EntrePinas Podcast with Rigel Dayrit

Episode 023 – Chris Blanquera at iBlogX on Startups, Venture Funding and Entrepreneurship is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More Chris Blanquera is the founder of Openovate Labs and the CTO of Galleon.PH and this episode features his presentation at iBlogX a few weeks ago about startups, mentorship, getting venture capital funding and entrepreneurship.   Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 022 – GDayX and Google Business Groups with Carissa Coles is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More I’ve been talking about me speaking at GDayXWe have the founder of Google Business Groups Angeles and organizer of GDayX, Carissa Coles, on board this week and we talk about the event – from the speakers to the location and how much it would cost to attend the event. Carissa is based in Angeles City but was born in Floridablanca, Pampanga. Carissa worked with Aileen Apollo, the Head of Outreach, South East Asia at Google to help build the community and there are now over 20 Google Business Groups in the Philippines. Carissa started GBG Angeles after attending conferences in Manila and wanted other people to inspire other people from her area without having to go to Manila. GDayX Pampanga What is Google Business Groups Google Business Groups is a community of business professionals sharing Google web technologies for business success. It aims to connect, inform and inspire people – the 3 driving principles of GBG. Google Business Groups members are volunteers and are not Google employees but is being supported by Google. They organize workshops, hang outs and large events. The Angeles group was inaugurated last Feb 21 with over 20 members.   Time and Venue Eurotel across SM Clark from 8am-5pm   The speakers for the event Herald Uy, Chief Evangelist, Appetite Labs Jason Acidre, Co-Founder and CEO of Xight Interactive Richard Noromor, Digital Marketing Consultant, EmergeLocal Roel Manarang, CEO, North Social Media Jaypee David, Community Manager, Globe Telecom Therence John Resabal, Google Student Ambassador Louie Sison, Blogger, louiesison.com Valerie Joy Deveza, Community Manager, Bidsketch   To find more information about Google Business Groups Angeles and GDayX, you can visit: http://www.gbgangeles.org/   Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 021 – The Importance of Focus with Munchpunch Co-Founder Alvin Tan is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More If you like dining out, then you’ve probably know or used Alvin Tan’s website to get some information on a new restaurant that you would like to visit like their menu and how munch on average would it cost per person to dine there. What website am I talking about? It is Munchpunch.com! Alvin shares his story and has even prepared a special freebie to all of you who listen to the podcast or read the blog. Munchpunch: Philippines’ Restaurant Menu Guide Alvin grew up in General Santos City and loves basketball and the internet. When he was in high school he started doing web design for dog kennels in the US and took up computer science in Manila. How Munchpunch started After graduating from college, Alvin interned at Webworks, now Gurango Software where they would work in business apps in the Microsoft ecosystem. After his stint with Gurango, Alvin and his co-founder did some outsourcing work but it didn’t jive with them. They decided to look for a new idea and understood the concept that since the Philippines isn’t that high tech they could focus on something that we all like to do – eating. The initial concept was something similar to Citi Delivery minus having them doing the deliveries themselves. They were able to make an automated software to help with the endeavor but had challenges in getting some of the restaurants to comply with the procedures. Eventually, Alvin started using Munchpuch more for the menus and dining out which made them decide to change the focus and purpose of the site. Challenges when starting Munchpunch How to get the menus or additional content It used to be a manual process where they would have to get the information from the restaurants but after a certain point, restaurants started approaching them. No clients and lack of resources No revenue for the first 2-3 years and they had to rely on google ads. Since the ads weren’t bringing in a lot of revenue, they had to use interns to save on costs. Revenue is now coming through ads and the VIP Menu subscription Learning from the challenges Do things faster, test them right away since you’d never get anything done if you were to wait for everything to become perfect Biggest milestone Getting from 0 to 1.3 million views per month. A great way to help increase readers or viewers for your site is to make sure that you are focused on a specific topic (or feature in the case of software) so that when people would talk about it, it will be your brand that would be their top of mind recall. How did Alvin grow Munchpunch Proper coding and SEO. They tried giving out stickers and goodies but SEO has been the most effective method for growing the site. Favorite tool to help run Munchpunch Kayako – a helpdesk software Payroll Hero – a payroll software that uses facial recognition (can you say selfie?) Adobe Fireworks – used for graphics design What’s next for Munchpunch Improving the VIP Menu for the restaurants that they are working with. They also are looking into corporate tie ups. What’s one thing Alvin wished he could have done differently Don’t hold back and believe in yourself. Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs Start small with a niche idea but research the target market size in advance. Special Freebie for the EntrePinas audience The VIP menu is normally free for 15 days but they’re extending it to 45 days using their special pass by going to the page below and using the code ENTREPINAS: http://www.munchpunch.com/vip/upgrade Contact information Website: http://www.munchpunch.com/ Email: alvin (at) munchpunch (dot) com Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 020 – Craft MNL with Lex Reyes and What to Expect from gDayX is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More Before we get into the interview with Lex Reyes of Craft MNL, I just want to remind everyone about gDayX Central Luzon. I’m pretty pumped to be part of this event since I also grew up in Central Luzon – Olongapo City, Zambales to be exact. Carissa Coles, the founder and manager of Google Business Group Angeles invited me to talk about Blogging and Podcasting and how it can benefit different organizations. The attendees will be from different sectors like business, education and government. This can also be a great opportunity for you to network with other entrepreneurs or people from the online space. For this week’s guest,we have Lex Reyes of Craft MNL , a community of artisans, crafters, designers and entrepreneurs who learn, create share and celebrate the work of our hands. they also run workshops for creating wire jewelry, embroidered toys, printing designs among others. I’ve actually been trying to get this interview in order since around December of last year and there were several events that made us postpone it like Lex’s marriage last January and we were both ill last February. Lex has a background in psychology but has been into the arts. His partner and now wife, Marielle Nadal-Reyes has always been a crafter and was a graphics designer. Craft MNL How did Lex and Marielle start Craft MNL Marielle was a social entrepreneur associated with a non profit that focused on creating websites while Lex was in the field of renewable energy. There was a time that they both wanted to something new and they both had projects that they wanted to do. They wanted to get a space of their own and they were able to get one in The Collective in Makati along Malugay Street. Marielle saw the opportunity where people would like to do other things outside of work and break the monotony of their 9-5 jobs. There was also a wave of crafting and creating a few weeks back and they were able to join that wave and they are now doing workshops almost every week. Biggest challenge or roadblock when starting They had to continuously improvise their business model – from marketing to building their user base to contacting different people that could be their facilitators for workshops. Pivoting is also a challenge since you always needs to be on the lookout for opportunities or trends. Lex cites the following examples: There was a time when they only had a few workshops being offered and they saw that the people joining was dwindling. They ended up tweaking it and reducing how often a workshop is being done. There was a year where doing workshops at different locations like Quezon City and Alabang but they were