The iron will of R.udy Oblimar.

(This is a self write-up from the ACE Alumni)

I was born to a very poor family.  Accepting the gospel, I left family to serve an honorable mission and experience comforts in life which I have never tasted before, things like a foam mattress, a study table, decent meals and an apartment.  Liking those basic amenities, this led me to dream of the kind of life I wanted to pursue after my missionary service was done.

Filled with that vision, I went home with much hope. No sooner to realize that my situation when I came home was drastically worst compared to that when I left for my mission.  Instead of enjoying that regular bed that I used to have, I found myself sleeping on our dining table every day. 

Those dreams I had just suffered a reality check.

In the year 1983 (right after my mission), I started my Selling Career for Electrolux Philippines. I was an Aqua Guard Water Purifier Specialist and did well in this path but still had a hard time making ends meet. Since I was an undergraduate, my wife and I thought that finishing college would provide us with better earning opportunities and so I strived to finish my studies while raising two kids. My bachelors degree was completed at the age of 37, which by that time I also enable my wife to finish her studies and so she graduated at the age of 30.

We thought our college degrees were the solution out of poverty but the scarcity of employment again made us suffer further economic distress.

In 2001, I learned about the Academy for Creating Enterprise and immediately took action steps to qualify for their offered training. The curriculum taught in that 8 week stay-in program brought a deep conviction and passion in my heart.  The lessons that were discussed from a book called the E-myth were both sound and provided a road map to which I could initiate my plans to be in business for myself.

Two years prior to attending the ACE program and having been a top notch water purifier salesman of then Electrolux Philippines. (# 2 Nationwide – Recognized at Bulletin Today, March 1988). I started to invent my own water purifier and filter designs.  These water purification models were sold by me through direct selling.  But regretfully, the profits from the sale of my invented appliance were just a hand to mouth existence.

My training at the Academy helped me conceptualize a business plan intended to bring into the market my own brand of water purification system. And after completing my training with the 8^th batch, I went to venture out on my own as an Entrepreneur.

Determined to find funding for my business plan, I approached government agencies and several private entities but to no avail. I was simply turned down because I did not have a track record that my appliance would sell; others needed collateral for a loan, among others.

Discouraged with my initial attempt to find funding for my idea, I ended up teaching business classes in a college, using my BYU-Hawaii certificate credential from ACE and the handbook for my service ticket which contained the ACE curriculum. Hearing about my unique way of instruction, I received a verbal commendation from the School President. I was happy because I was the talk of the school and of the students.

Having the highest evaluation among college instructor was gratifying and brought self-fulfillment. This proved to be consolation to my initial attempts to start my own business.

In October of 2005, for some reason my home was demolished. This was a very life-turning event since we had to live under a bamboo tree for two months. Together with our 8 month old baby, my family temporarily sought shelter at the side of a common toilet adjacent to a pig cage. The smell was indescribable. This went on until a kind member of the Church offered a place for us to stay, at least temporarily.

Even at the midst of hardship and crisis of life, all I can say is that I completely fell down and was striving to get up! Determined to fight poverty and calling upon all my courage, I counseled with my family that the only solution we had available to us was to sell my water purification designs ONLINE. This was a tough decision to make since we were boarding for free at a basement, had very meager resources but needed to have Internet Connection in that little home. 

With the moral support of my family, the Priesthood Service of a Bishop’s Counselor (Licinio Awa)  and the Fast Offering Assistance from the church leaders, I launched my business in the midst of these overwhelming adversities.

Upon working in my business, much of my time was spent in Internet Marketing Sites like Ebay and other sites, offering and selling my centralized filtration system as well as posting my ACE-mentored Business Plan for potential investors.

After several weeks of doing this, I finally met my first client! It was a big hospital located in Butuan City (7 hours from where I was located) called The MJ Santos Hospital. My filtration system and business plan was seen by a foreign investor which paved the way for the acceptance of my products and services.

In June of 2007, my eldest child collected our first check payment worth 90,000.00 Philippines Pesos (approx. US$ 2,000) from that initial deal. The deal was made in such a way that the client agreed to pay 50% down payment for the parts and services I would give.  And the good news was that the 50% given as down payment was more than enough to cover the total project cost and even had a little extra profit attached to it.  

The first thing I did with the profits of that initial deal was grab some groceries for my family. We bought food for the first time in our lives without worrying that we would run out of money.

