4 years ago, when we were still fledgling entrepreneurs, John and I used to take coffee together and brainstorm about business. That was when we were still engineers at Intel. Suds was 2 years old then.
Fast forward four years and 400 cups of coffee, John is now a franchisee of Suds. What a twist.
I am really thankful for John to have opened my eyes to the potential of franchising. Before, I used to dismiss the idea, I thought that it will never work and I never put much thought into it. But John’s insistence caused us to consult RK (Rudolf Kotik) and he told us it could be done. Thus the franchising effort was born.
What a year!
We started working on the system late last year. We were forced to look at the numbers from all angles by our friend Jojo V. and we were thankful for that because Charm (my wife) and I finally found a way that this might work WIN-WIN for all. Jojo never allowed us to compromise and I don’t know what the reason is but I highly suspect it’s because of his Peyups (U.P. grad) blood. For that, I am thankful.
Dee Fenix was a great help in our documentation effort. I don’t know anyone with a sharper eye. Plus, she has an unbelievable work ethic (Salamat gyud, Dee!). Dee and Charm’s body of work was something I couldn’t accomplish even if they chain me to a computer for year.
The next phase was looking for a spot. The first place John wanted was the Summit Ridge at Tagaytay. We all fell in love with that place but, sad to say, something about the numbers was not in place and in the end we had to give it up.
After Summit, we tried another space but it didn't seemed to be right either. And that’s when we decided to really scout Tagaytay. It was a decision aided by God because that was when we found a very good site at the Corner Stone building (operated coincidentally by a religious group, Focolare). In the end, John, Charm and I were satisfied that this could work.
After all the preparations and trainings and coffee (kape pa please!) we finally opened on July 12. It was a happy, happy day with all the staff feeling the satisfaction of hard work bearing fruit.
Somehow, I didn’t feel it as a culmination although in some ways it us. I felt it was a start of something big – for me and Charm and hopefully for John and Malou as well. I know the four of us dedicate this effort to Him, upstairs. His hand was there to guide us.
And to John and Malou, thanks a lot for trusting us (and for the delicious home cooking!).
Now the real work begins.
-Caloy Ang
Monday, July 27, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Giving Up
I was talking to a friend the other week. My friend was trying to start a new business selling office partitions. She had little background in sales and she was devastated when we talked. I asked her what was wrong and she told me she had visited 10 prospects and had not closed any deal. She was ready to quit and gave a litany of why she was such a loser and why going into this endeavor was such a bad decision.
If I haven't had any experience from Royale and Suds, I believe I would have just consoled her and encourage her to look elsewhere. But my reaction was something like: Are you kidding? Quitting after only 10 prospects?
In line with my character (as some of you have gotten to know), I told her to snap out of it. That her burden was all in her mind and that there is still a lot of room to improve. That she will close her first deal if she just works on it. It wasn't the reaction she was expecting but I believed she appreciated it.
One of the lessons I have learned for the past 6 years of trying to be an entrepreneur is that giving up so easily does more harm than good.
(Before I go further, please let me explain that this is not meant to offend those who have given up on networking. I meant to write about business life in general.)
The Quit Button - I forgot the title of the book I read a while back. But the author of that book said that everyone has a 'Quit Button'. When we were young, we didn't know what failure meant so we tried hard to stand up and walk even if we keep falling down. As we grew up, we discovered our quit button, and life got a lot easier.
Fear taught us to push the quit button more and more often until sometimes, we push it even before we take the first step.
What happens then is we stagnate. We stay were we are, always afraid to try something new for fear of failure.
Is this you? Do you give up very easily now?
The book really gave me pause and made me wonder how often I use my quit button. I realized that sometimes my fear programs do make me quit even if I didn't even fail yet. One fear I had was of being 'busted' in my panliligaws which was why I always tried to look cool to my crushes. (Buti na lang sinagot pa rin ako ni Charm.)
Is the quit button ruining our lives? I have seen many people give up on their spouses, give up on their kids, give up on their dreams, give up on their lives.
Solving the Problem - It's easy to solve the Quit Button problem: make it hard to press. If you only had one hand, place the button on your elbow.
In short, scrap Plan B. Burn the bridge!
When I decided to quit employment for good, I felt very nervous. It was like being thrown in the middle of a lake and not knowing how to swim. It was terrible! I was sometimes sure I would fail.But part of me knew it was do or die. It took me 3 months of uncertainty before I snapped out of it. Now that I had nowhere else to go, I decided to succeed in my decision. Fast forward 3 years and I'm still alive and kicking, thank God.
Now, Charm, my wife and I are in a critical point again. We know that after we decided to franchise our business, things would not be the same again. This is a bigger game now, and we could not afford to give up. Again.
Looking back, we never thought we would go this far in so short a time. There were sooo many times we felt like giving up, to sell our business and just go back to work. Or go back to Davao to recharge. I remembered times when we were on the verge of tears because of frustration and dissappointment.
Now, I'm very happy we decided to move forward. To continue believing in our goals, even though I think secretly each of us were reaching for that quit button sometimes.
The good thing is: the more you delay pushing that button, the stronger you get. I'm guessing someday, we'll learn to use the quit button wisely instead of just automatically pushing it. Of course quitting has it's uses, like when you encounter a mad dog, wag ka na lumaban, tumakbo ka na. But quitting should never be a way of life.
Keep on pursuing your dreams, guys. Whatever it may be. What's a few miles of thorns and hard rocks when you're going to a kingdom of carpets, huh? Konting tiis lang. At kung malapit na talaga niyo pindutin yung quit button, sabihin niyo, kooooooooooooooooooonti pa.
I sincerely believe God feels sad when quit. I also believe that He has given us strength to accomplish our goals through Him. But we need to rediscover the strength He has already gifted us, it's in there somewhere.
Hoping we all discover the true gems we are by not jumping out of the fires meant to purify us.
God Bless!
If I haven't had any experience from Royale and Suds, I believe I would have just consoled her and encourage her to look elsewhere. But my reaction was something like: Are you kidding? Quitting after only 10 prospects?
