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Our mentors at the Truly Rich Club basically educate us on how to create multiple income streams. Through the club, I learned how to invest in the stock market, become an affiliate marketer and get into business, all of which are my sources of passive income while I am still an employee.
Many years ago, I had my first job a month after graduation. My first salary was Php6,500. As the years went by, it continued to grow. From Php7,000 to Php10,000 to Php40,000. Yes, it was growing and growing and growing, and I was happy because the company I've been working for pays higher compared to others of the same field. But unfortunately, it was never enough!
Please don't get me wrong. My salary was enough for my basic expenses. I can regularly tithe. I can give my mother a Php25,000 household allowance every month for the grocery and pay the bills. Somehow I felt proud that what I was giving her can support an average family. I can take my kids to SM almost every weekend. I can surprise my husband with dinner (my treat!) or buy something for him even when there is no occasion -- and still be left with money to invest in my COL portfolio and pay for my Insular Life premiums.
I was very happy. We may not be rich (yet), but we are okay.
But still, there is this pain inside me. While listening to a Power Talk, also from the Truly Rich Club, I came to know that Anawim, the home of the abandoned elderly in Rizal, needs Php700,000 every month to support its residents. That is huge! Every now and then, I also receive emails from World Vision saying that there are still a lot of children that need to be sponsored. And my inability to give as much as I wanted to caused my pain.
I realized that I needed to do something if I wanted to give more. That was when I decided to become an entrepreneur.
My Path to Entrepreneurship
My salary, although growing each year, was fixed by the company I work for. With entrepreneurship, it was different.
Two years ago, my friend from the Truly Rich Club and I started our small business. I believed that it was God opening a door of opportunity for us since I met my partner only through the members' Facebook group. He was from Davao and I was from Tarlac. Because of the distance, we've met personally only once. Fortunately, because of today's technology, the distance was never a hindrance to push trough with our business plan. We became a distributor of a moringa-based organic liniment in Central Luzon.
But because we have our own small business, we can determine how much we would earn. We realized that if we work hard, do our marketing homework, worked with the right people, and expanded our business, we would earn more. Eventually, we had our second branch in Quezon City a few months after.
I admit, it was not as smooth sailing as I imagined it to be. We held seminars to introduce our product and only seven people would be our audience, three of which were even applicants as staff! And when we finally get members to sign up and make an initial purchase, they suddenly become inactive, so we would start again from scratch. Yes, we lost a lot of time, but we gained so much wisdom.
In January 2014, our business had its breakthrough. Through a local trade fair, we discovered our niche market. Now, we weren't inviting people to attend our seminars anymore. But instead, we are being invited to group meetings to discuss about our product and its business opportunity. We do not talk to a group of seven people anymore, but to a group of more than a hundred!
And because I am still an employee, I have a great team that works hand in hand with me in running our small business. My mother, who developed her skills from years of direct selling in the past, manages the business with me. We were aiming for minimum overhead expenses that we turned a small area in our garage into a stockroom.
Then one business opportunity lead to another. Our portfolio of organic products have grown. For our latest products, are sales are not being restricted within Central Luzon only. We can actually sell to anyone, anywhere. Because of social media, this has become possible. For online purchases, my father is the one who is in-charge of bringing the orders to our very reliable courier.
At the end of this month, we are venturing into another business which is related to our organic liniment -- agricultural tours in the Philippines, and our first stop will be at Ilocos Norte. This will enable us to learn new things, grow our network, help more people earn on the side by being our retailers, and support our farmers due to increased productivity. The goal has grown, too, and not just to make money. But rather, to THINK DIFFERENTLY and CREATE OPPORTUNITIES for many. To be honest, I am extremely overwhelmed and excited about this! With how wonderfully things are going, I believe that God definitely has His signature all over this.
Most importantly, because of my growing income, I am able to give more to ministries that do God's work.
Final Word
For my fellow employees, I encourage you to create passive income so that we can take mini-retirements NOW -- while we are younger and the kids are still with us.
As my mentor taught me, the key is to create passive income.
And one of the ways of creating passive income is by starting a business.
Be very blessed!
P.S. The COSTALES Agritours - Ilocos Norte Trail will be held on August 30 to September 1, 2015. We are committed and focused to provide best-in-class Educational, Recreational and Agri-Business agritours. Let us support Farm Tourism and help us in our inclusive growth agenda. For inquiries and reservations, you may contact Ms. Ena Jane Javier at 0936-938-3167 or you may send an email to costales.agritours@gmail.com. Thank you very much.