Today, my family and I no longer live under the scale of poverty living. My family has now the basic conveniences of life- a home, a vehicle etc.  The business I built (www.bgwaterfilter.com) makes a weekly income that helps me take care of my family’s needs. My Industrial and Household filter is sold to clients all over the Philippines.

My company has also managed to fulfill our social responsibility. My Pag-ibig sa Tubig Inc. (translated “Love for Water Inc.”), has rendered Donations to the Rotary Club Of Pagsanjan and to Oro Habitat to provide water access to poor communities. 

Business topics & the Rules of Thumb

A.C.E.Rules of Thumb are a series of practical business principles that are both timeless and worthy to remember. Some of them are listed here. When I finished the 2 month course in the year 2000, we were given a shirt which looked like this:

Nifty, isn't it?

Now we are poised to run our local chapter in Cagayan de Oro City where I am based right now. As we held our first official meeting last April 13, with a coincidental 13 members in attendance, there was a clamor to review certain business topics on a regular basis.

So aside, from the regular monthly meeting set every 3rd Friday of the month, there was a consensus to run a weekly intensive mini business course for at least 6-8 weeks. Everyone voted to have such a course, a sort of review of the financial principles that were taught by both the regular 2 month course and the OTP format.

It was quite a good thing that James Fantone, the Director has cascaded a plan to provide the chapters with ready materials to deal with these kind of training needs. When these materials are available, our lives will be much easier since it will include multi-media videos and other innovations.

Since the materials are still being produced, I will have to refer to my old notes, experiences and do chalkboard classroom instruction for the participants. The draft of module 1 is almost complete in my notes but I am still searching for activities and games that can teach these business principles faster. If you have keen ideas on what to include in this outline, then please feel free to email me.

I feel for the participants, they are all willing and eager to learn. This training will be available to the local ACE Alumni Chapter in the Cagayan De Oro Chapter for all Saturdays starting May 12. Participants do not need to pay any fee except for the training materials (if they can be produced on time).

My Unforgettable 2 month stay

A.C.E. or the Ac.ademy for Creating Enterprise has been here in the Philippines for more than 10 years. Founded by Steve and Bette Gibson, the Academy has graduated many Filipino Returned Missionaries and has evolved into several models which have been started in different countries in the world.

The Academy has closed its 2 month stay-in program and evolved into servicing an On-site Training Program (OTP), where ACE Faculty go to Stakes and Wards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines and train interested members on the uniquely-designed curriculum.

I for myself, have been blessed by this school. I attended Batch number 5 of the 2 month stay-in program. When I discovered that something like the Academy was being put-up, I did not hesitate to fill out an application form and send it for processing. It was an answer to my prayers and a solution to my budding desire to become an Entrepreneur.

After a couple of weeks from finishing my Occupational Therapy degree, I started attending ACE. One of the first lessons that were taught when we arrived was the concept of "Taking a Position", it emphasized that each of us is a unique person and is entitled to express our opinions in all issues.

That first lesson, somehow was unique in its message since Filipinos have a tendency to be agreeable, even if deep inside they do not feel the same way as the other person. This lesson helped me become more motivated to do my best while I was there, learning and being taught the precepts of financial & temporal salvation.

In lieu of the 2 year full-time service I willingly gave to the Church when I turned 20 years old, my time at the Academy was very precious and I had a lot of catching up to do in terms of temporal matters, to somehow make up for the 2 years I was gone preaching the gospel.

I remember taking a lot of notes (which I still have with me until now), reading the prescribed books way before entering the school, quizzing the Entrepreneur speakers, participating in a meaningful way in all of the activities.

A reflection paper was required on one of the books entitled the E-myth, written by Michael Gerber. I made sure I wrote down my thoughts earnestly and worked on that E-myth paper like crazy, while contemplating on the particular business that I needed to start afterwards.

One of the useful skills that I learned from ACE, was the adjunct lesson on learning MS Excel on a computer which has been the basis of my ability to analyze financial data using this program and to perform swift financial ratios for the businesses I run.

The lessons on financial statements was mind-boggling, I would have gladly skipped that part if I did not know better than what I know now.

For me, the case-study format that the Academy was using at that time was very interesting, entertaining, life-changing and filled with memorable lessons. I wish our local school system would consider adapting such a method, rather than filling time in schools with things that really do not matter in the grand scheme of things.

