Keeping the City Free

3 MIN READ

February 26, 2020 By Sean Leave a Comment

I meditated on Psalm 101:5 – 8 and I can’t help but feel strongly about how this resonates with the culture we have built at SEO Hacker. You see, we have a no-gossip policy. People who gossip are warned once and, if they do it again, they are relieved from their responsibilities in the team.

Author’s Note: My next book is coming out and it’s all about scaling up your team, having a fantastic team culture that you can delegate work to with 100% confidence. If you want to pre-order or reserve a copy, please email me at the bottom-most section of the homepage of seansi.org.

Here is Psalm 101:

5 I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.

6 I will search for faithful people to be my companions. Only those who are above reproach will be allowed to serve me.

7 I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house, and liars will not stay in my presence.

8 My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked and free the city of the LORD from their grip.

In Greek, the word gossip or slander is also attributed to the word diabolos.

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diabolos: slanderous, accusing falsely

Original Word: διάβολος, ον
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: diabolos
Phonetic Spelling: (dee-ab’-ol-os)
Definition: slanderous, accusing falsely
Usage: (adj. used often as a noun), slanderous; with the article: the Slanderer (par excellence), the Devil.

The reason why we are radically against gossip and slander because people who participate in those activities are, well, Devils. They are out to divide, accuse falsely (lie), and deceive. This makes for a horrible working environment. They may be highly competent, productive workers or they may be incompentent (which makes it so much easier to let go of them) but in any case, we still boot them out of the organization.

There is no way they can stay in the team.

People who participate in gossip and slander are people who are insecure – and who feel a bit bigger by talking crap about other people negatively to people who are not part of the solution.

In SEO Hacker, we define gossip as “when a negative is shared with someone who is not part of the solution.” It’s quite broad but it is also 100% true. Doing this will ruin the culture we have worked so hard to intentionally build.

Psalm 101 is written by King David. Arguably the most faithful king who ruled Israel before Christ. He knew that in order for him to have a free city, he has to weed the wicked out – slanderers, liars and deceivers among them.

So why are companies today trying to endure these kinds of people?

Fire them and free your city from their grip.

Is Having a College Degree Important in Starting a Business?

4 MIN READ

February 25, 2020 By Sean Leave a Comment

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Excerpt

Harry Uy graduated from De La Salle University with a degree in Computer Science. He is my upperclassman and was the person who referred me to one of my first clients. He is the co-founder of Reality Box. They started as an events coverage company focusing on both photography and videography. Now they’ve adapted and are now focusing more on corporate media productions. Most of their recent clients are no longer personal events but rather corporate and marketing materials.

Aside from that, Harry and his wife also started their own line of Korean Chicken called Yum Yum Chicken. As of now, it can be ordered from Lalamove and Grab food.

How important was college to you in this journey of you starting up a reality box?

College is where he met his business partner, Jerry. Aside from that, his college degree is negligible, particularly towards the field itself. But what was important was the training that came along the way.

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The discipline that came with learning coding, presenting projects, and interacting with people—that’s what he has kept with him throughout his entrepreneurial journey. Like any subject matter, once you graduate, you have to relearn everything because the topic usually evolves.

It was about the discipline and the social skills that helped Harry Uy reach where he is today.

Would you say that working for other businesses helped you in growing your business to what it is now?

When you’re employed, you learn how they manage their organization. Harry Uy was able to get both good and bad takeaways out of those experiences. However, when it came to the field itself, there wasn’t much that he was able to take.

Harry Uy’s first job was in an IT company which seemed to be the perfect fit for his degree, but his work was more on the clerical side. During that stint, he said that he improved more on his designing skills rather than his coding knowledge.

Why did you start reality box? Why did you go into the Photography and Videography Business? What did you see in this industry and how is it going right now?

Harry Uy says that he somewhat inherited his business from his dad. His father had his own photography studio, but he did not entertain any requests about videography. When the demand for video boomed, his father told Harry to study video so that he could supplement each other.

Harry was 2 years into his IT career before he was tapped by his father. But since he was already fascinated with videography, particularly the post-production process, he went with it.

Fortunately, his business partner was someone that was very interested in photography and so they partnered up and created a separate business. This decision came from his realization that his father’s original market was a very tough crowd.

Harry and Jerry’s partnership is split in half. In terms of operations, Jerry is the one with the final decision. He is the one that makes sure that things run smoothly and that the freelancers that they hire are competent enough for their business.

Is the Philippine Stock Marketing Being Manipulated? Learn from this Multi-Million Investor.

8 MIN READ

February 17, 2020 By Sean Leave a Comment

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Excerpt

Do you think that there is a strong manipulation in our stock market?

Marvin isn’t really sure. He’s not someone from the PSE, he was never a broker, nor was he an investment banker, or someone that dealt with mutual funds. He was just an outsider that was trading in the market.

This is why technical analysis works best for Marvin. He doesn’t have any other source of news or data besides the charts.

If the charts are telling him to buy it, then he buys it, If not then he won’t. This is why Marvin hammers into people that the charts discount everything. Everything he needs to know is found in the charts.

Marvin likes the fact that in the stock market, you don’t need to think about what other people are doing, rather it’s just about how he will be trading.

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*How many times did the chart tell you to do something and the opposite happened?

Marvin and the charts that he believes in have been wrong numerous times. When that happens, he will just cut his losses before it gets any worse. There will be times when he will get multiple trades right and there will be other times when he gets multiple trades wrong. Now that Marvin has his routine when it comes to stocks trading, he doesn’t rely on his success rate through metrics anymore.

What’s important is that the money he earns there is used to buy more stocks that have more dividends.

What do you tell the people who think they failed in trade because of market manipulation?

Marvin tells them that it’s probably because they bought the wrong stocks.

