our time working for the rest of our lives.

5) How do you see yourself in the next 3 years?

We see ourselves already harvesting the fruits of our labor in the past 5 years, enjoying our dream house, travelling with the kids around the world, being invited as to talk to internationally as a motivational and inspirational speakers and helping more people to attain financial independence by educating them about financial literacy so that they can too get their dreams as well.

6) If you have a superpower, what would it be, and why?

We want to have teleportation power. We’ll use this power whenever we’re stuck on a traffic and instantly go from one place to another, from one country to another.

7) What 3 tips can you share with those who want to start their own business?

1. Believe that you will succeed, that’s the first thing and very important because we both agree that all of us have infinite potential. We just have to harness it.

2. Work hard and don’t quit. you must be willing to exert extra effort and anticipate discouragement along the way. As the saying goes “if you do what is easy your life will be hard, if you do what is hard your life will be easy.” Pray and ask God for his grace and mercy and help in times of trouble and thank him for all of his blessings.

3. Look for a mentor. Initially, we know we need to have an income generating asset but we dont know where and how to start. It is important to look for a mentor who will coach and guide you all the way in doing your business. All you have to do is do what they say even if we dont understand at first. Just trust them because they have been there, they have many experiences that made them successful.

I hope you learned something from what RJ and Jacq shared with you. I pray that God grants you the courage to pursue your own dreams and the tenacity to see it through until the end just like how RJ and Jacq did. I’m excited to feature your success story in this blog soon! Cheers to your financial success!

P.S. To get in touch with RJ and Jacq, you may add them in Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/rjdelara12 and https://www.facebook.com/jacqdelara,

P.P.S. I am looking for 4 new people to coach and mentor on how to earn US dollars while in the Philippines like how I did to RJ and Jacq this July. This is going to be very intensive one-on-one coaching and I only work with people who are open-minded, teachable and who are serious in making a change in their lives. I will be investing a significant amount of time coaching you personally, and you must be willing to invest your time, money and effort throughout the process. If you are not willing to commit to a 6-month program, and is not willing to undergo training in Makati personally, this may not be for you. If you have gone past the “kaya ko pang tiisin” stage, and REALLY want to make a significant improvement in your financial life, and you are willing to BE COACHED, LEARN and WORK HARD, simply hit the reply button and send me an email OR add me up as friend in Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/allaninocente and we’ll set up a time to get to know each other and explore if we can work together or not.

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Featured Success Story: Former OFW turned Entrepreneur Comes Home For Good to the Philippines

A few days ago, I had a chance to catch up with one of my former housemates abroad and now one of my successful business partners. After only 1 year and 5 months doing the business part-time while working abroad for one of the largest financial services company in the world as IT consultant, he and his growing family were able to come home for good to do their international business while living in the Philippines.

My friend is a very humble guy, loves to play the guitar with a band, and a good father and provider to his young family.  His name is Francis Lumbo. In a short span of time, they have been able to build their business to great lengths, receiving top growth awards in Singapore and winning an all-expense paid trip to a 5-night Asian Cruise trip to Shanghai China, Jeju Island Korea, and Nagasaki and Fokouka Japan. More than that, they have been able to help countless others achieve success as well.

I have great news for you! Here’s your chance to get a glimpse on how it is to build an international business part-time while still being employed. One of the striking things he mentioned to me before was that while doing the business, he had achieved the best preformance review he got from his former company. He actually tried to ask for a raise but sadly the company didn’t give him what he wanted. Much to his disappointment, he focused all his energy in applying the same work ethic on his business and the results were nothing but extraordinary. His life changed dramatically for the better. 

Here’s a short interview of Francis Lumbo, an inspiring story of a former OFW’s entrepreneurial journey in his own words. Read on and enjoy!

Questions #1. Background: Please share with me a little bit about yourselves. What is your current profession?

Answer: We came from the same University and College in the Philippines (PUP Sta. Mesa). We are working abroad for 6 years now, in Malaysia and Singapore. My wife and I are doing the business for 1 year and 5 months and since November 2013, we are now fulltime in the business. I am a former Software Consultant, and my wife is a Civil Engineer, Quantity Surveyor. We have two kids, one is a 4 year old kid name Paulo Remcis and the other one is still in her mother’s womb, 8 months. We would name her Isabelle Anne.



Question #2. How did you find out about the business?

