Entrepreneurs Make Things Happen

We make decisions — decisions that will form our destiny. I do not think that destiny is something already planned out for you. I believe that you make things happen. You create your own destiny.

There was a time, three years ago, when I couldn’t keep still. I was looking for that something that would make me happy. I was looking for something that would make me feel more fulfilled. After a few months, I actually found it. It was right before my very eyes. It was something that I created, called Manila Workshops with the main intention to help other people find their own path that would make them feel happier, too, and more fulfilled. This path that embraced continuous learning was then advocated by other people, who I lovingly call Team Manila Workshops.

We continue on our journey to help execute learning events since we each believe that we all have a lot to learn and we should commit to learning something new everyday. We have seen how learning positively affects people’s lives and how it brings people closer to their entrepreneurship goals.

I was curious to know why entrepreneurs like me made that big leap into starting their own business. Was it because of a dire need for extra cash? a need to have more time for themselves? a need to explore and satisfy their curiosity? or a need to change the world and make a difference? Here are some of their reasons.

 

It’s amazing that we all have our own reasons why we started our businesses, and I believe that these people are all successful, not because of the magnitude of their reason, but because they were/are clear on what they wanted to happen. I recently came across a form that asked me what my own definition of success was. I actually forgot what I wrote, but I thought about that question even after submitting the form.  Then I came up with this definition…

Success comes in all shapes in sizes all throughout an entrepreneur’s journey. Success is having a clear end goal in mind and working with grit, tenacity, and respect for others along the way. Then, success becomes achieving personal dreams and aspirations — having the capacity to enjoy life to the fullest! And then lastly, success becomes a journey in an awakened path where your main goal is to help others achieve their own successes.

Starting a business is hard, and not everyone makes it alive in this journey. I am no expert. In fact, I am currently walking on this journey, collecting more Pokemon balls with others, in order to gain more XP. We can never put any limit to learning, because the path just gets harder and harder (you will need more raspberries and great balls). But you are not alone. In times when you feel down and miserable, just go through the slides above and be reminded that there are others ahead of you, clearing the path and their making it easier for you to tread on.

PS. Thank you to all those who contributed their thoughts! I apologize as I could not include all those who replied and sent messages. I appreciate and love you all! I hope I will be able to meet and talk to each one of you in the future!

Ad for Taxumo

Government Benefits for Entrepreneurs and Freelancers

A lot of employees may take it for granted, but companies in the Philippines are compelled by law to invest in their health and future.

Take SSS, for example: out of the monthly contribution rate which is 11% of the monthly salary, Philippine employers are required to pay 7.37%, while the employee only pays 3.63%.

At retirement (usually around 60 years old), the employee will get the highest amount based from any of the three computations below:

1. The sum of P300, plus 20 percent of the average monthly salary credit, plus two percent of the average monthly salary credit for each credited year of service (CYS) in excess of ten years; or

2. Forty (40) percent of the average monthly salary credit; or

3. P1,200, if the CYS is at least 10 but less than 20; or P2,400, if the CYS is 20 or more.

That’s not a bad pension figure, after twenty years of working. (And note this: retired professionals also get a 13th month pension, just like any regular Filipino employee!)

But an employee doesn’t need to retire to enjoy the benefits that the government demands the employers to secure for their employees. A sick employee or their dependent can immediately take advantage of Philhealth’s coverage, which can include subsidies for hospital room and board fees, drugs and medicines, laboratory exams, and professional fees.

Likewise, anyone who’s dreaming of owning their dream home can apply for a loan with Pag-Ibig. That doesn’t just mean getting the government institution to help you buy a condo or townhouse—but also a fully developed residential lot (and yes, even finance the construction of a house from ground up.)

What’s good for employees is that, should they decide to concern themselves about these matters, they can always run to their companies’ Human Resources personnel to assist them with these things.

