Friday, October 05, 2018

9 helpful real estate tips to learn from Netflix's Stay Here

Do you have a condo unit, a townhouse or a house that's sitting empty and you'd like to rent it out to vacationers? Then you MUST watch Stay Here on Netflix!!!

Stay Here is a show hosted by real estate expert Peter Lorimer and interior designer Genevieve Gorder. Together, they traveled across the United States, picking properties from dilapidated historical homes to a house boat to transform and market as a short-term rental, a.k.a. an Airbnb gem.



My husband and I have watched all the episodes. We like home design shows a lot. Our recent favorite is The World's Most Extraordinary Homes and it's also on Netflix and it's also a must-watch! We like home makeover shows, too. I mean, nothing is better than watching decorating experts transform a terrible piece of property to an astounding house! We learn a lot of design advice and we picked up a few tips and tricks in all the years we watched shows like decorating-budget-is-from-selling-old-stuff Clean House to the insane sky's-the-limit-budget of Million Dollar Decorators.

What makes Stay Here the kind of makeover show that made me take out pen and paper is it's also a business plan for people who want to make money on Airbnb. Airbnb is the most popular and the biggest accommodation-sharing service in the world. Whether you have an extra room or an extra house, you can rent it out to travelers. Airbnb makes this possible for millions of property owners and tourists out for a unique experience. It's also made tons of money. So if you want a piece of that pie, here's where Stay Here comes in.

In every episode of Stay Here, Peter and Genevieve check out a property, assess its income-generating potential, renovate it to a wow-inducing piece, and help the owner market it online. The renovated properties make so much money after, it's crazy! So let me share with you my Top 10 helpful real estate tips I learned from Stay Here:

1. Research the competition. How much are the hotels and rentals in your area? What do they look like? What can you offer that they don't? This information can help you decide on how to decorate your place, how much to charge, and how to market it.

All Malibu beachfront properties have this view but only The Beach House on Malibu Road has this deck to soak it up! 

2. You have to be better than the hotel in the area. Guests know they're staying at a home so they usually won't expect a hotel-like experience. But when you give them 5-star accommodation and service, that will make them leave you a glowing review, refer you to friends, and they will return. Peter always says, "Referrals are the lifeblood of short-term rentals!" So if people like you, they'll recommend you forever, which means free marketing for you.

Why choose a bland hotel room when you can sleep in this blissful blue bedroom in the Palm Springs Time Machine?

3. Target families. Most everyone who chooses Airbnb do so because they're a big group. Hotels infamously limit occupancy to 2 people per room, or 2 adults with 2 kids aged under 12. So people like me who have 3 kids, or families who like traveling with the grandparents, or those who bring along their pets are dismayed at hotel restrictions. So here's where you—dear property owner—come in. Target families! They are willing to pay more especially since hotels don't offer them space and a home-y feel. Look at your amenities with a mother's eye. Make it child-safe and child-friendly. Make them feel it's a true home away from home. Peter said, "Ninety percent of vacations are booked by moms." Moms are who you need to impress!

The loft in the second bedroom of DC Firehouse 4 can accommodate 2 kids while the wall of curtains can hide baby stuff like strollers and car seats.

4. Highlight the uniqueness of your property. Always tell the visitor the history of your rental and your neighborhood. All properties are the same anyway in that they offer the traveler a roof over their head and a pillow under it. Spotlight what makes your property unique. Tell its story because stories add to its appeal. Add these stories and photos in your listing. 

The Palm Springs Time Machine offers a sexy bar, psychedelic rooms, a fabulous pool—all in their original 1969 glory.

5. Make the entry impressive. If your property is a home, make the gate and/or the front door stand out so that guests—especially those arriving in the middle of the night—won't miss it. Genevieve always emphasizes the importance of the entry way. It has to cheer up the weary traveler and make them excited for their stay. Even if your property is a condo, you can still make your guests feel you care for them by making your entry hallway warm and welcoming. Make it bright. Make it intuitive—meaning your guests will immediately know where to drop off their luggage, take off their shoes, etc.   