It was in the halls of the Academy that I got introduced to many financial authors like Robert Kiyosaki, Michael Gerber, Stephen Covey and many others. These authors and their books seem to have carried over my training to the next levels of education that I desperately needed in the different phases in my life as an Entrepreneur.

Recently, I learned that the books in that hall of the rented facility in Banilad, Cebu City were all owned by Steve Gibson, the founder of the Academy.

Time reminds me of the legacy brought by these "white men" and the other donors and benefactors of the Academy. A once-in a lifetime opportunity, which I am sure if the rest of the world knew of would probably in my opinion, be flat jealous.

If you are reading this article right now and have memoirs of your training, whether it was 2 months or 1 week, then I urge you to stop and look to the time-less principle of the Business Rules of Thumb.

I am sure wherever your are in the continuum of your Business and Financial Experience, you will realize that with a little more effort & perseverance in starting, building and growing your enterprise, success is just around the corner.

When you have it, in one form or another, be sure to give back.

Belsie Agustin: Persistence Pays OFF

Belsie always knew that being in business was the right way to go. His strong work ethic and character were shaped early in life where he worked his way through school, working at the various fast-food establishments in the country like Dunkin' Donuts. He also took time to become a soccer athlete which helped him with a scholarship throughout his College life.

His family are known Latter-day Saint community leaders, some of them among being lawyers and occupying different high positions in government. But Belsie knew he was to carve his own name and plough through a lot of weeds to become successful.

Finishing college with a Bachelors degree in Mass Communication and later signing on to the BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management), Belsie climbed up the ranks and has become a respected officer in the organization. Furthering his studies in law and in teaching has helped him advanced to become a senior officer.

"I knew I had to have some kind of income through employed earnings to be able to start a business", quipped Belsie with a smile.

His major break came when he found a mentor in the outdoor advertising business which became one of his earliest ventures. "I had to learn the ropes. I was fortunate to have learned from a good teacher". Their business boomed and they became a pioneer in the outdoor advertising industry in Zamboanga City.

Once they knew how to structure their operations and do the legal work for their leases, clients came in and they were in business. After several month of hyped sales and just growing through word of mouth, the revenue came in and they were very profitable.

Unfortunately, some unusual circumstances affected his relationship with his business partner and so he was forced to leave and set up his own. "I was very discouraged when that happened, I cried lots of tears when I realized that our business partnership could no longer exist because of certain financial matters".

That was the turning point for Belsie. Several months after losing his venture, he decided to form his own enterprise, structuring it carefully and calling it ALBEREI ADVERTISING. Because of the lessons he learned from his initial venture, Belsie is now able to avoid pitfalls in business and continue to expand his company to cater to many known brands in the market like PLDT, SUN CELLULAR, CEBU PACIFIC AIR, FILINVEST, BOBSON JEANS, and many others.

"My experiences as a full-time missionary for the LDS Church has greatly helped me in handling my clients". Though not an alumni of the Academy for Creating Enterprise, Belsie believes in financial education and is a wide reader of many business how-to books.

"Financial Knowledge is the key to expelling the fear within you and can help any person willing to go the extra mile to provide for the family and fulfill his Godly-mandate".

Belsie is currently serving as a Counselor in the Guiwan Ward of the Zamboanga Philippines Stake.

For more information about his company ALBEREI ADVERTISING, and for your outdoor advertising needs, please email alberei_advertising@yahoo.com

Marbellionaires!

It was a rare opportunity to speak to around 30+ students engaged in a satellite training program located in Marbel (a town found 2 hours away from General Santos City), conducted by the Academy for Creating Enterprise. These eager minds were very hungry for knowledge and after sticking to the 1 week course outline, they were now about to graduate.

I was lucky enough to be chosen to be a motivational speaker for them. What I said was not as important as what they were feeling towards their ability to practice what they learned and get out there to start businesses that have high value. In essence, I asked them point blank if they were going to be one of the frogs who jumped and learn how cold the water was, or are they going to be one of the frogs that remained on the tree and never changed the humidity.

After the ceremonies, I had another opportunity to chat to some of those students and to find out if they had indeed received a great paradigm shift. Most of them were very fired up in relating their respective business plans and the strategies that they were going to use to get their businesses up and running. One of the students that I have interviewed had an existing Mobile Phone stall in one of the more prominent portions of the town, and he was relating to me about creating a brand for his shop and focusing on improving customer service.