In line with my character (as some of you have gotten to know), I told her to snap out of it. That her burden was all in her mind and that there is still a lot of room to improve. That she will close her first deal if she just works on it. It wasn't the reaction she was expecting but I believed she appreciated it.
One of the lessons I have learned for the past 6 years of trying to be an entrepreneur is that giving up so easily does more harm than good.
(Before I go further, please let me explain that this is not meant to offend those who have given up on networking. I meant to write about business life in general.)
The Quit Button - I forgot the title of the book I read a while back. But the author of that book said that everyone has a 'Quit Button'. When we were young, we didn't know what failure meant so we tried hard to stand up and walk even if we keep falling down. As we grew up, we discovered our quit button, and life got a lot easier.
Fear taught us to push the quit button more and more often until sometimes, we push it even before we take the first step.
What happens then is we stagnate. We stay were we are, always afraid to try something new for fear of failure.
Is this you? Do you give up very easily now?
The book really gave me pause and made me wonder how often I use my quit button. I realized that sometimes my fear programs do make me quit even if I didn't even fail yet. One fear I had was of being 'busted' in my panliligaws which was why I always tried to look cool to my crushes. (Buti na lang sinagot pa rin ako ni Charm.)
Is the quit button ruining our lives? I have seen many people give up on their spouses, give up on their kids, give up on their dreams, give up on their lives.
Solving the Problem - It's easy to solve the Quit Button problem: make it hard to press. If you only had one hand, place the button on your elbow.
In short, scrap Plan B. Burn the bridge!
When I decided to quit employment for good, I felt very nervous. It was like being thrown in the middle of a lake and not knowing how to swim. It was terrible! I was sometimes sure I would fail.But part of me knew it was do or die. It took me 3 months of uncertainty before I snapped out of it. Now that I had nowhere else to go, I decided to succeed in my decision. Fast forward 3 years and I'm still alive and kicking, thank God.
Now, Charm, my wife and I are in a critical point again. We know that after we decided to franchise our business, things would not be the same again. This is a bigger game now, and we could not afford to give up. Again.
Looking back, we never thought we would go this far in so short a time. There were sooo many times we felt like giving up, to sell our business and just go back to work. Or go back to Davao to recharge. I remembered times when we were on the verge of tears because of frustration and dissappointment.
Now, I'm very happy we decided to move forward. To continue believing in our goals, even though I think secretly each of us were reaching for that quit button sometimes.
The good thing is: the more you delay pushing that button, the stronger you get. I'm guessing someday, we'll learn to use the quit button wisely instead of just automatically pushing it. Of course quitting has it's uses, like when you encounter a mad dog, wag ka na lumaban, tumakbo ka na. But quitting should never be a way of life.
Keep on pursuing your dreams, guys. Whatever it may be. What's a few miles of thorns and hard rocks when you're going to a kingdom of carpets, huh? Konting tiis lang. At kung malapit na talaga niyo pindutin yung quit button, sabihin niyo, kooooooooooooooooooonti pa.
I sincerely believe God feels sad when quit. I also believe that He has given us strength to accomplish our goals through Him. But we need to rediscover the strength He has already gifted us, it's in there somewhere.
Hoping we all discover the true gems we are by not jumping out of the fires meant to purify us.
God Bless!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The Perils of Franchising
As my wife and I continue to work on our franchising system for Suds (www.suds.com.ph), I continue to learn a lot about franchising. Franchising changed the way business worked in the world. The most popular model now is called business format franchising started with Ray Kroc and McDonalds. Now, franchising is one of the most successful models driving businesses to succeed.
But, not everything is nice and rosy though (and I don't mean to be bad news bringer, I just want clarity). Franchising has its pitfalls also. Here are some we should watch out for:
1. Pseudo franchises - Also called fake franchises. These franchises are not really franchises because they just treat the initial investment as an income stream for them. One of the most common signs of pseudo franchises is (get ready): no royalty fees. You might say, "but some of Royale's franchisors don't charge royalty fees!". And you would be correct. But this problem is not limited to Royale, it is actually a big problem in the Philippine franchising industry, most especially food carts. Most food carts do not collect royalty fees as a marketing come on. This is ok if they earn enough to provide good support to the franchisee. But in most cases, even outside Royale-accredited franchises, the support is just so and so.
The problem then becomes a question of support. Since most food carts are affordable and royalty fees are not collected, the franchisor does not have enough funds to support franchisees well. This is a case of you get what you pay for.
The take home message? Please be careful when advertising No Royalty Fees. It is a double edged sword and is becoming a common practice especially in food carts.
NOTE: Some Royale franchises DO charge Royalty Fees. Examples are: Laundry Gallery, Chickco Chicken among others
2. Generic Franchise Agreements - Another common practice. You wont believe how similar some franchise agreements are to one another and this is dangerous because each business is supposed to be unique. The franchise agreement is the synthesis of the unique points tailor fitted to a specific franchise. It is a franchise's main selling point.
It takes months to formulate your own unique franchise agreement and it is dangerous to use just someone else's to save on money. As a franchisee, you need to know how the franchise fee and royalty fees are computed; what are the potential capital demands while operating, what the franchisor obligations are and how the agreement can be terminated.
The franchise agreement is the source of the sales presentation materials so make sure you read the agreement before signing.
3. Hard Selling - franchising is and will always be a relationship-based business. Thus the franchisor should make sure to screen the franchisees. A good franchisor should reject some franchise applicants. Having enough capital does not mean you can automatically be a franchisee. One interesting tip a franchisor told me is that I should not approve anyone having a much higher net worth than me, a franchisor because of the danger of spying and technology theft.
Unfortunately again, most food carts do the hard sell. And this is the reason why there is a higher proportion of food cart franchises that fail. It is either they lacked support, lacked training, lacked focus or believed that the franchisor has the sole responsibility to make them succeed. All of these are warped illusions of franchising and is tarnishing the good franchises.
So what's going on here? Am I discouraging you when I should be inspiring you? My intention is to educate always. Here are my tips when selling or presenting franchises:
1. Learn to screen franchisees - If the person you are talking to just has money but has no interest, let it go. Make sure they really have the interest and focus to franchise and run their own business. If the applicant is too strong-headed (or hard-headed), stop. It's not worth it.
