Typhoon Glenda and its wrath on my business

It was 3am when I woke up to the sound of howling winds. It felt as if our house will be torn to pieces.. I hugged my dog who was sleeping beside me and silently whispered "Lord protect us." Then the electricity was shut down and it was the start of a long night.

I did not realize what time I dozed off but I woke up at 6am to read several sms from my staff at Mineski. He said the door was broken but no need to worrry because he has evacuated the customers already. I was so clueless what kind of damage he was speaking about or what type of evacuation happened. I rushed to the shop only to find this in our main street

Trees were laid on the street as if they were carefully uprooted and laid to rest on the concrete ground. I practiced my Gran Turismo skills as I needed to go to the shop.

And I found these:

My glass panels has been broken! Good thing there were no damage in my computer units. My shops' damage is nothing though compared to the next's stall damage:

the whole ceiling fell apart (photo taken in the middle of the clean up session). 

My shop now is under repair but its business as usual!

What's happenin' so far?

Well hello! I can't believe its been 6 months since I updated my blog! I have undergone a lot of stress this November but I am very positive that changes happened at my business, made me a better person. 

For the positive things first:

1. Mineski International has done effective promos which boosted my sales at Molino branch. Here's some of their raffle winners from Cavite:

Tumbler

Lanyard

Siberia Headset from Steelseries

Gigabyte Jacket

2. I went to Korea!!

nuff said!

3. I attended my first professional seminar since I graduated: Major Accounts Management and B2B Selling from Guthrie Jensen.

4. I am spearheading the committee for 10yr HS Reunion on Dec 26!

brainstorming with classmates

5. Its nearing a month now since I started attending gym classes!

Now that I have mentioned the great things that happened to me I dont think I have any time to discuss the negative things!

will find time post again the soonest!

Conquered Mighty EDSA + ios 7

Mighty Edsa

Its my first time (after 3 yrs) to drive along EDsa today and I must say I am proud I arrived at the venue and went home safely!

I had some near collision moments because of buses who's driver's habit is to cut cars beside them..but thank GOD He still watched over me while I was driving.

I was following my friend, Tina and little did I know she took snapshots of my car as she said it was a momentous event not only for me but for the whole gang :)

Thanks Tins, you made me experience driving with 60-80 kph without stepping on breaks!

We went to a children's party at The Podium and the food was all worth it! 

Updating ios7

Thanks to my friends and their wonderful LTE powered pocket wifi, I was able to update to ios7 in less than half an hour! Im loving the features, especially I think the fonts are visually impaired friendly ;)

I dont have a review yet but I'm loving the features! Besides, all updates are meant to be a better version of the old one, right?!

Happy Fathers Day, Dad!

to my business mentor, my dad, happy father's day! i love you so much!

Never too late to learn something new :)

Would you believe that I actually learnt how to play DOTA 2 at 27? (kindly google if you are not familiar with this online game).

The funny thing is, even 12 year olds (or younger has the authority to call me "noob" or newbie cause really, I am stupid, with slow-hands (as they call it) I couldn't even press the correct keys to attack the enemy. 

But as of the moment, I have already devoted 130 hours of my life playing! Apart from having a business which support Philippine e-gaming, I really have come to my senses and appreciated the value of knowing how to play online games.

It taught me that failure is okay

We are not born masters of any field, we really must learn and part of leaning is failing. (only with DOTA, its accompanied with a lot of trash talk). I understand now the saying: "You become strong if you win, but you become stronger if you fail." I competed with players for 3 consecutive days with stats K/D/A = 0/16/4 (thats 0 kills, 16 deaths and 4 assists). So when I played with computer bots, I was the best player in the team!!! So really, you are sharpened if you compete, doesnt matter if you win or lose.

Team work and open communication

any business or team needs these two to achieve any goal! (here that is to destroy the ancient tower of the opponent)

Humilty and humiliation

A lot of these players are really trash talkers and you will learn the art of focus and determination when you encounter them. if you are really talented, humility plays a huge role on how other players perceive you. 

I guess these are some of the thoughts that I could share with you! 

How many times I was interviewed for work..

 I was reading an article in WSJ http://bit.ly/1oJKvsP?cc=0cd9aff89b6807aaf36814ba7363dded

about a woman who was interviewed 100 times -- she gave insightful tips and I was thinking it would be a great topic for another blog post. 

