Is ‘Networking’ Inherently Evil or a Scam?

For sure, you are familiar with the line: ‘Open-minded ka ba?’ 

And I am so much willing to bet my life one thousand peso bill that you know. 

Trending kaya ‘yan… So imposible namang hindi mo pa narinig. 

Yup, I am talking about network marketing which Pinoys fondly call simply as networking.

And our knee-jerk reaction when we hear this word is disgust. Why? Maybe because of the fear of us becoming new victims where we will be made to purchase overpriced products or to be lured and become recruits. 

This is saddening. How ‘selling’ has acquired this tainted meaning in the marketing arena —as we have already pointed out in this previous blog post. 

But is networking inherently evil or scam? 

Is network marketing a scam?

You might nod in affirmation. And we can’t blame you. Nowadays, offline and online, we can see how pyramid schemes have been popping out wildly like mushrooms. 

All are very aggressive at pursuing pathetic people with little to no financial education. But the answer is no; networking is not inherently evil. And I am about to teach you how to spot the good ones. 

Let’s go.

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12 Life Lessons for Entrepreneurs by Bunny Pages | Wealth Bootcamp 2.0

Last March 19, 2017, the much awaited second series of Wealth Bootcamp: From Zero to Hero was held at Harold's Hotel. Around 150 entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs attended the powerful event.

The first speaker, Jess Faller, Engineer by profession and a Certified Financial Educator talked about the Big 3 in the Financial Industry - the Banking Industry, the Insurance Industry and Investment Industry, where money is created, distributed, brought and sold.

 "It is not mainly about your career that makes you successful - it's in the daily financial decisions and lifestyle  that makes you a failure or a success." 

That' why Financial Education is the biggest and most powerful innovation today. It is important to have basic knowledge on personal finance.

-Saving the right way
-Managing Debts
-Creating Emergency Funds
-Knowing the Power of Compound Interest
-Building Solid Financial Foundation - Life Insurance, Healthcare, Stock Market, Mutual Funds

The best solution to get ahead is to become a Financial Literacy advocate. Attend lectures, seminars, coaching classes such as TRC of Bro. Bo, WBC of ProsperPinoy and/or weekend Financial Education Workshop of IMG.

The second speaker was one of  Cebu's leading entrepreneur, Mr. Bunny Pages, the owner of Thirsty, Lantaw Restaurant, Mooon Cafe, and many more. He personally shared how happy he was to be speaking in front, he just had a surgery and thank God he is doing very well now for he was able to deliver inspiring lessons that day.

12 Life Lessons for Entrepreneurs

1. A Business is given by the Lord. 

A business is a blessing, you should cooperate with grace. Always pray for guidance, his simple prayer is like this "Lord if this is for me, please make it easy. If it's not, please make it hard."

And since it is given by the Lord, you must always be prepared - "It is better to be prepared and not have an opportunity than to have an opportunity and not be prepared."

2. Don't stop learning.

Practice "Kaizen" a Japanese term for continuous improvement. Doing small improvements daily is the key to long-term success in life and in business.

Bunny Pages became who he is today through reading. Some of the books that changed his life are the following:

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How to Upgrade to IMG's New Preferred Membership Online

Good news to IMG members and partners!

Just recently, International Marketing Group has upgraded it's membership into IMG preferred membership with added benefits! On top of the top 10 membership benefits, here are some added perks and privileges exclusive for IMG members. 

The New IMG Preferred Membership

Below is an email sent from IMG's newsletter:

To our dear IMG members and partners:

Since the launch of our new IMG Preferred Membership, many of our members who have availed of this membership have been enjoying a new world of exclusive perks, exclusive discounts and exclusive benefits.

In connection with this, we would like to inform you that, starting Wednesday, March 1, 2017 (12:00AM, Manila Time), all new IMG membership applications will already be Preferred. As such, the new membership fee of P4,500.00 will already take effect for Philippine code and for International membership,the new rates that will apply to your respective country will soon be available in our ejoin site. Likewise, the new fee of P1,500.00 will apply to all Accreditation Renewals (all codes) and P700.00 for all Membership Upgrade (all codes).

Besides our Top 10 benefits, our IMG Preferred Membership initially offers these additional privileges in partnership with the following providers: 

1. Fidelity Mutual Life

Fidelity Life is a mutual benefit association exclusively created for the IMG Preferred Members. It provides IMG Preferred members P50,000.00 life insurance with free memorial concierge service through Everest. As an additional benefit, the IMG management has successfully negotiated the waiver of membership fee that is usually required from all Mutual Benefit Association members, for all new IMG Preferred Members until further advise...

