I initially plan to make this a 3-series article but decided to give all the info here since I’ll be busy with the holidays and will get some time “away” from the computer. Also, I would like you to work on all the items discussed here during the long Christmas break. BTW, Happy Holidays to everyone!

So, let’s get started.

I assume you already have your Gmail account by now. Also, you should have secured at least 2 valid IDs last month which was the most “quiet” time of the year for most government offices. (Note: November is the best month to get IDs, papers, etc. from government offices – though that is in Davao but I think it represents the trend of other cities in the Philippines). Most of my clients found Philhealth, DFA(passport)and Postal Office the fastest way to get an ID.

If you don’t have a bank account yet then its time to save that 13th month bonus or gifts from “ninongs and ninangs.”  You MUST have a savings account even if you are not interested in setting up an online business.

The first 3 items are found in this link. Here’s the next four of 7:
4. Valid Physical Address
5. Debit/Credit Card
6. Computer (Owned or Rented)
7. Paypal Account

Valid Physical/Mailing Address
You might be wondering why I included this on the list. Let me tell you MY story so you’ll understand why: when I started my online business I used several physical/mailing addresses. It’s not because I’m too rich to have many houses but my family don’t own any house(I didn’t came from a rich home) so some of my contact info is set on my aunt’s address, another to a friend and the other to our local church. Checks, payments, notices, etc. from Paypal, online merchants, etc. were delivered in different addresses which is really a hassle. 

This might not be a problem to you but make sure you only use ONE physical address in all your correspondence relating to your online business. So, same address you’ll use on your bank info, Paypal account, business info, etc. 

Using one address will also help you organize

Also, make sure that the address you use don’t have any problems. Some addresses have problems receiving stuff – they just don’t arrive(typical for the Post Office).

Debit/Credit Card
You need a debit/credit card to activate your Paypal account(more of this below). In the first series of this article, I mentioned about opening a bank account in Unionbank and the reason for that is you’ll get a debit card with them. Unionbank’s EON Card is like the usual ATM card but this can be used to purchase items online – works like an international debit/credit card. My EON card is shown below(numbers are blurred for obvious reasons): 

Of course, your EON card may not look like above since they change the design sporadically. Just make sure that when you visit any Unionbank branch that you ask them to give you an EON account. As of this writing, there is NO monthly maintaining balance for the EON account but you’ll have to pay $7 (Php 350.00) annually.

You will be using this card only ONCE – that is to activate your Paypal account. Once it is activated, you may have the option to continue using your EON card to withdraw funds from Paypal or you may use other banks.

Any international credit card can also be used to validate your Paypal account. Try all your debit/credit cards first because they might work but if not EON is the best bet.

For Filipinos abroad, check with your local bank if their debit/credit cards support Paypal. As a general rule of thumb, Mastercard and Visa cards work with Paypal.

Again, you’ll only use the card once then you have the option on what bank account to use.

NOTE: I opened accounts with BPI and BDO since they also have debit/credit cards. However, both doesn’t work with Paypal with the exception of their international credit cards – that means higher monthly registration fee. You can definitely withdraw money though from your Paypal account to your BPI and/or BDO account among others.

Computer (Owned, Rented, Mac or PC)
I have two discussions in this item: “owned or rented” and “MAC/Linux or PC/Windows”.

Owned or rented
You should have your OWN computer. However, if budget is tight this won’t prevent you from starting your own online business. Having your own computer means your data is safe with you,  you can work anytime and you’ll save more money long term.

When I started my online business I don’t have a computer. My previous employer issued me a laptop so I bring the laptop at home(on which I’m authorized) to work on my online business. Sometimes I went to an internet cafe and work there.

Do NOT let technology stop you. Own a computer if you can but you can still work by renting a computer. Aim to invest for  a computer though – it is real worth investment.

MAC/Linux vs PC/Windows
Though MAC and Linux are two different operating systems I treat them as one in general since both of them are built from Unix and both don’t get affected with any virus, spywares or adwares.

I’ve been in the computer industry for more than a decade and I used MAC, Linux and Windows. Each of them have strengths and weaknesses. Some techies will tell you that  OSes don’t matter and its just a matter of preference. I beg to differ. One thing I really don’t like on Windows is that it can caught a virus. There’s an anti-virus, right? Yes, there are BUT still some can get through. I don’t like fighting viruses especially in the middle of a project!

In my experience, 90% of Windows users who have anti-virus software installed in their computers were still hit by a virus. Slow apps, blue-screen-of-death and worst data loss. Oh no! What a terrible day!