primarily based in Makati which posed different logistical challenges Craft MNL Modular Origami Workshop   What they learned from the experience Learn to market early and make sure that people sign up, pay and follow up. Giving them an incentive to attend the workshop would also help. How did they grow the business Online marketing via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, they also work with organizations like BGC where they will be doing an art tour that goes around BGC and ends in a spot where they create mosaics of pop stars. Biggest milestone for Craft MNL Opening the space to have and create the workshops Craft MNL Modual Origami Workshop Favorite tool to help run the business Their website uses WordPress and plugins like WooCommerce for taking orders/payment processing What’s next for CraftMNL Working with other organizations and expanding beyond workshops and be able to work with communities as well One thing Lex wishes he could have done differently Being particular with the accounting and financials of the business Call to action for aspiring entrepreneurs Just do it. Entrepreneurship is a marathon and it is all about going out there and trying things out. If one aspect of the business is not working then you can go ahead and tweak it. Craft MNL Toy Making Workshop Resources discussed Effectivity of Facebook Likes: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=748822798463228 Woo Commerce: http://wordpress.org/plugins/woocommerce/ Pretty Link: http://wordpress.org/plugins/pretty-link/ Contact information Unit Y, The Collective, 7274 Malugay Street, Makati Website: www.craftmnl.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CraftMNL Instagram: @craftmnl Twitter: @craftmnl Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 019 – Google gDayX Central Luzon and Danke.com.ph with Cecile Kramm is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More First, an announcement – I’ve been invited to speak about blogging and podcasting in gDayx Central Luzon by Carissa Coles of the Google Business Group Angeles on April 26, 2014. I was referred to Carissa by Marv De Leon of The Freelance Blend Podcast who talks about freelancing in the Philippines. I’ve also started a business of mine which I will be using as a case in a few weeks. I’ll be discussing things that went well, what didn’t go as planned and what are the things that I wish I could have done better. This week’s entrepreneur is Cecile Kramm. She is currently based in Germany with her husband and is the owner of the online auction site danke.com.ph . Danke is actually German for “thank you” and Cecile chose this name because it is short and more importantly, Cecile feels that there is something that you can always be thankful for.   Danke.com.ph How Danke.com.ph started Cecile is a serial entrepreneur starting when she was in elementary. She started selling candies and stationaries to classmates eventually starting botique when she was still single to a resto bar to a local franchise of a radio station. Since Cecile would regularly sell products online, she got the idea of starting Danke.   Biggest challenge or roadblock while starting and learning Being physically away from the business. Since Cecile is in Germany and her team mates are in the Philippines, it can be a challenge to keep things running smoothly. Communication and being hands on is important till things become more stable for a startup which is why Cecile is flying over to the Philippines later in the year.   How is Cecile marketing Danke Cecile uses Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and her marketing assistants are on the field. Most of them do part time work and contact prospective clients who would want to advertise their business online.   Biggest milestone or achievement as an entrepreneur When Cecile was still in the CD/DVD/music industry, the firm that she was with had low sales in US, UK and Canada when she first joined and within in a year she was able to triple their sales.   Favorite tool to help run the business Facebook and Skype   What’s next for Danke Cecile plans on adding more languages and features that are not available in other auction sites   Call to action for aspiring entrepreneurs Cecile lives by 4 P’s: Patience – your time will come if you are patient enough Perseverance – if you dream and want something, you will work hard for it Persistence – work things out day by day until you reach your goal Prayer – faith is very helpful and powerful   Contact information Website: http://danke.com.ph/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dankecomph Instagram: @dankecomph Twitter: @phdanke   Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 018 – Pretentious Game – From Flash to the Apple App and Google Play Stores with Bari Silvestre of Keybol is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More We’ve got Keybol’s Bari Silvestre, the developer of the hit app Pretentious Game. This app, with a very minimalist design where your characters are merely square blocks managed to win the Director’s choice Award and Best In Storytelling nominee in Casual Connect San Francisco 2013. Pretentious Game’s plot revolves around love, relationships, heartbreak and family – things that we can all relate to regardless of your race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. Pretentious Game How Bari got started as an entrepreneur and developing Pretentious Game Bari graduated with a degree in accounting and worked in Korea as a factory worker for a period of time. To help deal with the hardship of being away from home and his family, Bari spent a lot of time online and eventually learned that people can earn money from it. He then learned how to develop and sell games in Adobe Flash in 2010. Pretentious game started off as a parody of another game while banking on the formula of a good story, simple graphics and the right background music.   Biggest obstacle when starting Bari would originally design games based on what he wants. Unfortunately they didn’t sell well so he eventually started to study the market trends – what people wanted and what works. One example was when he worked on an avoider app with samurais borne from Bari’s love for anime. During the process of the app development, he had to get a graphics designer to help make the app look good. He didn’t realize that the app was difficult to code and it wasn’t getting any sponsors. Bari eventually wrote it off as a loss and when he finally got a sponsor, the sponsor was difficult to deal with which ended up dragging the deal for 2 months to get the branding right. Due to this, Bari realized that he had to move to a more popular genre like physics games similar to Angry Birds or puzzle games. In 2012, Bari made the leap to mobile when he realzied that popular mobile apps are being ported to flash and vice versa. He also saw that mobile apps are profitable Ptretentious Game Screenshots Learning from the obstacle You should have a steady source of income before branching off to other ventures. Bari continues to make flash based physics games to give him some financial freedom to pursue other endeavors.   How did Bari grow the business Bari uses the website FGL.com where you can upload your apps and put them up for auction. Once you are able to sell an app, FGL takes a 10% commission from the sale since they would help connect you with a larger market or network of buyers. Biggest milestone or achievement for the business Pretentious Game is Bari’s biggest milestone since it has been showcased in San Francisco, Seattle and Japan. It has also won awards and it gave Bari the opportunity to be featured in both TV and radio. It has also given him the opportunity to share his experiences about game development both locally and internationally.   Here is a quote used in the game What’s next from Bari Silvestre, Keybol and Pretentious Game Continue to push for updates every 3-4 months for Pretentious Games, release some self published mobile and flash. games. Pretentious Game is also scheduled for release in Steam around May or June.   What did Barry wish he could have done differently He should have started earlier, he started researching about flash games in 2004 and had he started at that time, he could have earned more and at the same time made a name for himself in the industry as an expert. Call to action for aspiring entrepreneurs For game developers – try to reach out to a larger market instead of just releasing it within your circle of friends. You should also continue to release new games and look for feedback on how you can improve yourself. For business – get a steady stream of income before diversifying so that you would have a fall back plan in the event that your new venture will not succeed. The game can be so heart wrenching that it can move people to tears Additional advice for readers and listeners Develop your PR skills, this would help open more doors for you by being able to grow your network.   