Mommy Ginger
Let's talk about Business, Beauty and Babies!

Gruenheim Home Appliances

Recently, I had some people over at my home to help me clean up the place. Yup, that’s right. These guys helped me vacuum my couch, steam my curtains and even took out the hard to clean hardened dirt on my kitchen stove. Kuya Mike and his colleague were a great help! Check out this video!

I interviewed Mr. Mike Gamez of Gruenheim Home Appliances, and his story was very inspiring!

Mike’s Story

I’m Mike Gamez full time entrepreneur. I’m married to Andrea Gamez, and we have 3 kids. My goal in life is to become financially independent, to teach to my kids the right work ethics of an entrepreneur and to inspire others to start their own business.


 

Interview with Mike Gamez of Gruenheim Home Appliances

Ginger: What is your Startup/brand/business? What is it about? How long have you been in business?

Mike: We started the business on August 08, 2014. The registered business name is GREEN GRACE SUCCESS, INC. Our Primary line of business is trading thru direct selling of GRUENHEIM Home Appliances.

This brand is based in Stuttgart, Germany. Under their brand, they have the GRUENHEIM Vacuum Cleaning System with Ecological Pure Water Filter Technology made in Germany, the GRUENHEIM Steam Cleaning System with Innovative Industrial Technology, which is made in Italy, and the GRUENHEIM Water Filtration System thru Reverse Osmosis Plus Alkaline Filter, which is also made in ITALY.

Our secondary line of business is we offer home cleaning services, and we offer deep cleaning, shampooing, steam cleaning and sterilizing of bed mattresses, pillows, stuffed toys, sofa, curtains, blinds, roman shades, upholstered chairs, carpets and car interiors. I have been in this line of business for almost 15 years (3 years distributing GRUENHEIM Home Appliances).


Ginger: Who is your target market?

Mike: Our target market for GRUENHEIM HOME APPLIANCES is Class A,B,C,D. Newlywed couples, family with small children that has breathing problems or allergies, picky housekeepers (OC), with house pets, likes to buy high quality products, the one that are looking for cleaning equipments, Need part time selling job.

Our target market for our CLEANING SERVICES DIVISION are the picky housekeepers, household owners with no helpers, household owners that are still saving to purchase GRUENHEIM cleaning machines, expats temporarily residing here in Manila, offices and restaurants. Also, we have rent a GRUENHEIM vacuum cleaner. Some of our customers avail this for 1 time general cleaning of their houses. Some want to try if the machine is effective or easy to use and eventually they will buy a GRUENHEIM Vacuum.

 

Ginger: Why did you choose this market? Can you give us the insight behind this market?

Mike: I chose this market because these are the people who are very particular with their health, wellness and cleanliness. The people in this market want to give the best for their family and they want to give a bright future to their children. Also, they choose quality and value for their money.

For me, doing direct selling and personalized cleaning service has such a huge market and is a sustainable business, because Filipinos want a “personalized” approach to selling, and have big expectations in terms of customer service.

Ginger: How did you come up with this idea?

Mike: I have learned this from my past experiences.

Ginger: What made you decide to start this kind of business?

Mike: After I graduated in college, my uncle Gerry, who was a Distributor of direct selling company of Vacuum Cleaners recruited me to join on his team as full time commission sales agent. I am very thankful to him that he patiently trained me. Through the years of my career, I gained selling and entrepreneurial skills. I was looking for the opportunity to utilize all the skills that I have learned to achieve my goal, which is to give the customer high quality products and services at a reasonable price, so I decided to put my own company.

Ginger: Were there any obstacles that you faced when you decided to pursue becoming an Entrepreneur? What are these?

Mike: Becoming an Entrepreneur has full of challenges and obstacles, one of them was how to start a business and what are the best strategies to promote and to patronize my target market.

Ginger: What are the greatest challenges in putting up and maintaining a business in your country?

Mike: The greatest challenges in putting up and maintaining a business in this country is the high cost of gasoline and traffic, because our marketing strategy is to go to customers’ house for home demonstration every day. Also, not to mention the not-so-fast system of our Customs to process the releasing of goods/cargo that cost us a lot on storage payment and time/opportunity cost.