Learning for these students, I realized how we could all change our realities by adding new and vital information on a constant basis and how we could indeed change our temporal situation by exerting a little imagination in the field of business and investing.

Rich love their work and Stick to it

by: Stephen W. Gibson (repost from Academy for Creating Enterprise website)

Have you ever thought about getting rich? I guess everyone has at least thought about it. But what is the difference between those who think about it and those who do it? According to Napoleon Hill, author of “Think and Grow Rich,” thinking about riches is an important part of the formula for wealth accumulation.

But there is another school of thought suggesting that the more you think about it, the less your chances of becoming rich.

In one of my favorite books, “Getting rich Your Own Way”, author Srully Blotnick disagrees with Hill, citing his own 20-year study of 1,057 people. Eighty-three of his subjects became millionaires, but they appeared to have become rich almost accidentally. Meanwhile, those who were most obsessed by the idea of accumulating wealth never did. Blotnick found that among those who know how but said they didn’t want to put themselves through the perceived pain, or they didn’t want to sacrifice “just to have money.”

Others among those he studied felt a person only becomes wealthy by doing hard things one doesn’t normally want to do. So they worked constantly and frenetically, often at jobs they hated, in hopes that they would inevitably become rich. In fact, just the opposite happened.

The harder they worked at something they didn’t enjoy, the less likely they were to become wealthy. Meanwhile, those who worked day after day in their own business doing something they loved eventually did become rich, but it almost surprised them.

According to Blotnick’s study, the key to getting rich is working hard at something you really like. Blotnick also points out five characteristics shared by the millionaires in his study.

1.They were persistent. They found a field and stuck with it. Unlike their less financially successful counterparts, the future wealthy workers picked a field and, through good and bad times, plodded forward.
2.They were patient. Impatience keeps many from success because they are not willing to pay the price of long-suffering. Money was the reward to those who just kept struggling it out year after year, and being patient.
3.They did the petty as well as the nobler aspects of the job. They realized that there are pesos in the details.
4.While competition played a part in their success, they were not obsessed by it. They seem to compete more with themselves than their co-workers or people in the same business.
5.Outside investment activities consumed a minimum of their time and attention. More often than not, they made little or no money investing outside their own business.

Those of us who are in business for ourselves and who just go to work everyday in our ongoing struggling for financial independence might be closer to real wealth than we think.

**Building a business is 90% Emotions and 10% Technicalities. It is better to know less then act upon the knowledge, than knowing more without any form of action. It is BEST to know more and act more.

TO START OR NOT TO START

Below is a letter from 2 American volunteers that is heart warming and motivating to those who want to start a business but are still wrestling with your own fears and doubts. Whether you are a Mormon or not, it is worth reading.
From the website: www.creatingenterprise.com.

Dear Alumni,

Before we share our message with you, please allow us to introduce ourselves. We are Jeremi and Rebecca Brewer, Directors of The Academy for Creating Enterprise—Mexico. We are returned missionaries, alumni of BYU-Hawaii, and in our last year of PhDs at Texas A&M University—the second largest university in the United States. We are sharing with you knowledge that we have gained through personal experience in business and experiences of other people. We know that what we share will bless your lives as it has blessed ours and others in Mexico.

Our hope is to reach the heart of each one of you that reads this letter. Consider this letter to be addressed to each of you, personally. Pretend that this letter is a conversation that we are having in your house, your office, or somewhere private. We want you to know that we love you very much. We know that the Lord is mindful of you, your trials, your triumphs, and your families. We have felt the special Spirit of the Lord each day in the Philippines, and know that ACE has been a blessing in each of your lives. Please, take your time and read this letter carefully; it is directed to you individually. This letter has one main purpose: We want to encourage you to start your own enterprise if you have not done so already.

As you very well know, the primary purpose of creating an enterprise is for you to be able to break the bands of generational poverty, improve your temporal life, and teach yourself and your children a new way of behaving and thinking. However, old habits and customs are very hard to break. Traditions and cultures are also very difficult to change if you do not make a daily effort to adjust your way of living. So, we encourage you to start today doing something new. Remember, “If you always do what you have always done, then you will always have what you already have”.

If you have yet to start your own enterprise, we write to you to help you remember those things that you already know are true. You know that being an employee is usually not the way to have the financial freedom that you wish you could have. You know that working hard for someone else usually does not pay you a sufficient amount for your needs. You know that when you work for someone else they have more control over when you work, where you work, how long you work, and how much money you make. In other words, as an employee, your employer has more control over your time and money than you do.

