I like those too… but they’re not all that I come to Goldilocks for.

What those pasalubong people probably don’t know is that Goldilocks has some pretty good meals too.

JP and I always stay late at the office. When we get out past 10pm and still have the energy to walk home and enjoy the late night breeze along Pasong Tamo in Makati, we usually end up eating a late night dinner at Goldilocks. Our usual Goldilocks branch is the one beside BluRackets and across Marvins Plaza and Shell on Pasong Tamo - Herrera. Just the other night, we went again. I’m so thankful they’re open till late because otherwise, I’d probably end up eating a microwave sandwich or hotdog bun from the Select convenience store. And yes I know that’s not healthy.

My favorite meal? An order of laing and siomai! JP got me hooked on laing — and how they do it at  Goldilocks is yummy. It’s tasty, spicy, and it’s sorta veggie right? Or sometimes I’ll have fish or bistek. Whatever, all the meals are the lutong bahay kind so it’s a welcome change from hamburgers and fried food.

You’re the #1 Goldilocks, because you nourish me whenever I have late nights — which is practically all the days of the week!

Paper screening, phone interviews, writing the perfect job ad, communicating with job sites… I don’t think they teach this even to Psychology majors. Good thing I have CiteHR and HR Philippines to run to.

Back in March I wrote about a sales training program. Maybe *fingers crossed* I’ll get a chance to hone those communication and selling skills at only the most awesome ad network in Asia.

Why apply for a “real job” now?

There’s not much room for me to grow being full-time in Pigmata Media, which is primarily web development and user experience. My 1.5 years with Pigmata have been a lot of trial and error, and will still continue to be. It’s like a 24/7 real-life MBA that you could never be prepared for. All those startup mistakes? We did that. We started with as little capital as we could, took out a lease on a small office (in Makati CBD no less!), no concrete plan — but with dedication and guaranteed client consulting work!

I could probably stay in Pigmata for years, however long it takes to exit. But would I still be happy? Writing and refining our web development proposals took months, servicing those contracts are a whole other story, attracting good talent and giving them a comfortable workspace takes thousands of pesos and lots of time searching and interviewing, pitching and asking for business investments, recovering from bad hires, oh , and nothing can prepare you for the enormous checks for business taxes.

I know I said you should be your own boss. I still believe in that. I still partly own Pigmata. And I still want to tell the world that we have great technologists in the Philippines. I’ve given it a real shot, and practically all my personal resources. I’ve stood up against friends and family and advocated the entrepreneurship life and delayed gratification - I live and breathe it (you should see where I live versus my parents’ home). I’m realizing though, that it doesn’t have to be either-or… and there are a few ’self-employed’ and ‘employee’ jobs that are actually pretty good. I’ve had enough of you (for now), Steve and Robert Kiyosaki.

Not everyone’s born to be a Donald Trump or Washington Sycip, but we can sure as hell try. But when you’ve given almost 2 years of your life to a consulting startup where you’ve become an above-average Jill of all trades… that’s not my life story.

I need to be around people (new, old, young, nice, smart, not-so-pretty, tenacious, silly, all welcome) I can learn from and be in a group I can help make better — and live healthy and make money along the way, of course. If I do go back to the employee life, one thing I’d probably miss is “being able to decide exactly what to do each day with your time is a massive privilege,” which is as much boon as bane. I used to be excellent in everything I did, I think I need to guide myself back to my golden days.

What woman doesn’t want to build a million dollar (or peso) business? Susan Solovic gives meaningful, practical advice that I wish I’d read before venturing into business. This book stays by my bed for my daily dose of inspiration. If you’re a woman, if you’ve ever had to face any obstacles trying to start a business or you’ve been wanting to bring your business to the next level but don’t know how to, this book is a perfect guide to help you along the way. It won’t give you all the ingredients but you likely wouldn’t be as lost if you did.

Practical advice you can actually put to use

Every chapter is a mix of wise advice you’d expect to hear from a compassionate mentor, inspiring stories of women who did things right or learned things the hard way but you get to “cheat” by reading about their past mistakes now, and “how-to’s”. My favorite “how to” is the media planning – oh and finding funding, too.