2. Show both sides - let them know the good and the bad sides. Don't promise magic bullets. Remember: Sipag + Tiyaga + Systema, they need to have the required sipag at tiyaga.
3. Stay away from franchisors with bad support - applicable anywhere. The best thing to do is to talk to many franchisees. If they are satisfied, then recommend the franchise. If not, stay away.
I hope, as always, that I have helped you through my experiences. Til next time!
But, not everything is nice and rosy though (and I don't mean to be bad news bringer, I just want clarity). Franchising has its pitfalls also. Here are some we should watch out for:
1. Pseudo franchises - Also called fake franchises. These franchises are not really franchises because they just treat the initial investment as an income stream for them. One of the most common signs of pseudo franchises is (get ready): no royalty fees. You might say, "but some of Royale's franchisors don't charge royalty fees!". And you would be correct. But this problem is not limited to Royale, it is actually a big problem in the Philippine franchising industry, most especially food carts. Most food carts do not collect royalty fees as a marketing come on. This is ok if they earn enough to provide good support to the franchisee. But in most cases, even outside Royale-accredited franchises, the support is just so and so.
The problem then becomes a question of support. Since most food carts are affordable and royalty fees are not collected, the franchisor does not have enough funds to support franchisees well. This is a case of you get what you pay for.
The take home message? Please be careful when advertising No Royalty Fees. It is a double edged sword and is becoming a common practice especially in food carts.
NOTE: Some Royale franchises DO charge Royalty Fees. Examples are: Laundry Gallery, Chickco Chicken among others
2. Generic Franchise Agreements - Another common practice. You wont believe how similar some franchise agreements are to one another and this is dangerous because each business is supposed to be unique. The franchise agreement is the synthesis of the unique points tailor fitted to a specific franchise. It is a franchise's main selling point.
It takes months to formulate your own unique franchise agreement and it is dangerous to use just someone else's to save on money. As a franchisee, you need to know how the franchise fee and royalty fees are computed; what are the potential capital demands while operating, what the franchisor obligations are and how the agreement can be terminated.
The franchise agreement is the source of the sales presentation materials so make sure you read the agreement before signing.
3. Hard Selling - franchising is and will always be a relationship-based business. Thus the franchisor should make sure to screen the franchisees. A good franchisor should reject some franchise applicants. Having enough capital does not mean you can automatically be a franchisee. One interesting tip a franchisor told me is that I should not approve anyone having a much higher net worth than me, a franchisor because of the danger of spying and technology theft.
Unfortunately again, most food carts do the hard sell. And this is the reason why there is a higher proportion of food cart franchises that fail. It is either they lacked support, lacked training, lacked focus or believed that the franchisor has the sole responsibility to make them succeed. All of these are warped illusions of franchising and is tarnishing the good franchises.
So what's going on here? Am I discouraging you when I should be inspiring you? My intention is to educate always. Here are my tips when selling or presenting franchises:
1. Learn to screen franchisees - If the person you are talking to just has money but has no interest, let it go. Make sure they really have the interest and focus to franchise and run their own business. If the applicant is too strong-headed (or hard-headed), stop. It's not worth it.
2. Show both sides - let them know the good and the bad sides. Don't promise magic bullets. Remember: Sipag + Tiyaga + Systema, they need to have the required sipag at tiyaga.
3. Stay away from franchisors with bad support - applicable anywhere. The best thing to do is to talk to many franchisees. If they are satisfied, then recommend the franchise. If not, stay away.
I hope, as always, that I have helped you through my experiences. Til next time!
Monday, January 26, 2009
2009 is here, are you ready?
2009 began with a lot of challenging news for me. My former employer Intel Tech Phils. Inc. announced it's closure of the some sites, including the Philippine site. That in itself was heavy news. I had the chance to view last friday's issue of the Phil Star in the business section; it was said the the semiconductor sector is being hit hard. About 60,000 workers will be laid of in that sector alone.
I think it's now, more than ever, that Pinoys should consider learning business. Although businesses won't have walks in the park this year, owning your own enterprise, however small, can give you more options and control. Running a business will also be hard this year but unless we slow down to a depression, kikita ka pa rin.
I'm impressed with the way Royale is facing these tough times. They have just opened the Mindanao Headquarters in Davao and the office there was impressive even if smaller compared to our QC HQ. Product centers will also open in Paranaque and Tacloban soon.
Microsoft has said that the companies who spend now, even in tough times, will be the ones who will lead the way when the recession is over. I'm not sure how that translates to small businesses and I am eager to find out what the effects of Royale's actions will be.
Mr. C's decisions will embolden the leaders and members and in tough times like this, that's always a good thing. Sana nga tuloy tuloy pa ang paglaki natin.
Proud to be Royale,
Caloy Ang
I think it's now, more than ever, that Pinoys should consider learning business. Although businesses won't have walks in the park this year, owning your own enterprise, however small, can give you more options and control. Running a business will also be hard this year but unless we slow down to a depression, kikita ka pa rin.
I'm impressed with the way Royale is facing these tough times. They have just opened the Mindanao Headquarters in Davao and the office there was impressive even if smaller compared to our QC HQ. Product centers will also open in Paranaque and Tacloban soon.
Microsoft has said that the companies who spend now, even in tough times, will be the ones who will lead the way when the recession is over. I'm not sure how that translates to small businesses and I am eager to find out what the effects of Royale's actions will be.
Mr. C's decisions will embolden the leaders and members and in tough times like this, that's always a good thing. Sana nga tuloy tuloy pa ang paglaki natin.
Proud to be Royale,
Caloy Ang
Monday, November 24, 2008
Royale Advisory - Christmas Celebration
Our Christmas Celebration will be on Tuesday, Dec. 16 6PM at the Metro Concert Bar.
You are invited to form a 6-12 member choir to join the Royale Christmas Carol Singing Contest with the theme: "Royale Oneness for Christmas is our Wellness".
1st audition is on Dec. 3, 4PM.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
7 Reasons Why Royale Rocks
Royale is now 2 years old and is still growing stronger. In my 10 months in this company, I have witnessed a lot of things. I truly feel that Royale is a very unique company. I heard one guy yesterday say that he thought he was allergic to networking but he felt different when Royale was presented to him, that is why he joined. I felt the same way about the company and I thought I would share some insights on what makes Royale unique. So, as your partner insider, I present to you 7 reasons why our company rocks!