Expect this cheerful living area to greet you when you book  a stay at the Yellow Block Bed & Breakfast.

6. Stock up on essentials. Do as hotels do and offer coffee, water, snacks, grooming products, towels. Peter suggests putting together a welcome basket of treats you can find in your neighborhood for local travelers. For foreign tourists, fill that basket with native goodies like dried mangoes, piaya, polvoron, and the like. Spend 10% of what you charge for the night on the welcome basket.

The Yellow Block B&B has cereal, the local favorite rainbow bagels, and its own Yellow Block bagel for guests to enjoy.

7. Include a tourist guide. Places to go, transportation tips, shopping malls, unique shops, bars, banks with ATMs, landmarks. Guide them to a great local experience.

Families seated at that generous table can plan their itinerary using the Yellow Block B&B Wall of Attractions.

8. Don't take pictures of your rental with your phone. The biggest mistake of all! Please use a real camera. Better yet, hire a professional photographer. You've got to have great pictures if you want to sell your property. Take pictures of the neighborhood, too. 

You can't miss DC Firehouse 4—on the stretch of colorful homes, it's the one with a firetruck!

9. Make your rental social media friendly. If it's Instragammable, you get free marketing when your guests take selfies and photos. Genevieve says it's not enough to make your place look nice, it has to have a feature that will make your guests take out their phone and snap a selfie. She calls it "a social media moment." That's a fabulous wall to pose against, a crazy pink bedroom, a historical piece. Peter says, "Create a hashtag!" In the time of Instagram, but of course!

At the Palm Springs Time Machine, a #selfie in this fantastic pink bathroom featuring a crazy sunken bathtub is a must! 

You have to watch the show, mamas! If you're thinking of a business that allows you stay at home, then Stay Here will help you make your dreams a reality with concrete business advice. Truly a must-watch show in the time of businesses at home, room-sharing, and social media!

Stay Here is exclusively showing on Netflix. All photos here were grabbed from the websites or Airbnb listings of Yellow Block B&B in Brooklyn, Palm Springs Time Machine in Palm Springs, The Beach House on Malibu Road in Malibu, and DC Firehouse 4 in Washington DC.


Check back on Monday for a new post! Have a great weekend!


Wednesday, October 03, 2018

Working mom dream: A career that lets her be with her kids

At one of my blogging workshops (the super successful one held at the beautiful corporate offices of Flawless Face & Body Clinic), I was so happy to see moms bringing their babies. While I was speaking, sometimes a kid cried or talked loudly or had to breastfeed. I didn't mind at all. I brought all my babies to work so I totally understand how life is with kiddos. And that makes me constantly dream of a work environment that allows mothers to be mothers.

I wish more work places allowed kids to be with their mommies and daddies. Yes, I should change my title to "Working PARENT dream: A career that lets moms and dads be with their kids." Kids may be a distraction when you're working—as a work-at-home mom, I know this so well—but worry over them and guilt at spending too much time away from them can be a distraction, too.

At Summit Media, I brought my kids to events, radio tours, and to my office. I don't know if that was allowed because I was OK! magazine's editor-in-chief, though! Of course in Baby Magazine, my kids always tagged along to my shoots. Now, in L'Oréal, I sometimes bring my kids along and my co-workers get so excited to see little people in the office. In fact, the past 8 years that I've been a mom, I've always had my kids around when I work (for better or for worse!). I'm truly grateful for this privilege.

At an interview and a shoot for my Manila Bulletin column, I shot my OOTD... and my Iñigo!
Vito (in yellow) at a photo shoot for Baby Magazine. He wasn't a model, just a bored kid at mama's office!
Piero enjoying a photo shoot for Halo Sleepsacks

I'm grateful that my work now as a blogger allows me to earn money while I'm home. But this career is like a freelance job - sometimes the checks don't come in for months. I may be working on so many campaigns, which impress the heck out of everyone, but our bank account is screaming, "Show me the money!!!" The bills come with frightening regularity and with three kids now in school, the expenses have shot up. That's why my husband went back to an office job and I got a regular editorial gig at L'Oréal just to match the schedule of the bills with a reassuring monthly pay check. But we're already missing what we had just last year - 24/7 with our boys! Our life was so amazing. But we had to give it up.