Answer: Let’s just say I invited myself to the business. Here is how it all happened. It was 2012 and I was working as a Software Consultant in Singapore. You know how most people spent their idle times by browsing through Facebook. I was checking the news feed of Facebook and I often saw the posts of Allan Inocente, a former housemate in Malaysia and now also one of the successful Entrepreneurs in the Philippines. I was amazed and intrigued of what is he doing, because it seems he already retired from job and was just touring around the Philippines doing seminars and talks. But what strikes me the most was despite that, he still have time with his family. And so I message him, “bro, musta…Ano ba ang raket mo jan. Kung ano man yan, sama ako” In English “bro, how are you…What are you into. Whatever it is, l want in”. And so via Skype he presented the business and so we came to know it. 
Because I have so many questions on doubts back then, the presentation lasted for 3 hours and 7 minutes. The business is too good to be true for me, is time and financial freedom really possible at the age of 35…Nonetheless, I weigh my options, and asked my wife if we could try. She really is not very supportive at first. Even I still has doubts back then. But two days later we joined. The rest was history.

Question #
3. Why did you join the business?

Answer: We joined for that extra income we needed to start building our future, to add for our savings, and so we could start our own business. What we really wanted is a restaurant slash bar and have enough money so we could retire early and be with our family in the Philippines. 
Also my wife and I are working for 9 years already. (3 years in Philippines and 6 years in MY and SG but still we do not have our own house and lot. Then came a friend who introduces us to this famous book called Rich Dad Poor Dad. From that book we found out what was wrong, and what we are supposed to do. Then came this wonderful opportunity where we could start a business with low capital but could give a very very good income. One thing that also entices us to start is that this business could give us residual and passive income in the near future. Sound like this is what we need and so we grab it.



Question #4. What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you overcome them? Please share some examples.

There are three challenges that we encounter. Time, our personal fear, and discouragement from our own friends and family.
First challenge was time. Remi is working for 10 hours a day every week and half day on Saturdays on her job and I am working 12 hours and oncall 24 by 7 including weekends. Sad to say, we have little time for our kid back then. But we need to manage time wisely. And that is what we did. We cut our useless series and telenovela time, our Facebook time, our Iphone games time, no more over sleeping just to squeeze in time to do business. 1 year and 5 mos after, we have all the time we need to play and be with our kid.
Next challenge was our own personal fear of failure and rejection. Both of us are not the types of person who could right away start a conversation, the type who would approach people who are not close to us. We found out that in this business, you must first develop yourself in order to grow. And so we did a lot of seminars, trainings, and own study to be able to overcome change our mindset and remove all the fears and doubts. It is still a wok in progress up to this day.
Last challenge was we could not convince our friends and even our own family to invest in our business. But we keep going. We have this never say die attitude. We really prayed to God that if this business is really for us, we will find the strength and courage to continue. It took a while before we could say that we are really earning. The good thing about this business is you have business partners who encourage you stay there and hang on. And true enough, our perseverance pays off. Now most of our family and friends are with us in the business and they are also earning and working their way to financial and time freedom.

I hope you were inspired by Francis’ story as it did to me. As you can see, his journey is just beginning, but much of his success is attributed to him being open to new ideas, having the courage to take a leap of faith even when his own doubts and fears were creeping in, and him being willing to learn and be coached and mentored along the way. He was not afraid to fail in the business. He was more afraid of not being able to provide the life that his family dreams of. He had an amazing work ethic but he also knew that without the right vehicle, his hard work can only go so far. He knew that starting your own business and having control of how you run it can be your ticket to a better life.

Most people are aware that having a job is no longer as secure as before. There’s downsizing, there’s recession, there’s you getting old and being replaced by a younger and more willing person who accepts a lesser salary, and there’s your boss who just doesn’t like you, and all other kinds of excuses they want to throw at you. YOU can accept that fate in defeat, or silently fight back by TAKING BACK CONTROL of your own life and fate. There’s light at the end of the tunnel, only if you are willing to take a chance and have the faith that God has a better plan for your life. Opportunities are all around us, most people are not trained to see them even when they are in front of their own eyes. I pray that you find yours and be the next featured success story. God bless you and see you at the top!

P.S. Inspired by Francis Lumbo’s success story, you can add him on Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/francis.lumbo.