Lovers as business partners

I’ve read through the book and didn’t see an anecdote about women venturing into business with their boyfriend or husband. Scratch that, there was one, but it didn’t have a happy ending. Is this scenario rare, taboo, or just plain not advisable? There was an issue of Entrepreneur that featured couples in business, such as the Havaianas importers – though they’re married.

More anecdotes, more successful women to emulate

I just love love love to hear about women who’ve built and grown sustainable businesses. It’s not exactly something you learn at school, is it? I never really thought about it growing up, or in college. I always looked up to women CEOs who were running multinationals – it never occurred to me how those businesses even got started? I want more stories, more inspirational examples.

Local women entrepreneurship programs

This book got me thinking whether there was a local program to encourage women entrepreneurs? I’ve read about a lot of micro-financing loans for women selling in the palengke but for brick-and-mortar businesses that have a business model other than peddling?

• Chit San Juan, ex-CEO of Figaro hosts talks every so often.
• NEWomen organizes bazaars, talks, and regular networking sessions
• GE Money Bank, affiliate of the giant General Electric, launched a Women Entrepreneurs website – though I haven’t heard of any financing programs

Any others?

Colleen gives a high-level explanation of their Sales Training program in this webinar (Recorded Nov 21, 2008). Even from just the introduction, I got a wake-up call much similar to the self-slaps on the forehead I get listening to Steve Pavlina and Dave Ramsey. You really are what you do. I’m fond of getting to know people and networking comes easily — but I have to get in the habit of making that first call to a prospect and follow-up after an initial email.

Emotional Quotient

It’s important to be aware of myself, to empathize (easy), and to get used to delayed gratification (It’s been relatively long, actually, but hey I’m here doing sales training, aren’t I? I’ll stick to it.) especially with

• prospecting

• planning & time management

• major account selling

In a tough situation, think about what’s funny and what’s good about it. It has definitely been a tough past few months — but I guess what’s funny is… I get free cellphone credits anyway and what’s good is, JP’s still sticking with it, and with me.

Aim to be likeable

Aim to be likeable. Mirror the body movements and demeanor of the prospect and match his tone — and maybe, just maybe, that can make the difference in getting the sale versus another account executive. My natural tendency is to come on strong although assessing past networking situations, I’m usually able to draw out the quiet ones. I’ll learn to tone it down and match the quieter ones — they buy who they like and who are like them.

Rules

1. Get their story (Problems, Needs).
2. Who is/are the decision maker/s and how’s the process?
3. Find out the budget — before making a proposal.

New Look, Recommended Blog Editor

Installed a new theme yesterday and been having fun playing with it. Upgraded to Wordpress 2.7 too. The pretty theme is NOT plug-and-play and I’ve had to configure a lot, not just with the theme but with the Wordpress installation too. Crossing my fingers that everything works and things will be easier to find. I kept putting off blogging new posts because of how hard it got to deal with my old Wordpress. I wrote my first draft in Windows Live Editor then have to come back to Wordpress admin for some custom settings. Pretty manageable now.

Soul Searching

My soul searching is far from over. Being quasi-independent and self-employed is really testing me. I try and try to be frugal and think positive thoughts. I’ve accepted that I have to delay gratification – but really, it’s taking super long. I want to have time to blog again about personal finance and to learn new stuff and to meet new extraordinary people – which is pretty hard when you’re trying to do the job of 10 people. I need to commune with my higher self and spirit guides and hear what they have to say, whether I’m still doing the right thing.

I’m considering going back into a normal job that’s either B2B marketing or technology related. I still want to work with numbers, though not necessarily in finance. I majored in accounting because I figured it was the best fit since I was good at numbers and in English writing. Ah, if only I knew then…

I never knew in high school or even college that there were sub-fields of marketing that required proficiency in numbers like data mining, PPC ads management, media planning, ad operations. Very interesting and very new careers to look into that are blossoming. My skills and interests match – but what opportunities are there in my beautiful tropical country?

Sales and B2B Marketing Training

My new personal endeavor is becoming the most effective business development/salesperson ever. I’ve been dying to market our learning web app and time management software, but my partners haven’t had enough time to finish them. I’m a frustrated lightworker who hasn’t had a chance to build and to market a meaningful product that I believe in, that could make an impact.