It's not so bad, okay. Our kids spend a lot of time in school anyway, plus our jobs now allow us a lot of flexibility. We're not complaining. In fact, we're grateful we're allowed so much time for ourselves and our family while also earning a living. Many parents don't enjoy what we have.

Parents are such hard workers. And we'll work better if we knew our kids are safe and happy. For many of us who have wonderful yayas and relatives to care for our babies, that's great! But some of us, like me, who have no help at all from either kasambahay and family, work is almost impossible if we can't bring the kids along.

I wish companies can have daycare centers. Or a family room. Or offer flexible working hours or work-at-home options to all its employees, parent or not. It's a changing world anyway. Moms and dads are great employees because they need the job more, ya know? Employers can take advantage of that by taking care of the little kids, too. Parents spend a good chunk of their day at the office so it would be lovely if it would be a home away from home!

Kids also benefit from seeing their parents at work. I will never forget walking into my mother's office and observing the respect and good will towards her. I mean, to me, she was just Mama. So to see that she's more than that, that she's actually important to other people, was eye-opening. So bringing kids to work can be a good idea!

Dream dream dream away! I don't know how this can be done but I have an unshakable feeling it will be the future. And we'll be the generation of moms who will make it happen, if not for us but for our kids.  I'm so excited for my sons and future daughters-in-law!


Check back on Friday for a new post! Have a great day!


Monday, October 01, 2018

My job-hunting tips for housewives going back to the workforce

In 2012, the magazine I edited closed down. Being a mom of a toddler and an infant, I decided it was time for me to take a break from my intense career schedule and focus on my babies. I did, I loved it, I learned a LOT from being a mom, and I started a new career as a blogger and as a work-at-home editor. Losing my job was truly one of the best things that happened to me!

Fast forward to six years later and with my now-three little boys in school, I'm mulling over going back to the corporate world. My reasons are simple: (1) tuition fees are frightening, and (2) I have more time for myself now.

I write articles to sell lipsticks now! Shop for L'Oréal, Maybelline and Garnier at Lazada! 

So last year, I started submitting my CVs to every job vacancy for editor, writer, PR position I saw on Jobstreet and Linkedin. I'll be honest, mamas. It was not easy. I dusted off my magazine copies, printed my articles, and "minimalized" my CV. When I got to the interview, no one even wanted to see my CV and sample work. "You could email that," I was told. "And I already have your CV on my computer."

I was mortified. Me, a blogger, didn't even realize no one liked physical manifestations of my work anymore. I could've just submitted everything online! If there was anything that corroded my self-esteem and made me feel like a dinosaur, THAT was it.

I was ready to give up. Then I figured I was doing this wrong. No one who's never heard of me would want to hire me. At 41, I'm old. I haven't worked in a corporate environment in 5 years. I needed to do things differently. I'm here to tell you that what I tried is working well for me.



Many women who left the workforce worry about the gap in their résumés. Take heart! True, it may be harder for moms to get hired but it’s not impossible. If it’s that career gap you’re worried about, here are my top tips for getting back to work: 

Network. 
Sending out CVs isn’t enough. A piece of paper that lists down just your jobs can’t possibly cover all the skills you learned as a mom! Managing a team, thinking on your toes, coming up with creative decisions on demand, stretching the budget, beating impossible deadlines, being completely organized—companies would be crazy to not hire a mom! But HR departments don’t realize that mothers are the best project managers in the world, so the way around that issue is networking. 

Now how do you network when you've been cooped up at home for 5 years and the only people you've talked to are toddlers and fellow homemakers? Here's how to start: 

Reach out to your former colleagues. 
They know two valuable things: your experience and vacant positions in the company or in the industry. They’ll most likely help get word around and, most importantly, put in a good word for you. I did this and it took a few months but I started getting calls for interviews. 

My first day at L'Oréal, I was so nervous. Such a huge company!