Nonetheless, your operating system must be dictated on what application softwares you’ll use. However, if possible, look for similar programs for MAC or Linux(which most are free) then stay away with Windows. 

I now use MAC and Linux exclusively. I still use Internet Explorer(a Windows program) for my web design business but that app is running on Wine(a Mac/Linux app where it allows Windows programs to run).

By the way, check the blog posts of my brother. I think its funny and MAC converts can really relate with their honeymoon days with their MAC, here’s the links:
His thoughts BEFORE using a MAC 
His thoughts AFTER using a MAC

Needless to say, your computer, owned or rented, MAC or PC, must be connected to the internet.

Paypal Account 
Here’s the core of this article and this is probably new to you. I should have created the 3rd series with only this item discussed since there’s a lot to talk about this. Rather, I’ll give you an overview of this program so you just can understand it and get started then I’ll talk more about this in the future. Don’t worry I’ll give you the meat!

Paypal enables you to send and receive money. It can accept credit card payments online.

Paypal is a merchant account and a payment gateway in one. Don’t worry about what online merchant account and payment gateway is since we don’t have it in the Philippines yet. In the U.S. and other highly-developed countries, merchant account can be a different company with the payment gateway but for now let’s focus on Paypal which has BOTH. 

Here’s the general process of setting up Paypal in receiving payments in its basic form:

1. Setup a product in Paypal by setting the product title, description, price, etc, 
2. Paypal will generate an order link where you’ll paste it in your web pages
3. Customer browse your products in your website and click the order link to buy
4. Customer will be taken to the Paypal page to pay for the item
5. Once payment has been approved, the amount will be credited to your account(immediately visible in your Account History page) and then you’ll be notified via email that a sale had been made.
6. Deliver the goods/services.

You can check your balance online by logging in to your Paypal account. [Note: This is why you should have your OWN computer for security reasons and should avoid Windows since some virus/spyware can capture your login info]. 

There are 3 types of Paypal accounts:

1. Personal
2. Premier
3. Business

I’ll only discuss the first two. If you think you’ll have a total monthly sales of $10,000 then you NEED to get the Business account.

Personal Paypal account
Personal accounts are absolutely free but you are only allowed 5 credit/debit card transactions in a 12-month period. The transaction fee is about 5%. Sending and receiving money from a Paypal balance though remains free and without limit.

Premier Paypal account
Its free to open a Premier account or upgrade from a Personal account. You are also allowed virtually unlimited credit/debit card transactions. The transaction fee is about 3% which is half the fee of traditional merchant accounts.

For detailed figures, visit this link.

I would advise you get a Personal account AND a Premier account. Don’t worry. You are allowed to have two accounts as long as one is a Personal account. You will be using two different cards for the two accounts though. So, if getting a credit/debit card is a hassle to you then first get the Premier account.

You can withdraw your Paypal funds to any participating bank if your account is activated/validated. Remember, the Unionbank and debit/credit card above? That is why its important to have those so you can withdraw your money to your bank.

To know more about Paypal visit www.Paypal.com and create an account now.
  
Whew! Finally, I already given the complete list. WHAT’s NEXT? DO YOUR ASSIGNMENT! Once you have nailed all these then you are very close in earning your first few dollars online.

In the next articles, I’ll be giving some ideas and tips on how to find a good and “responsive” market and how to promote your business.

Lastly, please let me know what you thought about our site – use the comments section below this article.  Also, subscribe to my RSS feed via email and  tell your friends about this site – they’ll thank YOU for it.

Cheers and God bless you!

Related Posts:

• Necessary Preparations for Starting Your Own Online Business (Series 1)
• What Every Filipino Ought to Know About Internet Marketing
• The Top 3 Reasons I Discovered Why Filipinos Don’t Start Their Own Online Business
• Internet Marketing in the Philippines
• Internet Marketing – Is this for YOU?
• The Secret of Getting High Rankings in Search Engines

So, back to our topic …

About 2 weeks ago, I promised to publish articles on how to get YOUR OWN online business up and running. I already showed you some samples and proofs. 

There are MANY ways to earn money from the internet. The preparations I’ll share to you are necessary to any and all venues of income-generating online businesses. As a side note, I know you’re VERY eager to know some of the ways to get passive income from the internet so here’s a FEW sample cases(an overview):

1. If you are a mom stuck at home…
Moms who are stuck at home can make money from the internet by selling goods from home, writing/editing articles for somebody, blogging, etc.

2. If you are offering services like transcriptions, designing…
You can extend your marketplace all over the world and NO, you don’t have to go to London so setup your office. Its getting your office open round-the-clock through the internet.