Ginger: What are three traits that you think an Entrepreneur/Startup Founder should have when starting their own business?

Mike: For me an Entrepreneur/Startup Founder must have generalist mindset, meaning we need to know the every aspects in our business then focus on our strength and delegate to the team what is our weaknesses. The “Serving more” mindset is second. This is like what Robert Kiyosaki says, that if you serve more then you will earn more. Entrepreneurs must be trustworthy — TRUST is our intangible assets .

Ginger: Unforgettable moments or lessons that you learned as an Entrepreneur/Startup Founder

Mike: The lesson I learned was to focus on what is important for the business. Keep it simple and sweet ika nga! I mean not to diversify again on other kind of business that is not my forte for now. Dapat pala may continuous learning and have dominant mindset in my chosen line of business.

Ginger: What advice can you give to other Entrepreneurs?

Mike: Be happy! Let us continue providing jobs to help our country and give back.

Ginger: Do you believe that everyone should become entrepreneurs?

Mike: Yes, I believe that everyone should become entrepreneur or have at least an entrepreneurial mindset. We have a big chance to become financially independent and imagine if all of our government officials had an entrepreneurial mindset, like being more prudent in spending and investing or being a benevolent leader.  For sure, we will prosper as a nation.

Ginger: What are ways that you can do to raise capital?

Mike: As a startup, what I do to raise capital is from personal savings, borrowed from relatives and company loan from the bank. But of course, the best way is to sell more GRUENHEIM Products (actual sales) and to serve more customers with our cleaning services.

Ginger: How do you market your products? Growth strategy?

Mike: As of now, we market our products thru direct selling, thru word of mouth system strategy, and as of now we have satellite office in Cebu, and we have plans to tap Davao and CDO market next year.

Ginger: What are tech tools that you use for your business?

Mike: As of now, we use IG and Facebook to promote our products and service, but we’re still not fully maximizing the others new platforms and tech tools. There are a lot of things to improve.

 

Ginger: Thank you so much for your time, Mike! You’re story shows that regardless of the business model or the product or service that you are selling, we all can have that entrepreneurial mindset and spirit! Good luck and more power to you on your business!

Contact information about your business:

Website: www.gruenheim.ph
Email address: gruenheimphils@yahoo.com
Mobile Number: 0917 5984968 or 0917 8790133
Instagram account: mikegamez_atyourservice

3 Things that You can do to Find Your Freelancing Niche Market

I’ve worked a lot of different jobs in my life. I originally worked as a banker, but I’ve also been a dog breeder, makeup artist, product/fashion stylist, and social entrepreneur. I’m the founder of Manila Workshops and Taxumo. And of course, I’m a blogger too! Apart from this blog, I am a lifestyle blogger at ManilaReviews.com and a health and fitness blogger at ManilaFitness.com.

I’ve done styling and make-up…

So no one knows better than I do how life and a wide variety of interests can pull you in so many different directions. But while diversification can keep your life fun and exciting, it can also make it easier for you to get frazzled and spread yourself too thin. When that happens, especially when you’re freelancing, it can push you that much closer to burnout.

This makes it all the more important to find your niche as a freelancer. It’s not just to improve your own life, either—it will help you find and serve quality clients who are willing to pay more for your unique set of skills.

Still, finding the market and skill set to specialize in can be tough. In my case, it took me years of doing different things before I settled into the roles I have now, but I don’t regret any of them—in fact, I highly recommend doing the same. It’s good to explore the many avenues that are open to you because it helps you find the best fit. Think about how it works when you go to college, where you take mostly general subjects in your freshman and sophomore years, which gives you the option to change your course before you go into the subjects related to your major, which you take more and more of in your junior years, so that you have the right knowledge and skills for your chosen career path by the time you graduate.

Most freelancers find that finding their niche markets require quite a bit of trial and error. Still, there are ways to make sure there are fewer “errors” than there are trials. Here are a few things I’d suggest:

Do some exploratory research. Talk to other people. Join meetups not just for freelancers doing the same thing you’re doing, but other kinds of freelancers and professionals as well (if this is something you’d like to do, I can recommend joining the Freelance Blend group by Marvin de Leon and also the PayPal Philippines Freelancer Community. Immerse yourself in an industry you find interesting. Read books, watch videos, subscribe to podcasts—there are so many things you can do!