2. Everest Memorial Services 

Everest Memorial is a 24/7 FREE concierge service for IMG Preferred Members and their immediate families. Our trained Family Assistance Officers will help members in organizing personalized funeral plans when they need it. During the very difficult time, our preferred members and or their family members need not look for the best-priced suppliers; nor coordinate set-up and deliveries of funeral services. Members will just focus on giving the perfect send-off to their loved one and Everest will do the rest.  Everest is prepared to provide the convenience and peace of mind when you need it most... 

3. Ozone International 

Ozone Therapy has been popular with people from all age categories: from the younger generation who uses ozone therapy as a disease-preventing measure, to senior citizens who want to maintain an active lifestyle, and even to patients who use Ozone Therapy to complement their prescribed medical treatment. This medical breakthrough is now available to all IMG Preferred Members at a special discounted rate of P5,000/session (P1,000 discount) or P50,000/program (P10,000 discount).

Please check your emails to read full email newsletter from IMG. 

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Vlog: International Marketing Group (IMG) Singapore Convention 2017

Last February 5, 2017, IMG held the Convention of Campaigners in Max Pavilion Singapore EXPO. It was a blast attended by thousands of IMG members all over the world gathering for one noble campaign: The Global Campaign for Financial Literacy - 1 Million Financially Educated Filipino Families by the Year 2020!

IMG Convention of Campaigners 2017 (source: IMG official)

Check out this Vlog from one of our IMG campaigners and experience the look and feel of being part of IMG's convention.  

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Work from home ideas: 10 ways to make money online in the Philippines

Not enough savings? Buried in debt? Living paycheck to paycheck? 

Sometimes, managing (especially reducing) our expenses isn't enough. You don't want to get sick because you cut eating meals into twice a day instead of thrice. That's going to be an additional financial burden.

Do you want to work from home?

The solution therefore is to earn additional sources of income. And now because of technology, people can actually make (additional) money online now in the comforts of their homes. 

Here are 10 ideas how to work from home for Filipinos and start making money online:

1. Freelance work or online jobs

Because of technology, a lot of jobs are now being outsourced all over the world. Thus, online jobs are now available. 

Luckily, Filipinos are known to be skillful, full of talent and hardworking. Earning few dollars is already a big thing here in the Philippines.  

Thus, a lot of Filipinos today are doing virtual assistant jobs. A lot are doing it as a part-time income online but some already made it a full-time job. 

Just imaging working at the comforts of your home. No more heavy traffic and you own your time. 

However, freelance work and online jobs may not be easy. It requires skills, dedication and constant learning but is truly doable. 

Here are some skills and services that are perfect if you want to get a freelance work online: 

- Graphic Design

- Android/IOS Application developer

- Content Writing

- Virtual Assistant

- Technical support/Customer Service

- Social Media Marketing

- Email Marketing 

- Online Video editor

- Logo Design

- Data Entry and Online Typing Jobs

- Search Engine Optimization Services (SEO)

- Internet Research

- and many more..

Famous sites you can go to:

International freelance websites:

- Upwork (www.upwork.com)

- Fiverr (www.fiverr.com)

- Freelancer (www.freelancer.com)

Filipino Freelance websites:

- VirtualStaffFinder (www.virtualstafffinder.com)

- MyOutDesk (www.myoutdesk.com.ph)

- OnlineJobs.ph

2. Sell stuffs online and/or build eCommerce website

You can sell physical items online like clothes, gadgets, even cars or basically anything. By using media like Facebook or Instagram, you can create your own business page where people can inquire, ask quotations and schedule for meet up. 

Transactions are usually done by meeting up or through delivery. However, a word of caution as scams are also evident online, so its best to be careful especially when payments are done online. 

Another way is through building an eCommerce website. Where you can set up an online store, have a secure payment process (usually through PayPal) and have an effective delivery system. 

3. Blogging

Blogging was once done as a hobby, but now can be a lucrative source of income online. A blog is basically a website where you can write anything you want. Usually informative, educational, entertaining or inspiring. 

You can be a food blogger, travel blogger or even a financial blogger. Then by building significant number of readers, visitors and traffic to your blog, you can then monetize it by adding relevant advertisements. 

Online advertising works the same with physical advertising. Have you seen those big banners with "Ads space for rent?" A company can rent a space in your building and place an ad banner. Same thing with online advertising, an advertiser will rent a "digital space" in your blog. 

Make money online as a blogger

However, just like physical advertisements where a good location is a big factor (where a lot of people can see the ad), your number of online visitors called traffic, determines how well you will earn as a blogger.