3. If you are an author/writer…
Authors/writers can use blogs to write about their topics, drive traffic(people) to it and then sell ads on their sites. Click on the “Blog Mastermind” link on the Recommends section of this page to know more about blogs.

4. If you are an expert/professional…
Experts can setup membership sites – it’s like a subscription on magazines where you pay for X number of issues but through the internet. People will surely pay for information! 

5. If you are a manufacturer…
Get your store open 24/7 online! Few years ago, I interviewed some exhibitors on a trade show and found out that they paid $500 (Php 25,000) for a 3-day trade show event. One of them admitted that they had no sale for 3 days. If they had only spend that much for their online store they should have earn 10 times they have invested on that trade show.

Again, the above samples are only a few ways to have a passive income from the internet. I’ll go into more details on each of those areas on future articles. (I suggest you subscribe to my RSS feed).  

To sum it up, you can sell the following in the internet:
1. Products (tangibles) ex. trinkets, jewelries, books etc.
2. Services (intangibles) ex. transcription services, web design, etc.
3. Information (both) ex. “how-to” books, ebooks, membership sites, etc.

But before that we need to prepare some things for your online business. This is going to be a series of articles since I don’t have enough time to write. You’ll also have tasks to be done in few days or as much as 4 weeks or more. I’ll have a conclusion on the last series.

These are the first 3 of the 7 things you need to prepare:
1. At least 2 Valid IDs
2. Email Address
3. Bank Account  

Valid IDs
Company IDs, SSS, GSIS, Driver’s Licence – anything that any bank requires for opening a new account. You will be opening a bank account for your online business so this a MUST.

Email Address
There are so many free email accounts but I highly recommend Gmail at www.gmail.com. I’ll go into details later on why you should use Gmail account but trust me its worth to get one. Besides, you get free 7GB email space. What is it? That is a LOT of space that you virtually don’t need to delete any email! Also, you got a lot of other features that no other free email service can give.

Bank Account
Any bank will do but I need you to sign up with Unionbank since that it the easiest way I found to get your Paypal account. You will need a Paypal account(hint for the next series) and Unionbank can easily help you. 

Other items will be covered in the next series.

So, here’s your tasks for this week:
1. Secure at least 2 Valid IDs.
2. Get a free email account at Gmail.
3. Open an account with Unionbank. (Tell them you’ll be using Paypal with your account) 

Get your assignments done and you’re on your way on making your first few dollars from the internet. Watch out for the next series.

Lastly, please share this link to your friends. They’ll thank you for it!

Cheers and God bless you!

Related Posts:

• Necessary Preparations for Starting Your Own Online Business (Series 2)
• What Every Filipino Ought to Know About Internet Marketing
• The Top 3 Reasons I Discovered Why Filipinos Don’t Start Their Own Online Business
• Internet Marketing in the Philippines
• Internet Marketing – Is this for YOU?
• The Secret of Getting High Rankings in Search Engines

I discovered three things that pushed back most Filipinos from starting their own online business. Here’s their common excuses:

1. “I don’t know where to start!”
2. “I don’t know much about computers. Internet marketing is just for computer geeks!”
3. “The cost of setting up a website is too expensive! I can’t afford it.”

Sounds familiar? Good news! You have come to the right place. I’ll give you quick and practical advices on how to turn down those excuses and convert them as “driving forces” to start your own internet business now!

“I don’t know where to start!”
I heard this many times and seems valid as an excuse since most of us tend to have someone do the work for us and let them show us on how they’ve done it (silly you! ü). When I started my online business I was like lost in the tall grassy field finding my way through. Not seeing what’s ahead of me, I keep cutting those tall grasses and moving forward - testing a LOT of things in my online business. Fortunately, I was able to find success on doing business online. How did I do it? NOT simple. I lost $$$ on the way. As a valued reader of my blog, you don’t have to go through where I’ve been especially the pits and falls on doing business online. I’ll give you my story so you’ll know how to start right:

I first learned about internet marketing by “Googling.” If some of you still haven’t known the word ‘Google‘ is now included on some dictionary meaning to search for a definition of a word or topic by typing the keywords(or phrases) at www.Google.com. Yes, that’s how I started. I spent countless hours doing research in Google(I thank Al Bungabong who first introduced it to me). However, the problem with finding information on Google is MOST information are lousy. Indeed, you can find GREAT information from Google for free but its only a few compared to thousands of scams out there.

More about Google on future articles.

