adopted waray: adopted waray: Creative Shots from Creative Thinkers (James-Con W...

adopted waray: adopted waray: Creative Shots from Creative Thinkers (James-Con W...

adopted waray: Creative Shots from Creative Thinkers (James-Con W...

adopted waray: Creative Shots from Creative Thinkers (James-Con W...: After more than a month of waiting, I have received the copy of our wedding photos shot by Creative Thinkers. I think (actually, I procl...

Tips On Starting and Managing Your Online Selling Business

This morning, I saw a post from one of my best friends about her new online selling business please this link on multiply to view http://lalalushxo.multiply.com/photos/album/2/Stylish_Stud_Earrings or like it on facebook: 

This reminded me of our own online selling business, Sissesonlyn. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000700135413 


It started as a hobby back then when I was still in Qatar, me and my sister conceptualized the idea. It’s been one of my powerful tools on fighting homesickness and earning extra money at the same time J

Now, I will share some tips on how we started and managed our online selling business in Philippines

1.       Always be online.  Sounds so basic right? It’s an online business after all. After you set up your online account and you post all your products, you should be checking every now and then and be ready for client inquiries. Have a fast turnaround time!

2.       Know your product. How will you sell something you are not familiar with? Customers are smart. They want to make sure that the money they will be parting with is worth the product that they will be getting from you so expect a lot of questions and be ready for the answers!

3.       Build Trust and Maintain Credibility. Be honest with what you are selling. Do not promise a product or post a photo that is entirely different from the actual. You are aiming for a repeat transaction. This is what will keep your business going. Disclose the product information that your customer needs to know. May it be the type of the item or the delivery time. If you are selling a second hand good, do not post it as a brand new item. Do not deceive.   

4.       Build Goodwill. Remember, your clients are your business’ best friends. As you build client’s trust and maintain your credibility, you are actually expanding your network. The most effective marketing strategy in online business is thru “word-of-mouth”. A satisfied customer could bring you another five new customers but one dissatisfied customer could ruin your entire network. As per personal experience, most of our loyal clients have become our online friends. J That is so true. Internet is a vast universe which revolves in a small world. We were able to meet new people all around the globe because of online selling. We’ve been all around the Philippines, we’ve passed Singapore, Hongkong, Qatar, Ohio, Chicago, Las Vegas and travelled as far as Germany, Denmark and Dubai via internet. And these people who most of the times are also businesswoman like us have been our loyal partners around the globe. We’ve shared not just profits but also life experiences. J

5.       Keep it cool. Number one buyers are women and they are most frequently fickle-minded. Do not nag or post negative things about a personal account just because they have promised to buy but have changed their minds halfway the transaction. Sure, that is annoying. But face reality, you cannot compel a customer who’s change her mind. This will get a little technical but we must learn how to distinguish two technical terms, contract of sale and contract to sell. Most online business operates under contract to sell wherein full payment is a positive suspensive condition. Nosebleed!!!! But in simple terms, in a contract to sell, the client's failure to pay the full price makes the sales transaction ineffective. In other words, the seller cannot force any buyer to pay the full price of the product. There. No payment, no delivery. No sale. Do not waste your time and energy on negative vibes. Remember, your opinion of a person does not reflect who they are. It reflects who you are.  If they did not buy your product, face it. There are a lot of fishes in the ocean. Fresher than the one that slipped on your net. 

That's it! so goodluck and have fun with your new business! ^___^ xoxo

The Ruins (Talisay Bacolod)

This is one of the most memorable and romantic places I've visited in my life. "The Ruins" located in the city of smiles, located in between Talisay and Bacolod City, Philippines.

According to history, this is the remains of a mansion owned by Don Mariano Ledesma which was intentionally burnt during World War II so that the Japs won't be able to use it as their headquarters.

There are no public utility vehicle so we had to rent a taxy from Bacolod to bring us inside. We negotiated 300php but we decided to give 500 php instead as an extra tip because the driver kept talking to himself in bisaya. ;p

Thank you. :)

I guess this came a little late...nine days late to be exact. Unlike other newly weds, after the wedding, I confess I  might have been into some post-nup depression period. Sometimes, things that are beyond our control happen. We get hurt by people whom we expect to be our source of strength, those that you expect to be your first line of defense when the world has turned against you.... But what is done is done, what's been said has been said. If we continue to hold on to things that has hurt and brought us pain, then we are robbing ourselves the chance of being happy. Let nature take its course, let time heal what has been wounded.