Resources discussed FGL – https://www.fgl.com/ Entrepreneur Magazine The 48 Laws of Power Rich Dad Poor Dad Appillionaires: Secrets from Developers Who Struck It Rich on the App Store Buttonless: Incredible iPhone and iPad Games and the Stories Behind Them   Contact information Email: melai0707 (at) gmail (dot) com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pretentiousgame   Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 017 – Why is the Go Negosyo Bill Awesome is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More I went to the Senate last Tuesday, March 4 to discuss the Go Negosyo Bill that recently passed the Senate’s 3rd reading and is currently waiting for its reading in the Congress. I was able to talk to Tiffany de Guzman and Norman Cualteros who are part of Senator Bam Aquino’s Policy Team. Senator Bam Aquino Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship and The Committee on Youth being the youngest senator in the 16th Congress. The blog post shows some high level information about the bill but we discuss it in detail in the recording. What is the Go Negosyo Bill The Go Negosyo Bill is a project that is very close to Senator Aquino’s heart since it is one of his pet projects. The bill is meant to help promote MSME or Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises via Negosyo Centers that will be opened to the municipal level and will be supervised by the Micro, Small, Medium Development (MSMED) Council. How do you classify micro, small and medium enterprises? They are based on the total value of your assets which is composed of whatever cash, investments, equipment and buildings that the entrepreneur might own. The breakdown is as follows: Micro: < PHP 3 Million Small: Between PHP 3 Million and PHP 15 Million Medium: Between PHP 15 Million and PHP 100 Million The MSMED Council is already existing via the DTI and the Negosyo Centers will be available at the municipal level so that it is closer to the practitioners of MSMEs so that their services will be more accessible since it is currently available at the provincial level. Additional services that will be available are development courses, market linkage, financial assistance and basic information on how to setup and improve their business. The government will also be partnering with the private sector, academe and LGUs to help develop businesses. The bill is also meant to help ease the registration process, from a 15 step/35 day process to a 11 step/11 day process. This is a big leap compared to how things are currently being and the goal is to be like Singapore which is currently the best for the past 5 years or so where you can start a business in 1 day in a 2 step process. The bill will also help the government help businesses narrow down on what aspect of their businesses should they improve and connect you with experts in those fields. The  bill also reiterates certain benefits that most entrepreneurs may not be aware of like exception  from the minimum wage law, income tax for micro enterprises and Vat exception for small and medium businesses has also been proposed.   Go Negosyo Act Infographic Resources discussed: RA 9501 Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) RA 9178 Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBE’s) Act of 2002 Philippine Business Registry Go Negosyo Bill as of 12/17/2013 from the Senate Website The current version of the Go Negosyo Bill as discussed in the Podcast Contact info: Email: team (d0t) bamaquino (at) senado (dot) ph Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BenignoBamAquino Team Bam Aquino: Instagram: @teambamaquino / Twitter: @teambamaquino Senator Bam Aquino’s official page: Instagram: @bamaquino / Twitter: @bamaquino   Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 016 – Outsourced App Development with Ramon Pastor of Rogomi Inc is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More We’ve got Ramon Pastor of Rogomi Inc., a software development company that deals primarily with apps for the iOS and Android operating systems. They also assist clients in submitting their apps on iTunes or Google Play store. Ramon is a self taught programmer and took up a number of jobs before starting Numlock Solutions which was later rebranded as Rogomi Inc. Rogomi, Inc. How the Rogomi started Ramon was initially skeptical of the iPhone and he was using an XDA phone back in 2007. One of the challenges back then was that apps for phones like the XDA wasn’t centralized and you had to go to different sites to find an app that you needed. Apple, however, stated that they would create a centralized repository for their apps and he saw the potential. In 2008 he started Numlock Solutions with his wife and sister in law and in 2009, they released their first iOS app. After some time, they started to get requests to develop apps for other people. During this time, Ramon was also making apps for themselves but slowly he realized that he was making more money by developing apps that were being outsourced to them. In 2010 they released their first iPad and Android app.   Biggest challenge when starting There were few iOS developers and it was hard to reach out to find developers. Due to the scarcity of developers they also had to prepare some resources so that the new hires could be trained in the field of app development. The other challenge was for them to get some clients. They had to start approaching people but during that time, people weren’t really aware on what to do do with apps.   How did they overcome the challenge When it comes to recruitment, they made sure that they hired the right people who are not only quick learners but they should also have the right attitude. While technical skills are important, their ethics are just as critical and it should jive with the culture of the business. The people that you are hiring should have right mix of attitude, proper work ethics and willingness to learn. When it came to getting clients, the pitch would generally involve showing the upside potential to the business by investing in an app.   How did Ramon grow Rogomi Inc Ramon was doing a talk in UP late 2010 and someone from Cambridge approached him back then and told him that they needed an app. They were asked to port a CD-ROM to iOS, a task that was not only technically feasible but also a challenge. After the deal was closed and the app was developed, they incessantly plugged the app on their blog after getting their client’s permission. They also include a section in the app that states that the app was developed by Numlock Solutions to help brand awareness. They didn’t invest much in the traditional marketing methods but focused more on using social media as a platform although the business may need to use more traditional methods to grow at this point. Ramon also attend meet up events to help grow his network.   Biggest milestone or achievement for Rogomi Inc They were able to do quality work for big clients which Ramon attributes to both credibility and a little bit of luck. They also released their 50th app about 2 years ago.   Favorite tool to help run the business Basecamp – an online project management tool Stackmob – provides a datastore API, development and production environments, API versions, collaboration, server-side custom code and much more. All the features and extendibility you need to build a powerful backend and the open sourced SDKs to make connecting apps simple Parse – another backend as a service provider, it also helps provide push services to apps that you develop Crashlytics – a real time crash analytics tool TestFlight – a distribution platform which allows users to test apps Github – a collaboration, code review and code management tool   What’s next for Rogomi Inc Ramon wants Rogomi to grow beyond outsourcing. He would like to have their own products again and grow beyond the current B2B model.   One thing that Ramon wishes he could have done differently with Rogomi Inc They could have focused more, they didn’t know the target market that they want when they were starting and it would help if you knew your 4 P’s (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) instead of taking a shotgun approach.   Call to action for aspiring entrepreneurs When you start a business, start something that you really want to do.   