P.P.S. Last time I sent an email invitation to this blog to join me in building my DREAM TEAM, so many people have sent in their responses.  To give you an idea, here’s page 1 of 4 screen shots of the emails I had to reply to. I had to remove some of the confidential details for privacy reasons. To all those who emailed me or added me in Facebook and sent in their messages, THANK YOU so much for taking the time to let me know your thoughts while meeting some of you personally. While I would want to meet all of you to just say thanks, my schedule simply cannot permit it as I am also working closely with a lot of other people I am currently mentoring on a deeper and more extensive coaching engagements. With that said, if you still want to be part of my project, you can send me an email to setup an appointment. If you don’t receive a reply from me within 24-48 hours, please do resend your email as it might have been lost along the way. Thank you for your continued support and I hope this blog inspires you to create your own success story. Cheers!

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Interview with Foreclosure Investing Expert — Jay Castillo

In my continuing effort to address your overwhelming request to feature true-to-life success stories to help inspire you in your journey to financial freedom, I am very honored to share with you my interview with one of the most influential foreclosure investing experts in the Philippines, my good friend Jay Castillo.

Jay Castillo, made his dreams happen – to become financially free. A few years ago, he was a busy IT manager working his way up to the corporate ladder. At one point in his life, he was really frustrated spending hours and hours working at the office and going through the frustrations faced by employees. He realized that the stress from his job was literally killing him.  That’s when he decided to do something about it for the sake of his loved ones. After reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, he was inspired to learn how to do real-estate investing.

He attended seminars, seek out mentors and built his now very popular blog Foreclosure Investing Philippines at foreclosurephilippines.com. After only a few years, he is already financially free. He was able to quit his job and work full-time on his real-estate business, that is investing in foreclosed properties. Without further ado, here’s my interview with Foreclosure Investing Expert — Jay Castillo.

1) Can you give us some background on what you did for a living before you got involved with real-estate?

I was the MIS department head for a multinational company. I have been in the IT field for more than 13 years and I worked my way up the corporate ladder from being an IT staff, to DBA, to Network specialist, supervisor, and to Manager.

2) What made you decide to pursue financial freedom by investing in foreclosed properties?

It just made perfect sense to invest in real estate and foreclosed properties appeared to be the niche with the most number of properties available out there. As to why I decided to pursue financial freedom, this article pretty much covers everything: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com/2009/04/foreclosure-investing-is-not-really.html

3) What were the 3 biggest obstacles you had to overcome when you decided to pursue real-estate investing?

1. Lack of financial literacy – Some would say it would be lack of money but I would say it really is just lack of financial literacy. After I started to manage my finances, I started to have a positive cashflow, even though I only had income coming from my job. This is where I got money to invest not just in foreclosed properties, but also for my education.

2. Lack of time – It’s funny that we all have this excuse of lack of time, but when something drastic happens, like when I had to go to be rushed to the hospital, and eventually got diagnosed with hypertension at such a young age, I suddenly realized what things are more important to me, and I MADE TIME to for them. I stopped wasting time on unimportant things like TV, unproductive use of the computer for gaming, I no longer did overtime at the office where I focused instead on getting things done through automation, delegation, etc. I was able to set aside time to learn and do real estate investing.

3. Distractions – There were so many distractions like negativity, doubts, and fears, not just from the people around me, but also from myself. It really helps to have people who have the same goals in life to be around you as they help cancel out the negativity form “well meaning” people who really don’t have a clue what you are doing, and why you do it. Another form of distraction are those unproductive things like watching TV, reading too much newspapers, and a lot of those things that can be delegated or outsourced. For example, we hired a maid to take care of household chores, this alone freed up so much of my time and helped me focus on things that are more important.

4) Can share with us the story on how you finally achieved financial independence?

It was really just a combination of getting other income streams from real estate investing and internet marketing, learning how to manage my finances and stop spending on liabilities, and also practicing “delayed gratification”. It is also very important to “simplify” and lower one’s expenses. It just came to a point where I realized that my expenses can already be covered by income other than that from my job, and that gave me the means to quit my job, and go full time with real estate investing, and internet marketing.

5) How did you get started with internet marketing?

