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Saturday, January 08, 2011

The (Eight) New Profit Rules You Must Know

The (Eight) New Profit Rules You Must Know

Rather than keep you guessing, I'll just list the rules for you. If you want to prosper in the new business world, keep these rules in mind.

1. FREE is the new business model
2. Your customers are in charge, not you
3. Personal marketing trumps mass marketing
4. Old-school selling is dead
5. Small bumps results in big profit
6. Marketing partners make you rich
7. The less you do, the more you'll make
8. The speed of implementation determines success

The New Profit Rules is a must-have resource for anyone who wants to succeed in this economy. And best of all, it doesn't cost anything because, after all, FREE is the new business model.

Thank you to my mentor, Brian Tracy, for sharing these new profit rules. The rules have changed so as an entrepreneur - you must adapt or you die!

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Hustle While You Wait

Okay. Hustling has always had negative connotations. Hustlers are usually portrayed in a bad light. In movies, these are the guys who operate in the fringe, in dark alleys, in dodgy bars, third-world countries. They wait for the next gullible soul to walk through the door or take a wrong turn and then they pounce! Con men and scam artists fall into this unsavory category. Larry Flynt even named his magazine after the term 'Hustler'.

Then why would I suggest something like hustling while waiting? In my universe, hustling takes a less sinister tone.

I am property developer in training. I am in the process of finalizing a few properties that we will begin working on in Q1 of 2011. While waiting for this to happen, waiting while there are procedures in process that are beyond my control; things like transferring a title to the company name, waiting for a scheduled appraisal from PNB, things of this nature.

While waiting, I hustle. I still have other things that I work on. Here are few of my hustling things...

I represent a private label wine, Miracle Hill. Both a chardonnay and shiraz. This is from Australia. Surpise, surprise! I'm also the exclusive marketing agent for the Admiral Group. Will be marketing 50,000-75,000 MT of space in several vessels for shipping between The Philippines and the world. Castlepines Corporation, an Australian investment group who are looking to invest in big ticket infrastructure projects in The Philippines have appointed me as Country Representative. Surprise again! A number of projects in the pipeline. I've also got insurance and telco projects on-going. ESPI is handled predominantly by wife, Queenie; she handles our BPO business.

This is my 'hustle'. Or should I say my 'hustles'. As I wait for what I really want to do materialize; I've got other things cooking!

Many will say that I need to focus - my answer to that is I am focused. I am focused on establishing multiple streams of income for my family while engaging in businesses that will help uplift the economy of the Philippines.

Others will say that they don't have the time to do these things. My answer to that is Thomas Edison had 24 hours, Mahatma Gandhi had 24 hours, Bill Gates has 24 hours, Sir Richard Branson has 24 hours, Manny Pangilinan has 24 hours. We all do so the whole 'lack of time' excuse is a lame excuse!

Each 'hustle' that I have has a corresponding peso value and return on energy (ROE). I employ time management techniques to allow me to attend to them effectively and efficiently.

I will have my first four-storey building this year. But then if any of my 'hustles' materialize; I will have them too! Which leads me to the next lesson - Multiple Streams of Income.

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Tip No. 1 - Put it on paper.

There was a particular class from a particular Ivy-league university. For the purposes of this little story - it was the class of '75 and they were from Harvard. Someone decided to track the various levels of success and failure of this class.

Fast forward 2000, the results of the study were surprising. They all shared similar economic backgrounds, same education, same situations. The surprise was that there were those who were more successful then the rest of the class.

This group that was more successful than the rest, the study discovered, did the one thing that set them apart. They wrote all their goals and subsequent tasks down!

See, we can all think and wish about what we want to do and what we should do. It doesn't really mean anything if we don't put pen to paper.

Write your goals. Write your daily, weekly, monthly tasks down. Not only does it put things into perspective but is also cranks your time management skills into a whole new level!

I've written my resolutions down. I'm now writing my task list for this week. It's going to be a busy one.

It's very simple. Get a blank piece of paper. Get a pen. Write. List your goals. Where you want to be and the necessary action steps to get you there.

Out with the old, in with the new!

It's the first day of 2011. I've made a decision to become more active in blogosphere.

I changed the name of my blog to - Andrepreneur - The Barefoot Developer.

There are several reasons for the name change.

1. I took out the 'Angry' as a prefix to Andrepreneur. I took it out because I didn't want to be angry anymore. The angry part applied to 2010 which was election year in The Philippines. Most entrepreneurs I know are generally a happy bunch. I happen to be one of them.

2. Andrepreneur is now also known as 'The Barefoot Developer' - an obvious reference to 'The Barefoot Investor'. This is significant to me because I am going into property development (was in planning and preparation all of last year), will be doing our first building this year and I am known for wearing inappropriate footwear when doing business in the Philippine context. I have been advised that I should stop wearing thongs, slippers, tsinelas, when I go to meetings, see seasoned business people, or when I conduct business in general. I can't help it. I have nice feet. Thanks to wonderful beautiful feet genes inherited from my mother. My wife, Queenie, agrees with my self-serving observation. And I also picked up the habit when I was living in Australia. Such a laid-back culture, doing business near the beach, everyone just so cool and relaxed.

A part of me wants to replicate that spirit here in The Philippines. We have the perfect tropical climate for it anyway!

I will not stop wearing my thongs; on the contrary this will become a part of the image of The Barefoot Developer. Of course, I will don the safety boots when I visit the construction sites. Crazy shirts and thongs will be my badge. I want people here to see beyond appearances. Filipino culture puts too much of a premium on al things outward and not enough on substance and results.

I am still serious in my business undertakings yet I will pepper it with humour and the laid-back spirit of the Australian beach-side town.

'Tis the first entry and I look forward to many more. I hope you all do to. I have a lot to learn and I don't mind sharing this with all the budding entrepreneurs and property developers out there!