Advise for aspiring developers Should you start with Android or iOS and what about Windows Phone Android has bigger market share but in terms of usage, it seems that people on iOS tend to use their devices for more revenue generating activities. iOS users tend to shop more If you are targeting people at the lower end of the market then android would be your best choice since Apple doesn’t have a product that is below PHP 20,000 Windows Phone users are very passionate about the platform   Contact information Website: www.rogomi.com Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/Rogomi Twitter: @rogomiapps Ramon’s Twitter handle: @filjedi Email: rcpastor (at) rogomi (dot) com   Other resources mentioned EntrePinas Episode 12 – Kuyi Mobile with Erick Garayblas EntrePinas Episode 13 – World Renowned Furniture Designer Vito Selma   Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 015 – The Sweet Life by Ange with Angelique Dela Cruz is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More The Sweet Life by Ange makes one of my favorite desserts, the Sweet Surrender. It is a braso de mercedes concoction with ice cream and I was pretty excited to talk to the person behind it, Angelique Dela Cruz. This interview with Ange was very timely since she recently got back to the Philippines from the US and will be focusing on managing and growing her business. The Sweet Life by Ange How The Sweet Life by Ange got started Ange always wanted to become an entrepreneur and her parents have always encouraged her to become an one. She has been baking since the age of 4 since her mom also had a sideline baking food. When she was in high school, at the age of 16,  she would bake a lot and a friend asked her to make a dessert. Eventually one of her aunts then ordered from her and word spread about her first product, the Sweet Surrender. Rockwell asked them to be part of The Baker’s Dozen in 2006 and then the rest was history.   Biggest challenge when starting The Sweet Life Being a student back then, it was challenging to juggle school work, her extra curricular activities and managing the business. Outside of these items, the biggest challenge was for her to get taken seriously as a teenage entrepreneur.   What did Ange to overcome and learn from the challenge Being a teenage entrepreneur was a challenge in itself and in retrospect, it was a blessing since she had to work harder to prove herself and keep her game up. She had to brush up on her knowledge about her product, the dessert business and her competitors. The Sweet Surrender   How did Ange grow The Sweet Life Word of mouth is the main contributor plus social media. Be attuned to networking, they also attended a lot of bazaars.   Proudest entrepreneurial moment Ange was asked to speak to a group of graduating HRM students at the age of 19 about running a business.   What’s next for The Sweet Life by Ange Will become available in a lot more places. Their products could only be found in the Makati and occasionally the Rockwell area and they plan on expanding to other locations. They will also be launching more products over the next few months. The Angelina Cheesecake   What Ange wish she knew before becoming an entrepreneur She wish she had more of a grasp on the management side of things. She didn’t know how about things like supply chain management, accounting and the theoretical side of things. A big part of her business is freshness and she needed to learn how to manage things so that things are more effective or efficient.   Call to action for aspiring entrepreneurs You really have to hustle to find opportunities and you shouldn’t let challenges stop you. You need to know people and network.   Ange’s advice for listeners She always keeps in mind the slogan of a big car rental company in the US, Avis: “Avis is only no. 2. We try harder”. You should continue to have that drive and passion since that will help you when things get really challenging.   Other resources discussed EntrePinas Episode 008 – Loud Basstard with Koh Onozawa EntrePinas Episode 012 – Kuyi Mobile with Erick Garayblas EntrePinas Episode 013 – Vito Selma Shopify Quickbooks   Contact info: Land line: 02-815-0188 Mobile: 0917-823-8198 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sweet-Life-by-Ange/ Twitter @sweetlifebyange Instagram: @thesweetlifebyange   Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 014 – Wizard of Paws with Vincent Halili is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More We’ve got our youngest guest entrepreneur this week on the podcast. Vincent Halili, 19, opened the Wizard of Paws Mobile Pet Salon to cater to the pet grooming needs of busy pet owners. Wizard of Paws  is a convenient solution to grooming your pets since you wouldn’t need to leave your home to go to a pet shop or mall. Wizard of Paws How Wizard of Paws started Vincent was taking up Entrepreneurial Management in the University of Asia and the Pacific but he had to drop out of college due to financial challenges. He felt that it would have been a waste if he wasn’t able to implement his business idea if he were to stop his studies so he asked his parents if he could still implement it since the undergrad program from his school would have required him to put up a business during his 3rd year anyway. Biggest challenge or roadblock Selling the idea to pet parents. This is what the inside of the truck looks like   How did Vincent overcome the challenge Pet parents would usually think that their services are expensive, they had to sell the benefit of convenience to his clients since they wouldn’t have to leave the comfort of their home to get their pets groomed. He would also explain that the services are done inside the Wizard of Paws van since clients are concerned that they don’t want to let a stranger inside their home to bathe their pets. What did he learn from it Vincent didn’t know that being an entrepreneur would be difficult and that you really have to believe in your business. Prayers and support from your family would also help you get through all of the challenges that you would encounter. How did Vincent grow the Wizard of Paws He initially offered their services to friends and family and also used websites like Instagram and Sulit to post ads. They would also offer loyalty programs and distribute flyers to nearby villages or subdivisions. The Wizard of Paws truck doubles as a mobile ad Biggest achievement for the business They were approached to be a sponsor for Doggie Fun Fair and featured on Chinoy TV. What’s next for Wizard of Paws Expanding the business around June 2014 by getting a new truck and servicing new areas like Makati. What Vincent wish he knew before starting the Wizard of Paws He didn’t expect to get mixed reactions from people that he will start his own business. Call to action for aspiring entrepreneurs Vincent wanted to quote Steve Jobs and is a mantra of sorts for him: Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. The risk is worth it as long as you believe in yourself, the market and your business. Contact information Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WizardofPawsMobilePetSalon Instagram: @wizofpawspetsalon Email: wizardofpawspetsalon@gmail.com Phone numbers: 514-7012 998-6501 09177942133 Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 013 – World Renowned Furniture Designer Vito Selma is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More We’ve got world renowned furniture designer and photographer Vito Selma in this week’s episode. Hailing from Cebu, he has been featured in different publications like Harpers Bazaar and Vogue Living Australia. Vito went to college in the San Francisco Academy of Art University and took his masters in Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan, Italy. Vito has also worked under South African designer George de Haast. His works primarily with wood for his collections. Vito Selma How did Vito Selma become an entrepreneur Vito doesn’t see himself as an entrepreneur but as a designer and photographer that does what he loves. He started designing and joining furniture shows back in high school but the Vito Selma Collection only started in 2007. He shows his collections about twice a year in the Philippines featuring 4-5 collections. Biggest challenge when starting The fear of how people would react and receive your work. Geo Cocktail Table How did he overcome the challenge and learnings from it It took Vito about 2-3 years to really gain confidence by showcasing his designs every year. Positive feedback from buyers including stores wanting to carry his designs all over the world helped boost his confidence. Ultimately you have to believe in your product and that would also translate to better sales and a better experience when dealing with customers. How did he grow the business Meet new people and in the design world, it is all about exposure and where you showcase your work. Things take time and designs don’t always sell right away – he has some pieces that do really well 2 years or even 4 years later. Vito doesn’t usually stick to trends since they tend to fade and do what would represent his works well. Arata Biggest milestone for the business Every little thing has been a milestone for Vito. For him, everything is about connecting the dots and seeing everything as an equal and is being thankful that everything he has gone through. Long term vision for the business He doesn’t want the Vito Selma brand to be seen just as a furniture brand or designer. Deisgn should be available to everyone and it should’t be an object of luxury. What did he wish he knew before becoming an entrepreneur Believe in yourself and your product. Aguila Call to action for aspiring entrepreneurs Find what your passion is and believe in yourself and your products. Advice for our listeners or readers When you’re passionate about something, some people tend to drop things in order to become successful and in this life it is all about compromise. Vito can be a photographer and a designer at the same time and it is all about time management. Contact information Website: www.vitoselma.com