Try part-time jobs. 
Most of the calls I got were for project-based work. I managed the product features for BABY Magazine. Then I covered for an editor at beauty website, Calyxta.com, because she had to take an extended leave. I did the PR for the kiddie network, Nickelodeon. And now I have a project as beauty editor for L'Oréal Paris (which I hope will be renewed—pray for me!).

These are not full-time jobs but on my CV, they definitely filled in the career gap. As a mom, I also appreciated that I was able to dip my toes back into the workforce yet still be able to care for my kids. 

Volunteer. 
You don’t need to volunteer for jobs related to your work. Volunteering for any opportunity that presents itself also opens you up to other career possibilities. Help your friend organize her party. Take over the church fundraiser. Do the door-to-door marketing for an event in your village. You’ll not only learn new skills but also expand your network. A couple of years ago, I volunteered to give a talk at a hospital about fashion and beauty for moms and now I’m a professional speaker! It’s crazy considering my stage fright! 

So get yourself out there, mommies! And good luck on your career comeback!

Check back on Wednesday for a new post! Have a great day!

Thursday, September 27, 2018

7 lessons for working mamas from "An Open Book: Thursdays with Nanay Coring"

I just finished this lovely little book, An Open Book: Thursdays with Nanay Coring. It's a short biography of National Book Store founder, Socorro Ramos. And when I said it's a little book, I meant it's a short and fast read, written in simple language that both kids and grown-ups will appreciate.

I think if you're a mom looking for books to inspire your kids, this is a good pick. If you're a working mom looking for inspiration, then this is definitely something that can encourage you. I read it in an hour and I found myself highlighting passages and writing my thoughts on the margins—Yes, I write on my books. For me, when I do that, that's always a sign it's a good book!


Every chapter in this book tells the story of Mrs Ramos, lovingly called Nanay Coring—from her impoverished childhood, her whirlwind and enduring romance with her husband, and how she lived through the great war to how she built her business again and again and still remains to this day the massive force behind the country's biggest book store and stationery supplies chain.

Each title of the 14 chapters highlights what the Ramos matriarch wants us to learn from her life. Here are Nanay Coring's advice and life lessons:

1. Live simply.
2. Never surrender Corregidor. (You'll have to read the book to understand this advice.)
3. Remain humble.
4. Knowledge is power.
5. The more time you spend at the store, the more you know.
6. If you work hard, nothing is impossible.
7. Always be on time, if not early.
8. Never show signs of weakness.
9. Be known as a good person, not a rich person.
10. It takes time to build something.
11. Happiness is helping people.
12. Rely on your own gut feel.
13. Always pray.
14. Read more. Know more. Earn more.

Aside from those life lessons, I picked up 7 other tips from Nanay Coring. Here they are:


1. Remember what's important.
Nanay Coring was from her father's second family. She lived through the war. She saw her business fail several times. So even when she became massively successful, her values remained the same: Don't forget where you came from, and take care of your family. That's it.

Throughout the book, she constantly reminds her children and the reader to work hard but to not forget your husband and children. Eat meals with your family. Talk with your family. Go out and spend time with them. Being busy with work, Nanay Coring and her husband Jose only had Sundays free. So they used that time to reconnect with each other and their kids by going to church, eating lugaw and siopao at Ongpin, snacking on fruits, candy and tsampoy.

Unlike what we working mamas are told, it doesn't really take a lot of time or money to make an impact on our kids. We don't have to be with them 24/7, we don't have to be their sole caregiver, we don't have to take them on out-of-town trips every weekend, we don't have to give them "the best" a.k.a. expensive shit. I see this so often these days! Moms who over-schedule their kids or spend every single minute with them, or demand their husbands to jet off the whole family somewhere exotic every weekend or so "to make memories." How exhausting. How frantic. How mom-guilty.

Relax! Remember what's important! They need us to love them. That is all. We don't have to prove it so much. We just need to eat a meal with them every day, give them hugs and kisses, and make simple memories. My husband was lucky enough to come from a well-off family, but it's their dinner-time stories he tells me often about, or how their garden overlooked their school and their mom waited there, or their trips to the grocery. I hardly ever hear about their annual shopping jaunts to Hong Kong, even though as a girl from a poor family, that was what impressed me most. So keep it simple.


