Building My First Company

There it is. I am finally starting a business of my own. It's not that I haven't had any before but this time it is something big. So big that can't carry it out on my own, at least not now. I want things to be somehow documented so I am posting it on my blog.

It is actually kinda crazy idea but it feels good. As my former dean said, "The crazier the idea, the better. Crazy bits of idea makes a successful business." It's worth a shot after all. Now, why do I think it's crazy? It's because it's a business wherein we (all of us involved) need to learn a different field -- far different from the course that we took and the learning curve is very steep.

Here's how the idea was formed. I have this cool professor in college. We have a couple of things in common. We're both into business and computing (programming to be specific). I always consult him on almost every business idea that I have, even on other interest that we have in common. There was a time when I created a program that could have saved a lot of students from stock market simulation, that professor's very notorious project. The program was written in C++ and I consult him for every now and then for the development of that program.

A few years later, the professor and I met again in a class This time it's e-commerce class. As expected a lot of side topics where brought up along the way and from time to time we recall that program that I made. One time, after reviewing for my upcoming exam, we had a talk about business a business idea that I have -- a coffee shop. We had an analysis on the said idea and I realized that it has a very shallow foundation. It doesn't even help solve an existing problem -- a fundamental concept in selecting a business that would have a greater chance to survive. He then suggested that I pursue my interest in programming and web-based businesses. He presented a certain problem of a certain age bracket and we pondered on it. We had exchange of thoughts and finally we both need to go home. Though no definite idea was formed during that discussion, it served as a catalyst of a great idea. It is to become the next Facebook, Google, and Microsoft.

The idea sure is crazy as hell. How can someone actually achieve that? To make things more depressing, I don't even have formal training on programming. At least I have a circle of friends that could compensate this. I have a lot of friends within the programming industry and they are very supportive whenever I inquire on programming matters. They also serve as anchors so I don't get carried away too far beyond control. I always keep in mind what one of them told me, "I tried to venture on my own but I didn't pursue it.... Even if your a great programmer, how could you beat a team of 500 programmers backed by a very good financial resources." He has a very good point but there's a loophole in this. The answer is "Great Idea + Proper Market Segmentation + Divide & Conquer".

------------------

Success checklist:

• Existing problem - check
• Great idea - check
• Effective market penetration strategy - check (at least in plan)
• Technical knowledge - huh? where did I left it? ?
• Technical resources - do you know that google is your friend? :)
• Financial Resources - I don't need much for now
• Manpower - I just need a few to start

-------------------

So there it is. I need to find these few people that will work with me. That's the time I went to my classmates. Sure they are not in the IT industry and they barely have knowledge on programming but being graduates of Entrepreneurship and knowing their analytic skills, I know that they would contribute a lot to the realization of my idea.

Now the presentation. . . We conducted a meeting here in my place. It so happened that one member of the group has another business proposal. I let him present first but his presentation ended up in a series of unanswered questions. It's not that the proposed business was bad. I actually think it is a good business primarily because of the ease of production and the quality of the product but I don't see substantial potential for it.

Then came my turn to present. I talked about Google, Facebook, and Microsoft then finally proclaiming, "We would be the next big thing!" I told then that I have this untapped idea but I refused to discuss the details. Instead, I emphasized on how we should study a different field for us to realize this idea of mine. I also laid the plan on how we could achieve our ultimate goal. The plan is to study while applying our learning on creating applications and business solutions that we would be marketing to sustain us during our learning period. After completing necessary knowledge, we would then build what we call The Big "?" Everything is already set. All we have to do is to catch up with our learning before someone tap that untapped idea.

Call Center Life

I am currently working on a call center on Mandaluyong, Philippines. I applied at there during the last weeks of summer vacation. At first it was just for experience but later on, I enjoyed it much that I decided to continue working while taking my last year in college. At first, it was hard but I learned to cope up with the changes. There are a lot of sleepless moments (literally).

