100% Kelly

We really need to have our own business nowadays. It’s true that a stable job will get you almost anything you want and need in life but the income potential of a business whether big or small is something else entirely. My husband and I have been thinking this through and we might start with a small business for sale, or a franchise. We’ll have to raise enough cash though for the more renowned products as they are usually priced at a premium. Hopefully we can do this in between working our full time jobs, raising our boy and saving for our dream home.

I am very fortunate to be working in our family-owned company for almost a decade now (To tell you the truth, I really didn’t want to join when my dad first asked, but then he gave the talk and so the rest was history). The business is running smoothly, thanks to my father’s very capable hands and a great management team. In spite of being in the family business, I’ve been thinking of setting up a business that leans towards the beauty industry. On top of head, I’m thinking of a small-scale spa or nail salon since I love going to both Honestly though, I don’t have much capital to invest on it so it’s either I secure a few Business Loans or acquire the mom as a partner and have them fund the business I guess the better choice is obvious .

Some of you have already read my earlier post about the surprise fire drill that was held two weeks ago in our community. The fire drill really got me thinking about the possessions we “left behind” in our attempt to get to safety. What if it were real? What if our place really burned down? Granted we can stay at our parents’ house but what of our belongings both sentimental and purely material? This really got me to appreciate our insurance even more. Gats and I already discussed this before and we firmly agreed to get one for our condo, mainly because we can never be too sure about what our neighbors were doing. Some may not be as diligent as us with regards to safety, so that puts us in danger as well. In my work as Admin Head of our company I get to clear all the types of insurance (Health, Vehicle, and Commercial Insurance) that we have. When I think about how much we might lose versus how much premiums we pay for each insurance, doing the math, getting all these insurance does make it worth it. It affirms even more our growing belief that some things, like a home and big investments, are really worth protecting.

Identity theft is not a big thing here in the Philippines.  Sure, we worry about lost credit cards and driver’s license during a stolen bag or wallet, but that’s the worst thing we can think of.  In the US, however, a stolen credit card, driver’s licenses or social security card is just the beginning of their problems.  A site I visited recently called LifeLock reviews the different instances of identify theft and guarantees protection from each.  This Life Lock Review is very straight forward and gives an idea, to even us Filipinos, on what’s happening out there.  We may not yet have the benefit of guarantors with the level of protection detailed in the LifeLock Review but we can already get an idea of what to look out for and prepare ourselves better to prevent the loss of our good name from such a trivial thing as a stolen wallet.

My husband and I have seriously considered starting our own business. The dilemma, however, is choosing between getting a franchise or creating a new business, altogether. There are pros and cons for both, which we’ve weighed heavily and considered thoroughly. After juggling ideas between the type of products (food, clothing, service, etc.) and the level of investment (kiosk, stall, or space). We’ve earnestly thought of trying our luck at franchising because of ease of start-up (faster) and the time we can allot in monitoring and operating the business.

Any thoughts on this?