My online business had a BIG turn when I met Fred Gleeck who has a Filipino half-brother. Its quite a long story on how we met but the short story version is he was looking for a webmaster and I offered him my services through his half-brother(who informed me about the job) then luckily I got to work with him! My first breakthrough in my online venture is when I started to work with him. Fred is the real deal in information marketing – if not THE best, one of the top best. Besides he knows his topic very much he can teach it well! I acknowledged that he has become my father in internet marketing. I then “contextualized” his material to fit in the Philippines’ internet marketing industry.

If you wanted to learn about internet marketing I suggest you start with the ebooks he wrote. It has various topics and choose which fits you. This is more than a $100 gift for you since I’ll give you the link to access his 5 ebooks for FREE. You can download the free ebooks at www.FredGleeck.com/ebooks.

Where to start? Get the ebooks now and read it. Keep checking my blog for more advices on how to do business online. Better yet, subscribe to my RSS feed via email so my articles will be delivered to your email once they are published.

I’ll post more of my story on future articles so you’ll have a bigger picture on how to do business online – “contextualized for the Filipinos.”
 

“I don’t know much about computers. Internet marketing is just for computer geeks!”
To tell you frankly, internet marketing is not easy BUT you can learn it. Its a SKILL. 

Here’s the diagnostic test for you to know if internet marketing is for you:
1. Do you know how to copy-and-paste text?
2. Do you know how to follow instruction?

Easy? Extremely easy! If you answer ‘YES‘ to all the questions above then internet marketing(or online business) is for YOU! If you don’t know how to copy-and-paste text in your computer then ask a Grade 1 pupil to teach you. If you can’t follow instructions then I can’t help you.

Again, check out my blog regularly or subscribe to my RSS feed to get to know the “skills”.
 

“The cost of setting up a website is too expensive! I can’t afford it.”
Gone are the days where only big companies can setup a website. The days when you need to spend Php 50,000 for just one website has now ended.

Let me give you an overview of the cost in setting up a website(AS A STARTER):

1. Domain Name (ex. PinoyInternetBusiness.com) – $10 annually (about Php 500.00 per year)
There are 365 days in a year so do the math! It’s only 1.40 pesos per day!  Check out www.UltraCheapSolutions.com for this cheap rate.

2. Web Hosting – $2 monthly (about Php 100.00 per month)
There are 30 days in a month so again lets do the math! It’s 3.30 pesos a day!

3. Web Designer – $0. PHP 0. NADA!
Why ZERO? As a beginner, I don’t want you to start big. Learn it yourself. It’s not that difficult. If you are really technically-challenged then ask for relatives to teach you or build it for you. I think the cost for lunch will do(big smile). Besides, we, Filipinos are closely-knitted. We can ask even our neighbors to help us out for free. Pay them later when you have earned your BIG BUCKS online.

This website was built using WordPress and it is so easy to use – you can learn it quickly. Again, if you have passed the diagnostic test above then you’ll definitely learn WordPress. Click here to see an example of how to quickly and easily setup a blog/website. More about WordPress on future articles.

Going back to the cost of the website, let’s say you really have to pay someone to create a website. Hiring a computer science student would cost you at most $50(about Php 2,500.00). That is about Php 6.90 per day.

Adding up all the cost mentioned above you’ll spend Php 4,200 for one whole year. That is ONLY Php 11.50 per day! You only have to spare 1 bottle of soda per day to get started with your business online.

Are websites affordable? Absolutely! Don’t be fooled and ripped off again with tech-geeks who charged you with tens of thousands of pesos!

By the way, don’t be confused with some of the terms above or the processes that it involved. I’ll explain that in future articles. Also, I’ll be posting my Million Dollar Rolodex soon so watch out for it.

I hope you got many insights from this article. If you need to ask me some question use the form here. If you like this article share it to your friends. They’ll surely thank you for sharing this information to them. You can use the ‘ShareThis‘ button below. I made it easy for you to share this information.

Enjoy life and God bless you!

Related Posts:

• What Every Filipino Ought to Know About Internet Marketing
• Internet Marketing in the Philippines
• Internet Marketing – Is this for YOU?
• Necessary Preparations for Starting Your Own Online Business (Series 2)
• Necessary Preparations for Starting Your Own Online Business (Series 1)
• The Most Common Question Everyone Asked: “Can I really make money from the internet?”
• Website and Free Publicity
• Is He/She an Expert?
• Am I Still in Internet Marketing?
• The Secret of Getting High Rankings in Search Engines

Maintaining Blogs
It’s a pain in the neck maintaining multiple blogs. Trust me. I have setup a LOT of blogs in hope that I will earn more money. I’m dead wrong. If you can’t regularly post new content and give real meat to your audience then there’s NO way you can monetize from your blog.

