I'm a Filipino so RICE it is!!!!

I was so inspired to think about business. I bumped to Tata in FB, one of my previous colleague in the Philippines. She is always nice and I trust her since our friendship has a strong foundation way back in the Philippines. She was my go to person in the Production and I worked closely with her in order to shipped out the 200,000 yields when the Production Manager left the company. I mentioned to her that I am looking for business adventure. She happened to have a rice dealership business and in need of finances to increase her supply. She supplies in their Company’s Cooperative and the demand is too high that she cannot sustain hence additional capital is needed. I feel that it is a good business opportunity since it has captured market already and all it needs to take is to manage it wisely. It needs strong coordination with the Wholesaler and the Coop Management to keep it going.   

Looking in the cost analysis and the ROI is not bad considering there is a chance to find supplier with lower wholesale price. The business has a chance of 100% ROI in a year or 8.5% to 10% ROI (Return of Investment) per month for me since I will just finance and somebody else will manage it. Not bad for a money that will just be sitting in the bank. The bank will give us 1% APY (Annual Percentage Yield) if we are lucky but that 1% interest rate will be taxed too so as a result we will be getting lesser than that. So in context, this business is sweet, it is a winning battle $$$$ :) 

All businesses have pros and cons, and the downside of this endeavor is trust issue but as I said I don't have any problem with that so we will see. The other downside is it has no assurance that the set analysis will accurately achieve since it depends on what will happen with the factory where the Co-Op exist. It also depends on the cost of the rice and how she will manage it. 

Oh well, everything is a gamble so nothing to lose if I will try it, if it doesn’t work then charge it to experience and try another one.

With the Cost and ROI analysis, I’ve realized that there is money in Rice Dealership business in the Philippines. Eventhough there are so many existing dealers already, but come on, Filipinos love rice, we ate rice at least 3 times a day or even more than that. It is a commodity that every Filipino will buy no matter what. 

I am Ready, I am Back to the Maze!!!

Alright so I am back to the maze and ready to find my cheese NOW! I’m glad I was able to browse my external disc yesterday. It’s always my plan to clean up my hard disc and delete the files that are not needed anymore. I consume my whole day doing it but still I’m not yet finish. I was easily get distracted with browsing my files and reminiscing looking on the old pictures, old memories that are so sweets and worth to keep.  I’m glad I bumped with the short movie that I used in one of my leadership training. It’s called “Who Moved My Cheese” movie from the book written by Spencer Johnson. 

This book shows the ways on how we deal with change in our life.  This book was written in the style of parable with four characters, two mice, Sniff and Scurry; and two little people, Hem and Haw. All of them enjoy the Cheese in Station C. Cheese is an analogy of anything that brings us happiness or success. The two mice and two little people have different ways and mindset while they are enjoying their cheese in Station C. The two Mice, Sniff and Scurry, always go to Station C with their shoes hanged in their neck so they are ready anytime the cheese are gone since they always inspect the cheese and know that it will happen anytime. However, the two people, Hem and Haw became complacent, they removed their shoes thinking that the cheese will always be there in Station C. One day the cheese is gone. Sniff and Scurry didn’t get surprised since they inspect the cheese every day. They immediately put on their shoes and get back to the maze to look for the new cheese, and they never failed they found the cheese in Station N. Meanwhile, Hem and Haw went back to station C and got furious when they didn’t find any cheese. They keep whining and asking “Who Moved my Cheese”? They wait and hope that their cheese will be back. They dig the wall and thinking that the cheese is hidden somewhere in station C. Haw give up and encourage Hem to get back to the maze and look for another Cheese. Hem is hesitant and fearful to look for cheese at the maze. He wants his old cheese and keep on blaming others for moving their cheese. Haw is fearful too but when He comes to His senses, He manage to conquer it and run back to the maze. While looking for the cheese, he keeps imagining himself enjoying the cheese and he realized that the more he thinks about it, the more he gets excited. He constantly writing his thoughts in the wall to guide his friend Hem whenever Hem decides to change and follow him. Eventually Haw, found the cheese in station N. He changed his habit and learned to inspect the cheese everyday. Below are the quotes that He wrote and worth to ponder.

 “If you Do Not Change, You Become Extinct”

“What Would You Do if You Weren’t Afraid?”

“They Kept Moving The Cheese”

“Get Ready For The Cheese To Move”

“Smell the  Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old”

“The Quicker You Let Go of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese”

“Move With The Cheese”

“Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese”

It blows my mind when I realized that I am like Hem, scared to change, fearful to face challenges, keep blaming the situation and allow myself to be stagnant. This book always hits me whenever I need it the most. I promise to change and be like Haw. It may takes time for me to find my Cheese but the important thing is, I am back to the Maze and ready to find it!!! 

  

InspiredByProverbs

I am a Christian girl who is now lost and find myself in a limbo that do not know what to do next but to write. I’ve been blessed by God to worked in different countries and ended up being stuck in the first world country of United States of America. I will be honest with you this is the country that I didn’t like to stay at before. It is because most of the people who live in our village have relatives in US and I knew that most of them have more than one job in order to cope up with the high cost of living. I found it horrible because I feel that it is tiring to work most of your life and ending up having no social life at all. But apparently here I am, experiencing the real life in America.

Most of us have a great connotation about United States. Being grown up in a village in the Philippines, with neighbors whose relatives are frequently sending them “balikbayan” boxes, gave me the impression that people in US are all rich. Balikbayan box means cargo box full of imported goods from other country and of course, Spam, Corned Beef, Chocolates, Levi’s jeans, Hanes shirts are always present. I feel bad that I was carried away with that thought and I completely forgot the fact that they have to work hard to be able to afford to buy those stuffs.

When I first visited US in 2013, I can’t believe with what I’ve seen. Poverty is rampant. Homelessness exist. I was speechless and all I said to my ex-boyfriend who is now my husband was the struggle of Will Smith in the Pursuit of Happyness movie is real!

It’s a wake-up call to me. I have realized that no matter where we are at, it is our self who are solely responsible for what we are right now and where our cash flow is leading us. There is nothing wrong to enjoy life to the fullest, there is nothing wrong to pamper ourselves and get massage once in a while, there is nothing wrong to eat out, there is nothing wrong to have a vacation somewhere else, nor buy luxurious stuffs to pacify ourselves, but the big question is, are we WISE enough to do it?