I want to get into UP ISSI’s April session for Creative Selling Techniques which costs P7,500 for 5 Saturdays — but where to get the cash? I have a bunch of podcasts and books and really want to get to the Sales Shebang Conference in September.

New Stuff

I’ve been addicted to Pet Society, Fashion Wars and all those Zynga war games on Facebook; and Sorority Life on Myspace. Play much? I just like the escape from reality – too bad it wastes so much time. I’m getting over it, thank God.

Got myself a new Compaq CQ60-224NR notebook last January, from Christmas money. I probably should have set it aside for my buffer but it was such a good deal to pass up. I was in the States for a short time and I wasn’t going to get a notebook with such good specs for the price, USD499 plus tax. Being on vacation, I pretty much put my savings and expenses on hiatus. Lesson: still keep track of money in and money out even when on a personal break.

But now, what should I do with the Compaq, preloaded with Vista? It’s grown sluggish, considering it has 3GB RAM?! It’s supposed to be lightning fast, right? But no. I have image editing software and browsers, a few AIR apps for internet marketing, and MS Office. It is eff-ing slow.

• Intel Pentium Dual-Core Mobile Processor T3400 (2.16GHz, 1MB L2 cache)
• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1
• 3GB DDR2 system memory
• 250GB (5400rpm) SATA hard drive
• 15.6" diagonal WXGA high-definition HP BrightView widescreen display (1366 x 768)
• 802.11b/g WLAN
• HP Webcam with integrated digital microphone

The Stock Market Simplified

This event organized by the UST College of Commerce Alumni and Young Alumni Achievers Council could be a good introduction for those of you who are just starting to get interested in trading the stock market. Its covers the basics of stock market investing, personal investment strategy, and introduction to technical analysis (which is a way of studying the market and helps you decide when to buy/sell).

• When: September 18, 2008, 6-9pm
• Where: PSE Tektite Trading Floor, 2F PSE Centre, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
• Registration of P500 (inc. food and materials). Fax the form to 634-6695 or email to mavalino@pse.com.ph

National Government’s Mid-Year Economic Briefing: The Philippines: Addressing Challenges. Staying the Course.

The Economic Team (the heads of BSP, NEDA, DA, DTI, Dep’t of Energy, Dep’t of Finance, and Dep’t of Budget and Management will personally discuss what’s going on with our economy.

• When: September 17, 2008, 10am
• Where: Rizal Ballroom, Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Makati City (near 6750 Ayala and Landmark along Ayala
• Registration starts at 9am - First come, first serve. RSVP: Gigi Araneta 303-1580, Ivy Cabanlig 303-1582, John Alonzo 303-1510. Or email the registration form to info-iro@bsp.gov.ph or fax to 524-6695 or 303-1565

More advanced…

Technical Analysis Seminar

• When: September 13, 2008, 8am-12pm
• Where: PSE Tektite Training Room, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
• Registration of P5,000. RSVP Miko Sayo 0917-846-6242

Absolute Traders Chart Analysis Forum: Introduction to Technical Analysis Charting Workshop and Review of the Stock Markets

• When: September 19, 2008, 7-9:30pm
• Where: PSE, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
• RSVP Gwen Nava 732-8191

Even better Regional Events outside Metro Manila!

Benguet: Regina Capital Stock Market Seminar

• When: September 13, 2008, 9am-12pm
• Where: 2F DLL Bldg, Km. 5, La Trinidad, Benguet
• FREE
• RSVP Violy Hernandez (632) 848-5428

St. Louis Univeristy Baguio Stock Market Seminar

• When: September 14, 2008,9am-12pm
• Where: St. Louis Univeristy Bonifacio St, Baguio City
• FREE
• RSVP Prof. Trinidad (063) 4423046

When you go, do tell the organizers where you heard about the event, okay?

Championed by Sen. Edgardo J. Angara, he brings up the startling fact that 8 million Filipinos have no pension or retirement savings. Even scarier is that the reserves of SSS will run out by 2011; GSIS will run out by 2040 (World Bank study) — I haven’t found which paper this is; SSS will run out 3 years from now? Dire.