Do a SWOT analysis. You might have learned about these in school or at work. Outline your strengths and your weaknesses, and identify opportunities and threats for your freelancing business. You’ll want to play to your strengths and maximize your opportunities, but also find ways to improve on your weaknesses and protect your business from threats.

Do a little soul searching. Not to sound cheesy, but the better you know yourself and what you want to do, the easier it will be to find a place in the freelancer market that fits you. Ask yourself a few probing questions. What do you want to achieve as a career goal? What do you love doing most—and love learning? Or conversely, what do you hate doing? Where is your network? Who are the people who support you? And on a more social note, where can you do the most good?

At the end of the day, and even when you have found your niche and made a name for yourself, you’ll likely still find that you’ll still need to know a little about a lot of things, as your clients’ needs may vary. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to spend lots of time and money getting professional-level competencies at skill sets that aren’t your primary business focus, but you need to know enough to be conversant and to make sure what needs to get done is done—more on this in my next post! And at the basic level, you’ll need to develop good communication and productivity skills, as well as the know-how to use tools like Taxumo and PayPal to make sure all your earnings are properly reported and received.

But don’t forget that you should have one or two things you should know a lot about, in order to be an expert in your field or career track. Once you know where your priorities lie, you can focus on working smarter instead of harder. And that just means more time for travel and, more importantly, for friends and family!

Advertisement

Looping Philippines Squizz 2.0 Stroller

Why are all amazing strollers made in France. This is the second brand of stroller that I checked out this week. It’s from a brand called Looping in France, and the model is called Squizz 2.0.

Image from @cocoonstudioph #cocoonstudioph

For a busy family, like us, we need a stroller that will compliment our needs. We travel often out of the country, and we love bringing Zeeka. The reason why we bring her is that we want to expose her to different cultures, for her to widen her view of the world. But as you know, if you’re a mom and you want to travel, you need to plan well. You also need someone to help you carry some of your stuff, bring the stroller, hold the baby while you get things or unfold the stroller, etc.

But this Squizz 2.0 Stroller from Looping Philippines promises convenience for every mom!

It’s benefits are the following:

– One Hand Folding Promise: The Squizz 2.0 can be open and folded using only one hand. Mom can travel on their own with the baby. I tried this and what I liked about it is that the lock was at the side of the stroller, so you just need to unlock it and use the handle to pop it open.

– Lightweight: It only weighs 6.7kg. You can also pull it around using the T-bar luggage handle.

– Suitable for Babies up to Toddlers: You can use the Squizz Stroller from when your baby is a newborn until he or she weighs 20 kilograms (so until he/she is 5-6 years old). Adjusting the stroller for your baby is also very easy, just pull the buckle behind the seat to recline or put upright.

– Compact: Since we live in a condominium and I’m very particular about what we put into our “space” (this is why I practice the Konmari method), I love things that are compact. The Squizz 2.0 stroller can be folded into a compact size that can easily be stored in our home. Here are the dimensions.

Stroller size: W48 x D77 x H104cm.
Foldable size: W48 x D26 x H57cm.

– Safe Stroller: The Squizz 2.0 has a 5 point safety harness that keeps your child safe in your stroller. Even if it’s that safe, it’s also very comfortable too for your baby or toddler.

What I would wish for though is that they add more colors. Right now, they only have two colors: you can either get the black or white frame.

So there you have it! That’s Squizz 2.0 Stroller. It’s being sold at an SRP of Php 16,999 at Baby Company, The SM Store, The Parenting Emporium, Rustan’s Alabang, Cebu, Shangri-la Plaza and Makati and MilkandHoney.ph.

So, what do you think? Are you getting one soon?

Check out other details at these Looping Philippines links:

http://www.looping.com.ph

http://instagram.com/looping.philippines

http://facebook.com/loopingph

 

 

 

GummyBox PH: Cool Activities for Kids (In a Box!)