I started to take internet marketing seriously with my blog http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com . Initially, it was just an experiment, as I was looking for a way to have all my foreclosed property listings accessible from anywhere, through the internet, from my PDA, eliminating the need to bring the actual classified ads with me. I remember that during that time, I have just finished helping facilitate an internet marketing workshop of Jomar Hilario in Cubao, courtesy of an invitation from Thea Santos (Thea was the one in charge of Think Rich Pinoy Club Marikina, where I was a member back then), and I said to myself I might as well create a blog for this purpose. Aside from listings, my wife and I started to document lessons learned (our very first was about the auction of tax delinquent properties in Marikina), and people started to follow the blog and I guess the rest is history.

6) Which is better, real-estate investing or internet marketing? And why?

Personally, I am becoming more biased towards internet marketing because the passive income potential is so much more because of the global reach, physical boundaries are virtually non-existent. In contrast, with real estate investing, I prefer to invest in properties that are nearby, and that somewhat puts a limit on where I can invest. Of course there are ways for me to expand my real estate investing like partnering with other real estate investors, but this is turning out to be more complicated as compared to internet marketing. Furthermore, even if one invests in rental properties, I believe hiring a property manager at a certain point is needed for it to remain as truly passive income, I guess I’ll cross the bridge when I get there, so to speak. Nevertheless, I truly believe that internet marketing and real estate investing can have synergy. In fact that’s exactly what I am doing right now.

7) What is the most important habit you’ve learned that has really helped you in your journey to financial freedom?

One needs to have a big enough why that would help sustain one’s drive to be financially free, and I suppose one of my habits in relation to this is I ensure that I always remember why and for who I am actually doing all of this. I try my best to make all my decisions with this in mind. This habit also helps me become very disciplined in just about everything that I do, and this has made a world of a difference.

8) What 3 tips can you give to our readers who are also dreaming of someday being able to leave the rat race and achieve financial freedom just like you?

1. Start with a plan. In it you write your objectives(your vision), your purpose(or mission), your roles and goals, your principles (the non-negotiable’s), and your values. You also need to include the actions you need to do in order to accomplish your goals, make sure these are broken down into “S.M.A.R.T.” tasks (Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timebound). This may sound daunting at first. Looking back, I am very thankful that I did make a plan like this using an excel sheet and it was specific enough that it was like a checklist where each task accomplished will lead me closer and closer to my goals. This is very much like creating a business plan and I created mine early 2007!

2.  It’s all in the mind. You need to believe that it is possible. Think of it this way, what if your life or the lives of those you love depended on it, don’t you think you can actually do it?! It was like this for me, I strengthened my belief that it really is possible and there is a better way, especially after realizing my work(too much stress doing the work of 3 people) was killing me and I always had a choice what to do. I also believe in the following: “Whether you think you can or you can’t, either way, you are right” – Henry Ford

3.  Just do it. No one learns how to swim just by reading about it, etc, you really need to get into the water and start swimming. Sure you may swallow some water along the way, but that’s part of learning, just make sure you don’t drown. No one learns how to ride a bicycle by reading about it, etc, you really need to get on that bicycle and get your feet on the pedals and start riding. Sure you may fall many times, but that’s part of learning. Just make sure you don’t get hit by a car. No one learns how to drive by reading about it, etc,you really need to get behind the steering wheel and start driving. Sure your engine may stall at times and die, but that’s part of learning, just make sure you don’t crash and get killed. The same goes for striving to be financially free, you can’t just read about it, you really need to do it! Sure there will be problems along the way, but that’s part of the journey. Just make sure you apply what you have learned from others, fo llow your principles, values, and have good old common sense!

 

Cheers!

Allan

P.S.   Dear Readers, I hope you learned something new today and realized that financial freedom is indeed possible.  My hope is that you get closer and closer to it every day.

P.P.S.   Quick update on the launching of my Rich Money Habits guide ebook — I have both good news and bad news for you.  Bad news — all 10 slots for my special bonus to get a chance to play Cashflow 101 board game with me and my wife live have already been taken.  If you’re one of the lucky 10, you will receive an email invitation from me in the next few days with the event details.  The good news — I’m extending the 50% special introductory price discount to those of you who haven’t claimed your discounts yet.  This extension is available until end of this week only.  After this week, the price will now go up.  Hurry, get your copy of my guide now!

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Make Money Online Story

Interview With Internet Marketing Guru — Jomar Hilario

First off, I’d like to thank all those of you who have already bought my very first ebook Guide Rich Money Habits – 8 Ways To Shift Your Money and Be Rich. I’ve been really busy the past few days with the launching of my very first ebook guide and due to many sleepless nights, I (again) got sick with colds.  What keeps me going is your overwhelming support and appreciation.  If you haven’t bought your copy yet, you can still get your 50% special introductory price discount until 7 PM tonight, Sunday, February 20th, 2011.