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Reason 1: Our Chairman is a Capable and Willing Traditional Businessman
Most networking companies die in the first year. Some last 2 or 3 years but that's it. One common reason is that they were founded by networkers. This is a sensitive topic since a lot of people are successful networkers. But somehow, I have observed that the networking companies that fall fail because of 2 things: Greed and Inexperience handling money. When company founders experience success and are flushed with cash, they crumble because they are not used to handling tens of millions of pesos.
Bo Sanchez has a term for this: The Psychological Wallet. If you used to handling only thousands of pesos and you are suddenly given millions, chances are you will go back to your comfort zone and will have a hard time adjusting, especially if the transition is sudden. Sudden transitions from small money to big money occur in networks; it's called MOMENTUM. When the momentum stage comes, the company suddenly gets very rich very fast.
In his 2nd year anniversary speech, Mr. Castaneda mentioned his thankfulness that the company's growth has been moderate and controlled so far. This allowed him and management to build the necessary infrastructure to support solid growth in the years ahead. This includes hiring more employees, expanding the leased spaces, building product centers and improving the products.
On the product launch last July 26, his message was simple: DO NOT BE GREEDY. It was a clear reminder to Royale's leaders to stick to what made us successful: clear, transparent leadership and the drive to help others.
Mr. Castaneda owns a lot of successful businesses. He owns Punchline, Laffline and Metro Comedy/ Concert Bars, Nomu Japanese Resto, Blooming face and body center, an STI and a 7-11(his "smallest" business costing 15M to build). He also owns a lending company. He is a financial analyst by profession. And he earns somewhere between 300-500T per night according to the leaders.
I believe Mr. Castaneda is dead serious about making Royale a big success. He has the capacity and willingness to do it. He is in it for the long term and he definitely has the experience in handling money. Royale earned 50M last year and is on track to earn 100M this year.
So my friends, I think we are in good hands here. Let's continue to pray that Mr. Castaneda remains steadfast in his aim to help Pinoys become financially well.
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Reason 2: Builders, not Recruiters
There are 2 types of successful networkers: recruiters and builders. Only one of these experience true passive, residual income.
Let's tackle the Recruiter first. This guy is smooth, he talks very well and can sell anything. Once you join his network, he only has one recommendation for your plan of action - invite, invite, invite. Because of his inherent skills, he can build his network very fast. His earnings grow big, fast. But just like a field of cogon grass, they are shallow-rooted and die out at the first test of heat. When his network dies, he jumps ship and joins another network repeating the cycle. His downlines are left high and dry. And most of the time, he is the only one who earned big.
In my opinion, Recruiters are the reason why network marketing has such a stigma in our country. Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to present Royale to a veteran networker who prided himself in being a leader. I was excited because it meant we will be talking the same language. His first question was: :Will you give downlines in both left and right groups? My internal answer was: This guy is crazy (recruiter, recruiter, recruiter).
Guys like him belong to an old breed of networkers. They want to get rich quick and don't have the patience of building a network of new relationships. For them, networking is a cold-blooded business. Since they are already 'tested', companies should buy their services to seed their networking. They are also known as Junkies, networkers who have no loyalty and jump from ship to ship.
Contrast that to the Builder. Builders take their time to develop the people they sponsor. They believe that Slow is Fast and Fast is Slow. Their plan of action is TRAIN first before DOING. Doc Butch is an example of a Builder. He once told me that networking is like planting Mangoes. There is a cycle: Plant - Nurture - Harvest. People always seem to forget the nurturing part. Recruiters follow the Plant - Harvest scheme (Munggo yun, hindi Mangga).
Builders' networks seem slow at first because each person sponsored, if willing, get to train. But networks like this are deep-rooted and can weather storms. Some people do fall off but here, in this system, a lot of leaders emerge.
And that is the key. Once you train and help enough people, the success follows. They bloom, you bloom with them. That is the forgotten essence of networking and the source of true, long-lasting passive income.
And if you look around Royale, you can't see a lot of old, 'popular' networkers. In fact, some old networkers tried it but found the growth too slow. If you look around the main office, most active members are new blood leaders who have embraced networking as it should be: a legitimate, relationship-centered business. There's nothing quick about it because it takes time to build leaders.
Most of Royale's leaders (Pres Juluis, Doc Butch, Jay, Elmer, Ariel, Maam Grace, Karen etc.) came from a company called I-Gen Portal. It was a networking company that lasted for only about a year before bickering weakened it's foundations (see reason #1). I heard that Royale's leaders were the loyalists to I-Gen. They never wanted to leave their downlines behind until the doors closed on them. I personally asked Doc what his commitment to Royale is and his answer was: "Hanggang padlock ako dito." If he is in for the long haul, I'm also in for the long haul.
Builders - these are the kinds of leaders our company is built on. I know most of you don't know them personally yet. I am hoping that through my blogs and emails you will understand them more and see what I see in them.
On my part, my commitment to you is: Hanggang padlock din ako. Walang iwanan!
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Reason 3: The Three-Pronged Attack
To start of this article, let me quote a book titled Law of Leverage by Rane Panaligan, a CPA:
"...Micro-franchising, home-based businesses and network marketing are the most viable alternatives and wealth-building mediums to survive the economic world." p.26
This book was first published 2004, 2 years before Royale was formed and yet if you read it, you will find that the 3 alternatives for small and medium enterprises are all present in Royale. This is no coincidence. Our Business Club is a well thought out, 3-pronged approach to present viable businesses for first time entrepreneurs.
We got Franchising, Direct Selling (a home based biz) and Networking options that can be done independently or at the same time.
Some people (members included) have the mistake of labelling Royale as a Networking company. While that is true, I think what they mean is that it is a Networking company ONLY. And that, is definitely NOT TRUE.
How different are we from pure networking companies? I had the pleasure of talking to networkers from AIM Global (networkers of the Alive brand) last friday. After the presentation, I only had one question to them: Can you present your company to cooperatives? Their answer was no, probably not.
