Sideline anyone?

When you feel like your work is slowly killing you or is taking away the life you want, you better start looking for another or try doing business on the sides then go full swing later. That sounds like a very good idea, don’t you think? Well it is! And the key to having both a job and a business is managing well your time and a bit of a passion to drive your new venture into a rewarding endeavor.

It is not uncommon to see Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) having two or even three jobs especially on the west side of the world. Not that they wanted to do it, they just want to take advantage of the high pay so they can send more to their families here (And it breaks my heart to see a lot of their money wasted on really capricious spending by their kinsfolks.).  Essentially, the reason why they want to have more than one work is primarily economic. But things have started to change for many OFWs now. They are now becoming more enterprising than occupational. They are now more open to put their money in safer investments like real estate so they don’t have to spend much of their waking hours working as a nanny or dishwasher.

“Well, I am not an OFW, and I don’t have the money to buy real estate, how do I make money on the sides?” Good question! When I said that OFWs are now investing on real estate (and this market is continuously growing), you can actually offer properties to them! The fun part of this lucrative sideline is that, you can actually do this on Facebook! That’s right. I’ve seen people on their 20s and 30s making their fortune in real estate by doing Facebook marketing. (And if you want to know their secrets, there is a free seminar, for a limited audience only, coming up on Monday from 9am-12noon. Send a text to this number 09065170202 for details and reservation.)

I had a meeting a few days ago with a few call center agents who asked me if they have a chance selling vitamins and whitening products in a networking or multilevel marketing after work or in their day-off. And I had to brutally answer them back “Not a chance!” Only very few people make it big in networking business. It’s not because their products are bad, it is because their marketing plan is just too good to be true. Bluntly speaking, networking/multilevel marketing has wasted time and money — to the bereft of many and to the benefit of a few. In fact, in the US alone, a study published on the Free Trade Commission says that MLMs have a “99 percent loss rate.” Which means, only 1 percent make it in this business. Now you can ask yourself if you are willing to join in a business where you only have 1 percent chance to hit the bull’s eye.

If you happen to be working and feel that it’s just too risky to jump into fulltime business, or just don’t have the money to start a new one, you can represent products that are “hot” these days. The growing economy we have has made it easy for enterprising young people to do business without capital and as I have mentioned earlier, real estate is one of them. You can also become reseller of products like security cameras. Security cameras are very much in-demand now as many LGUs encourage businesses to put up their own surveillance system for crime detection and prevention. Unlike before where only few businesses can afford to install CCTVs, internet-based security cameras can already be had for P5,000 that even an ordinary family can already afford to put up their own at home. 

The good news is that, a few days ago, LiveEye launched a state-of-the art internet-based surveillance camera which is only available to resellers, thus, you cannot find these product in stores. LiveEye President and CEO, Mr. Anthony Leuterio, believes that the best sellers of their products are those who have the passion to reach out to customers directly. “We have all the ingredients for any reseller to succeed in the business. It’s not only affordable, it is many times more powerful than the expensive CCTVs. LiveEye allows you to see your home or business with your phone. So anywhere you go, you can check what’s going on.” One thing you would like about the product is that, you can just easily demonstrate the features even if you bump a customer on the street.  If you wish to do part time selling for these products, send your inquiries to LiveEye’s mobile hotline: 09065170202.

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After having been away for awhile, I’m back on the air to discuss business trends on Business Connect on DYRC-Cebu (648 KHZ AM) from 10:00 – 12 noon. This time, I will come out with a year-ender report and some insights on what is in store for the various industries in 2017. With me in Business Connect is radio veteran Ramil Paican and Juve Villar as well as real estate advisors, Ronald Caballes and Nelson Lim. Business  Connect is also available live on Ustream.