In continuing our series of featuring real-life success stories here at Rich Money Habits, I’ve had the priviledge to interview one of the most successful Internet Marketing Coaches in the Philippines — Jomar Hilario.

Jomar Hilario is widely known as the internet-marketing consultant of Bo Sanchez, who holds his own Internet Marketing Workshops in Manila and Cebu as well as offering his 1-Year Online Mentoring Club. He got started into internet marketing when he helped Bo Sanchez promote the Jars of Clay concert in Manila within 30 days while still working full-time as an IT manager for a multinational consulting firm in the country.

I met Jomar when I attended Bo Sanchez’ Truly Rich Financial Coaching Program. He was one of the resource speakers and I really enjoyed his animated presentation on the merits of doing business through the internet. I have since signed-up to his 1-Year Online Mentoring Program where I learned a lot of very useful tips on internet marketing that really helped me build Rich Money Habits. Simply said, without Jomar, I don’t think there would be any Rich Money Habits today. That’s why I am really honored to have Jomar grant this exclusive interview and make this available to you.

Without further ado, here’s my interview with Jomar Hilario.

1) Can you give us a little bit of background on what you did prior to getting involved with internet marketing?
I was managing hours and tasks of around 15 people in a big outsourcing firm. If that sounds like a lot, it is. “managing” means inputting numbers into an old computer program and watching the numbers “balance”. That’s pretty much it.

Before this I was developing, testing and implementing big and small IT projects for a local bank for 16 years.

Most of the technical know how for internet marketing didn’t come from the two above. The familiarity with technology, yes – it was impacted by work but I was familiar with computers BEFORE i even started college – so that’s like most teenagers today.

2) What made you decide to get into internet marketing and how did you get started?

I had to promote this Christian Rock band – Jars of Clay – in 30 days so
people can go to their Araneta Center (20,000 seat) concert. I loved
Christian Music, specially Christian Rock so I volunteered to sell tickets
to this event.

This will give you an idea of the Music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCMKJPY3AKY
Idea of the band:
http://www.jarsofclay.com/

Understand that I really loved this band and what they stood for(Christianity) – hence I had to do something DESPERATE to promote them even if I had WORK during the day. Online promotion (friendster, multiply, yahoo groups) was the only thing I can think of – so that’s what I did – and since a marketing master told me (via an audiobook) “Marketing is synergy” – I hired 10+ people (Virtual Assistants/VA) to help me tell the internet about the concert.

In summary, I had passion for a band’s mission, and I THOUGHT of a solution called “Internet Marketing with VAs” without knowing it was called that.

3) Can you share with us the greatest obstacle you’ve had to go through so far and how you overcame it?

It depends on what you mean by obstacles. (this part will sound like it’s
taken from a book, but it’s not). I’m alive – hence almost everyday there’s a new obstacle – if I interpret it as such.

For example, buying and reading all the marketing books I want to read may be an obstacle for most people, but to me it’s a hobby (nope: more of a TEMPTATION:)

I tackle many hours of marketing interviews and seminars on my 160 GB ipod (the first I got for myself) – that’s not an obstacle as I listen to them repeatedly.

I run a small, young business (less than 5 years old) – so sometimes when business is very good, I do NOTHING for the business – and let the VA’s do LITERALLY everything. This is not good for young businesses – I should be the one planning and thinking about marketing. The obstacle is “finding the time/place” to think.

Everyone reading this going “WHAAAT? You’ve got a lot of time and you don’t think you have time?”.

Well I have kids and a wife, and if you’re single you won’t understand. But if you have a family like mine – the entire day is consumed by them easy – with no time for anything else – if you let it.

I’m writing this long piece in a hotel in Tagaytay – where I am checked in – alone. That’s why you’re getting quality long replies from me. Don’t get me wrong, I can also be writing this on one hand while my other hand is holding the laptop in the air to prevent Sean (age 2) from reaching it -and this will still be long. But imagine that situation for a minute and you’ll realize that it’s not a great scene for deep thinking or strategizing about your company.

Time to plan is a challenge hence I just created this planning retreat out of thin air patterned after corporate retreats and how Bo (Sanchez) plans out his year.

