How I Transformed My Passion into a Digital Online Business?!

Most people would ask me how I was able to quit my day job as a CIO of a multinational corporation and become a digitalpreneur with a leading food and travel media company in the Philippines.

Ten years ago today, I resigned from P&G. I remember routing my resignation checklist for my separation pay and having doubts if I made the right decision, leaving a lucrative career and all.

Here are 10 tips that helped me transform my passion for food & travel into a successful business venture:

1). Have a Powerful Why

I started the blog in January 2005, the same month when my first son Aidan came into the world. By the time I resigned from P&G, our second son Joshua was born in November of 2007. My third son Raphael was born in February 2010; and our bunso Yugi, in July 2014.

Our digital business is a love tribute to our 4 sons. My wife and I want to leave them a legacy that they will be proud of and, at the same time, make a significant contribution to our country.

 

2). Get the Unconditional Support of your Wife, Partner or Special Someone

I was in the US attending an Internet Marketing conference when I decided to retire and I emailed my wife Rache about it. Her loving and unequivocal response made a lot of difference.

 

3). Focus on your strengths (not your weaknesses)

Since I love to eat and travel, a natural business to go into would be food tours, starting off with Pampanga, Tagaytay and our most popular Batanes Food Tour.

I remember selling our first Ultimate Philippines Christmas Tours online.

Related Blog Post:  Ultimate Kapampangan Christmas Tour 2008

I was so excited to see that it worked. What’s more, getting paid online via PayPal erased any misgivings I had in mind and reinforced my belief that I could really monetize my passion.

 

4). Become a Marketplace to Connect Suppliers and Consumers

We created the Ultimate Taste Test Events to connect  home-based food entrepreneurs with foodies to promote the former’s business and to address the latter’s craving for good food.

We monetized the event by charging an event fee (for a taste of all the food), a part of which was donated to a worthy cause.

Related Blog Post: Ultimate Taste Test 4.0 — Don’t miss it! 🙂

 

5). Experiment and Sell Other People’s Products—It’s the Best Way to Learn How to Monetize Online

The best education is to engage in actual online selling yourself, involving products and services that you love.

Related Blog Post: Avenue Q Final Run

We love broadway musicals so we would buy a show like Avenue Q and sell the seats for a commission.

 

6). Lend a Hand: Your Income is Directly Proportional to the Number of People You Helped

Pay it forward and make sure to provide guidance and assistance to other people who are just starting out.

That’s why I created Maven Secrets 90-day Coaching Program—to help would-be entrepreneurs establish their online business.

This was also my first attempt to sell a high priced program with a 3-month subscription option via PayPal.

Read More: Be the Next Our Awesome Planet Apprentice?

 

7). Focus Everyday to Build a Personal Brand

Have a mantra and a reason for being to fuel your passion and intensify your resolve when the going gets tough.

Your online presence should be professional, all the more so if you are asking for money via PayPal from people you don’t know online.

 

8). Think Global: There are no country borders online.

Building a brand, whether local or global, takes the same effort, especially on the internet.

Take the time to network with the mavens of your industry, online and offline.

 

9). Discern and Have Faith!

If you believe that you have found your purpose and destiny, believe and have faith that you will make it.

I noticed that whenever I’m doing the things that I’m destined to do, it’s so easy to conquer obstacles and achieve success.

If it is not meant for you, you’ll notice that the world will somehow make it impossible for you to succeed.

 

10). Always Give Back!

On the 10th Year Anniversary of my Professional Blogging Career, I’m excited to partner with PayPal and my dear friend Abe of Yugatech to give an awesome workshop on How to Become a Digitalpreneur.

Abe was the one who convinced me to quit P&G and to blog professionally. It’s my dream to have a tandem workshop with him to reminisce those good old days way back in 2005 and to provide powerful insights on what works for 2018 and beyond.

Best of all, this is for free, thanks to our partnership with PayPal. Just register here: http://bit.ly/7thPayPalFreelancerWorkshop

See you on June 23, 2pm at One Esplanade. Come to this historic workshop and you’re on your way to becoming a successful digipreneur!

Not yet a PayPal user? Sign up here and attend the workshop for free!

Live an Awesome Life,

Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com 

Disclosure: Our Awesome Planet is an official PayPal Mentor for 2018.  I wrote this article with my biases, opinions, and insights.