Episode 012 – Kuyi Mobile with Erick Garayblas is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More Kuyi Mobile is a home grown mobile app company that made hit games on multiple mobile platforms like Street Food Tycoon and Elevator Joe and Erick is the man behind this successful brand. Erick has been a developer for a decade but was a cartoonist/illustrator before getting into programming. Being a gamer himself, he was curious as to how they were being created and became a self taught game developer. Kuyi Mobile How it started Prior to Kuyi Mobile, Erick had another mobile game development company but it was too reliant on a specific platform. When that platform died, his previous company went along with it. Fortunately, Apple launched the iPhone around the same time. Erick then bought his own iPhone and started a new company and learn how to design apps for it. Biggest challenge or roadblock while starting Getting a solid revenue stream; Kuyi Mobile was bootstrapped and he needed to get a product out to keep the company going. The first game that was released was Card Drop and it got a solid download/revenue stream for the first 2-3 months. Kuyi Mobile’s most recent release – Elevator Joe How did they overcome the roadblock and what did they learn from it Coming up with a good product is only half the battle; learning the business plays an even more pivotal role. You also have to learn how to market your product, properly identify your target market, how to analyze the data you can get from your customers. Immerse yourself in the community and find out what other developers or people within the space that you will be moving in are doing as well along with what they are struggling with. Apple takes 30% of revenue, regardless of its source – whether it is per download, in app purchases or iAds. Annual fee for individual developers of $100/yr. Google on the other hand only requires a one time payment of $30. The challenge with Google is that Google Checkout is not available in the Philippines which means you can’t sell paid games. This would limit your revenue stream to ads that would have to go through 3rd party companies. Revenue from ads that are on Android devices would come from either one or a combination of the following methods: Cost per mille Cost per click Cost per install How did Erick grow Kuyi Mobile Regular product releases is part of Erick’s strategy. With a target of 4-5 products per year, each product can be used to upsell any new products. Cross network promotion that would allow Erick to push updates across multiple platforms at the same time. Social media – Facebook and Twitter accounts were created to easily broadcast any new updates. Erick didn’t bother using mailing lists due to the difficulty of maintaining them since he was initially a one man team. Erick is currently focused on the development of any new products while his team would focus on customer support. Street Food Tycoon World Tour Biggest milestone for Kuyi Mobile The first million download happened when the company was just 2 years old and now they recently celebrated their 12th million download. Long term goal for Kuyi Mobile Continue to pump out new games, innovate and remain current. Erick still has a long list of ideas that he would like to develop. What Erick wish he knew before becoming an entrepreneur He didn’t feel that he wished he knew something in particular before becoming an entrepreneur. When he used to be employed, he had a boss and mentor that got him involved with the business he was working with at the time which gave him a good idea on how to run things. Now, it is just a matter of picking yourself up if you fail. Don’t dwell too much on the failure but learn from it so that it wouldn’t happen again. What is their call to action for aspiring entrepreneurs You need to be well rounded to be in the game industry but more importantly, you need to learn the business and come up with strategies for monetizing, acquiring new users and scaling. Contact Information Website: http://kuyimobile.com/ Kuyi Mobile on the iTunes App Store and on the Google Play Store Twitter: @kuyimobile Facebook: http://facebook.kuyimobile.com Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 011 – Sweet Apple Creations with Apple Bonifacio is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More Apple Bonifacio of Sweet Apple Creations, 24, makes custom cakes, cup cakes, cake pops and other sweets and treats. Prior to starting Sweet Apple Creations, she was working for TGI Fridays starting off as a server to bartender to sales executive but eventually decided to have her own business. She was recently featured in TV5’s Good Morning Club and Pop Talk. Sweet Apple Creations How it started Apple has been into baking ever since she was in high school so she decided to work for a restaurant after graduating. She then worked for a restaurant for 3 years but since what she was doing is different from what she is passionate about, she decided to resign and pursue baking as her career. Challenges with the business Doing cakes that she didn’t have any background in. Apple’s had a background in basic baking but making fondants were a challenge for her and she had to be resourceful by using tools like Youtube to learn how to make them properly. Cake pops What she learned from the experience Don’t give up no matter how challenging things can get. Apple makes it a point that she tries more techniques during her free time by making dummy cakes since client requirements would only become difficult or stringent as the business grows. How did Apple grow Sweet Apple Creations Apple makes a point that she is able to produce great products which eventually gets her referrals from her current client Apple distributed flyers to establishments like banks in her area Facebook, Instagram and Sulit.com with the bulk of her business or deals are closed through Facebook, Instagram and Sulit are great ways for people to see her products Publicity through TV Mickey Mouse themed cupcakes Biggest Milestone for Sweet Apple Creations Apple started to convert a portion of their house to become a coffee shop and are just waiting on the processing of the necessary permits so that they can open the establishments. It should open in Q1 of 2014. Vision for Sweet Apple Creations To have a shop in a business/commercial area. The shop that is based from her home will serve as a spring board and testing ground for her long term goal.   Multi layered wedding cake What Apple wish she knew before becoming an entrepreneur Planning is one of the keys in making your business successful and knowing the different legalities that are required for running a business. An example is the coffee shop that they built; while the shop is physically ready, it cannot operate due to the needed permits and documents. Call to action for aspiring entrepreneurs Know what you really want to do. Having your own business would entail a lot of hard work, effort and time. Focus and passion is also key since these are the things that would keep you going in spite of putting in a lot of hours into your business. Contact Information Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweetAppleCreations email: sweetapple.creations@yahoo.com Instagram: @sweetapplecreations Mobile: 0917-801-6411 Land line: 02-6461438 Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 010 – Pulutan Express with Melissa Pontejos is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More Pulutan Express provides finger foods for people who want something different for events or drinking sessions. Melissa Pontejos, the woman behind the business, is a graduate of HRM in UST and has travelled to the US and Singapore sinceshe was working in the hotel and customer service industry. Pulutan Express How it started: After returning to the Philippines, Melissa decided that she wanted to work for herself. The eureka moment