On a lighter note, I'd like to give my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has attended our wedding, October 22, 2011. It was a blessed day. The day we have received the sacrament of marriage. The day Me, James and God have been united. I could feel God's blessings and grace pouring right at that moment He has blessed our relationship. From the church till reception, everything went perfect. And up to this moment, we're continuously receiving His gifts. :)

Just like what my Maid of Honor has said on her message, sa lahat ng mga dumalo mula Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and pati sa import from Abu Dhabi, maraming salamat po. Sa lahat ng mga pusong nakisaya sa aming pag iisang dibdib, sa lahat ng mga nagnais na dumalo ngunit hindi nagkaroon ng pagkakataong makapunta, maraming salamat at sa mga dumalong hindi nakalimutan na umusal ng panalangin para sa pagpapala ng Diyos sa aming pagsasama, higit pa sa mga materyal na bagay na natanggap namin, lubos ang aming pasasalamat at inilaan ninyo sa amin ang araw na ito. Kahit naging nakakainip ang kulang dalawang oras na paghihintay, salamat at nanaig ang kagustuhan ninyong makisaya sa isang banal na araw na simula ng habang buhay naming pagsasama. :)

God bless us all. ^__^

Flowers. Florist. Gazeebo or Sofa???

It never occurred on my mind that we have to set aside a portion of our wedding budget for flowers. Much more, I never thought that it would eat up a very material portion on our budget! Worse, it distorted our budget!!!! Waaaah!!!! And I used to think that flower arrangements on church and reception just pops out..free..haha!

Hmmmnn... I thought best things in life come free.. I wanted the best. But why do I have to pay for it? Non sequitur. :p

Nyways, I already have our church venue so I searched for florists who've already decorated the place. And I immediately fell in love with this arrangement..

                                   

Breathtaking. I love the hanging flowers. I love the cone-shaped design that gives an illusion that the flowers are floating mid-air. I could imagine how it feels walking towards the altar...

Well, this design will have some minor ammendments and it will have to complement my motiff (green and gold) But for sure, I'll be seeing these hanging flowers and the cone-shaped designs on my wedding day.

For weeks, I am in trouble choosing between gazeebo and sofa but with the advice of our florist, I finally chose sofa..hehehe... I asked what my hubby wanted and he wanted the gazeebo. his opinion is only his opinion.. akin ang final say. lols..

So on our wedding day, I'll be expecting this arrangement on azaya

Plus, I want these tall vases on our presidential table.

Guess they're lovely but I'm not sure if it will complement the design of Sirkulo as I want the venue to be filled with swag and lanterns (see below pix...)

oooops... kindly disregard the pretty ladies on the photo. :p

Diary of A Rushing Bride

So today, Sep 11, 2011... Me and my soon-to-be hubby finally had the time to go home to Tarlac and start meeting suppliers!  ( We are currently working in Angeles Pampanga and  have exhausted all those leave entitlements and could no longer afford any salary deduction as every hours paid by the company counts much in the budget!) Here’s the itinerary for our Sunday action-packed weekend:

                8:00 -9:30 --- attend the Sunday Mass for the announcement of our Marriage Banns

                10:00 – 11:00 --- meeting with our florist

                11:30 – 12:00 --- downpayment and contract signing with our cake decorator

                12:30 – 03:00 --- pre nup photoshoot with my hs Bessie, Neslie Paraan

                03:00 – 03:30 ---meet with our prospective Master of Ceremony and Singer (Reception)

                03:30 – 04:00 --- meet with the Tarlac photobooth owner

                04:00 – 04:30  --- book our lights and sound system  coordinator

                04:30 – 06:00 – meet one of our future Ninongs

Yayyy..I forgot.. I initially planned the contract signing with our wedding videographer this day as well.  Kung san pwedeng maisingit na oras..hahaha..

Yes. I know. I could almost hear the “to dream, the impossible dream” music in the background. Out of those nine target to-do’s, was only able to finish four... L

Anyway, what we’ve been able to accomplish I consider milestones for our wedding planning considering it’s only 50 days from now..hayyyss...