That's why choosing the right niche (specific blog topic) is also very important if you want to be a blogger and earn through advertisements. 

Good niches that can potentially receive good traffic are:

- news

- showbiz

- technology (especially gadgets)

- food and lifestyle

- travel

- relationships, family and marriage

- and even finance 

Turn your passion into profit, create a blog that you love to write about, work from home and make a decent money online! 

4. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is basically promoting other people's products online. Unlike an e-commerce website where you need to sell your own physical products online, by being an affiliate you just promote somebody else's products and receive a commission when someone buys from your promotion. 

An example would be by being an affiliate of Amazon or an affiliate of Lazada here in the Philippines. You just apply as an affiliate, fill-up some forms and upon approval, you will receive a unique code called an affiliate link. 

This affiliate link will be coded specifically to you. Meaning, when one clicks your affiliate link leading to a certain product and that person buys you will receive commission in return. It works like a referral system. 

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Ten Secrets of the NEW Rich

When we hear the word "Rich" what normally comes to our minds are people who are financially abundant. 

Yes, that might be the case, but in Kevin Donaldson's "Ten Secrets of the New Rich" book, he shares that not only we be rich financially, but in all aspects of life.

He also shares that majority of millionaires are entrepreneurs and how we can be entrepreneurs too without much risks and much capital. 

Also called as the "safest way" in becoming an entrepreneur.

The secrets of the new rich

Today, let's watch this 9-minute video below and learn the ten secrets of the "NEW" rich and how we can be too.

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How to find, discern and discover the perfect career for you

There's no one-size-fits-all, perfect career for everyone. Every individual is and will be attracted to a specific career.

The only challenge is that a lot of people are overworked and underpaid. Thus, they may love the job but hate the pay.

Others may love the pay, but they hate their jobs.

Worst, people hate the job, and totally hate the pay too! (what a disaster) 

It's quite challenging to find that perfect "love the job and love the pay."

So here are some meat to chew on, to hopefully help you find, discover or discern that perfect career for you.

How to find, discern or discover the perfect career for you

Incident #1:

My mother is involved in sales and has a huge sales organization in the cosmetics industry.

Back in high school when I was helping her out in what little way I can, I also help sell cosmetics (imagine a guy selling perfumes and underwires, what an experience!) 

Then, I got a not-so-good experience:

I followed-up my high school teacher a week before her due date and she told me, "Kasayo sad nimo maningil ui. Di ka kahibalo mamaligya da." (you ask for the payment too early. You don't know how to sell.)

After that, I told myself, I'll never be a salesman!

RESULT: I became a financial trainer selling financial products and services

Incident # 2:

When I was in college, I took BS-Chemical Engineering.

I never like repetitive tasks. So I told myself, "When I work, I don't want to be in the Quality Assurance Department." 

No offense but, being in the QA/QC Department, the tasks are almost the same everyday testing and monitoring certain quality standards. 

RESULT: You guessed it right, I landed a job as a Quality Assurance Supervisor after taking the board exam.

Incident # 3:

When the telephone was still very new, my brothers and sister have what we call before as, "call-mates." They spend hours on the telephone doing "telebabad" (long talks over the phone) 

I was the only one who doesn't have a call-mate. (If I remembered it right. Hehe) 

So I never really was comfortable talking to people over the phone. I feel like we are talking so close (ear-to-ear)! Wew, what a terrible thing to imagine. 

So when I became a full-time financial trainer after quitting my job as a quality assurance supervisor, I hated contacting prospects over the phone! 

RESULT: I have no choice but to contact prospects over the phone. 

Now connecting all the dots, I realized that I was too focused on the things that I never wanted. 

And I don't know if you believe the law of attraction or not, but truly - "What you focus on expands." 

And during these times of quarter life crisis (which I believe everyone undergoes) I made a decision to focus on a career that I wanted. 

As IMG coach, Xuan Nguyen said: 

"Find something to believe in and put your life to fight for it!" 

So I made a blueprint (outline) of all the possible careers out there:
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Wealth Bootcamp: from Zero to Hero

We just concluded an awesome event last weekend, Nov. 6, 2016 at Harold's Hotel in Cebu:

Wealth Bootcamp: from Zero to Hero

as organized by ProsperPinoy + the admins of Life at IMG, in partnership with CERTA, Inc. - Family Estate Planning and Investment Advisory. 

While it was the people's champ - Manny Pacquiao's fight with Jessie Vargas, around 100 attendees still dedicated themselves in learning more about business and personal finance. 