came when she and her friends were about to drink and they were deciding on what to order or eat. They came with the idea of why not target people who like to drink and thus on June 6, 2013, Pulutan Express was born. Biggest challenge with starting Pulutan Express: Melissa used to work alone from shopping to marketing to deliveries. She currently has some of their house helps with to assist with the cooking process and a rider to make the deliveries. Food that is perfect for celebrations or gatherings Learning for the challenge: Time management is very important otherwise you may end up being late, rushed or forget things that could affect the quality of your work.. How did she grow the business: Most of her clients came from Instagram and word of mouth Reaching out to celebrities and send them samples of her products so that they would post it on social media Use eco bags that has Pulutan Express’ contact information Business cards are also handy when meeting new people Facebook page Guested at Magic 89.9 and PTV4 Website She is also planning on making a mailing list to get in touch with companies Pulutan Express is great even for birthday celebrations Biggest milestone for Pulutan Express: Melissa was able to reach her target level of income before the deadline that she set. Vision for Pulutan Express: To have a cafe before the end of the year and her own restaurant within 5 years. What’s next for Pulutan Express: A lot of people have been inquiring about catering and it is something that Melissa is looking into. What Melissa wish she knew before becoming an entrepreneur Since her business is registered with the BIR, Melissa wishes she understood accounting more. She keeps a ledger of her transactions and a notebook for her orders. This is by choice since Melissa doesn’t want the risk of having her iPad or device getting stolen and lose important information. Call to action for aspiring entrepreneurs If you are getting into a business, do something that you love doing. Things can get really stressful but having that passion will help make things easy for you. Contact Information Viber/Whatsapp/SMS: 09178460825 Website: http://pulutanexpress2013.wix.com/2013 Instagram: @PulutanExpress Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PulutanExpress Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 009 – Gaming Library with Hans Fernandez is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More Gaming Library is the first online store in the country that is dedicated to modern designer board games. Hans, 25, used to work in San Miguel and Del Monte as a demand planner but is now a full time entrepreneur.He also opened Thinkgate which is the exclusive distributor of Cookoo watches. Gaming Library How it started Hans has been into table top games like HeroClix and got into the game called Dominion which is similar to other table top games but wasn’t as cash intensive like the others. Eventually he joined a Facebook group about table top games where he met more people from the gaming community. After some time, Hans started looking for new games for himself but couldn’t source them in the country in an affordable manner. At first he ordered them online and eventually people started asking him to purchase games for them as well. Gaming Library isn’t really meant as a way to earn money but as a means to grow the hobby. Biggest challenge when starting Gaming Library Capital was the biggest challenge at first and Hans got around it by saving 1-2 months worth of his salary and checked if his clients would pre-pay/pre-order or put in a down payment for their purchases. Inventory turnover was another challenge. Most people would prefer not to wait to receive their product so Hans began to stock up on his inventory. Unfortunately some items weren’t getting sold right away but he was able to move them by putting them on sales or markdown on the prices. The board game industry also has some seasonality where the lean season falls between August and September in the Philippines. This is actually the peak season in the US due to a convention featuring board games and because of this, Hans needed to replace his inventory with the newer editions of the games that he carry. He couldn’t decide on which game to get but eventually went with Summoner Wars since he knew the people behind it. The folks behind Summoner Wars also gave Hans a lot of support in terms of promos, price reports and sneak peeks to help build the hype Summoner Wars Master Set e-Commerce Platform being used Shopify – a full blown e-commerce site and they provide customized plans for your needs with a simple, drag and drop interface. The coding needed is minimal and some basic knowledge from high school or college is enough to get by. Some clients would still prefer to use text to communicate and Hans worked on getting an iOS and Android app to help automate part of the process Growing the business You need to believe that the market is there and you can grow the business. They also invested in Facebook ads and organized events where the consumers would have a reason to do word of mouth marketing. Hans also used loyalty reward programs and make sure that shopping is an enjoyable experience. What’s Next for Gaming Library Opening the flagship store in San Juan  in 2014 in January 2014. The Search for the Board Game King – a 3 month long tournament/campaign where players compete in multiple board games. Q2-Q4 of 2014 – a convention for board games Hans also hopes to triple the size of the business by 2015. Hans ultimate goal is to grow the user base of board games while the sales and profit is just the cherry on top. What Hans wish he knew becoming an entrepreneur He would encounter a lot of sleepless nights due to all the effort that he needed to put in the business. Another thing that he wish he knew was he was able to anticipate the business trends. Call to action for aspiring entrepreneurs If you can risk it, go for it. A lot of people have great ideas but do not act on it and that ideas without execution is just a dream. Contact info Website: www.gaminglib.com Download the Gaming Library App for both  iOS or Android Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gaming.Library Twitter: @Gaminglibrary99 Instagram: @Gaminglib Events Plaza One Cafe along Gamboa St. It is located right across AIM and Greenbelt 1 playing board games at 7pm every Wednesday. Fully Booked in the new Promenade Wing every Thursday starting 2nd week of January Every Saturday once the flagship store is up Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 008 – Loud Basstard with Koh Onozawa is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More Happy New Year everyone! We have Koh Onozawa of Loud Basstard this week’s episode. He was recently nominated for the Rappler Do More Awards. With a business completely based off Cebu, he shares how he got the novel idea of using bamboo as passive amplifiers for devices like your mobile phone.  Koh, 24, was born in Cebu and graduated with a degree in anthropology with a double degree archaeology and culture and heritage management. How it started Koh and his family friend Franz Ignacio were in the mountains looking for inspiration for doors and light fixtures when they wanted to play some music and Koh’s girlfriend at the time placed her phone in a cup and played music. They were blown away by the concept and they designed something for that purpose. Loudbasstard was actually first sold abroad since they felt that the product was too “native” and with their families having a background in export, they felt that it was the natural way to go about things. Loudbasstard got some European buyers which helped caught the attention of the international press and eventually the local press. My officemate’s Loud Basstard amplifier that I mentioned in the interview Biggest challenge Trying to perfect every aspect of the business – from harvesting, to quality control to marketing and the way the office runs. What he learned from the challenge It isn’t about getting the product out as fast as you can or marketing it on your face. Your biggest assets are your roots and the story behind the product. Community empowerment and giving back also needed to be there. On Loudbasstard’s first anniversary they jumpstarted the Loudbasstard Music Education Program in Cebu where they taught and supplied instruments to qualified children so that they can learn how to play instruments and eventually lead them to bigger things in life. Biggest milestone for Loudbasstard Seeing the faces of the children when he gave them music instruments for their anniversary. Some of the kids are orphans and they were able to make a difference in their lives. From a business standpoint, it is being recognized by different organizations like EntrePinas (yay!), the press and the product being distributed internationally. How were the materials sourced Worked with DOST and looked for different suppliers of different natural materials. Franz’s family also has some background in manufacturing so they were able to get the materials over to the facility. What’s should you expect in the future from Loud Basstard Music will be a central part of the products as well as the materials being all natural and at the same time innovative. An office was recently opened in LA and their partner there will push the product in the US. What did Koh wish he knew before becoming an entrepreneur Koh is actually thankful that he didn’t know certain aspects of the business and things were being done out of passion. This gave them very risky and would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. Had they known more, it would have hindered and scared them. Call to action for aspiring entrepreneurs Koh has a favorite quote from Gandhi – “Be the change that you want to see in the world” What would Koh like listeners to know Never let age be an excuse or an issue. He was only 22 when they started Loud Basstard and some of his employees are older than him. And always be conscious of what’s happening around you – this is the world trying to teach you something.   