When Marvin makes mistakes, he believes that it’s his fault. He thinks that other people think that way because they believe that they’re the victim.

Marvin has always had the mindset that he will enter the market and everything that will happen will be his responsibility.

As far as he knows, the PSE is doing the best that it can to safeguard stock trading. Everything and anything that you do is your responsibility.

How important is technical analysis for you?

Some people use fundamental analysis and there are a few other people who rely on technical analysis. The majority of the market, however, just guess or listen to what other people say.

For Marvin, technical analysis is everything. He needs to know where the stock is headed. He needs to know it’s direction. Most other indicators aren’t as important.

You should at least know the direction, that will let you know how you’re going to trade.

Knowing the trend is the most important thing.

How long have you been investing?

There was a time when Marvin wanted to just become an investor. He greatly idolizes Warren Buffet. He was the reason why Marvin segmented his portfolio and dabbled both in stock trading and investing.

The best way for him to do it is to separate his stocks in a different bucket. He has different mindsets when handling different stocks and investments.

You mentioned that Warren Buffet is someone that you look up to. He has Berkshire Hathaway. Why don’t you open up an account under it?

Marvin doesn’t have any plans on participating in that. He’s already content with what he has. It may look bad since he no longer dreams of much, but that’s who he is. Marvin is already happy with being able to eat what he wants daily.

His stint on YouTube, however, has been something that has reinvigorated him in a way. The challenge of getting one million subscribers is very hard. It gives him excitement.

What are some of the most painful lessons that you learned the hard way in stocks trading?

One of the most painful lessons that Marvin learned was to not listen to other people when it comes to trading. He did so when he just started and he lost so much because of it. This is why even if he teaches trading in Youtube and through seminars, he would always tell his audience to not listen to what he is saying. Instead, listen to the logic behind what he is saying.

It’s never about stock picks, it’s about the people forming an understanding of how the chart works for them.

Second, he learned to be patient and not hurry just to get money. Thirdly, hoping that a stock would go up. This is why Marvin says that hope is not a valid strategy.

He also regrets his first experiences when he went in without a plan. If he had planned on holding some stocks and its value dropped but eventually doubled in the long run, then he should have stuck with his plan.

Not exactly related to investing, but another mistake that Marvin felt he made was not buying real estate earlier.

He should have taken more risks and loaned more to earn more in the long run.

When did you make your first million in the stock market and what did you do with it?

Marvin vaguely remembers earning his first million at around 2010. Everything that he earned, he put it back in, including the first million that he made. All that he used were the dividends that he was making. He always reinvested capital appreciation.

Marvin doesn’t look at his money the same as other people. He looks at his money from the broad portfolio. That means it has to be cash, stocks and other assets.

Similar to Warren Buffet, Marvin has more cash on hand right now than at any other point in time. That’s part of their portfolio but it’s not in the stock market. Marvin just treats the stock market as another asset class. But among all of them, the stock market is his favorite.

People need to look at it with a more holistic perspective. Marvin has always maintained a level of cash funds that are hidden. He still puts it in the market, but they’re hidden in anticipation of something bad happening.

Do you have any business that you run or manage?

Marvin focuses solely on investing and trading. He did try starting up businesses in the past, but he realized that he’s not an operator. He doesn’t like the headache that comes with growing and maintaining a business.

He doesn’t like handling business. That’s why he structured his life in a way where the investments will be more than enough to provide for him. This allows him to travel when he wants to. He couldn’t see himself going into the office, even if he’s the owner.

Marvin likes Chinkee Tan’s template. He only works with a handful of selected individuals and makes a way to invest and make money through his own investments.

There’s a way to accumulate cash without going into business. Marvin tries to study how to value businesses and makes investments based on his analysis.

For young professionals who have a median salary of PHP25,000, how much would you suggest they put into savings and spending?

Marvin suggests that for people that have a PHP25,000 salary, they should look for enough side jobs to make their income PHP100,000. PHP25,000 will not be enough firepower for them to reach a million efficiently. The best way to do it is to hustle as much as you can while you’re young in order to earn so much more which you can, in turn, invest in the future.

If Marvin had a salary of PHP25,000, then he’d probably save 80% of it, he would work from his home to avoid commuting, and would eat cheap food such as canned food.

Is there anything new you’re working on?

Marvin and I are working on an online course called Make Money Grow Money. It’s primarily for people who want to learn more about business and investing. Since Marvin has been lessening his talks, the only way to get access to his seminars would be through these online courses.

That’s makemoneygrow.ph

Where can people find you?

Subscribe to Marvin Germo’s Youtube Channel!

If given a chance, do you think stock trading and investing should be a course in college? Will you teach it?

Marvin would teach it only on special occasions. He thinks that the best way to teach trading and investing is to go above and beyond the traditional educational system such as through Youtube and podcasts so that it’ll be more accessible.

If it were taught in college, it would be more academic. Marvin thinks that stock trading and investing are two things that are better learned through experience rather than through classes. Reading a stock market book or watching a stock market video will not change your life. Not until you invest in the stock market.

How Do You Maintain 13 Years of Financial Discipline and Freedom?

5 MIN READ

February 12, 2020 By Sean Leave a Comment

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Excerpt

What does Marvin Germo spend money on? How do you maintain your mindset of thriftiness and financial discipline?

Marvin is a simple man. He spends his earnings mostly just on coffee, food, and the occasional vacation.

In the past decade, Marvin’s income has increased dramatically. Despite this, his level of spending remains the same as it was before.

This financial discipline has come from how Marvin experienced his family losing everything. He told himself that he didn’t want that happening to him as well. Marvin never got the opportunity to start a business nor was he given the money to make something.

He literally started from the bottom.

For Marvin, Financial Freedom is about being able to do what you want when you want to. The fear of not having enough is nonexistent. That was what drove him to keep pushing forward. He wanted a better life.