But how about those who opt to go the freelancing route? What about freelancers? What paperwork do they need to file, to make sure they are also investing in their future? Do they get the same coverage as a regular employee? Are the fees different for self-employed professionals?

“According to the Department of Science and Technology, there are already 1.5 million freelance professionals in the country—and more than 700,000 of those freelancers are registered online on our global online jobs platform Freelancer.com,” says Evan Tan, Regional Director for Southeast Asia of Freelancer.com. “We need to educate these professionals that their untraditional work setups do not hinder them from enjoying the same opportunities and benefits as regular employees.”

 

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To help freelancers and entrepreneurs understand SSS, Philhealth, and Pag-ibig memberships and coverage more comprehensively, Freelancer.com, together with premier workshops organizer Manila Workshops and Unionbank EON, has organized the Talino Talks event entitled, “Philhealth, Pag-Ibig, & SSS for Freelancers—Explained”.

Featured in the event is Dandy Victa, the founder of Manila Civil Service Review, author of “Work-at-Home Entrepreneurship: A Practical Guide for Filipinos with Disabilities”., and a Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation degree holder at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The event is happening on March 19, 2016, Saturday, 1 pm, at the Freelancer.com office, 30th floor, Ecotower Building, 32nd cor 9th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Also, as an additional incentive for attending, you can get your EON card during our workshop/event for FREE. Open an EON account during the workshop/event and your first annual fee will be waived! All you need to do is drop by and bring two valid IDs. With EON, you’ll have no maintaining balance, no bank fees for Paypal credits, and now, waived annual fee for the first year. It really is the easiest and fastest way to get your Paypal payment.

RSVP here: http://j.mp/philhealthsssexplained

Four Amazing Workshops this Saturday — Will I see you?

I’m super pumped up! I’ve been busy this week organizing the first four live workshops that we will have this year which will happen this Saturday, January 23, 2016. Wooohooo! The first four workshops are the following:

Perfect for Business Owners, Freelancers, Entrepreneurs and Professionals

Basic Accounting and Taxation

Join Taxumo, ManilaWorkshops.com and Freelancer.com as we bring you this workshop on Basic Accounting and Taxation for Start-ups, Freelancers and Professionals.

What will you learn:
Make financial data-based business decisions. Track indicators that correlate with business health. Avoid penalties by properly filling out your tax forms and maximize your tax savings.

Date: January 23, 2016
Time: 9am to 12 noon
Venue: 30th Floor Ecotower Plaza, Freelancer.com Office, BGC (map to the venue)

Early bird rate (until January 20, 2016): Php 500.00
Regular Rate: Php 2295

Sign up here: http://manilaworkshops.com/events/basic-accounting-and-taxation1

events---Money-Wellness----poster

This 2016, top online jobs website Freelancer.com and the leading workshops organizer Manila Workshops, in cooperation with Sunlife and UnionBank EON, are giving you the best tips to achieve financial freedom as a freelancer.

What will you learn:
Tips on how to manage your funds as freelancers. We know that there are various off and on seasons for freelancers so in this workshop, we will teach you how to manage all of that fluctuations.

Date: January 23, 2016
Time: 1pm to 4pm
Venue: 30th Floor Ecotower Plaza, Freelancer.com Office, BGC (map to the venue)

Regular Rate: Php 100 ONLY!!! (good deal!)

Sign up here: http://manilaworkshops.com/events/talinotalks-money-wellness

Freelancing for Beginners

Freelance BlendUnionBank EON, Horsepower.ph and Manila Workshops bring you again our most popular Freelancing workshop — Freelancing for Beginners Workshop!

What will you learn:
#1 > Get simple, step-by-step training from real-life, freelancing coaches who are eager to share their business knowledge with beginners like you.

#2 > Fulfill your dream of working for yourself, earning additional income from your passions and spending more time with your family.