2. Don't call for trouble.
See my note there? Haha. How indeed! Also, since I'm very confrontational, I'm noisy and argumentative. In the time of social media, how do you keep quiet about your food, your trips, your shopping, your kids, your career, your political views???

So my takeaway here is don't ask for trouble unless you're ready for it.


3. Have integrity in everything you do. 
This isn't easy. Sometimes we really mean we'll do the job, attend the meeting, be at the event, pay the bills. But life happens. Traffic happens. The kids happen. But it should be our guiding principle in work, in parenting, in marriage, in politics, in EVERYTHING. Have integrity. Be true to who you are and what you value. Say what you mean and mean what you say.


4. Give people what they need.
Many moms ask me what business can they start so they can work from home. Many mompreneurs I know started their business because they needed something no one was providing or a product no one was selling, and they decided to just fill that space. I like how Nanay Coring also figured out that people sometimes don't know what they need and you have to tell them. Create your customers!

I love that advice because sometimes I have a great idea and then I think, "Maybe I'm the only one who needs this." But Nanay Coring is proof that marketing can be as simple as telling people, "This is my need, and this solved it. Do you want to try it out, too?"


5. Care for people.
Smile. Be considerate. Be thoughtful. Open doors for clients and assistants. Give your customers and messengers a cool drink. Say thanks.


6. Be proud of your work.
Whenever I feel guilty about being away from my kids, I tell myself to shut up. As a work-at-home mom, I'm not even away from them often. Once a week maybe, for 4-6 hours. That's not a lot so I shouldn't feel guilty for the time spent away from them, especially since that time was used for one or both of these reasons: (1) I earned money, (2) I refreshed my mind and spirit doing something I'm good at.

Many times in the past, when my kids see me tired from meeting a deadline, they say, "Mama, I'm going to work one day so you won't have to." And I always say, "That's nice, but I like my work. I like using my brain. I like making my own money. I like work a lot!" So now my kids don't equate work with bad things. They see that it's not easy but it's something I'm proud of, that provides for our needs, and that makes our comfortable life possible.

Except for when I worked at the Senate, I'm always proud of what I do, even when people sneered at it. And when you're a blogger like me, people are always sneering at you. It's so funny that when I tell people I'm also an editor and a beauty writer, they kinda relax into a strange relief: "Oh, you have a real job." Then when they find out my blog still makes more money than any other "real job" I hold, they protest again.

I refuse to be ashamed of my blogging. It puts food in my children's tummies, it's not corrupt, it's not stealing. So as long as you have a job that helps people and your family—whether you're a janitress or a CEO, be proud of it! Your children are proud of you! 


7. Do what you're best at.
Throughout the book, author Cecilia Ramos Licauco who is also Nanay Coring's only daughter, says that her mother wanted to be other things. Nanay Coring wanted to be a doctor. She also wanted to be a singer. Instead she became an entrepreneur and succeeded in it so massively.

The lesson I got there is we all have dreams and sometimes we can pour our whole lives into making those dreams come true, and sometimes we can allow life to tell us where to go. As a young girl, I was determined to make my dreams of becoming a magazine editor-in-chief come true. And it did! But as a mother, the latter is what's true for me. I had a job with crazy hours that demanded I wear stylish clothes and sky-high heels, I had babies who only wanted to breastfeed, and yayas who kept resigning. I couldn't juggle my dream job and my kids! So I let life take over. I became a stay-at-home mommy, I blogged about my boring/crazy mom life in the most raw and honest ways, which people seemed to like a lot. Blogging was so successful that—tada!—I registered it as a business.

I never dreamed of becoming a mom and a blogger, but those are what I am now. And guess what—these roles fulfill me more (and blogging pays more, too) than anything I've ever done before. So maybe when we as moms feel life is passing us by and our dreams aren't coming true, maybe it's time to look at our life, dream new dreams, and see how we can make this mom life work for us instead.

If you want to get a copy of An Open Book: Thursdays with Nanay Coring, it's available at all National Book Store branches. You can't miss it. It's always by the cashier! You can also leave a comment on this post and first one gets my copy! When I'm done with a book, I sometimes give it away. I wrote on this one, though, so if that doesn't bother you, then it's yours!