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As time went by, he also saw that some people needed help. In John Maxwell’s words, “It should not be lonely at the top because a leader brings people along”.

How long have you been financially free?

Marvin has been budgeting for 14 years. He makes sure to set an amount of money for him to live comfortably on. The rest that he earns he invests again. His budget right now has stayed the same as the budget he had five years ago.

The biggest misconception about financial freedom is going off and buying expensive things. Money was never a motivator for Marvin. To him, it’s just a tool to open up opportunities.

How were you able to achieve your financial freedom at such a young age?

Anyone can achieve what Marvin has done. They just have to remember that it’s proportionate to their lifestyle. They just have to lower their expenses to a certain degree. It depends on the lifestyle that you want. The more expensive your lifestyle is, the higher the expenses you have to consider. The cheaper it is, the lower that number. Marvin’s expenses are very low.

He rarely buys anything from expensive brands. And although he does pay extra for good food delivered to him, he believes it’s worth it because it saves him time that he uses to be productive.

Marvin would usually tell people to save money. However, if you’re productive, then he will tell you to not just save but also go on the offensive and make more. If you don’t know how to make money, then go on the defensive and be as thrifty as you can. But if you’re entrepreneurial, then you should value your time.

He also believes that time should be placed on a pedestal for everyone. It’s about how people manage their time to make the money that they can use as capital.

What is the secret of having a mindset like yours? What are some of the things that you keep in mind to ensure that your lifestyle is good for the next couple of years.

Marvin was with Manny Pangilinan a few weeks ago. He asked him how he does his money. Manny said that he separates his money into different accounts. So that it would look smaller than it actually is. Marvin does the same thing. He separates his money into different accounts and funds. They split all of their money so it would look small. This would make them feel like they have fewer funds so they will work harder again.

Managing multiple accounts is difficult. But it worked well enough to bring Marvin to where he is today.

Before Marvin became this amazing stock trader, he first struggled to make ends meet. He decided to save up and budget just PHP2000 for 2 weeks.

As it says in the bible, “When you’re faithful with little, you will be faithful with much”. Marvin pushed himself to the limit and by doing so, he became creative with how he spent his money.

What people see now is very different from the life that Marvin had before. He did everything he could to save up while all of his other coworkers were out eating at fast-food chains or drinking at coffee shops. It was five years of suffering that led to success afterward. Marvin didn’t have his money back then, but he never thought that he was poor. His wallet was never a reflection of who he was as a person.

How many accounts do you have right now? How often do you move money in or out from those accounts?

Marvin doesn’t know how many accounts he has. He just keeps a spreadsheet of them in the safety of his home. Some accounts don’t freeze as long as the money keeps entering it, some don’t freeze as long as they stay above the maintaining balance.

What are some stocks that you’re holding on to right now?

SM Prime, Jolibee, Ayala Lands

How to Own Real Estate Revenue without Any Capital or Downpayment: REITs

4 MIN READ

February 10, 2020 By Sean Leave a Comment

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Excerpt

One of the things that a lot of people do is to invest in real estate. What’s your take on that given that you’ve been investing in REITs?

REIT is a derivative, but it’s basically a stock. A derivative is a piece of paper that says you have exposure to something but do not own it. REIT gives you exposure to anything that has a possible rental income.

For less than PHP10,000 you can buy a stock of REIT. It brings you exposure to real estate without the need for a huge amount of money.

When you own a condominium, you have to find a seller before you can sell it. With REITs, you can choose to sell it whenever you want.

When a condo you own doesn’t have anyone renting it, then you won’t have any rental income. If you have a REIT of a hotel, even if 10% of it is vacant, you still get 90% worth of the possible income.

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Property prices right now are relatively higher than the rent that you would typically get. When the property that they will get is good and the rent they can ask for is high, then their yield would be worth it. When it comes to REITs, 90% of the operational income is given out as dividends so they can get something higher from REITs with a good rate for dividends then it would be even better.

This led to Marvin investing in REITs in Singapore. He knows living spaces are highly valued in that country and he also says that the market is relatively easy to predict. He also invested in data centers because he believes that there will be a bigger need for data centers in the future– with all the transition to digital that the world is currently undergoing.

Owning and managing a condo for rent is also quite the hassle, as told by Marvin.

What is the Platform where people can invest in REITs?

REIT is being talked about more in the Philippines because there was a disclosure that Ayala will have the first REIT in the Philippines. When they list it, it will be just like a normal stock. People still need to buy it from a stockholder.

Bear in mind that you can only buy stocks that have themselves listed to a specific stockbroker. You need to open specific accounts on specific brokers that have REITs. In the Philippine Market, specifically, there are no REITs yet.

Marvin’s investments to REITs in Singapore have already doubled after four years. Those investments also had dividends worth 10% which made them worth it.

In this case, Marvin’s initial intentions were dividends. The appreciation and the increase in cash flow was just a bonus for him.

Where did you open your Singaporean stocks?

Marvin opened his account in Singapore. For other people, you can open up yours in 2 ways. First, they could fly to Singapore and open an account at any broker there. Or make a REITs account from etoro.

That being said, Marvin doesn’t use etoro for his REITs. He only uses etoro to position in other stocks that he wouldn’t be able to buy in other brokers. The advantage of using etoro is for leverage and other stocks that he can get there.

If people just want to get exposure, then etoro is the best platform to do so. If they want to make an account, then they have to fly to Singapore to do so.

Marvin has been using etoro since last year. This CFD platform that is most known because of its copy trading feature. It’s a derivative that allows you to purchase different asset classes such as gold, bitcoin, forex, stocks, and funds.

He isn’t applicable for the copy trading part because Marvin doesn’t like the pressure of making trades that will make other people money.