During my first weeks of training, I was able to make a good start but as they say in the industry, "Everything is seasonal." You would really experience ups and downs no matter how good you are. This is certainly true, especially in an outbound call center. There are quite some time when I experienced to be threatened of termination due to low performance but still I am still here, working. ^_^

There are a lot of times when I was asked by my mother to stop working but I choose not to do so because I enjoy my work. More than the income that I get through it, what I enjoy most is the taste of new things in life - working with people having different attitudes, meeting new friends, and the thrill of managing my time tighter. There are even times where I feel that my studies gives me more stress than what my work does.

Though, as they say again in the industry, "The only thing that is permanent in the world is change, especially in an outbound call center. We would be experiencing more changes in the future and all we have to do is to accept those changes." Those were the words from our Big Boss before the tension caused by threat of series of mass terminations. I am lucky though to have survived the last one and here I am again at the edge of my seat, hoping to stay a little bit longer. Everyone will just come and go. It's just a matter of "when".

Updates

It's been a while. . .

I'am now a working student. I am now on my 4th year in college and I decided to work as a Call Center Agent. At first it was just for the sake of experiencing the fun that the industry can offer and stop working by the start of the semester. But that's not what happened. I enjoyed working and of course, making my nights more productive. I'm now on my 2nd month of working and everything's going fine except maybe for the the almost restless state because I have to go straight to school from work.

All the stress is relieved by the fun I feel whenever I'm at work. I even feel my studies to be more tiring than my work but still I have no plan of stopping both my studies and my work. I use my work to help support my studies though I am still receiving support from my father. I just want to earn for my self so I could invest faster. It's nice to use a Netbook that is a fruit of my work but still, there's a loot more to buy.

And soon after graduation I will be using my earnings to invest for the future. By that time it's my turn to help my parents on expenses. ^_^

The Realization on "The Secret"

For quite some time, I've been engaging in dialogs about life, struggles, and triumphs but as they say, "There's a lot more to learn."

Just recently, my cousins and I watched this video on YouTube. At first, I thought that it's just like any other videos that I've watched before - thrilling sound effects, fast phased introduction, and interesting storyline. But, as we watch the video, it's starting to make a deeper sense. It's not an ordinary movie but rather, a video of persons in different fields of specializations talking about "The Secret."

Understanding of this secret is said to be a vital key towards attaining whatever one wants. This "secret" is the Law of Attraction which basically states that whatever circumstances we are experiencing, we attracted it into our life. Whether positive or negative, these things happen to us because we attracted it. Some might say that, "How could you possibly attract a situation into your life?" The answer to this is: We attract these circumstances through our thoughts - the frequency of our thought that is sent to the universe.

I know it's beginning to sound nerdy so to cut it short, "Positive thoughts attract positive circumstances." Same relationship exist between negative thoughts and negative circumstances.

This is something that I've been believing long ago but I was shocked that after I watched the video, I realized that I was not applying what I've understood about this belief. I am still very vulnerable to negative thoughts and sometimes end up getting deluded and start to complain about negative circumstances that comes into my life.

I am very thankful to this video because I begin to get myself back into the right track towards happiness and success.

I would like to share The Secret to everyone so that more could have the realization that I had.

Here is a link to The Secret:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b1GKGWJbE8

Educational Background (Part 3) ~High School Life~

Parañaque Science High School

Number 53 on the list of passers. . .

I'm very lucky to be part of this school even just for a year. I owe a lot from my teachers here though I did not perform well during my stay there. But all of the hardships that I've been through paid out. I was able to perform better on the succeeding schools that I went to. All of the lessons that I thought was complicated turned out to be simple. Thanks to my teachers at ParSci.

Math: Ms. Emma Cunanan (Class Adviser)
English: Ms. Camandono
Science: Mrs. Villareal
Math (E): Ms. Mercy Ramos
Earth Science: Mrs. Arlene Abihay- Sioc
Reading: Mrs. Brigola
Filipino: Mrs. Arroyo
Social Studies: Ms. Pleras
Values: Ms. Mondido
MAPEH: Mr. Ramos
TLE: Mrs. Zapico
Computer: Mr. Santos

(I hope I got it all right.)