We were able to attend the final of the Three Consecutive Mass for our Marriage Banns. (Note that we missed the second Sunday Mass..nyways, Father Lito released my certification! Yey!!!) So immediately we went to San Sebastian Church (our venue) and did some inquiry regarding the availability of wedding singer, sound system and florist. Negative. Confirmed. I need to find suppliers for my church and venue arrangements.  Good thing was able to meet up with our florist, cake decorator and sound and lights provider.  It was bit rainy early morning so I also had to cancel our photoshoot and resched it on the 25^th.  Still have lots of pendings..huhuhu.. but target date is to finish ALL this week.

Nyways, here’s the list of pending items:

                Final Invitation Design – c/o chacha

                Food Tasting on Azaya

                Concept for our pre-nup video

                Photobooth – still looking for supplier

                Wedding singer 

                Emcee

                Bridal shoes and accessories

               

I think I need to update this list as I might have still missed a lot of details... help!

Application for Marriage .... this is it!!!

So July 27 is proclaimed Special Holiday by Angeles Municipality (weeee! special thanks to cha cha's INC  ^__^)  Me and James went to Tarlac to start processing the papers for our wedding. Heard there's much process to go through...  :)

First stop was the church. We chose the church on San Sebastian Village Gate 2. It's a small church, enough to accommodate an estimated 200 close family and friends, just enough to see all the faces of important persons on our special day. Very private, very intimate and very serene. We were able to book the date on October 22! hoorah!!!!

Next was the marriage license on Municipal Hall. We were told that we needed our CENOMAR to get the license. Luckily, they allowed us to submit the CENOMAR once it gets released.We were scheduled for tree planting on July 28 but fortunately, the government personnel was very kind to ahemm... excuse us on the tree planting and instead..uhmmm.. "donate" the amount that will be used to buy the plants. Nyways, we were scheduled for a Family Planning Seminar on Aug 3.

Itenerary will be posted once completed. :p

F-U-N with E-Ring. :)

I had fun the other night shooting with the engagement ring given to me by James sometime on October 2010. ;)

hello childhood fantasies!!!! here comes Evita Peron...haha

Mamalae

From what started as "tuksuhan" during our review days in CPAR, I never thought back then that it would come this far. Kikes parents came all the way from Tacloban to formally ask permission from my parents for our wedding. Sounds bit traditional but it does feel good. And I am just so thankful that everbody around us just seems so supportive... to be continued...

Facebook Addict

It's half past the hour of eleven pm and I am still wide awake. Been checking for all the notifications of my facebook account since six. I have a confession, I have an approximately eight facebook accounts. I just created another one earlier so that makes nine of them. Oh well, there are only few active accounts, two of them are both me, Con Guiao and my alter ego, Maria Gattuc. I made Sissesonlyn and Sissie Closet Onlyn. Ooops, there's also this Tacloban Gadgets online and Sissesonlyn Tacloban. I already forgot the other passwords of some that I created. Worse, I forgot the account names. But if you will notice, I'm into internet marketing. Yeah, I believe before being a CPA, I'm a Businesswoman by nature. I just created a new account, Inkfinity Tarlac a while ago. I hope this business will do well. Keeping my fingers crossed. :)

onion skin

I was having breakfast at our Mami House when I noticed this thing on my soup! 

I've almost eaten this cute heart-shaped slice of onion without capturing it on my cam! That was a very sweet morning it felt like I was being reminded that every moment should be loved and cherished.

Well, if you are curious what happened to the heart-shaped onion, don't worry. I've stored it... in my tummy! Special things like that should be be kept on special places.. ayt? :p

Where is Tacloban?

I have always thought that Leyte and Samar are part of Tacloban. :) You see, I got a poor Philippine geography knowledge (might have slept or skipped the class when we were discussing this portion!)  and it wasn't until I was twenty two that I learned I was wrong!!!!! thanks to my boyfriend, *who is from Tacloban* that I came to figure out that Tacloban is a part of Leyte (it's the other way around) and Samar is a separate island! I always get a sweet scolding whenever I forget his lecture. ;)
Nyways, that is the start of my journey to being an adopted waray. ^___^