Why this Extremely Rich and Successful Stock Trader Does not Trade for Other People

4 MIN READ

February 7, 2020 By Sean Leave a Comment

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Excerpt

Why don’t you trade for other people?

You can manage the risk, but you can’t manage the people’s emotions. For Marvin, it will always be better if they trade for themselves. If people can’t manage their funds themselves, then they’re better off putting it in a mutual fund, that way it’s regulated as well.

Marvin thinks that investing your money is your responsibility. No one will take care of your money more than you. He tried to trade for his relatives and friends once. During take profits, they would agree immediately. But when it comes to cutting losses, they don’t want to. When it comes to trading, people have different thresholds and mechanisms to cause them to buy and sell.

For example, a stock might be down by 50%. Private investors with no other responsibilities can easily take advantage of it. They can buy it at that price, wait a few years for it to break even, then wait a few more years for it to double. Your patience will be worth it. Private investors have the advantage of being able to position into something and wait even if it doesn’t perform.

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The problem with mutual funds is that this can’t happen. If they don’t perform in one year, then no one will invest in it anymore. Another problem is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy wherein when the market is down, even if the fund managers want to stay but people are withdrawing their funds, then they have to sell.

Marvin hammers into people the importance of dividends. As long as the stock has dividends, you will still get something that beats inflation even after 7 years of stagnancy. And when you buy these stocks low, then you’ll get a better rate of return from it.

How many times in a month do you get the question “Marvin can you trade for me?”

Marvin has been focusing on Youtube, so most of the time, he isn’t able to see or reply to many messages. The only time when he gets to reply to messages is when he’s holding his phone and a message suddenly pops up. However, he doesn’t always have his phone on hand.

Marvin believes that the name of the game is not to consume but to create.

One of the things that have been very insightful for me was reading the book Deep Work by Cal Newport. In that book, he mentioned that he doesn’t allow shallow interruptions to disrupt him in his deep work. He’s a professor. He has a Ph.D. and he teaches and writes a couple of research papers. He doesn’t do a lot of messaging such as Facebook Messenger and SMS, he also doesn’t look at his emails a lot. I believe this is something that Marvin does without realizing it. He’s been eliminating these distractions to keep focused when he works.

Marvin tries his best to stay in contact with most of his subscribers on Youtube through the comments section, however, as time goes by, it gets harder and harder. He believes that influencers and businesspeople should double down on the thing that is gaining traction. In Marvin’s case, Youtube interested him, and since it gained traction, he focused on that instead of diversifying to IG TV, Snapchat, FB Stories, and the likes.

At the start, you should try everything that you can and out of the things that you tried, the one that gained the most traction is where you put all of your efforts. Once that starts running on its own, only then should you try to diversify.

Should a Startup Entrepreneur Become an Investor or a Trader?

6 MIN READ

February 6, 2020 By Sean 2 Comments

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Excerpt

Do you suggest that relatively new business owners become an investor or a trader?

Many people believe that the stock market is where the money is. To be successful in trading the stock market, you just have to learn about technical analysis and watch a few tutorials about it.

However, based on one of the best stock market analysts and traders in the Philippines, Marvin Germo, the most effective way to trade is for you to do what you’re good at. Keep in mind that like any business and craft, trading in the stock market is still skill-based.

This means that if you, as a business owner, can’t watch over your business or stocks in a certain period of time or do your due diligence to study and analyze them, then maybe you should focus on something more passive.

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It might be better to buy stocks with high dividends, or the cheaper ones.

It primarily depends on the level of studying that you are willing to do. Stocks need different levels of guarding and studying. You only have to choose if you want to focus on the one that needs 5 minutes every day, or 5 minutes every week for you to check if it’s still good.

This is particularly important for investors because the fundamentals of a company do not change on a weekly or monthly basis. It depends on who they are, what their style is, and many other branching factors that make it extremely hard to define.

If you want to be an investor that focuses on dividends, then you don’t necessarily need to check the status of your stocks every day. Rather you’ll be just as efficient when you take a look at it every 6 months. As long as they give dividends and the company he bought the stocks from is growing. Then you will still get additional earnings year on year.

You can treat these dividends as a sort of time deposit. Bear in mind that that means there’s a chance that it can be lower or higher than the initial amount. However, if you have other business sources and you don’t touch the money for the next few years, then it will surely become much better. Provided that the company has great fundamentals

Six months of dividends sound really good. What companies provide a good return on dividends without having to worry about them for a time?

Before answering the question, Marvin wanted to clarify that stocks are not as easy as how he says it is. He has done this his whole life, and the experience and focus that he has on stocks can easily help him get the very best of trades and such.

However, if you plan on doing stocks on the sidelines, you should understand that they still need some of your focus. Checking up on your stocks may just take a few minutes, but if you’re not focused, you might end up going with the wrong decision.

When it comes to dividends, you should still find time to study the company of the stocks that you bought. The simplest way to find companies that have a high percentage of giving back good dividends is by finding consistency. An even better sign would be if a company is consistent with its dividends, and shows signs of increasing its value as well. You don’t even need to watch many companies. You can focus on 1 or 2 companies. Study their history, then check on them at least once every quarter.

Going back to the question at hand, Marvin Germo likes Globe. They have a consistent PHP91.00 per share value for the past three years and the stock price gives appreciation as well.

Budding dividend investors should also look for companies that are growing. Because in the long run, the dividends that they provide can double. For example, if you bought Jollibee stocks in the past for PHP50 and today it’s valued at PHP200, then the dividends will have increased as well.

What Marvin is trying to say is that by buying the cheap stocks of growing companies, there will come a time when those dividends will be in a good enough position to give better dividends than other companies.

For people who want to earn from dividends this year, some of the historically good companies include SPC, Meralco, and GMA 7 though, take note that with the digital shift to podcasts and Youtube, GMA 7 might become inconsistent in 5 years.