As a mom, you know how hard it is to look for activities for your kids. With a hyper active child like mine, I needed to research and look for things that she can go to or do at home. Although, I found something that’s a super lifesave for me. It’s called GummyBox PH. GummyBox designs themed activity boxes that contain hands-on craft and science projects for kids at home. So perfect for our kids, right?! These activities are for kids aged 4 to 8 years.

So Gummybox is a box that you get when you subscribe. They have a mini box at P1,050 per box and a standard box at P2,050. They can deliver for FREE if you live in Makati and deliver to other places, but shipping will depend on the area and region where you want to have the box delivered.

Zeeka received a box called Monster Mania. It was so perfect for her since she loves monsters! haha! The standard box contains 3 activities. I was so impressed with the quality of the materials inside the box. They had Gummybox branded glue sticks, tape dispenser, etc.

Each activity had easy-to-follow instructions with drawings and illustrations that my little girl could follow. The activities were very apt for a 4 year old. Gummybox really made the activities open-ended so that children
across ages can build, create, connect, learn and think at different levels.

My husband and I actually bonded with our daughter over creating monsters.

Guess which one’s mine! 🙂 haha!

Fine! Mine’s the yellow one! My husband fixed it after. haha!

Check out this cool video on YouTube that we created to show you how fun it was to do!

 

Guess what?

I am giving away one box to one lucky reader!

This is open to all readers in the Metro Manila area only, and will run from October 19, 2017 to October 28, 2017.

All you need to do is:

  1. Share this blog post on Facebook and use #Gummyboxph and #MommyGinger and tell us how you currently bond with your children!
  2. Subscribe to my YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/c/gingerarboledavlog and like the Gummybox PH video

    3. Then comment on this blog post after you’ve done both!

That’s it! So easy! Good luck! I’ll choose the lucky winner of this box on October 29.

So if you want to try out Gummybox PH, you can email kfunkidstoys@gmail.com or text +63 939 551 1501.

Check out their Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/gummybox.ph/

Good luck!

Love lots,

Ginger

 

Babyzen Yoyo+ Stroller!

When I was single, I used to wonder in amazement at how moms could do so many things at the same time. I would see moms breastfeeding in the mall while working on a laptop. I would see some really petite moms carry a 3 year old child on one hand and two grocery bags using the other. How do these women do it?! And then, I became a mom.

I understood how things are. No one understands how enticing multi-purpose products are for us. No one understands that time is so valuable, since you have to take care of the baby, go to work, prepare meals, fix your makeup, breastfeed, etc. My daughter is now four, and we’re planning to have a baby next year. With being the OC mom that I am, as early as now, I’m already researching on the things that I will probably need.

 

This week, I have been researching about strollers. The first stroller that I researched about is from Babyzen and it’s called the YOYO+. Babyzen is a French brand, and is available in different countries like France, US, Europe, Australia, Canada, Iceland, etc. This brand now makes its way to the Philippines.

During the preview of Babyzen, I got to see the cool features of this baby stroller:

  • Compact design and one second fold: In an instant, you can fold this stroller. It folds to a really compact size (folded dimensions 52 x 44 x 18 cm) that you can actually hand carry it inside a plane and store it in the overhead compartment of an aircraft. Although, you still have to check with the airline if you plan to bring your Yoyo+ inside the plane since cabin luggage standards may vary according to the airline or plane.
  • The modern look with 8 different colors: The Babyzen Yoyo+ comes in 8 different colors — Peppermint, Blue, Black, Gray, Taupe, Ginger, Pink and Red. What I like ahout the YOYO+ fabrics is that it can easily be taken off and machine washed at 30°C. No more hassle in trying to clean our strollers, moms!
  • Very lightweight: Most of the strollers that I see are very bulky and hard to open, pack or even manoeuvre on your own as a mom. You oftentimes need dad’s help or at least another person to hold the baby, while you fold or set up your stroller. With Babyzen Yoyo+, you can actually do these with one hand!

Check out the cool things that happened during the preview of Babyzen Philippines!

For more information about the product, you can visit these pages:

https://www.facebook.com/babyzenphilippines/

https://www.babyzen.com/en/

http://instagram.com/babyzenphilippines

Love,

Ginger

P.S. Thank you Creative Juice / Mommy Mundo for inviting me to this event!