Another obstacle is forgetting and small thinking.

During my “concert days” I’m constantly bombarded by audio reminders (via the ipod) on marketing, the right mindset and impt tech news. Now that I’m home based, there’s less of that because I don’t carry an ipod at home. So I forget. I forget to declare things aloud before an event (declaring to the wind/universe what I expect the event results are). And the lack of audio encouragement has also led me to forget big thinking.

What’s that? Quickly answer this: In a room of 1000 people, if you were to sell them a product or service costing P 1000 per item per person, what’s your expected sales?

Correct answer: P 1000 x 1000 x 1000.
Everything else is a result of small thinking unless your result is higher
than the one above.

I will not explain how that’s possible. Ask me, in
facebook.com/jomarhilario I’ll tell you.

Here’s a hint: How come Bo Sanchez is targetting the creation of 1000 Feasts all over the world when all he has now is 20?

4) What two things you’ve done or currently doing that has yielded extraordinary results for your business so far?

1. Thinking Big – see example above. Whaat JOMAR? You just THOUGHT BIG???

Well it starts there — and so actions after that reflect the big thinking. Haha, and you live your life thinking “what is the secret to success” and when you find it – you’re disappointed it’s that easy? Do not fret, it’s not easy to “think big”. Try it, it needs exercise. Lots of it. Think of it as MARATHON training.

One of my think big exercises have yielded almost P 400,000 in one day -and that’s not a real estate commission or profit. And I gave away HALF of it too.

2. Hiring Virtual Assistants – w/c I did from the very beginning in 2004.

Lots of things happen in a day for my business because of VAs. So I’m here now in Tagaytay, the VA’s are “taking care of business, answering customers questions, caring for them etc”.

The result: More time for me to think! (w/c is a more precious commodity than you think, for example: Compare the # of hours you’ve thought about your life vs time you’ve used your brains to think about your WORK and work problems?

5) What’s a typical day in the life of a Jomar Hilario?

Typical Year: (I told you this will be long)

Jan Vacation for a week with family, VA Seminar (1/2 day)
Feb Planning Retreat before Feb 14, VA Seminar (1/2 day)
Mar Vacation for a week with family, VA Seminar (1/2 day)
Apr VA Seminar (1/2 day)
May Vacation for a week with family, VA Seminar (1/2 day)
Jun VA Seminar (1/2 day)
Jul Vacation for a week with family, VA Seminar (1/2 day)
Aug VA Seminar (1/2 day)
Sep Vacation for a week with family , VA Seminar (1/2 day)
Oct VA Seminar (1/2 day)
Nov Vacation for a week with family, VA Seminar (1/2 day)
Dec VA Seminar (1/2 day)

So fine, that wasn’t clear, so in summary:
6 months of week long vacations,
one VA event per month (1/2 day).
6 IM events per year (random dates)
perhaps 2 visits to Cebu (or another city) for the year.
all year long: always online

Total number of days in year: 365
Total number of massages a year (me alone) : 200

Of course this can change. If more live events come, GREAT, I love doing
them.

Typical day: It depends on MWF or TTHS, let’s tackle TTHS:
7am-9am – Swimming with everyone (including yaya)
9am-10am – Breakfast by the pool
10am – 1pm – Work on the computer while family “rests”
1pm – 2pm – Lunch
2pm – 3pm – Sleep
3pm – 6pm – Work/Fun on the computer while family sleeps, literally,
6pm – 7pm – Dinner
7pm – 10pm – Cavorting inside bedroom with wife and 2 kids until kids fall alseep
10pm – Honestly, I plan on doing the computer but normally just sleep.

MWF
Ideal / planned schedule is:
7am-8am – Breakfast
8am-10am – Walking the stroller with kids in the garden
10am – 1pm – Work on the computer while family “rests”
1pm – 2pm – Lunch
2pm – 3pm – Sleep
3pm – 6pm – Work/Fun on the computer while family sleeps, literally,
6pm – 7pm – Dinner
7pm – 10pm – Cavorting inside bedroom with wife and 2 kids until kids fall alseep
10pm – Honestly, I plan on doing the computer but normally just sleep.