You can also buy the preferred shares if you’re a very busy person. Marvin Germo got only one preferred share last year, and that was the Phoenix preferred share which was at 7%+, making it better than bonds, time deposits, and few other rates of return as well.

Another option that seems to be very fixed, low risk, and higher rates of return than other ventures, then they should take a look at Pag-Ibig MP2. It’s not talked about as much but there was one year that they had 8.4% and another one with 7%. The best part is that this program is tax-free. The only downside is that the money that you commit to MP2, you can’t touch for 5 years. As of January 2020, Pag-Ibig MP2 is in a very good position.

How Much Annual Interest Rate is a Good Investment?

9 MIN READ

February 5, 2020 By Sean Leave a Comment

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Excerpt

How much of an interest is a good investment for you?

This depends largely on your goal. If you’re only on the lookout for extra cash flow, then anything that’s fixed, guaranteed, and that beats the bond rate of the government or inflation, then that’s already good enough.

If you’re after growth, then it’s a totally different story. The benchmark for growth when it comes to investments is the PSCI.

Last year, Pag-Ibig MP2 beat PSCI as it wasn’t an attractive investment option. The PSCI is the benchmark because in most cases when you beat the PSCI, you also beat most of the mutual funds out there.

Many people have the misconception that when they get a good rate of return for this year, they’ll also get a good, or even better one next year. But there will be times when this will not happen.

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No investor, even the good ones, have a compounded growth rate of 100% because there will be years that will be bad. This is why Marvin Germo always says that you should not solely focus on growing your money. When you already made money out of it, you should transfer it to something that will give you cash flow so that you will have some stocks at hand that will help out when the market doesn’t do so good. You can put it on another asset class, invest in another market, or use it for stocks again as well.

Some of Marvin Germo’s stocks in America have done very well this past year. The US stock market has been reaching an all-time high, and because Marvin had his own US stocks, he was affected by it a lot!

McDonald’s did really well last year despite the recent drive for healthier food. According to Marvin, McDonald’s has been pivoting into different things such as their McCafe. The same is happening to National Bookstore. The last time Marvin went into one, he found that only a fifth of the store was filled with books, the rest was full of office and school supplies. Authors who rely on National Bookstore for exposure might be affected, but those who publish their books on their own won’t be. The people who publish their own books have Lazada and Shoppee to use.

In essence, it’s the people who create the most value and know how to pivot their situation into a favorable will always win.

You mentioned a while ago that regarding the growth percentage, as long as you beat inflation, you’re good. How much was the inflation rate last year?

There was a time when the inflation rate was below 1%. For the entire year, however, it wouldn’t have surpassed 5%. All the things that made inflation scary during 2018 were almost nonexistent during 2019. In fact, the only thing that hindered the market was the trade war between the U.S. and China and the news of our President threatening to close down Manila Waters and Maynilad.

These things affect investors, foreign investors in particular because these pieces of news can dictate whether other investors will put their money in the Philippines or another country. Bear in mind that the PSCI is made up of mostly the money invested by foreign investors.

Do you think that the contracts of these Water companies (Manila Waters, Maynilad) will be renewed?

Marvin honestly doesn’t know because their situation no longer depends on how the company performs. It’s an outlier right now. It could go several ways. The first circumstance is that a new President will win in 2022 and things will go back to normal. In this case, you should invest right now. Second, you could wait until things clear up before you put your money back. Lastly, you might think that things won’t get better for them, so you should pull out your money and invest them elsewhere.

It’s difficult for Marvin to see what will happen at this point. However, when you look at their earnings last year, MPI has been grossly undervalued at PHP4.50. MPI is composed of Meralco, Maynilad, Toll Roads, and some hospitals. When analyzed further, you’ll see the Meralco alone is worth PHP4.50, the rest are just bonuses. Meralco, Maynilad, and Toll Roads are all government regulated. That’s why some people are scared that after the water utilities were targeted, electricity and the roads might be next.

People don’t like uncertainty. They would rather know that something is consistently bad than them not knowing what will happen to it later on.

Would you say that when you’re investing for growth, anything other than 3% is already okay?

According to Marvin Germo, you should focus on the PSCI when it comes to growth. Anything that beats the PSCI should do. Last year, the PSCI was around 4%. That’s because it encapsulates some of the more popular stocks. However, in 2019, Ayala and Ayala Land were both down, the only one that had a high percentage was SM.

That being said, because President Duterte said that the reclamation in Manila wasn’t going to happen, it somehow gated SM from getting even better.

Going back to the question at hand, the goal is to always beat the PSCI. For example, if Marvin was able to accumulate 25% while the PSCI got to 40%, you can say that Marvin underperformed. However, in the cases where the PSCI got just 30% and Marvin got 31%, then you can say that he already had a good year.

It’s not something that’s static to a specific percentage. It’s all about the profits of PSCI.

In Dave Ramsey’s book, he said that anything that beats inflation, which is 6%, plus 2% for retirement, plus another 4% for growth, for a total of 12% is good for him. What do you think about that?

This is good especially when you consider the context. Marvin Germo sees Dave Ramsey as a mutual funds type of person. This means he just puts the money in. That fund that he invested in should be able to beat that 12% over a period of time.

It’s different when it comes to the stock market, however. Your trades depend on how your earnings will work. Marvin can’t benchmark it to a certain percentage. He likes the fact that in a way, it gives the person a round number that he needs to get so that he can have a buffer for his money to grow.

12% on a yearly basis is already good, especially if you do it passively. 12% annually would mean that your money will double in about 8 years. And it would be faster when you choose to compound it.

This is under the context that the businessperson investing is earning enough from his own business so that he can trade in his spare time or that they’re employed but they have another stream of income.

The advantage of businesspersons is that if their business is doing really well, then the money that they invest would just be their extra funds.