I had a lot of unforgettable experiences here. One of them was my first time to go home by 12 midnight due to practices for school activities. Another thing that I certainly would not forget was getting an average of 44% during the first Quarter (who could ever forget that. . . right?)

In general, ParSci was a continuation of my SDS life. Things that I started at SDS continued to flourish here. Acting was just one of those things (daily acting presentations, commercial spoofs, and celebrity impersonations). Together, SDS and ParSci formed the foundation of my educational foundation and set what I call "Academic Excellence".

I-A Rocks! ! !

VABBC Christian Academy

A school managed by Villa Alegre Bible Baptist Church. It uses a different curriculum - Advanced Christian Education (ACE). It's more of a self-study type of learning which makes it a bit less exciting compared to other schools I've been to. But this was where my stage directing and script writing skills was honed.

So. . . for a summary of my 2-year stay here: Self-Study, Directing, Self-Study, Directing, Script Writing, Self-Study, Self-Study, Self-Study, Directing, and slight resistance from some church staffs due to issues on religion. ^_^


Rizal High School

Proud to be Rizalian!

Though I've only stayed here for a year. I'm proud to be a graduate of this school. Though some of my skills was put rest during my stay here, I was able to develop one of the most important skills that I have - Interpersonal Skills. Thanks to the undying support of our Guidance Councilor, Ma'am Pearl Ignacio, and my teacher, Mrs. Irene Mondejar.

Here's a summary of my achievements there:

Vice President
(4th year Section 7)

Treasurer
(Peer Councilors)

School Representative
(Tagisan ng Kaalaman sa Araling Panlipunan [Division Level])

Finalist
(Math Quiz Bee)

It was just a bit disappointing that out of the class of about 40 students, about half was able to make it to Top 10 and I was not even one of them (T_T).

Teachers:

Math: Ms. Manguni
English: Mrs. Cacnio
Science: (ouch I forgot both of them)
Filipino: Mrs. Reyes (Class Adviser)
Social Studies: Mrs. Irene Mondejar
TLE: (I forgot)
Values: (not sure with the spelling. . . so better not to put it)
MAPEH: Ms. Sunshine _______ (Music), Mrs. Macababbad

*subject to update of names

Movie Reviews

I've been watching these movies lately and I feel like doing some comments. I hope this will give you an overview on these movies.

• 2012 Doomsday
• 2012 Supernova
• Journey to The Center of The Earth
• The Core
• The Day The Earth Stood Still

Note: Comments for items without link are not yet done. Please bear with me since I am a little bit busy at the moment. If there is a particular movie that you want to be reviewed, just comment on this post. Hopefully, I can provide one for you.

SCI-FI ROCKS!

^_^

Educational Background (Part 2)

Here's the continuation:

St. Dionysius School

This is a small school in Parañaque. If I'm not mistaken, the population there is less than 130, sharing 5 classrooms. And administration staff there also serve as teachers.

SDS has been my second home for 5 years (Grade 2 - Grade 6). I owe a lot from this school. It played a big part of laying my foundations. My ideals, crave for learning, political and social awareness, and a lot of the traits that I have could all be traced back here. Not to mention that this is also the birth place of my stage career.

I am very proud to be a product of this school for it is different from all the schools that I've entered. Here knowledge is cultivated side by side with values. The environment inside is more of a family than the usual "Teacher-student" or "Administration-student". The rights and responsibilities of everyone is emphasized so as ethics and proper conduct expected from educated individuals.

The style of learning here is very different from other schools that I've attended. Lectures are balanced with hands-on activities such as Board Works, Seat Works, and Experiments. Other schools are doing the same thing but it is not as balanced as it is in SDS. Another thing, in SDS, teachers are not the only source of learning. Students also learn from their co-students through our practice every teachers' week. During this week, students from grade 4 -6 who wish to teach are welcome to do so. And I'm very proud to be one of those allowed to teach 5 subjects which includes Geometry, Algebra, and Science.

I was not able to visit SDS for 6 years so I decided to visit it this year. Unfortunately, I heard that it has changed its name and under a new administration. Hopefully i could visit it one of these days.

*to be continued. . . again. . .