Pattern is changed by:
1-2 dates with wife per WEEK
“Palengke” time and Grocery time
Week long vacations

Definitions:
Work – surfing the net, reading blogs that I like, listening to podcasts of tech news, seminars of good authors, managing the VAs

Fun – playing Asphalt 6 (a racing game), Lara Croft : Tomb Raider, discovering new apps for the ipad/ipod, reading magazines, watching shows like “Outsourced” and “Human Target” plus a bunch of Sci fi or comedy shows.

6) How do you motivate yourself to work on your business when you are working at home?

I like doing what I’m doing: A daily activity would be answering questions from my Club members and blog readers. Don’t really need to motivate yourself to eat ice cream MOST of the time right? Same thing with me. I’m so talkative It’s fun to be able to make this part of my work.

7) Can you share with us specific tips on how to become successful in internet marketing?

1. LEARN TO SELL, enroll in MLM or Insurance if they offer training, repeat the training 100 times. I am not joking.

2. Learn MARKETING by reading lots of books, listening to marketing masters (not newbies). You should learn it enough that you know exactly why Selling is different from marketing.

3. LOVE LEARNING about the internet. You’ll need a passion for learning what’s new in the internet to succeed in this business. Know this: The way you made your first 2 million (yeah 1 M a goal is too small for a first goal) is not going to be the way you’ll make your next 30 million. So keep learning. Learning must be a LOVE.

Give you an example: In my Social Mentoring Club last Nov 2010 I delivered a talk. In TRQ Cebu I modified the talk for the Jan 2011 talk. THIS WEEK, parts of both talks will need to be modified because FACEBOOK just changed their Pages format. It’s very easy to be obsolete in the internet. Do nothing and you’re left behind.

8) What advice can you give to our readers who want to earn an income from the internet?

Get a mentor or you’ll have to love making mistakes to learn things the hard way. But why punish yourself? A mentor always COSTS something – an amount, time etc. MISTAKES? They cost more.

To learn more about how to successfully build an online business, you may get in touch with Jomar through the following links:

To your success!

Allan
_________________________
Allan Inocente
Rich Money Habits
https://akosiallan.com

P.S. Dear readers, I hope you enjoyed reading Jomar’s story and picked up valuable tips you can readily apply into your own situation.

P.P.S.  My very first ebook guide Rich Money Habits – 8 Ways To Shift Your Money Habits and Be Rich is now available. Get a chance to meet me and my wife to play Cashflow 101 Boardgame if you’re one of the first 10 who buy my ebook guide. Cheers!

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Investing Personal Finance real-estate Story

Interview With Millionaire Real-Estate Investor Eden April Alemania-Dayrit

Hey guys! First off, I’d like say THANK YOU SO MUCH for the overwhelming response to the recent Rich Money Habits survey.  I am learning a lot from your feedbacks. Rest assured, I am going through each and every one of your responses.  This way, I get to understand what kind of financial information you are looking for so I know how best to help you. So keep them coming! 🙂

In fact, I have already gone through some of your feedbacks and a lot of them are requests to have more features on real-life inspirational people or leaders who set good examples in building wealth. 

To give you an idea, here are some of the responses to the survey question “What improvements would you like to see in the Rich Money Habits Series?”

“I would like to read about real life experiences of those who have successfully implemented the habits to wealth”
                                              – from Rod of Gensan, Philippines

“More examples of true to life stories. Testimonies.”
                                              – from Leo of Manama, Bahrain

The really great news is we have a very timely feature for your today to address this overwhelming request from our readers.  Lucky for you, I managed to get hold of the young real-estate investor millionaire, Eden April Alemania-Dayrit for an interview here at Rich Money Habits. 

I met Eden last year when my wife and I tried to invest in a private-lending deal for a real-estate property.  We partnered with Eden on that deal.  We have since gotten back our investment with the agreed upon interest income and we are very very happy with the outcome.  Through that deal, I have known how trustworthy Eden is, and that’s why I am very happy to have Eden featured here at Rich Money Habits. 

Without further ado, here’s my interview with Eden April Alemania-Dayrit.

1)  Tell us a little bit about yourself.  What were you busy with before you discovered real-estate investing?

I am a chemical engineer by profession who worked for semiconductor companies handling sustaining operations in manufacturing lines. Thinking that I will be an employee in the long run, I took up a master’s degree in Electronics Engineering. But on the last semester of the course, I decided not to finish it because that was when I began investing in real estate.

2)  What made you decide to get into real-estate investing and how did you get started? 