#3> Mastermind with peers and mentors who have blazed the trail in freelancing

#4> Take massive action, earn your first dollar and celebrate your wins with our private and exclusive freelancer community

BTW, our recommended payment channel for freelancers is UnionBank EON. I’ve used UnionBank EON for the longest time now and i love it since you can easily link it to your Paypal account to receive payments! 🙂

Date: January 23, 2016
Time: am to 5pm
Venue: 48th Floor UnionBank Plaza Building, Meralco Avenue

Regular Rate: Php 2500
Bring a friend rate: Php 1800 per person

Sign up here: http://manilaworkshops.com/events/freelancing-for-beginners-3

Raket Remedies - Facebook Marketing

Raket.phUnionBank EON and Manila Workshops aim to provide remedies for Freelancing and Entrepreneur pains that you might have with its Raket Remedies Workshop Series.

What will you learn:
Create unique and engaging ads
Maximize ROI of Facebook ads
Integrate Facebook with other Marketing strategies

Date: January 23, 2016
Time: 1pm to 4pm
Venue: 47th Floor UnionBank Plaza Building, Meralco Avenue

Regular Rate: Php 300 per person
Bring a friend rate: Php 250 per person

Sign up here: http://manilaworkshops.com/events/raket-remedies-facebook-marketing

Hope to see you there!!! 🙂

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EON Online ad 4

UnionBank EON, it the easiest and fastest way to get your payment. Open an EON account and link it to your Paypal! 🙂

October Talks for Freelancers and Entrepreneurs

I’m super busy, but I’m busy-happy! I’m happy because I will be sharing a lot of my experiences and the things that I have gone through as an entrepreneur this month in these two exciting webinars and an actual live talk about blogging!

7 STEPS to a SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE BUSINESS

7 steps

My good friend and Freelancing advocate, Marv De Leon and I will be giving tips on Freelancing and working from home! Guess what?! This webinar is for free but we have limited slots only! Sign up now at: http://manilaworkshops.com/events/7steps
PAYONEER’s PREMIUM WEBINAR SERIES ON FREELANCING

webinar-for-facebook

I would really recommend that you attend this FREE webinar from Payoneer. Yours truly, Rifat Ahment and Jonny Steel will be giving tips for freelancers. Sign up now at this link: PAYONEER PREMIUM WEBINAR.

RAKETONE’s BLOGGING 101

Raket One

I recently wrote about the realities of being a blogger in this link: REALITIES OF BEING A BLOGGER. I have been a blogger since 2008 and since that time, I have learned a lot about this craft. I’d like to share with you what I know and I would like to get to know you more and help you become successful bloggers. Sign up now at: RAKETONE Blogging 101

Hope to meet you ‘virtually’ or in person on these dates!

 

The Payoneer Forum: See you there!

Happy Monday, everyone! We just came from Real, Quezon this weekend and oh my, the place was breathtaking! Actually, the trip to Quezon made me realize that there are a lot of places in the Philippines that are still undiscovered and we should all travel within our country first before we go out! The travel made me really sentimental. My thoughts were if Filipinos only realize that we have such a beautiful country and if we do one thing, just one thing every day, to improve our nation and to help others, I think our country would be in a better position and we may even be a first world country.

Real, Quezon: We have such a beautiful country!

Real, Quezon: We have such a beautiful country!

In helping our country, what we can do is assess our own strengths and see if we can help our country by using these strengths. Wouldn’t you feel fulfilled if you wake up every day, doing that thing that you love to do and at the same time, you get to help your country? In my own little way, what I want to do is really to help spread the news about entrepreneurship. I would want to help aspiring entrepreneurs start their own businesses.

I am glad and blessed that I have been given the chance to reach more and more people everyday. This week, I am speaking at the Payoneer Forum. The event is FREE. All you have to do is register here: THE PAYONEER FORUM

I will be with some colleagues in the industry and really brilliant ones! My talk is entitled, Love the Leap: What Aspiring Entrepreneurs Need to Know.

I hope that you can join me on Wednesday and please do say hi! Feel free to approach me.

See you at the Payoneer Forum!