We also talked about a few more things like how the recent calamity in the Visayas area affected their business. You can find more about it along with the other things that we discussed by listening to the podcast.   Contact info: Website: http://www.loudbasstard.com email: hello@loudbasstard.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loudbasstardTM Instagram: @loudbasstard You can also do a search for #loudbasstard on Instagram to see some 3,000+ photos of their products from users Subscribe You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 007 – 7 Tips when Providing Feedback is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More In every organization or group, there will come a time when you will need to provide feedback to a peer, friend or employee. Here are 7 tips that I’ve learned in the BPO industry to help you making the feedback that you provide really effective: 7 Tips when Providing Feedback   1. It needs to be timely Feedback needs to be given in a timely. We’re talking about 24-48 hours. Why is this important? People tend to have short memories. How many times have you told yourself that you’d do something later in the afternoon only to forget doing it altogether? Heck, can you even remember what you had for breakfast a day or two ago? As much as possible you would want to be able to provide feedback when the incident whether positive or negative is still fresh. 2. Have an agenda It really helps when the person you’re talking to knows what you guys will be talking about. It could be something as simple as saying “Hi John, I wanted to talk to you about your absenteeism (or insert item for discussion) for the past few weeks”. Also, try to keep it simple by talking about one topic only. Putting too many things on a person’s plate will only serve to confuse him or her and will only slow progress down. 3. Back it up with facts You will need to be able to cite specific instances when the item you’re providing feedback on actually happened. Some examples are specific dates a person was absent or late, how many times were they behind on their deliverables and by how long. In the BPO industry a common example is when agents listen to their recorded calls. It will help jog their memory of the incident and it would also help them assess themselves in determining number 4. 4. Determine the root cause Now this can be challenging for multiple reasons. Drilling down on the root cause of an issue is an acquired skill and is something that you develop over time as you talk to more and more people. Having a good relationship with your team would really help since they would be more amenable to opening up and telling you what the issue might be. You’d be surprised at how some problems that affect work are not even work related. One thing you can try is to use the “5 why’s”. You don’t necessarily have to go for exactly 5 – it can be more than 5 or less than 5. The general guideline is that if you are no longer able to answer the question “why?” then you’ve determined the root cause. What I’ve learned from personal experience is that it is better if the person you are having a discussion with is the one who uncovers the root cause. It is more effective and there will be times that what you might think is the root cause is completely off the mark. The person you are providing feedback to would also know best what is really the root cause and they might just be ignoring it or are in denial. 5. Come up with an action plan This really relies on tip #4. An effective action plan would really depend on the problem that was identified. If you were not able to determine the root cause, you’d only end up addressing the symptom and the problem will relapse after a few weeks or a few months. You should also relate it to how it affects the person receiving feedback as an individual and how it would affect the business. There is also the classic SMART framework – Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time bound to help guide you with your action plans. When we say Simple, it would mean coming up with only 1 or 2 specific action items since anything more than that would cause the person to lose focus by monitoring or doing too many things at the same time. Measurable goals are things that are usually quantifiable like attendance, productivity, number of sales or cash collected. Attainable on the other hand means you’re aiming for goals that are within the realm of possibility. If something can be measured then you should be able to determine what goals are attainable. An example is setting glide path targets where you would slowly increase the goals on a weekly or monthly basis as an employee’s performance improves. It is like going from 50% and increasing it by 10% over a 5 week period instead till they reach 100% of telling them to be at 100% one week after talking to them about their performance. Relevant goals would also help you determine what would give you the most returns for the time and money that you are investing on your team. There is no clear cut rule on what this may be since it would would vary depending on the scale of your organization and the role that the person receiving feedback. Time bound would help you monitor performance and help drive accountability for both parties since they will both have timelines that they need to meet. One thing I’ve personally learned from experience is that the best action plans also come from the person receiving feedback. They would generally know best what is within their capabilities. It would then be our responsibility as leaders or managers to push them beyond their perceived limits and help them discover that they can do more. 6. Document, print and sign it Documentation serves two purposes. 1. Having something tangible reinforces that the discussion took place and you are now both accountable to deliver on what was discussed. 2. It also serves as protection for both parties in the event that someone is not able to deliver on their commitments. 3. In the event that you really need to let someone go due to poor performance, you have proof that you did what you can to support them and it would help minimize any risks of them filing a labor case and from you losing them. 7. Follow up The SMART framework should give you specific timelines where you can check performance against goals and allow you to tweak your action plan. You need to be very flexible and will also need to be able to adapt to the ever changing environment. You WILL end up going through the cycle of the tips that was just discussed in this post and re-evaluating performance regularly will help keep you, your staff and the organization on its toes on what may or may not work. *BONUS TIP* Yes, I said 7 but if you’ve made it this far, I’m sure as heck that you deserve this. Don’t forget to provide positive feedback as well! Far too many people associate feedback as something negative and giving your individual team members a personal pat on the back would also help improve relationships and productivity. It would help strengthen good habits and the team would be more comfortable discussing different things with you as well.   In closing, I would fondly tell my team that sometimes being a leader isn’t just being their boss. You would also sometimes fill the role of a parent, a doctor (gotta love it when they are calling in sick), a shrink, a friend. You have to wear so many hats and you would have to look at things from different perspectives to really become an effective leader and coach so that everyone will become successful.