It was a comprehensive program which covered 3 areas which are believed to be an essential factor to thrive and maximize the financial potential and opportunities in the 21st century.

1. Business & Entrepreneurship (Modern and Online Business, Art of Selling)

2. Stock Market & Mutual Funds (Types of Investments that will work for you)

3. Financial Education (Increase Cash Flow, Debt Management, Understanding Insurance, Retirement Planning)

Here's a peek at the topics that were discussed in the event: 

1. Investing in yourself

Investing in yourself

The event started with Serge Bargayo, RFP, CSS of CERTA. The topic revolved around investing in yourself which is key to increasing your value. 

While people may acquire a lot of different investments and assets. The best asset that appreciates over time is yourself. It was the perfect start of the event as it is very important to remind people why we invest in attending seminars and lectures. 

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Want to achieve financial freedom? Here are 15+ sources of passive income

One of my favorite financial mentors is Mr. T Harv Eker. He is the best-selling author of the Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. 

One of my favorite topics was when he discussed about winning the money game. 

To win the money game is to achieve Financial Freedom. He defined it as "living the lifestyle you desire without having to work or rely on somebody else for money."

In short, having enough passive income!

With enough passive income you can be financially free

In my Cash Flow Upgrade ebook (click here to download for free), I mentioned that the ideal scenario is that our cash inflow should be greater than our cash outflow or in short:

Living below your means: Income > Expenses

However, if we want to be financially free, our passive income should be greater than our expenses, thus:

Financial freedom: Passive income > Expenses

The question now is, are we building a source of passive income?

To give us an idea, here are the two major the sources of passive income: 

1. Financial Instruments - money working for you.

2. Passive Business Income - passive business working for you.

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D.I.G. - The Key to Achieve your Dream Lifestyle

I just completed an e-course on personal development and online entrepreneurship. And in every learning opportunity, I always remember and apply the best part that struck me the most. 

It was about visualization and achieving your dream lifestyle. 

Before I share what I learnt, I would like to ask you some few questions and I'll try to emulate as much as possible the way the trainer did the visualization exercise. 

time and financial freedom with family

Let's start: 

How do you see yourself three to five years from now? 

Can you see yourself having enough savings and investments? How much are you earning by then? 

Can you see yourself inside your dream house? How big is it? How many rooms? 

How does your dream car look like? Can you see yourself riding your dream car? 

Where do you want to take your family for a vacation? Imagine yourself very happy spending quality time with your family. 

How does your dream lifestyle look like? 

Pause. Internalize the questions and start visualizing. Get lost in your imagination if needed. After that let's continue..

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Three reasons why having a job should be temporary

Wealth file #11: 
Rich people choose to get paid based on results.
Poor people choose to get paid based on time. 

From the Secrets of the Millionaire Mind of T Harv Eker, the 11th wealth file we need to have is to choose to get paid based on results. 

Every time I conduct a talk and ask the audience:

"Who among you here are under-worked and overpaid?" Everybody seems to laugh!

but when I ask, "How about overworked and underpaid?"  All hands went up. 

You see, a lot of us, are not paid with what we are worth for. Why? Because as Robert Kiyosaki would say, we are all been programmed to "Go to school, have good grades and go find a secure and stable job." We are programmed to choose getting paid based on time. 

Getting paid based on time is exchanging your valuable time for money. Regardless of the work, you are paid. Even how busy you are, or even if you are sleeping inside the laboratory, you are still paid as long as you punch in the bundy clock. This is normally called as a J.O.B. (Journey of the Broke)

Having a job should be temporary

I am not saying that jobs are not good. In fact, it is one of the reasons why our economy is booming. However, jobs should not be the end result. 

Here are three reasons why having a job should be temporary: 

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Dominating the financial industry through financial literacy

International Marketing Group just concluded an awesome event last weekend: IMG's Convention of Champions 2016 - DOMINATE. It was held in SMX - Mall of Asia last Sept. 10 - 11, 2016. 

The theme of the event was "Dominate." Dominating the financial industry in the Philippines through Financial Literacy. We want to achieve a humble 1 million financially educated Filipino families by the year 2020. It was the biggest event so far with almost 8,000 financial advocates gathering with one common goal. 

International Marketing Group Convention of Champions 2016: Dominate (photo credits: Jon Siu)

As in every annual convention, we celebrated it first with a Gala Night. A night filled with food (eat-all-you-can buffet), entertainment and awarding. 

Artists were present to celebrate with us: Mr. Ariel Rivera, Ms. Morisette Amon and Mr. Dennis Trillo. Mrs. Korina Sanchez-Roxas was also there as part in the awarding ceremony. 