I'd pretend I was the one sitting on the hotseat :)

looking back, I cannot fathom how many times I applied for work!

WSJ: You must have a good answer to that perennial interview opener: “So, tell me about yourself.” So, tell us about yourself.

Well, I usally start with, "Hi, I am Diane Gervacio, graduate of St. Scholastica's College Manila. I took up a double major in Mass Comm and Marketing" then I usually cite my experiences related to the positiom I am applying for.

WSJ: What do interviewers really want to know when they ask that?

A lot. This first question can make or break you. In the Marketing field, if you can't even sell yourself, they can assume you might not be able to sell their products or services properly as well. They also check your speech and grammar and how you construct sentences in your head.

WSJ: Over the course of 100 interviews, you’ve been asked a lot of questions. Which ones caught you by surprise?

What book have I read recently. I do not read much books as I am not a fan of fiction.. I do read newspapers and read online news but its been years since I last grabbed a book. (I'd rather listen to audio books).

WSJ: What’s the oddest thing an interviewer has asked you to say or do?

Can you spell "execute". I spelled it as such "e-x-e....." after the interview I realised i should have spelled "echo, xray, echo....."

WSJ: To get past problems like that, do you find that it’s important to look confident even if you’re not?

very important, but it still does not matter. even if you so your best, there is just 1 opening and one mistake in the interview is one step farther from the job you are applying for.

WSJ: Body language is very important during an in-person interview. How do you maintain positive body language?

I sit up staight, I maintain eye contact and I give a firm hand shake after the interview.

WSJ: The rest of your interviews would have been by phone or video. What are the challenges of those mediums?

I have been interview via Skype by a British CEO. Imagine the challenge understanding their tone plus the slow internet connection in the Philippines. I surpassed it by giving short, concise but meaningful answers. I still got the job even though the interview was really bad (technically speaking)

WSJ: Do you have a go-to interview outfit? Does it change based on where you’re interviewing?

I have one staple outfit, turtle neck top and slacks and white pointed shoes. This is my lucky outfit and I always get job offers when I'm wearing that.

WSJ: Now that you’ve settled in a job, are you ever on the other side of the table? What kind of interviewer are you?

I am very strict and I am really focused on the interviewee, but the skills and credentials of the person outweighs the interview itself, as i believe one on one communication can be improved but it takes longer time to learn special skills.

I am officially a businesswoman!

first of all, I cannot thank God Almighty more enough for giving me such blessings! Dad finally lent me capital to venture on a business! 

I am franchising Mineski Internet Cafe Network, the number one gaming cyber cafe in the Philippines!

I cannot believe I was able to pitch to dad in just a week! 

I was really thinking long and hard, actually since 2010 what business venture I will invest at. Was supposed to invest to 7 Eleven Convenience Store but did not push through with it for the following reasons:

1. I dont want to handle lots and lots of inventories

2. I was not qualified then as I do not have any managerial experience then

3. I am scared of holdup and robbery

4. I am just plain and simply not interested with convenience stores.

My decision for Mineski was materialized after doing simple maths:

Rent per pc x no of pcs x 24 hours (as they operate 24/7) x 30 days

i tell you, the numbers are quite overwhelming and I trust that I will get back the investment in less than 2 years!

So I set up the meeting with their VP of Franchise and off we went to start my dream!

After settling the first half of the investment, we scouted for possible venue and Mineski team suggested this site 2 block away from Perpetual Molino

Patio Jacinto beside Emilu's Supermarket and UPHDS-Molino

Stalls 9-10 for my 40 units PC

that's me and Jed for the ocular

The place has ample parking spaces! I am really excited about this venture! After 2 months preparation and renovation, here's my shop now:

I cannot contain my excitement! Have hired my first employee, my fresh grad cousin Melo and we have solid brainstorming moments

Will update more and hopefully things will fall into their righteous places!

PS

I lost my online job last January 24 but was rehired a month after by another UK employer! I am really very lucky and blessed so again, I raise these all to God The Father who continously blesses me so I can share my blessings to my family!

Amen! 

#ToGodBeTheGlory

Happy New Year!

Started my year subscribing to Entrepreneur Philippines magazine, to start my year learning and improving. how about you what are you planning to conquer this year?