Marvin thinks that Dave Ramsey is a mutual funds kind of person. Not necessarily just bonds because there’s still some equity components in them. Assuming that the mutual funds that dave invested in were in the US stock market, then it would have performed really well. Even after all that has happened with the US, it’s still at an all-time high.

What do you think drove the growth of the US Stock Market?

People are saying that the economy of the US is doing very well. Based on the reports that Marvin is seeing the US economy is doing much better under Trump than it was during Obama’s time.

That being said, there are some people that believe that reports are skewed, particularly the ones that don’t exactly like trump. One of the said reasons why Trump was able to improve the US economy was through his tax incentives. These tax incentives were supposedly for companies to save up money so that they can expand and thus bring in more jobs. What happened was that instead of using the money to expand, they used it to buy back their stocks. When they buy back their own stocks, they remove those from the market, effectively decreasing the number out in the market thus increasing its value.

This was great for stock investors but really bad for the people without any jobs.

How much were you able to do last year in terms of percentage?

Marvin was able to beat the PSCI itself, a little bit more than 20%. There were trades at the time that were really good. This is what’s good about the stock market. Your good trades can compensate for the mistakes that you made before. The technique is if you were wrong about a trade, then you should cut it. If you were wrong about investing, you should check if the valuations are still good, if they are, then you can hold. If they go down, you can still buy more.

Podcast: How do you get the right people in your team?

12 MIN READ

January 30, 2020 By Sean Leave a Comment

Can you establish your own business during your second year in college? Anthony Laborte did just that! Learn more about him in this podcast!

Follow the Podcast on iTunes and Spotify

Excerpt

Do you know the most important factor when it comes to hiring? It’s not what most people think it is. Find out what we think it is in this podcast!

One of the things that is most difficult for startups is getting the right people for your team. How do you get the right people?

First of all, Anthony believes that you have to pray for the right people to come into the business. Without prayer, you won’t know who’s coming into your business. They might just be there to steal your ideas, your contacts, and your time.

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Second, he concentrates on the character of the person even before the technical skills of the individual. Anthony believes that when a person’s character is good, everything else will follow. He would go over lunch or have a drink with some of his most trusted employees and those who are eyeing a higher position. In most cases, he finds out the character of these individuals through this.

For people on the lower end of the corporate ladder, the process was sped up a few.

How do you develop leadership in your company?

Anthony believes in leading by example. His methods on how he leads his immediate team will be mirrored onto the people that they lead and so on. Anthony puts his people first. He exemplifies paternal leadership. Anthony thinks of the situations of his people and takes appropriate actions from there.

SEO Hacker is full of millennials. I’m 31 and all my team members are younger than me. Imagine the chaos that happens in the office. You can’t take out the fun because of everyone that’s there.

I’ve read the book Developing Leaders by John Maxwell recently. There’s this one quote that particularly stuck with me. It went: “Hiring is like skydiving. Once you jump out, you’re committed.”

Before you hire, you have unlimited options. You have many applicants to choose from. But when you make the hire, you’re stuck with that person. This is why you have to take your time in hiring that person.

For Anthony, it’s largely about his gut feel. Out of all the people that he hired, he can only think of less than three people that he truly believes was a mistake to hire. The rest was easy enough to ease into the company.

When did you know that it was time to have an office?

Anthony started at the conference table within his dad’s office. After a few projects, around two or three years later, he was able to get his own office right beside his dad’s office. His dad once told him that if they rented an office, it’s just going to be another expense, he would rather invest right away so that they won’t have any more expenses in the long run. It was only a small office because most of Anthony’s employees work out in the field.

How far into the business were you when you purchased the office?

Anthony was able to purchase their first office just four years after starting operations.

How did this second year college student find the identity of his business?

Do you know how hard it is to find your own identity in the market? Find out how Anthony Laborte found his niche in this podcast!

What was the business doing while you were still in college?

At that time, the business, and Anthony himself, were looking for their own identity. They started by selling different types of equipment. They tried selling CCTV, the things that his dad had him sell, as well as other services and maintenance. They were like a convenience store that didn’t have a single product that they were known for.

The opportunity that turned it all around was one that required flooring systems for a building. With the power of Google, Anthony found a supplier and headed straight to them. He asked for a partnership with a flooring systems partner in Thailand, and that’s where all of it started.

Did you have to loan money to bring the flooring systems business from Thailand to the Philippines?

Anthony had to get a loan to finance the purchasing and the shipment of the products. He had to risk that capital for the future of this business. Fortunately, instead of financial institutions, he was able to loan money from his father. Aside from that, there was already a demand for the products.

He was at a very interesting spot because unlike other entrepreneurs that first finalized their product before they started a business, Anthony did the opposite. He established business first, playing around with some products and services, before eventually focusing on flooring systems.

What made you decide that that is what you want your business to be?

At first, it was because of the volume that was coming in. Anthony’s first client was Nestle Philippines– a huge opportunity. They did about 8,000 square meters of polished concrete flooring. Afterward, they handled Pepsi Cola. they required polyurethane flooring. That went on and on until he just realized that they’ve been doing it for three years.

How did you get your first big clients?

Since Anthony’s family business concentrated on the food and beverage industry, he would usually go with his dad when he meets with their clients. There he will look for what they require, once he pinpoints something, he’ll present a proposed solution and present one of their products.

Anthony learned almost everything that he had to from his father. It was the very definition of mentorship. Because he was near his father all the time, he began to be inspired and think of ideas of his own.

His father’s presence, ideals, and aura rub off on Anthony much like how Jesus was to his disciples.

How much can your parents influence your business ideals and mindset?

Did you know that some entrepreneurs owe it all to their parents? Anthony learned most of what made him successful from his father. Learn more here!

Have you ever worked for your dad? How was that experience?