Even though networking could be a good business to start, a lot of people have mistaken concepts about it. This is the reason why you cannot bring networking concepts to coops anymore. They hate it. I know because I have presented to many coops already and they always warn me that they dont accept networking opportunities anymore. But...
Take Royale to cooperatives and say this to the cooperative board of directors: We are from Royale Business Club and we would like to partner with your coop in providing livelihood/ micro businesses to your members. Present the RBP WITHOUT presenting the networking. Just the Franchises up to the Finder's Fee and Royalty Income. You will be surprised by the positive reaction of most coops to this.
The reason is most coops earn by lending to members. If the coop becomes a Business Club member and the coop members avail of coop loans to buy Royale franchises, the coop generates 3 incomes: 1. from the business loan interest, 2. from the Finder's Fees, 3. from Royalty Incomes of the franchises.
This is my proof that Royale is a chameleon. You can change the way you present it to suit your audience. A grocery or drugstore owner might be more receptive if you focus on the products. Conservative people might only want to franchise.
My point is this: Just because there is a networking option in the business club, it does not mean ALL members need to network to earn.
This means that what we really have are 3 weapons for income. A good friend of mine, Rolly Pagaspas put it this way: your franchise is a traditional business, your dealership is your distribution business you can do on the side and he calls networking "Sharing The Concept" - a business you can carry inside your pocket.
This is what makes the Royale concept unique. We got all the ingredients to succeed as entrepreneurs.
To end, let me quote from another book - Robert Kiyosaki's Retire Young, Retire Rich (p.295)
"If you are serious about retiring young, begin studying the different types of income, which will allow to become rich without working forever. Some of the other types of income are:
1. Residual income, which is income from a business, such as a network marketing business or a franchise business you own but someone else run...." (underlines are mine)
In short, mag Royale na kayo! We are on the right track.
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Reasons 4 and 5: Product and Franchise Innovation
This was supposed to be 2 articles but I thought the line of thinking was too similar so I bundled it together.
Product Innovation - When I became part of Royale September 2007, the Glutathione product was in its second revision. It was placed on smaller (and uglier compared to the current) plastic bottles and was soon replaced by blister packs in a box. Those had problems when exposed to heat because the aluminum in the blister pack heated the capsules which turned yellowish-brown.
Royale hired Lollie Sarmiento, and ex-Splash Corporation product developer who recommended most of the improvements in the packaging.
The result was a better plastic bottle package, better labels, Halal approval plus the Angelica endorsement. The rest of the products followed suit.
Now, the best selling Gluta Soap as well as the Kojic soap package was revamped to have plastic instead of the paper packaging. Also, the newest coffee product has packaging that can rival Nescafe or San Mig.
One thing that I like about the company is it's eye for continuous innovation. They never seem to rest, always churning out new ideas on how to make the products more saleable. They are also open to suggestions on how to improve some more.
Franchise Innovation - To sum it up: No Franchise fees, no royalty fees, no renewal fees. Most of Royale's franchises started as unknowns and so they had to innovate to get noticed by the market.
To do this, they removed most of the fees that standard franchising charges and instead offered the franchises as an all-in package. This simplified version was easier to understand for the new micro-business owner and help fuel Royale's franchising success.
However, based on my research into franchising, not charging royalty fees could be a double-edged sword to the franchisor as this severely limits his cash flow. I think that as more and more people know the Royale brands, the franchisors will introduce small royalty fees (e.g. Chickco Country Chicken now charges P1000/ month royalty fees).
At this point, I can see some franchisors already improving their offerings. JCFran has released The Noodle House HongKong Style noodles. While not yet officially a franchise carried by the Royale Business Club, JCFran proves that innovation is at work in their company.
Chickco Country Chicken also has recently hired Francorp to improve its franchise structure and also introduced financing plans for their new franchisees.
The spirit of innovation is evident in our products, franchises and IT systems. I am hoping that the company can improve and react fast enough to adapt to the challenges. But as for the past year I have been on board, I could say that the management of Royale never rests with their achievements. They are always pushing forward. And that is always a good sign.
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Reason 1: Our Chairman is a Capable and Willing Traditional Businessman
Most networking companies die in the first year. Some last 2 or 3 years but that's it. One common reason is that they were founded by networkers. This is a sensitive topic since a lot of people are successful networkers. But somehow, I have observed that the networking companies that fall fail because of 2 things: Greed and Inexperience handling money. When company founders experience success and are flushed with cash, they crumble because they are not used to handling tens of millions of pesos.
Bo Sanchez has a term for this: The Psychological Wallet. If you used to handling only thousands of pesos and you are suddenly given millions, chances are you will go back to your comfort zone and will have a hard time adjusting, especially if the transition is sudden. Sudden transitions from small money to big money occur in networks; it's called MOMENTUM. When the momentum stage comes, the company suddenly gets very rich very fast.
In his 2nd year anniversary speech, Mr. Castaneda mentioned his thankfulness that the company's growth has been moderate and controlled so far. This allowed him and management to build the necessary infrastructure to support solid growth in the years ahead. This includes hiring more employees, expanding the leased spaces, building product centers and improving the products.
On the product launch last July 26, his message was simple: DO NOT BE GREEDY. It was a clear reminder to Royale's leaders to stick to what made us successful: clear, transparent leadership and the drive to help others.
Mr. Castaneda owns a lot of successful businesses. He owns Punchline, Laffline and Metro Comedy/ Concert Bars, Nomu Japanese Resto, Blooming face and body center, an STI and a 7-11(his "smallest" business costing 15M to build). He also owns a lending company. He is a financial analyst by profession. And he earns somewhere between 300-500T per night according to the leaders.
I believe Mr. Castaneda is dead serious about making Royale a big success. He has the capacity and willingness to do it. He is in it for the long term and he definitely has the experience in handling money. Royale earned 50M last year and is on track to earn 100M this year.
So my friends, I think we are in good hands here. Let's continue to pray that Mr. Castaneda remains steadfast in his aim to help Pinoys become financially well.
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Reason 2: Builders, not Recruiters
There are 2 types of successful networkers: recruiters and builders. Only one of these experience true passive, residual income.