Now, being an employee is not always bad. You may very well be thinking, “But, I just need to raise capital” or “I am only working as an employee so that I can learn how the industry works.” Those are wonderful thoughts and you should be taking daily notes of how the operations are run. If not, start now! Try to find out how business transactions are completed. How much they cost. See if the clients are satisfied with the business and if not, then try and see what they are not receiving from the company you work for—you may find a great niche. If you are working to learn and gain knowledge (capital), training (capital), and experience (capital) you must make sure that you document what you see, hear, and feel.

You graduated from ACE, what is stopping you now?

If you are an employee and thinking about starting your own business, what is stopping you? Are you afraid or nervous? Do you lack the confidence? Are you still looking for the secrets? If so, allow us to share with you our favorite word in the English language: “Do”. “Do” is our favorite word because it requires thought and action. Remember the Rule of Thumb, “Ready, Aim, Fire!”? Well, this is similar to that. Remember the words of the Lord, “Therefore be ye doers of the word”? Do you remember the truth that we are agents to act and not be acted upon? And, do you remember the scripture which challenges us to be anxiously engaged in a good cause? As you can see, the Lord yearns for us to improve our own lives. You must pray as though everything depended upon the Lord and work as though everything depended upon you!

We know that you may have not started a business already because you are afraid. You may have not started of a lack of capital. You may have not started because you you’re your employment. There are thousands of reasons why you may not have started a business. However, we promise you that if you will just “Do” something today, if you will just “Do” something every day, that you will find success. The Rules of Thumb teach us great principles. You have the magic bullet and the secret sauce. You have all the tools. If you lack confidence, the greatest secret of all is that confidence is only gained by “do”-ing. If you “do” something you will learn more and more. If you “do” business you will learn more quickly than if you are idle. Remember, thinking is not enough, you must think then do, then evaluate what you have done and then do more!

Allow us to remind you of those missionaries who came to the Philippines from different countries. You may have had companions from outside of the Philippines, you may have gone outside of the Philippines on your mission, or you may have had contact with people from outside of the Philippines. Can you remember those missionaries? Can you remember how well they spoke the language of the mission? Some of them were more Filipino than most Filipinos—they spoke the language so well. Others, however, were so afraid and nervous to make mistakes and fail that they spoke as little as possible. Do you think they were smarter, faster, or more prepared because they were from outside of the country? The answer is simply no!

Our professions are in language learning and teaching. We know that the more someone tries to learn the language by speaking it, the quicker they will become fluent in that language. Sure, the missionaries make mistakes while speaking the language, but the difference between one who learns the language well and the one that doesn’t has a lot to do with the amount of energy, attention, focus, and discipline they put into practicing the language. In other words, those that would “do” the language by speaking it each day learned better than those that didn’t.

The same principle applies in business: you will make hundreds of mistakes—not one single person on this earth has ever spoken their native language perfectly. In fact, we make mistakes with our own language every day. The same reality exists with people that “do” business—everyone makes mistakes.

President Monson once said, “Elders and Sisters, when learning your new languages you must remember that you will make one million mistakes—so, you better start now!” The same principles apply in business—you will make millions of mistakes, but you must learn from them. You must learn how to improve upon them. We promise you that if you will start to “do” something in business that you will begin to become more fluent in business. Your abilities will increase. Your confidence will increase. And, your bank accounts will also increase! But, if you stay quiet, too nervous to start or try, then you will be like the missionary that never opened his mouth. You will never learn and you will miss out on so many opportunities—in this case, you will miss out on the opportunity to create a better life for yourself and your family.

So, “do” something today to change. Start now! You can do it! Find your talent, your passion, and your dreams and work for them each day. We know that you can do it. Whatever your business is, don’t feel that you are locked into just one business. We know that if you will start by selling papayas today, next year you could very well be manufacturing lead weights. You never know what tomorrow holds if you will just “do” something to change today!

We don’t only pray for your success, but we have come to the Philippines to train those in the Academy these same principles. We pray and we act. We pray and we do. We make mistakes each day, but we learn from them. We grow from them. We improve each day. We know that you have it in you to “do” great things. We know that you can “do” more than you are already doing. There is no magic bullet. There are no more secrets. Start now! And, as the hymn goes, “Wake Up! And do something more!”



With much love and hope for your success,

Jeremi & Rebecca Brewer