Anthony used to work for the family business when his own business began to show signs of good stability. He started with business development and helping out with the operations.

Back then, Anthony had a pretty good idea on how to manage his time between working for his dad and working on his own business.

Unfortunately, after his father’s passing, the workload became quite difficult, especially since he had to deal with all that was happening.

Are you the next in line to take over the company? How does it feel?

Anthony is the one who will inherit the company and it’s a big responsibility for him. He feels a lot of pressure especially since he will be the person with whom hundreds of employees will rely on. He has inherited the obligation of making sure that the company thrives and grows.

He believes that even with these hardships and him becoming the new president of his family business, there is still one true CEO that will guide him along the way, God.

How were you groomed to take on this role?

Most second-generation family business owners would say that they are not yet ready, that they’re not yet prepared when in reality, you will never find the best possible time to enter it. The perfect time is now. They should start doing it now and learn most of what you need along the way. These people only need to gather up confidence and have a bit more faith in God.

With the passing of your father, how shocking was the transition for you?

Anthony and his father were very close to one another. With things suddenly changing, he felt like he was lost. He said that for the time being, he hasn’t thought of the business too much, instead, he thought of how he’s going to live his life without him.

Anthony’s father has been there ever since he could remember. He was his mentor and boss. He was there to answer any questions with a nice quote of advice.

They used to wake up early and chat during the morning. That was their main bonding moment. Until now, Anthony still wakes up early in the morning. What was once the time for him and his father to talk with each other became his quiet time when he could pray to God. He uses this time to reflect and plan for his week.

How did your transition into your father’s business go?

At first, Anthony didn’t know what to do, especially how to continue the business after his father’s time. Luckily, the people within the business were blessed enough to guide him along the way. And with their teamwork, they were able to move things forward.

Right now, somebody else has taken over the family business, someone from outside the family. He is someone that Anthony’s family trusts wholeheartedly and he has done a great job in keeping the business going.

Anthony and his family have always treated their employees as part of their own. The family vibe helps in reinforcing loyalty in the business.

How different was it when your dad led without knowing God and when he started to incorporate him into his ways?

The blessings were abundant. It was like it poured out just as they started to put a bit more focus to God. it was also paramount in the way his father handled the business. Anthony thinks that he and the majority of their employees felt it a lot. It could be felt in the whole organization. Their employees then passed it on to their family members and friends.

Even if this happened 10 years after they started their business, which was quite some time, it brought great positive change to them?

What is the best piece of advice that this entrepreneur has to people who had to take over their family business?

What does Anthony Laborte have to say about taking over a family business, becoming a better leader and developing his employees? Find out in this podcast!

What’s your main role in the business today?

Anthony thinks of his main role as a so-called janitor– someone that cleans up problems when they arise. Aside from that, he’s also the one who keeps track of what they’re doing and encourage them from time to time.

He is also a very hands-on person. People will see him on-site or talking with clients.

In one working day, how long are you in the office and how long are you at the site?

He would usually be in the office for around 5 hours, then spend the rest of his time checking up on the field.

How do you find growth?

Normally, Anthony looks for and sends himself and his team to training workshops. On a recent excursion, he sent his team to Malaysia and had them be trained under their principal supplier. Even their partners when it comes to process engineering invite them from time to time for seminars and other workshops.

How do you grow your leadership skills?

Anthony bases leadership on the Bible. He thinks that’s the number one point. Secondly, he remembers all of his dad’s teachings. He looks at all the good things from those pieces of wisdom and tries to become a good leader from there.

Is there anything new that you’re working on right now?

Anthony is starting up a construction chemical system business. Aside from that, they’re also planning to expand by putting up an office in Cebu and somewhere in Mindanao in the first and second quarters respectively.

This was all because we’ve been having so many inquiries all over the Philippines!

What is your advice to our audience who are experiencing a passing of the baton from the first generation to the next one, or who is only starting out?

Anthony believes that the only thing you need is commitment because you will be inheriting a business that has already been established. Not everybody is blessed to have this opportunity. If you want to put up your own company, then know that it will start with an idea. And is supported by prayer.

How can people get in touch with you?

Anthony’s business focuses more on resin flooring systems, polyurethane, epoxies, MMA, and polished flooring.

Our website is www.flooringsolutions.ph

Email: inquiries@flooringslutions.ph; and

Facebook: Flooringsolutionsph

He Started His Business During College. How it Has Grown To an Enterprise Today.

5 MIN READ

January 29, 2020 By Sean Leave a Comment

Can you establish your own business during your second year in college? Anthony Laborte did just that! Learn more about him in this podcast!

Follow the Podcast on iTunes and Spotify

Excerpt

Who is Anthony Laborte?

Anthony Laborte is an entrepreneur who started up his company while he was just a second-year college student. The name of the business was IIPI. IIPI stands for International Industry Partners Incorporated.

What’s interesting was that during that time, Anthony did not have any direction concerning why he named his business as such. It was a very generic name because, at the time, he didn’t know what to do yet. He was only sure that he wanted to start his own company.

IIPI was founded in 2009 and was incorporated in 2010. To keep up the growth, Anthony had to do a few things. At first, he was just around his dad’s office. He was just sitting down at the conference table researching ideas while also taking in the hustle and bustle of their family business.

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He was there mainly as a spectator. Anthony studied the ins and outs of the company while also trying his best to search for his own path.

This was essentially his mentorship period with his dad. Unique to their relationship was that Anthony didn’t have to ask for anything from him. Rather his dad would shower him with knowledge and wisdom in every opportunity that he got.

Anthony’s dad was a mechanical engineer. He used to work for a bottling company like Coca Cola and San Miguel. From there he went to the bottle manufacturer. At first, he did maintenance and installation of equipment. Eventually, he was transferred to sales and became the country manager for that company.