It was a fun night but the real juice was in the Sunday event - the convention proper. It was a whole day training event featuring IMG's millionaire mentors. 

Let's take a peek at IMG's mentors and the wisdom they shared during the IMG convention of champions - DOMINATE. 

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How to get more money?

Hi! Teof here, admin of Life at IMG. You can also call me Tiyo Pilo. Just last weekend (Aug 19 to 21) I visited my IMG members in Makati. It was a promise when one of them gets promoted to a trainer position, I will visit them. And fortunately enough, one of them did get promoted. 

The beauty of the IMG career is that wherever you are in the world, as long as you are interested to learn about finance, IMG can help you. I am based in Cebu, and my team is based in Makati. I have a team here in Cebu and do have a few IMG members in CDO, Bohol, Leyte, and even in Singapore. 

What I love about my experience visiting my IMG members in Makati is that I was able to observe how the IMG financial center works and to my expectation, they operate the same way as Cebu IMG financial center. Talk about having a great system! It means, as long as you are an IMG member, going to any IMG financial center like CDO, Davao, Dubai, Hongkong, or Singapore - you get the same level of experience. 

International Marketing Group office in King's Court Bldg, Makati. 

But what I love the most is finally meeting my team in Makati for the very first time. We did a lot of coaching and did their overdue promotion recognition. 

IMG Makati Team

However, what struck me the most was after the recognition, some IMG members in Makati approached me and said, "can we take a picture of you? I am a FAN of your video courses!"

Wooooah! So this is how it feels like to be a celebrity? Haha kidding aside, it was an amazing feeling of being able to help people by giving value through my video courses with or without knowing who learns from it. 

It was just very timely because I have been reading Bro Bo's ebook: "How to Turn Thoughts into Things" and I was able to experience and thus conclude how you get more money. Here it is: 

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Do you deserve to be wealthy?

Wealth file #3: 

Rich people are committed to being rich.

Poor people want to be rich.

Wealth file #4:

Rich people think big.

Poor people think small.

These two wealth files are somewhat related. They both meant that the difference between a person with rich mindset and a person with poor mindset is the level of belief to themselves and deservingness.

A person with rich mindset totally believes in himself, regardless of his current situation, that sooner or later he will be successful. This total belief gives him the commitment to become wealthy no matter what. 

The poor person however, lacks belief in himself that he just "wants" to become wealthy. Everyone wants to become wealthy, BUT not all are committed to become one. 

As I have done in most of my group training, when I ask the audience, "who among you here can see themselves, sooner or later, that they are holding in their hands, 1 Million Pesos cold cash!?" 

Do you know what? Most people don't see it. Why? It boils down to the level of belief to themselves and their feeling of deservingness. 

Do you deserve to be wealthy?

The rich person would definitely raise his hand with no reservation. The poor mindset person would have 2nd thoughts of raising his hand because he thinks in his mind that it is impossible for him to do that. 

"Having a million would be good. I want that. But I don't think I can do that." 

and by the law of attraction: "your wish is my command." 

The 4th wealth file is related to the 3rd one. Because the rich person sees himself and is committed to becoming wealthy, he then thinks BIG. Massive goals. Huge goals. Because not only he believes in himself but also feels he deserves the best things in life by being successful. 

Again, we settle for the things we think we deserve. The poor mindset only acts according to what he thinks he deserves: small, mediocre, just enough. 

You see, whatever tools we have, skills we have, opportunities that come to us, if we don't believe in ourselves and if we feel not worthy of achieving success, then no matter what, we will never become wealthy. 

Wealth or becoming rich starts in the mind. And if you might be wondering why we keep on talking about becoming rich? It's because we all deserve to become one. 

The ultimate purpose of wealth is to help others. And if you are a good person, becoming wealthy will surely help a lot of people. 

Remember: Broke is the state of your bank account. But poor is the state of your mind. 

Be part of like-minded people. Experience a life of FINANCE, BUSINESS and INVESTMENTS? Experience #LifeatIMG. Be a member now! (Click here)

Want FINANCE, BUSINESS and INVESTMENT updates? Make sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter and/or follow our social media accounts.  

Access your IMG online account

Are you a member of IMG already? Did you know you can access a member's online account? 

In this account you will receive news, your tools, materials and monitoring. Basically it serves as your virtual office. Thus regardless wherever you are in the world, you have access to these materials. 

Log-in to your IMG online account

Let's take a look in this video what's inside IMG members' online account and how to access this account: 

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