Let's tackle the Recruiter first. This guy is smooth, he talks very well and can sell anything. Once you join his network, he only has one recommendation for your plan of action - invite, invite, invite. Because of his inherent skills, he can build his network very fast. His earnings grow big, fast. But just like a field of cogon grass, they are shallow-rooted and die out at the first test of heat. When his network dies, he jumps ship and joins another network repeating the cycle. His downlines are left high and dry. And most of the time, he is the only one who earned big.
In my opinion, Recruiters are the reason why network marketing has such a stigma in our country. Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to present Royale to a veteran networker who prided himself in being a leader. I was excited because it meant we will be talking the same language. His first question was: :Will you give downlines in both left and right groups? My internal answer was: This guy is crazy (recruiter, recruiter, recruiter).
Guys like him belong to an old breed of networkers. They want to get rich quick and don't have the patience of building a network of new relationships. For them, networking is a cold-blooded business. Since they are already 'tested', companies should buy their services to seed their networking. They are also known as Junkies, networkers who have no loyalty and jump from ship to ship.
Contrast that to the Builder. Builders take their time to develop the people they sponsor. They believe that Slow is Fast and Fast is Slow. Their plan of action is TRAIN first before DOING. Doc Butch is an example of a Builder. He once told me that networking is like planting Mangoes. There is a cycle: Plant - Nurture - Harvest. People always seem to forget the nurturing part. Recruiters follow the Plant - Harvest scheme (Munggo yun, hindi Mangga).
Builders' networks seem slow at first because each person sponsored, if willing, get to train. But networks like this are deep-rooted and can weather storms. Some people do fall off but here, in this system, a lot of leaders emerge.
And that is the key. Once you train and help enough people, the success follows. They bloom, you bloom with them. That is the forgotten essence of networking and the source of true, long-lasting passive income.
And if you look around Royale, you can't see a lot of old, 'popular' networkers. In fact, some old networkers tried it but found the growth too slow. If you look around the main office, most active members are new blood leaders who have embraced networking as it should be: a legitimate, relationship-centered business. There's nothing quick about it because it takes time to build leaders.
Most of Royale's leaders (Pres Juluis, Doc Butch, Jay, Elmer, Ariel, Maam Grace, Karen etc.) came from a company called I-Gen Portal. It was a networking company that lasted for only about a year before bickering weakened it's foundations (see reason #1). I heard that Royale's leaders were the loyalists to I-Gen. They never wanted to leave their downlines behind until the doors closed on them. I personally asked Doc what his commitment to Royale is and his answer was: "Hanggang padlock ako dito." If he is in for the long haul, I'm also in for the long haul.
Builders - these are the kinds of leaders our company is built on. I know most of you don't know them personally yet. I am hoping that through my blogs and emails you will understand them more and see what I see in them.
On my part, my commitment to you is: Hanggang padlock din ako. Walang iwanan!
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Reason 3: The Three-Pronged Attack
To start of this article, let me quote a book titled Law of Leverage by Rane Panaligan, a CPA:
"...Micro-franchising, home-based businesses and network marketing are the most viable alternatives and wealth-building mediums to survive the economic world." p.26
This book was first published 2004, 2 years before Royale was formed and yet if you read it, you will find that the 3 alternatives for small and medium enterprises are all present in Royale. This is no coincidence. Our Business Club is a well thought out, 3-pronged approach to present viable businesses for first time entrepreneurs.
We got Franchising, Direct Selling (a home based biz) and Networking options that can be done independently or at the same time.
Some people (members included) have the mistake of labelling Royale as a Networking company. While that is true, I think what they mean is that it is a Networking company ONLY. And that, is definitely NOT TRUE.
How different are we from pure networking companies? I had the pleasure of talking to networkers from AIM Global (networkers of the Alive brand) last friday. After the presentation, I only had one question to them: Can you present your company to cooperatives? Their answer was no, probably not.
Even though networking could be a good business to start, a lot of people have mistaken concepts about it. This is the reason why you cannot bring networking concepts to coops anymore. They hate it. I know because I have presented to many coops already and they always warn me that they dont accept networking opportunities anymore. But...
Take Royale to cooperatives and say this to the cooperative board of directors: We are from Royale Business Club and we would like to partner with your coop in providing livelihood/ micro businesses to your members. Present the RBP WITHOUT presenting the networking. Just the Franchises up to the Finder's Fee and Royalty Income. You will be surprised by the positive reaction of most coops to this.
The reason is most coops earn by lending to members. If the coop becomes a Business Club member and the coop members avail of coop loans to buy Royale franchises, the coop generates 3 incomes: 1. from the business loan interest, 2. from the Finder's Fees, 3. from Royalty Incomes of the franchises.
This is my proof that Royale is a chameleon. You can change the way you present it to suit your audience. A grocery or drugstore owner might be more receptive if you focus on the products. Conservative people might only want to franchise.
My point is this: Just because there is a networking option in the business club, it does not mean ALL members need to network to earn.
This means that what we really have are 3 weapons for income. A good friend of mine, Rolly Pagaspas put it this way: your franchise is a traditional business, your dealership is your distribution business you can do on the side and he calls networking "Sharing The Concept" - a business you can carry inside your pocket.
This is what makes the Royale concept unique. We got all the ingredients to succeed as entrepreneurs.
To end, let me quote from another book - Robert Kiyosaki's Retire Young, Retire Rich (p.295)
"If you are serious about retiring young, begin studying the different types of income, which will allow to become rich without working forever. Some of the other types of income are:
1. Residual income, which is income from a business, such as a network marketing business or a franchise business you own but someone else run...." (underlines are mine)
In short, mag Royale na kayo! We are on the right track.
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Reasons 4 and 5: Product and Franchise Innovation
This was supposed to be 2 articles but I thought the line of thinking was too similar so I bundled it together.
Product Innovation - When I became part of Royale September 2007, the Glutathione product was in its second revision. It was placed on smaller (and uglier compared to the current) plastic bottles and was soon replaced by blister packs in a box. Those had problems when exposed to heat because the aluminum in the blister pack heated the capsules which turned yellowish-brown.