First, deliver GREAT content! You’ll eventually attract audience and thus can monetize from your blog. There’s a lot going on in between that but simply put ‘give first before you can take‘. There is NO “get-rich-quick” scheme in the internet. You should work! For me, it was about 6 months before I earned from the internet and about 12-18 months before passive income was started to come in. If there are “get-rich-quick” scheme you’ll find then that’s possibly 99% SCAM and won’t last at all!

I setup this blog and always been reminded to give REAL MEAT to my audience. People will not listen to me unless I have impressed them first. Once I get their attention, I’ll impress them more and eventually they’ll get my consulting services since they know that I’m an expert in that field by giving away free real content to them.

Am I crazy giving away my knowledge and expertise to other people for free? Not at all! It depends on two things: your passion and long term goals. If you have passion on your topic I don’t think you’ll run out of knowledge on it. My passion is music, technology and business. Yes, I’m a musician, a tech-buff and an entrepreneur. For more than a decade now, I never run out of ideas with my passions because I love doing it! Les Paul, the legendary guitarist said ‘…my hobby is my work and my work is my hobby‘. If I give away free content(REAL MEAT) people will think they can learn more from me since they perceive me as an expert having a broad knowledge in that topic. Consequently, they’ll keep coming back to get more from me. Although, unless you are not passionate on your topic then you’ll surely deplete your knowledge.

On long term goals: my goal is to elevate myself as an expert in the field – that happens to be ‘internet marketing‘. Most people, especially Filipino, are very skeptical. They should be convinced first by ‘showing’ your knowledge and if possible that they will get it for free! If I want more people to see me as an expert in my field then I should give more and give it at absolutely no cost. That is the reason I setup this blog. I’m giving away free tips and advices for internet marketers. This blog will be focused on online entrepreneurship in the Philippines while my other site(IM Central) will be focused on tutorials for non-techy internet marketers. Marisa, my wife, will be starting her own blog too! Of course, her passion is handicrafts, cooking and entrepreneurship.

Then, where do I get money from my site? Quick answer: back-end products! I’ll talk more on back-end products on future articles.

Internet Marketing Book
My mentor once said that if you have knowledge that 90% of the people don’t know about then you are an expert in that field. I then considered myself as an expert in the field. Only few people know about internet marketing in the Philippines and in my humble opinion I’m one of the best. Why? I’ve been selling online for more than half a decade. I teach what I’m doing. Plus, I have worked and still actively working with top U.S. information marketers like Fred Gleeck and expert copywriter Bob Bly. I was able to tapped on their 20+ years of knowledge in internet marketing and direct selling. Besides, I also have experience in direct selling since I was a kid until I was in college. Most of the business principles I learned from my childhood are still the strong pillars in the business today.  I thank God for the great training that my parents gave me!

I have also traveled to different cities in the Philippines and almost found no one who knows much about internet marketing. I have been hard-pressed to share my knowledge on internet marketing in my city, Davao, which is the largest city in the Philippines, . Then, that dawned on me – I should write a book!

I’m not a good writer. In fact, I’m a “trying-hard” writer but does it stop me from writing a book? Absolutely NO! I believe in MILO’s slogan ‘Great things start from small beginnings‘. One of the best principle that my mentor taught me is ‘DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT!‘ I want to finish this book. I don’t need to spend a lot of time “perfecting” the book. I don’t aspire to be a multi-awarded writer. I’m here to give people what I know – to share to my ‘kababayan’(fellow countrymen) what God has given me. Besides, many people ENJOY looking for misspellings and grammatical errors. I’ll try to PLEESE them and make them LUFF on my wrong speelings and gramar!

So, subscribe to my RSS feed and I’ll give you a free copy of my “on-progress” book in PDF format when it comes available. I’ll try to finish the book by the end of this year.

(If you don’t know about RSS feed, then check back soon as I’ll post a topic about it)

Cheers!

Related Posts:

• The Top 3 Reasons I Discovered Why Filipinos Don’t Start Their Own Online Business
• Is He/She an Expert?
• Internet Marketing – Is this for YOU?
• Necessary Preparations for Starting Your Own Online Business (Series 2)
• Necessary Preparations for Starting Your Own Online Business (Series 1)
• What Every Filipino Ought to Know About Internet Marketing
• Website and Free Publicity
• Am I Still in Internet Marketing?
• The Secret of Getting High Rankings in Search Engines
• The Most Common Question Everyone Asked: “Can I really make money from the internet?”