Episode 006 – Wadough’s Cupcake Kitchen is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More Wado Siman of Wadough’s Cupcake Kitchen   This week, we have Wado Siman of Wadough’s Cupcake Kitchen. He used to work for a TV network for 2 years as a writer and video editor and is currently working for a company that sells baking equipment while Wadough’s is his sideline or an alternative source of income. Wadough’s Cupcake Kitchen How it started: It was initially a joke and his friends gave him a baking set last Christmas. Eventually he was getting feedback from people that he should start selling his cupcakes and he used a mix and match of recipes he found online to make the perfect mix that people love. Wadough’s Holiday Dozen What makes Wadough’s Cupcake Kitchen different? Custom made baked products through partnering closely with clients by asking them for things like what is their favorite flavor or if they would want a specific ingredient on their cake or cupcake. Biggest challenge for Wadough’s Cupcake Kitchen Wado currently does everything on his own and large orders can pose as a challenge. He had an order for 3,000 cupcakes and he was up for 48 hours and had to get the help of some of the crew from their family’s restaurant. Cake Pond by Wadough’s showing some of the ingredients that they use What Wado learned from this experience It wouldn’t hurt to get other people to help you. If you try to do everything alone, it can compromise the quality of your work as you get more and more tired with the volume of the work that you’re doing. You also get to bond with other people  and improve the relationship with them. How did Wado grow Wadough’s Cupcake Kitchen Wado started with setting up his Facebook page and he eventually got an order from John Lapus which he gave away to his friends like Eugene Domingo. Eugene in turn shared the cupcakes in Instagram and gave it to his other friends. This helped spread the word about Wadough’s and eventually Wado started getting orders from complete strangers. Working for a TV network also helped since he made friends that spread the word about his business. Eventually he was featured on TV and Malaya Business Insight. Biggest milestone for the business Each event is an achievement or milestone for Wado, things like being featured on TV or in a newspaper. Assorted Cupcakes made by Wadough’s What’s next for Wadough’s Cupcake Kitchen Working on major events and eventually setting up his own store. Wado has been getting requests from people who would want to help him setup his own store but he feels that the time is not yet right for him.  Call to action for aspiring entrepreneurs: Love what you’re doing and build a personal connection with your customers. Talk to them, listen to them and find out what they want.  Resources discussed: Homegrown: http://homegrown.ph/ Contact information: Wado Siman of Wadough’s Cupcake Kitchen Email: wadoughs (at) gmail (dot) com Cell: +63-922-815-8783 Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Wadoughs Instagram: @wadoughs Twitter: @wadoughs Subscribe: You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or on Stitcher. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 005 – The Bicycle Industry and Moving 3 Million Worth of Goods in 2 Years is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More I have a soft spot for cycling since it is one of the few sports that I like to do aside from swimming and the occasional running (yes, I’m a wannabe triathlete). I learned how to ride a bicycle when I was in elementary using an old BMX that my parents got me. I stopped cycling when I started college in Manila. Now that I’m working, I got myself a GT Avalanche 1.0 and a Cervelo S1 in 2011 – both of which are awesome bikes and are really fun to ride. This is why I’m excited when to have  Francisco “Kits” Aragon of Armark Bikesports Philippines and you’ll see how I slightly geek out in the interview with him. Short geek out moment aside, Kits shares how he got into the bicycle industry and was eventually able to move 3 million pesos worth of goods in 2 years. Armark Bikesports Philippines Items we talked about: How Kits got into the bike business How he got to work with bike distributors to supply him with products Seasonality of the bicycle business Cultural differences between different industries Gap within the bicycle industry How customer service can make or break your business How long it could take you to make a sale using Sulit.com.ph Advertising tips using Sulit.com.ph   Resources: Buy and Sell Websites Sulit – www.sulit.com.ph eBay – www.ebay.ph OLX – www.olx.com.ph   Contact info: Armark Phil’s Sulit Page: armarkphil.sulit.com.ph Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/armark.phil   Subscribe: You can subscribe to the show in iTunes. Or you could manually add the RSS feed to your aggregator.

Episode 004 – How Fighting and Beating Diabetes Became an Opportunity with Ralph Go and Carmela Cancio of The Superfood Grocer is a post from: EntrePinas: Entrepreneurship | Success Stories | And More The Superfood Grocer logo If you’re into the fitness scene, you may have seen a few friends who have posted about The Superfood Grocer. It was founded by Ralph Go and Carmela Cancio who, with a small budget and little marketing was able to grow their business and help people live healthier lives. What started off as a desire to help their loved ones in the fight against diabetes to being able to do away with the medication altogether, Ralph and Carmela share their stories on their journey along with the different things that they learned and tools that they use to help make The Superfood Grocer to the success that it is today. Cacao nibs from The Superfood Grocer In this episode Ralph and Carmella narrate the first things they did when starting the business and you’ll learm more about the following: The importance of passion in starting a business What did Ralph and Carmela do to free up and leverage more on their time How did they come up with the systems to help empower their clients and systematize portions of their business How information and their message became a vital portion for them to grow their business Why looking at what’s hip or trendy isn’t enough and that you also have to look at what’s inside your business What they wish they knew before starting their business The Superfood Grocer ebook and products   Resources and articles discussed: Web tools: OneSaas – Synchronizes different cloud based apps Zapier – Connects and automates web apps Quickbooks – Accounting software   Outsourcing: Odesk: http://www.odesk.com Virtual Staff Finder: http://www.virtualstafffinder.com   Articles referenced: Top 5 Things You Need to Know About Diabetes Top 7 things you need to know about Heart Disease 5 Tips to Increase your Energy Naturally How to Conquer Cravings without Will Power EntrePinas Episode 001 – Liza Contemprate – Esteban of Saab and Meelo   How to get in touch with The Superfood Grocer Website: http://www.thesuperfoodgrocer.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSuperfoodGrocer Instagram: http://instagram.com/thesuperfoodgrocer