Royale hired Lollie Sarmiento, and ex-Splash Corporation product developer who recommended most of the improvements in the packaging.
The result was a better plastic bottle package, better labels, Halal approval plus the Angelica endorsement. The rest of the products followed suit.
Now, the best selling Gluta Soap as well as the Kojic soap package was revamped to have plastic instead of the paper packaging. Also, the newest coffee product has packaging that can rival Nescafe or San Mig.
One thing that I like about the company is it's eye for continuous innovation. They never seem to rest, always churning out new ideas on how to make the products more saleable. They are also open to suggestions on how to improve some more.
Franchise Innovation - To sum it up: No Franchise fees, no royalty fees, no renewal fees. Most of Royale's franchises started as unknowns and so they had to innovate to get noticed by the market.
To do this, they removed most of the fees that standard franchising charges and instead offered the franchises as an all-in package. This simplified version was easier to understand for the new micro-business owner and help fuel Royale's franchising success.
However, based on my research into franchising, not charging royalty fees could be a double-edged sword to the franchisor as this severely limits his cash flow. I think that as more and more people know the Royale brands, the franchisors will introduce small royalty fees (e.g. Chickco Country Chicken now charges P1000/ month royalty fees).
At this point, I can see some franchisors already improving their offerings. JCFran has released The Noodle House HongKong Style noodles. While not yet officially a franchise carried by the Royale Business Club, JCFran proves that innovation is at work in their company.
Chickco Country Chicken also has recently hired Francorp to improve its franchise structure and also introduced financing plans for their new franchisees.
The spirit of innovation is evident in our products, franchises and IT systems. I am hoping that the company can improve and react fast enough to adapt to the challenges. But as for the past year I have been on board, I could say that the management of Royale never rests with their achievements. They are always pushing forward. And that is always a good sign.
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Reason 6: The People That You Meet Each Day
The transformation from anti-networking to pro-networking was a hard one for me. I still couldnt believe I lasted this long (1 year on Sep 9!) and yet the longer I stay, the more open-minded I have become.
I have met a lot of curious characters in Royale and I would like to introduce you to some of them.
There's Ate Lorna, the once hardware saleslady who now owns 3 Galaxy Burger carts. She used to be so shy because of her speech impediment but now, looking at her give presentations to many people makes me smile.
If Ate Lorna had a speech impediment, Abe's got it worse. Abe stutters and can't say anything straight. Hearing Abe stutter his way to a testimony in the PEC about how he got his cheque gave me pause. How can a guy who talks like Abe gather the guts to present - and succeed?
There's Ate Darly, ang Reyna ng Benta. She's a sweet 50 something year old government employee who likes to grab my elbow when she talks to me. Who whould know this lady earns 6 figures a month selling soap? :-)
Doc Butch just bought his dream car, a BMW Z4. He was already rich before he started networking. But looking at him work puts me to shame. I have seen this guy take 'lunch' at 7PM and for the past year, has seen him work to exhaustion. He owns 3 businesses but still works like a blue-collar worker.
Tony is one of the top 3 Distributors for Smart in Cavite. He turns over at least 30M worth of load each month, became a millionaire through Smart at the age of 22 (he made his first million in 3 months swapping sim packs back then). But he is one of the most humble guys I have ever met. He is also one of the leaders of Royale's Dream Team.
And you partners, I have enjoyed meeting and working with each and everyone of you. Meeting you really expanded my heart and mind.
Networking is a hard business because you deal with people but it's also a great business because of great people.
One thing that has cemented itself into my philosophies for the past year is that you make your own destiny. The people I have met didnt meet success in their first try. They too were rejected just like the rest. They were just mentally tougher.
I am now sure that God wants us to be prosperous. But we have to give something from our end. As Jay Ocampo says: God is a Multiplier. In the story of Elijah, the prophet asked the widow what she has left in her possession. She said she had some oil left. Elijah told her to borrow jars from her neighbors and from what little oil that was left, God multiplied it til all the jars were full.
Being with people like Abe the stutterer cements my belief that God indeed is a Multiplier. Abe took what little he has and gave it his all and he has success to show for it.
Looking at him makes me look at myself and find those little drops of oil that He can multiply. The people we meet makes us reflect on ourselves. Hopefully, they will continue to reflect what's good in all of us.
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Reason 7: Entrepreneurship 101
People who dismiss Royale as just a networking company miss an important point. Royale offers a chance for you to hone your business skills, especially those who don't have any business experience. Let me elaborate.
Networking = Traditional business? - I have been in the 'traditional' business of laundry and dry cleaning for 5 1/2 years now. The skills I needed to survive that long were: mental toughness, belief in one's self, marketing and basic math. I always say to my partners that business is just a reflection of you. Whatever your core beliefs are, they show up in your business. If you think 'pang small time ka lang' then you will never go big time.
What does this have to do with networking and Royale? Well, for one, it takes much much more mental toughness to build your own network than to build your own small business. The reason is, you expose yourself to more chances of rejection in networking compared to just being in your shop.
The same thing goes for marketing and belief in yourself. As I see it, networking is a springboard for people to develop critical business skills.
Businesses within the business - Another good thing about Royale is that there are opportunities that abound inside the club to do you own business. Consider this: you are a member of a club that contains THOUSANDS of business-minded people. What do they need???
1. Can you print marketing materials on tarpaulin and flyers and resell these to business club members?
2. Can you look for potential locations for franchises and make your own survey and sell these for a fee to potential franchisees?
3. Can you offer your own specialty entrepreneurship trainings to franchisees? How about technology-enhanced services on the web? Or the mobile phone???
4. How about if you talk to franchisors and offer logistical support in the provinces. You can act as the hub where they drop off their supplies and you deliver to franchisees in that province.
These are just ideas I got off the top of my head and of course we will need to really scrutinize the details but there's a lot of stuff we can cook up if we just get creative.
The thing is, Royale is all about creating the entrepreneur in you. Open your eyes and see that it's not just about networking. It's a goldmine of opportunities to practice business.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Royale Celebrates 2nd Anniversary
May 17, 2008 at Crossroads 77:
Thousands of members celebrated the business club's 2nd anniversary. It was a joyous occasion with lots memorable and enjoyable moments. Among them:
The Prayer - I very rarely hear applause after a prayer. This one gave me goose bumps. It was unrehearsed but went straight to our hearts. I guess a lot of us felt it because a lot of us clapped. We clapped for our Ultimate Upline - God.