It’s because of this that their family business was incorporated. His dad’s company needed someone to help install their equipment locally. He had been doing this for about 30 years.

How did your father come about the opportunity to start your family business?

During that time, there was no installer of the equipment that his father was selling. Because of this, his father thought of setting up one such business himself. The equipment that they sold was very expensive. It was the whole package, all the machinery involved in the turn-key.

Anthony’s father was in his 40s when he started their business. Aside from that, he managed it while still working for a European company. In the morning, he would be there managing his business and during the evening, he would focus on his duties with the other company.

Why didn’t you go into the family business?

Anthony didn’t want to do so because it was difficult and confusing for him. He wasn’t an avid supporter of the concept of his dad being his dad at home and being his boss at work. He thought it was hard on the relationship that he and his dad already had.

It was different in my case. It wasn’t exactly because of my father’s temperament, but it was the advice that he has given to me over the years. Growing up he would tell me to look for another business or climb the corporate ladder. Just as what people say, when you’re a Chinese person in the Philippines, you would be in one of two businesses, Textile or Hardware. My family was into hardware. In the long run, he discouraged me from going into it again because the profit was small and the processes were complicated.

It stamped into my mind. So when the time came, I tried to enter corporate for five months, I couldn’t take it. At that time, SEO Hacker was at its infancy, and after a lot of prayers and what felt like a really long time, I finally got my father’s blessing to focus on SEO Hacker.

It wasn’t because my father and I might not have been able to work together, rather the business was not thriving, so it didn’t make sense to continue it.

What gave you the initiative, the mindset to start a business early?

It was mostly because of his father. Anthony’s father told him and his siblings that they only had two choices after they graduated from college. It’s either they become an entrepreneur or an employee. Anthony and his siblings saw both from their father.

There was a time when he considered going corporate. He never had an experience of his own. Everything that Anthony did was based on trial and error or what he’s seen from his family business.

You studied engineering at De La Salle and Business at CSB. Which of them did you like the most?

Anthony heavily enjoyed business more than the former. He started his business early on in his Business course. He even said that he wished he could have started it sooner. However, he also believes that it was only right as time has helped a lot in him becoming more mature.

Excerpt

How important was college to you in this journey of you starting up a reality box?

Would you say that working for other businesses helped you in growing your business to what it is now?

Why did you start reality box? Why did you go into the Photography and Videography Business? What did you see in this industry and how is it going right now?

Excerpt

Do you think that there is a strong manipulation in our stock market?

*How many times did the chart tell you to do something and the opposite happened?

What do you tell the people who think they failed in trade because of market manipulation?

How important is technical analysis for you?

How long have you been investing?

You mentioned that Warren Buffet is someone that you look up to. He has Berkshire Hathaway. Why don’t you open up an account under it?

What are some of the most painful lessons that you learned the hard way in stocks trading?

When did you make your first million in the stock market and what did you do with it?

Do you have any business that you run or manage?

For young professionals who have a median salary of PHP25,000, how much would you suggest they put into savings and spending?

Is there anything new you’re working on?

Where can people find you?

If given a chance, do you think stock trading and investing should be a course in college? Will you teach it?

Excerpt

What does Marvin Germo spend money on? How do you maintain your mindset of thriftiness and financial discipline?

How long have you been financially free?

How were you able to achieve your financial freedom at such a young age?

What is the secret of having a mindset like yours? What are some of the things that you keep in mind to ensure that your lifestyle is good for the next couple of years.

How many accounts do you have right now? How often do you move money in or out from those accounts?

What are some stocks that you’re holding on to right now?

Excerpt

One of the things that a lot of people do is to invest in real estate. What’s your take on that given that you’ve been investing in REITs?

What is the Platform where people can invest in REITs?

Where did you open your Singaporean stocks?

Excerpt

Why don’t you trade for other people?

How many times in a month do you get the question “Marvin can you trade for me?”

Excerpt

Do you suggest that relatively new business owners become an investor or a trader?

Six months of dividends sound really good. What companies provide a good return on dividends without having to worry about them for a time?

Excerpt

How much of an interest is a good investment for you?

You mentioned a while ago that regarding the growth percentage, as long as you beat inflation, you’re good. How much was the inflation rate last year?

Do you think that the contracts of these Water companies (Manila Waters, Maynilad) will be renewed?

Would you say that when you’re investing for growth, anything other than 3% is already okay?

In Dave Ramsey’s book, he said that anything that beats inflation, which is 6%, plus 2% for retirement, plus another 4% for growth, for a total of 12% is good for him. What do you think about that?

What do you think drove the growth of the US Stock Market?

How much were you able to do last year in terms of percentage?

Excerpt

One of the things that is most difficult for startups is getting the right people for your team. How do you get the right people?

How do you develop leadership in your company?

When did you know that it was time to have an office?

How far into the business were you when you purchased the office?

What was the business doing while you were still in college?

Did you have to loan money to bring the flooring systems business from Thailand to the Philippines?

What made you decide that that is what you want your business to be?

How did you get your first big clients?

Have you ever worked for your dad? How was that experience?

Are you the next in line to take over the company? How does it feel?

How were you groomed to take on this role?

With the passing of your father, how shocking was the transition for you?

How did your transition into your father’s business go?

How different was it when your dad led without knowing God and when he started to incorporate him into his ways?

What’s your main role in the business today?

How do you find growth?

How do you grow your leadership skills?

Is there anything new that you’re working on right now?

What is your advice to our audience who are experiencing a passing of the baton from the first generation to the next one, or who is only starting out?

How can people get in touch with you?

Excerpt

Who is Anthony Laborte?

How did your father come about the opportunity to start your family business?

Why didn’t you go into the family business?

What gave you the initiative, the mindset to start a business early?

You studied engineering at De La Salle and Business at CSB. Which of them did you like the most?

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