It's a Holly Jolly Christmas

Hello there! The holiday season has kept me too busy to write anything. My sibs and I’s new business venture has made me all tied up this last quarter of the year because we have to learn everything ourselves from inventory to marketing which was quite overwhelming for all of us not to mention the holiday rush. My sissy and I decided to decorate our house for Christmas quite late this year which was sometime around last month. Last year, we decked the halls as early as October if I’m not mistaken.

This year, we decided to name our Christmas theme ‘Winter Wonderland’ which consists of only four simple (but festive) hues: Silver, White, Teal & Blue as it was quite easy to put together and 'simple' often goes a long way. Everything was pretty much Pinterest inspired as usual since we’re on a budget because we still have to buy presents and all. We decided to DIY pretty much everything by using most of our Christmas ornaments from last year and we just bought white and blue spray paints, throw pillow cases, few yards of white faux fur, blue Christmas lights and last but not least, additional blue shimmery ornaments for touch-ups instead of turning into a hoarder and keep on buying new ornaments every year right? Anyways, I’ll be adding links here in case you want to decorate your house next year on a budget or is vying for the blue, silver and white theme as well. I know the holiday season only happens once a year but it’s still best to make it count and make it worth remembering.

Last year our theme was gold, red and green with a little rustic and shabby chic feel so this year we were inspired by the winter season which does not happen in a tropical country like ours so why not travail to the north pole or east coast this time eh? The theme also extended to our dining hall which has always been the focal point since that is where the Christmas and New Year’s Eve dinner will be held of course. Surprisingly, we were able to pull it off and we're happy with the outcome even if one of my sibs threw in quite a few off colored placemat pieces which almost ruined the whole ensemble lol. Good thing the DIY-ed blue ribbon and silver and blue twigs I cut off from one of the tree ornaments saved the day.

Anyhow, it still turned out to be one of my favorite Christmas dinners even if it’s just the three of us because it’s also my twin sister and I’s first Christmas as vegans! Our other sib isn’t vegan so our Noche Buena menu comprised of both vegan and non-vegan dishes. My twin sister came up with the menu whilst I did the cooking and last minute touch ups for the table setting then our other sissy shopped for the Christmas toppers/ornaments. We did our ingredients shopping separately since one of us three isn’t vegan yet although we’ve been inoculating her for a while now hehe. And oh, we also bought a kilo of faux meat from the vegetarian center (yes it’s the only place that sells them here otherwise online) because we have to at least have one viand and the rest were pasta, graham float, etc. We used the faux meat for the Afritada, coconut cream mixed with confectioner’s sugar as a cream replacement for the graham float and of course canned fruit cocktail. There are actually tons of vegan holiday recipes you could come up with and it’s not true they’re all pricey because you always have the liberty to pick the not so costly ones as there’s always a vegan counterpart for everything, you just have to research online or ask you’re vegan friends.

Even if t' was just the three of us for Noche Buena, my sibs and I still decided to push through with our little Kris Kringle thingy and waited for 12MN to open our presents for each other just for kicks since we do it every year anyway. We had our Christmas dinner as early as 7PM and watched tons of Christmas movies to stay awake until midnight. We had our wish lists written on a piece of paper so that our 'Secret Santas' won't have a hard time. My twin sister gifted me an emoji pillow whilst our elder sister gave me a cute Unicorn notebook which would be oh so useful for someone like me who often jots things down. Nevertheless t' was still a holly jolly Christmas! 

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The Truth About Franchising

Every year more and more Filipinos are quitting their 9 to 5 jobs to either work from home or venture into business in order to spend more quality time with their families, travel and have the liberty to work at their own time and pace. I quit working for BPO companies three years ago to work from home and completely disassociate myself from the ‘matrix’ where the rest of the workforce is currently stuck because of the strong resolve to fend for themselves and their families. I don’t know any other jobs after I quit the only industry I was stuck for over a decade yet I never felt any remorse but freedom and jubilance after I left the BPO industry. It’s like an ache in my chest I’ve been wanting to free myself from for many years. Work is a drag and I do not intend to come back to the same industry I’ve endured working for many years because of all the stress and strife I’ve been through with companies who only made themselves bigger and richer not to mention the hazards of working in graveyard shifts, not worth it, totally not worth it.