The Chairman Speaks - it was clear that he enjoyed the day as much as the members did. The usually reserved Mr. C spoke with vigour about Royale's plans for the future. What resonated to me during his talk was that he was thankful that Royale did NOT grow that fast which was the reason why the team was able to manage the foundation solidly instead of being rushed. Spoken like a true businessman.
Senate President Manny Villar is the Keynote Speaker - I'd like to blog more about this later. But one thing I am sure of is that if he runs for President, I'm voting for him.
3 Guys buy BMW's - I personally knew all three of them. But I was brought to tears during Jay's story. To most people, Jay is the comedian of the Phoenix Leaders. But nobody really expected his story to be so sad (but Jay, even if he was crying still managed to joke about it). Many times, he said he had to meet clients at a fastfood restaurant. One time, he waited til his client had ordered before he went inside so that he wouldn't be forced to buy food because he had no money and worse, he was hungry. So when his client invited him to eat, he said no thanks he was full. But suddenly, his stomach growled and the client asked: "Akala ko ba, busog ka?" Jay's reply: "Opo, acidic lang po ako."
He also told the story about being a safety shoe salesman and having his delivery of shoes scatter all over the bus when the driver braked hard. People were laughing at him and he felt so sorry for himself.
He tried so hard to succeed in Royale. His code was NO EMOTIONS when he was rejected. His reason was simple, he had no time to be offended, he had a family to feed.
I know Jay. I know he has a strong faith in God and in people. He showed his love for his wife by calling her to the stage.
I couldn't be more proud of a triumph of a friend and a good person. Mabuhay ka, Jay!
Anton Diva is a Guy - Now, for some comic relief. This guy sang like Regine Velasquez. He really sounded and looked like a woman. So when he said, in a deep, deep voice after singing: "Wala ba kayong mga kamay?" everyone laughed. He even invited another guy on stage and sang to him and teased him with a dare for a nose to nose. I kept shouting: "Dude, lalaki yan, don't forget!!!!" because the guy seemed to forget.
Pres Juluis presented the upcoming products - Man! we are in for a good year. There were a lot of exciting updates. An anti-ageing cream, an 8-in-1 coffee to be manufactured by Kraft (makers of the Maxwell House brand), a supplement for diabetics, new improved packaging for the best-selling Gluta and Kojic soaps, Fit and Trim will be redesigned and renamed to FitShape, Fiberich - a fiber supplement for the colon. These will be launched by July 26, 2008.
Plus, more effort will be focused now in advertising in the tri-media of TV, Radio and Print so that Royale Wellness and Royale Beauty will become household brands.
Pres urged us again to clap for God. I clapped til my hands hurt.
All in all, it was a good anniversary celebration. According to Pres, 2 years pa lang tayo, umpisa pa lang to!
God Bless!
Thousands of members celebrated the business club's 2nd anniversary. It was a joyous occasion with lots memorable and enjoyable moments. Among them:
The Prayer - I very rarely hear applause after a prayer. This one gave me goose bumps. It was unrehearsed but went straight to our hearts. I guess a lot of us felt it because a lot of us clapped. We clapped for our Ultimate Upline - God.
The Chairman Speaks - it was clear that he enjoyed the day as much as the members did. The usually reserved Mr. C spoke with vigour about Royale's plans for the future. What resonated to me during his talk was that he was thankful that Royale did NOT grow that fast which was the reason why the team was able to manage the foundation solidly instead of being rushed. Spoken like a true businessman.
Senate President Manny Villar is the Keynote Speaker - I'd like to blog more about this later. But one thing I am sure of is that if he runs for President, I'm voting for him.
3 Guys buy BMW's - I personally knew all three of them. But I was brought to tears during Jay's story. To most people, Jay is the comedian of the Phoenix Leaders. But nobody really expected his story to be so sad (but Jay, even if he was crying still managed to joke about it). Many times, he said he had to meet clients at a fastfood restaurant. One time, he waited til his client had ordered before he went inside so that he wouldn't be forced to buy food because he had no money and worse, he was hungry. So when his client invited him to eat, he said no thanks he was full. But suddenly, his stomach growled and the client asked: "Akala ko ba, busog ka?" Jay's reply: "Opo, acidic lang po ako."
He also told the story about being a safety shoe salesman and having his delivery of shoes scatter all over the bus when the driver braked hard. People were laughing at him and he felt so sorry for himself.
He tried so hard to succeed in Royale. His code was NO EMOTIONS when he was rejected. His reason was simple, he had no time to be offended, he had a family to feed.
I know Jay. I know he has a strong faith in God and in people. He showed his love for his wife by calling her to the stage.
I couldn't be more proud of a triumph of a friend and a good person. Mabuhay ka, Jay!
Anton Diva is a Guy - Now, for some comic relief. This guy sang like Regine Velasquez. He really sounded and looked like a woman. So when he said, in a deep, deep voice after singing: "Wala ba kayong mga kamay?" everyone laughed. He even invited another guy on stage and sang to him and teased him with a dare for a nose to nose. I kept shouting: "Dude, lalaki yan, don't forget!!!!" because the guy seemed to forget.
Pres Juluis presented the upcoming products - Man! we are in for a good year. There were a lot of exciting updates. An anti-ageing cream, an 8-in-1 coffee to be manufactured by Kraft (makers of the Maxwell House brand), a supplement for diabetics, new improved packaging for the best-selling Gluta and Kojic soaps, Fit and Trim will be redesigned and renamed to FitShape, Fiberich - a fiber supplement for the colon. These will be launched by July 26, 2008.
Plus, more effort will be focused now in advertising in the tri-media of TV, Radio and Print so that Royale Wellness and Royale Beauty will become household brands.
Pres urged us again to clap for God. I clapped til my hands hurt.
All in all, it was a good anniversary celebration. According to Pres, 2 years pa lang tayo, umpisa pa lang to!
God Bless!
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