I got into the stock market and got burned in the mid-2007 market crash and hadn’t recovered. My boyfriend then (now my husband) and I partnered in a dimsum food stall in the place of his employment that later on included a waffle cart. It lasted for 6 months and we realized that food business is not our forte.

While still employed, I read books like Rich Dad Poor Dad and Think Rich Pinoy. These books inspired me to look beyond employment and pursue the path of entrepreneurship. We bought our first piece of real estate — a condominium unit in Taguig where we now live in. To save on acquisition cost, I applied as an agent. Little did we know that it was our spring board in our real estate career.

If I didn’t know how to cut my losses on other businesses early on, I wouldn’t have been in real estate investing.

3)  Can you share with us the story of your first real-estate investment property?

It was a Quezon City townhouse. We bought it from a bank at 50% off market value through an auction and paid a downpayment of 20%. It was then sold at 70% market value on a flexible term scheme (rent-to-own) after 7 weeks of acquisition.

4)  Can you give us an idea about the process you go through before you decide to invest in a real-estate property?

The real estate investing process is actually very simple. Find, fund, fix, sell then profit. But the real issue that most people have a hard time on is the thought process and deciding when to actually jump. I did the unthinkable — I quit my stable job. And that made it easy for me to decide to pursue the first property because I basically put everything at stake. It was a "now or never" decision that pushed me to do well. (Though I don’t advise people to do the same because that decision also had repercussions like I couldn’t take on a loan because I didn’t have a job that the bank requires to have that forced me to take on investors at the very beginning.)

5)  What’s the most important habit you’ve learned so far that really helped you in your real-estate investing?

I learned to listen to mentors. I am a stubbornly independent person and I find it hard to do things if I don’t do them my way. But when I agreed to be under my mentors’ wing, I had no choice but to follow because I believed in what they taught me. I listened intently until I learned the ropes in real estate investing. Until I learned it well, I then improvised. I still am stubborn, but I use that trait to stubbornly pursue the deals that I am getting into.

6)  If you can start your real-estate investing all over again, how would you do it differently, and why?

I’ve made a few mistakes along the way. Sometimes I wished that I could’ve asked for a higher price for a property or wished I didn’t buy a certain property. I sometimes thought that I should’ve set my criteria higher in selecting tenants. But these things were easily remedied and didn’t hurt a lot because I’ve set contingencies too. So if I could’ve done it all over again, I will still do what I’ve done because the small mistakes made me a better real estate investor now.

7)  Why do you think you’ve succeeded in real-estate investing at such a young age while many others struggle to even get started?

I’d say that age doesn’t have to do with it. It just so happened that I started earlier.

The main factor that hinders a lot of people from succeeding is one’s mindset. I always say that every basic thing that you need to know about real estate investing are all in the books. And you will learn along the way some techniques that will be useful. But all these will go to waste if one’s mindset is not on the right track.

This may sound funny but believe me, work on your mindset, get educated on the business and everything will fall into place.

8)  What advice can you give to our dear readers who want to get into real-estate investing?

I get a few questions like, “We are looking at the same lists in banks and newspapers, how do you spot good deals?” I’d always say, start by familiarizing yourself with the prices of properties for sale or sold in your own area or the area you want to focus on. Walk around the neighborhood and ask around, network with brokers and look at online sites where these properties are posted. Naturally, the opportunity will present itself in the form
of undervalued properties for sale or of neighbors seeking your help in selling their property.

I describe myself as a perennial student because I continually enroll in classes for self improvement. Invest on yourself by attending courses or seminars specific or supplementary to real estate investing.

Seek mentors. Accelerate your learning curve by asking questions or partnering with someone who have done what you want to do.

Lastly, be persistent. Do not stop at the first sight of failure. At 24, I overcame barriers and accomplished a feat that I haven’t even dreamed of myself–all because of my persistence, and I’m sure you can too.

 

More about Eden: Eden specializes in real-estate investing through rent to own properties and dreams of helping create 1 million millionaires by 2020.  You can checkout her website at http://renttoownproperties.blogspot.com/ to find out her growing list investment properties.  If you’re searching for a house you want to invest in, Eden highly recommends checking out http://www.bahayatbp.com.

 

P.S.  Dear readers, I hope you enjoyed Eden’s story as much as I did and learned something that you can apply into your own situation.  Have you tried investing in real-estate?  How was it?  What other tips can you share based on your experience?