Going back, working from home did not really work out for me because I was accustomed to working in a fast paced environment and my heart wasn’t into it so my siblings and I decided to join forces and invest in a small time business to keep the money flowing and growing and so we thought about franchising. If you’re reading this and is looking to put up a business or invest your hard earned money into something profitable then better read on and learn from my experience. My family is inclined in the lodging business, therefore, venturing into the food business is completely new to us. We have zero experience and knowledge other than the information we found/researched online which all seemed encouraging and as easy as 1,2,3.  We thought since we have zero experience in the food business, why not tie up with a company or better yet franchise so we don’t have to worry about everything, all we have to do is invest and learn about the ins and outs of the business. 

Food carts sprout like mushrooms every year, some are small whilst some are associated with big-time networking companies which we regret went with hoping that big companies will take care of us all the way through. Mind you, we did NOT just pick a franchise company out of thin air.  We did our research for months and inquiries and my sister and I even put our travel plans this year to a halt to really focus on this new business venture of ours and after thorough research and online inquiries, we finally picked a franchise company we want to be in partnership with. I personally conversed with one of their marketing specialists/agents to inquire and even scheduled a meeting in haste because we were really eager. We stumbled upon I AM WORLDWIDE (IAMWW) on Facebook and found they have a satellite office where my siblings and I are based. IAMWW is the same company which owns a number of franchise/food carts such as Mang Siomai, Hong Kong Fried Noodles, Dumpling King just to name a few so imagine how squeamish we were to own one of their food carts because they already have a name established as far as franchising is concerned and we’re scared as hell to come across bogus franchise companies because of the capital at stake.  So, going back, we met up with one of their marketing agents, discussed the products, crew training, market, the return of investment and stuff and we were truly inoculated because of all the ‘good stuff.’ We were advised that some of their franchisees earn as much as 20-30k per month the least and that they will pretty much take care of everything because they already have a product supplier, crew training and that someone will help in terms of finding a location for your business although it’s not inclusive. We were convinced at first of course because everything sounded really convenient on our part, the investor. However, things did not turn out the way we expected after we already made our payment as we came across all unimaginable difficulties we did not anticipate not to mention much bigger incidental expenses. 

The franchise cost less than P100k as it’s bundled with Health and Wellness products (overpriced coffee, slimming juice, etc.) however the biggest expenses will go towards the exclusions such as business permits (which you have to process yourself), rental space, materials for the cart such as paper cups, trays, initial frozen stocks, food picks, etc. We regret we did not go with ‘better companies’ who will already provide you with pretty much everything from materials, stocks, location down to manpower because to sum up how much we spent, it pretty much cost the same as paying for bigger franchise companies and trust me, it will balloon. My siblings and I endured all the stress scouting for business space and we felt totally alone right after we paid for our franchise in full not that we’re not aware of the all the exclusions because we do. We just felt like we were ditched like hot potatoes after we paid for it in full (take note, we paid in full and not on a deferred basis) because we always had to follow up everything from the contract down to the exact release date of the actual food cart. It was really dealt with poorly because the marketing person we transacted with, after getting her commission (yeah, it’s networking after all) barely contacted us hadn’t we asked for updates first. We felt disregarded and neglected for a first-time franchisee. We’ve been misinformed in terms of the food cart release date which we only learned days before it’s actual release/delivery date. We endured all the ordeal and sent countless emails to their corporate headquarters which I doubt franchisees are expected to do as there should be a Liaison Officer or someone to mediate between the corporate office and not us, the investors ourselves. This is when we regret why we invested with IAMWW in the first place, we should’ve gone with bigger franchise companies and saved us all the hassles and stress dealing with incompetent people who only care about their commissions and were always late during business meetings.

My advise, if you’re serious about this whole franchising thing, go for bigger companies wherein all you have to do is invest or better yet NOT franchise at all like most entrepreneurs are saying nowadays, come up with an original business, pay for a patent and go for it if you have enough capital, to begin with anyways and save yourself from all the dramas of dealing with franchise companies.  And oh, do not expect you will earn as much, to begin with as promised and be ready to fail because that’s how you will learn. And most importantly, never give up and innovate on your own to keep your business afloat. Just a reminder, avoid dealing with networking companies because their main concern is to make their clout bigger and increase their downlines, they don’t have genuine concern about your welfare but their own, it’s all about money baby! If you have good management skills, do not franchise. I do not intend to change anyone’s mind, my point is to share my experience and this is reality, do not be conned by franchise companies and their flowering marketing agents’ pitch because, in the long run, it’s still YOU, the investor who will decide.