Next Step: Information Campaign for Entrepreneurs

SMEs/Entrepreneurs like myself can really maximize the PERA account once DOF finalizes the IRR. I can’t wait. Especially when I encourage tech-entrepreneurship, I’m troubled when I feel they should first get their personal finance in order. Especially now, with the onset of so many work-from-home virtual assistants and freelancers, Multiply/Sulit/eBay businesses, they don’t have the benefit of usual HRD programs. This way, the government helps them save — and maybe make them report their income too.

Sen. Edgardo J. Angara, a principal author of the bill said the country’s savings rate would go up to about 30 percent of gross domestic product, from 19-23 percent, with the signing of the law by the President. He said the scheme is expected to attract eight million individuals, specifically OFWs, and self-employed individuals or entrepreneurs who are not required to contribute to the SSS and the GSIS. Office of the President

How will PERA work?

I, as an “Individual” can contribute up to P100,000 a year to my PERA account. I can invest it in a UITF, mutual fund, bank deposit, etc. Supposedly, I can only choose one administrator (bank or financial company). Most likely Sun Life or BPI for me. What about diversification? I contribute regularly and can withdraw at age 55, proceeds will be tax exempt.

Why did I buy YNAB?

1. Jesse knows budget matters. Jesse Mecham, who created the YNAB on Excel and as a desktop application is also an accountant, so I trust he knows his spreadsheets.
2. Strong YNAB community. It’s encouraging to see that there are a lot of newbies and YNAB veterans who are still willing to help out. That’s how I got to use…
3. Easy tracking anywhere using YNAB Pocket Mod (how to fold) by fellow YNAB user Mudie. This teeny tiny booklet is where I track all cash expenses. Nifty!
   
   
4. Goodbye envelope plastic case. It can be a hassle going around with a bunch of envelopes. JP would always look at me all weird when I pulled out my envelope case at the cashier. It helps that I’m on my iMac everyday so I update my YNAB at least every other day, while I’m still getting the hang of it.
5. Easy to use. The software is well-documented. True enough, I got started in about 20 minutes using the cheat sheet

4 rules of YNAB

Rule #1 got me hooked. Being an entrepreneur, with variable income (timing andamount), it hasn’t been easy curbing the occasional splurge (like getting 4 pairs of sandals on sale at VNC Glorietta last June *sigh*) when I’ve given up a lot of other luxuries I’d gotten used to (weekly movies, meals out everyday, salon day, etc). So I’m building my buffer, which will help me truly NOT live from paycheck to paycheck.

1. Stop living paycheck to paycheck
2. Give every dollar a job
3. Save for rainy days
4. Roll with the punches

Can’t wait for YNAB Pro on Mac - due 2008. YNAB has two versions, YNAB and YNAB Pro. There’s YNAB Pro ($39.95) for Windows and already compatible with Vista. I got to try it on our HP laptop for initial setup and I really liked the interface. I can’t wait for the Mac version! Thankfully, there’s a toned-down version of YNAB ($19.95 - less than PHP1,000) that works on Excel/NeoOffice/OpenOffice so I went ahead and got my own copy and set it up on the iMac. 3 weeks in and I’m really happy with it. It’s addicting actually, scanning my 3 sheets (Register, Budget, Overview). $39.95 or $19.95 isn’t so bad at all considering you’re going to use it for years.

You can know more about YNAB and order your copy online over at YouNeedaBudget. Pay by credit card (via Paypal or Google Checkout, just make sure there’s “https://” in the address bar) and you’ll get a personalized download link so you can download and install the YNAB Program.

I allot P600 for commuting every month. That’s for jeepney rides, the rare bus ride, and MRT Stored value P100. Sigh. I used as P7.50 as my base when I computed that… I guess I should add about P50 or P100 more to my transportation “allowance”.

BUT… I had 2 jeepney rides today and they both charged only P8. Either:

a) not all the jeepney drivers know about the P1 price increase; or
b) I got a greedy driver yesterday.

I don’t have a TV in the pad so I don’t know if this was in the news. So I looked it up (source).

Time to adjust our commuting allowances! I wonder how much this affects the daily commuters who take a really long trip from the house going to the workplace.

PUJ, PUB, Taxis - Public transport prices up

Sigh, I remember filling up my car with about P47/liter… Now it’s up to ~P61? I haven’t been using my car since December 2007, maintaining, parking, and driving it in the city just wasn’t worth it even if it’s 1.3 engine.

Jeepney image by dboy

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