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Here are 5 careers that involve remote working

While everybody wants a steady source of income for their daily bread, not everybody wants to work in an office every day. Many people thrive in a social and supportive environment an office provides while others need a space to properly focus on their work. When I was still a magazine editor, I went to the office to manage the operations, consult with staff, and meet with publishers and advertisers. But I went home to write and edit because I needed absolute quiet for those tasks.


If you also prefer isolation and silence to be able to work or you just can't find the energy to dress up just to work (like that lady up there haha), then you might be looking for a career route that offers the potential for remote working. Maybe it doesn’t even need to be entirely remote; perhaps you’d simply like the possibility of being able to work from home or your local coffee shop on the occasional Monday. If that’s the case, then you're in luck! There are soooo many things you can do from home, from a studio, from a co-working space, from anywhere you like! Here are some careers—from geeky to creative!—that often involve remote working.

Online seller
Sell anything! You bake? Sell baked goods! You love scrapbooking? Sell stationery, stickers and washi tape! You love shopping? Sell what you have and buy more to sell again! You like painting? Make greeting cards and sell them! You have a lot of junk? Sell them all! You can sell on Carousell, Lazada, Shopee, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Instagram. You can also build your very own beautiful online shop (this is still a dream of mine!).

Translation
If you speak more than one language, then this is a skill that you should definitely be using in your career. Whenever I check out Jobstreet or Linkedin, they're always looking for Mandarin-speaking, Japanese-speaking, and Korean-speaking anything! Because they need everyone they can find for all sorts of jobs—from masseuses and hotel receptionists to casino managers!

There are also so many remote working opportunities for translators. You could work for a translating company or simply translate web pages, books, and articles online. The point is that you have a highly valuable skill, and you don’t need to go into an office to put it to good use. In fact, you could even become a freelance translator. There are many opportunities in this industry.

Arts and Crafts
If you think this is just a hobby, then think again! I know that there are hundreds of fonts readily available online and in programs these days, but if you love calligraphy, you can make money doing wedding invitations and café menus. If you like macrame and knitting, make pot holders, sweaters, tablecloths and sell those on Instagram. You can give workshops, too! Everyone wants to learn a new skill or explore their creative side, so take advantage of this interest and make money from it!

Software development
Given that software development involves interaction with computers more than interaction with people, there are plenty of companies that offer developers the option of working from home. If you can submit your work via the internet then you don’t need to be in the office 24/7. It’s also a very stable career in itself. Businesses always need software developers or web developers to help them with the technical aspects of their operations. Technology is vital to the modern-day business. And the great thing about software development is that it applies to so many different industries. All businesses use computers or the internet in some sense (even if they just use it for the upkeep of their websites).

It all depends on the type of work that interests you. If you’re interested in the financial industry then you might even want to look into careers in that sector. You could look into Forex software development opportunities. Do some research if you’re wondering “what is Forex trading?” because it could be a very rewarding career option. The point is that it helps to know a bit about an industry, even if you’re simply going to be creating the software. You’ll be able to do a better job if you know what customers want. That’s something to bear in mind if you pursue a career in software development.

Writing
Another stable career that often involves remote working is writing. I'm a writer—I can confidently say that, yes, you can make a good living off words. There are plenty of different routes you can take with this kind of career. You could consider pursuing freelance writing. You can write articles for magazines and online news and magazines. If you like working with brands, you can write the content of company websites. If you have a marketing mindset, write press releases and ad copy. You can also write the speeches of CEOs and politicians. You can write e-books, real books, movie scripts, theater plays, comics. You can blog! The list (and agony!) is endless for us writers!

These are just 5 options and I made sure they cover different skills. Of course, all of these careers requires an entrepreneurial mindset. You’ll be creating your own business so be ready to deal with the government and pay your taxes on schedule (Taxumo helps me a lot!). The hassle of taking care of these government stuff is worth it, however. You own your time, you do what you love, and you make money, too!  

*This post contains affiliate links.