How to GROW your Php 3000 in 4 Weeks!

If you're thinking that this is about MLM (Multi-Level Marketing), Network Marketing or what we commonly know/call as networking, don't worry I won't ask you out to have coffee with me but being "open-minded" would certainly help 😉

Like with our other blogs that you can view here, I'll share with SIMPLE and PRACTICAL steps that I tried and tested to grow your

(drum roll please!)

Php 3000 (Three Thousand Pesos).

One afternoon after conducting a Business Opportunity Meeting (BOM, for those who are already "burned out" / "paso" with MLM, Networking, etc. I promise you we won't go there. Not in this post for that matter *cross-fingers), I was so hungry and at the corner of the street, I saw a fishball (very delicious street food in the Philippines) cart.

I checked my pocket and there was an orange paper with the picture of Manuel L. Quezon (Php 20, Twenty Pesos) smiling back at me 😄. At that time I only needed Php 8 for my tricycle fare but I was trying to save every peso that I can.

As I walked past the fishball cart, and I was trying my best to ignore the savory smell of deep-fried fish balls, kikiam, chicken balls, etc, but for some reason, I accidentally looked at "manong"'s (Filipino word to refer to a man that is older than you) eyes and like an "Uchiha" he was able to put me under a "Genjutsu".

As I was drooling, he turned his eyes (leading me to do the same) towards the frying pan with overflowing cooking oil and he masterfully stirred what he was cooking making sure that I was already deep under his spell. To cut the story short, "manong" won. I went towards his cart took a stick from the engine oil container (converted into a fishball stick container through rigorous cleaning) and set my ceiling to Php 12 worth of balls.

Amazed with "manong"'s genjutsu "este" subtle sales technique, I asked him how much does a pack (1 kg) of each of the "ball" variant cost and he gladly replied and he even shared where I can buy it from Marikina Palengke (Market). At that time, I was thinking that if I would ever crave for street food again, I'll just buy from the "palengke" and cook it at home so that I can save money.

As I was savoring the last piece of my delicious snack, I asked: "manong" how many pieces of fishballs does each pack contain and he replied with "iba-iba pero hindi naman nagkakalayo since per kilo ang bentahan" (it's a different each time but the variance is negligible because it's being sold on a per kilo basis).

                                       Photo by https://www.facebook.com/StarlineFisballDistributor/

*Note (If you're looking for a supplier that is strategically situated in the center of the Metro, you might want to consider 

https://www.facebook.com/StarlineFisballDistributor/) p.s. They're so nice and easy to talk with

Based on his reply, I did a quick mental math and found out that you can sell a bag of fishball, kikiam, and chicken ball for twice the cost. Factoring in the cost for the kerosene, ingredients for the sauce, sticks, cooking oil, etc. you'll have a conservative 40% profit margin.

For example (estimates):



                                         Cost           SRP (Suggested Retail Price)

1 kg pack of fishball =      Php 45       Php 0.50/pc x 200 pcs 1 kg bag
                                                     

                                                            = Php 100
                                                             - Php 45
                                                             ========
                                                               Php 55

1 kg pack of kikiam =      Php 70        Php 1/pc x 118 pcs

                                                            = Php 118
                                                             - Php 70
                                                            ========
                                                               Php 48

400 g pack squid balls =  Php 41        Php 2/pc x 33 pcs

                                                            = Php 66
                                                             - Php 41
                                                            ========
                                                               Php 25

*Sorry, I forgot the price and number of pieces per bag of chicken balls. I'll update as soon as I can confirm. For those who know you may share at the comments below.

I bought "palamig" (the street version of milk tea) to complete my snack and as insurance, just in case I choke from eating too fast then I asked "manong" one last question. How many packs can he sell in a day and his reply was "mahina na 4 packs kada isang klase, kapag swerte doble or higit pa"

When I was about to leave I thanked him and said, "manong last na talaga ilang oras bago maubos yung 4 packs bawat isa?" (how long does it take for your products get sold out?) He replied "4 na oras matagal na. Lalabas ako ng 4 pm dahil sakto meryenda, mga 6 - 7 pm halos ubos na to, Pwede pa ako magdagdag ng benta kung tutuusin." (4 hours is already long. I'll go out by 4 pm because it's snack time, and by 6 - 7 pm I'm almost sold out. I can even sell more if I want to.)

I took his "mahina" estimate for a conservative feasibility study
(This estimate is much more conservative since we don't have the numbers for chicken ball)

Number of packs

4 fishball       x Php 55 = Php 220
4 kikiam        x Php 48 = Php 192
4 squid balls x Php 25 = Php 100
                      - Php 100 (sauce, sticks, etc.)
                      - Php 60 kerosene
                      ========================
                       Php 352 (4 hours)
                       

                       Php 500+ (roughly including chicken balls)

Php 352 to Php 500+ for 4 hours is not bad for a man with very potent genjutsu.

I can't sleep that night after I learned about this and the next day I hired a carpenter to build my first fishball cart. Take note guys because this surprised me that time as well, the most expensive part of the classic fishball cart is not the wood nor the paint, it's the wheels. Yes, you've read it right it's those three wheels (1 in front and 2 at the back) at the bottom of the cart.

Congratulations! if you've made it this far. I didn't even expect that this blog would be this long but if it's coming from experience you know that every detail counts.

If you enjoyed what you've read so far, get ready my friends because that was just an appetizer. The main dish is coming right up. 😉

Now going back to the title "How to GROW your Php 3000" which I believe is the main reason why you're reading this so I won't delay it any further.

The initial investment I needed to start my Foodcart Empire was Php 3000. Let's stick with the conservative computation we made earlier which shows that 1 cart would roughly make Php 500. I did a 50-50 split with my vendor so that's Php 250 for me per day. Let's just say that my cart would only sell 6 days per week then that would equal 1,500 per week which means in 2 weeks I was already break even.

Now, this is a SIMPLE but very POWERFUL concept. Instead of spending that Php 3000 that I made back in 2 weeks. I hired the same carpenter to create a new cart. With 2 carts I was earning Php 500 / day and in a week I already have another Php 3000 which means another cart.

The process went on until we reached 10 carts. That's Php 250 / cart x 10 carts = Php 2,500. Let me show you the math

Week       Investment   # of cart/s     Daily income

Week 1 = Php 3000         1                 Php 250

Week 3 = Php 3000         2                 Php 500

Week 4 = Php 3000         3                 Php 750

Week 5 = Php 3000         4                 Php 1000

*At this point in three days, you have enough cash for another cart so you can start spending for upgrades like using bikes with aluminum finish for your products.

I won't deny the fact that like in any other business there will always be risks involved i.e. hiring the right people, quality control, etc. There was once instance wherein one of the vendors stole the bike food cart. These are the things that you'll learn as you go and along with it you have to professionalize the business i.e. get a basic biodata for your vendors etc. It's a case to case basis and you need to adapt and continuously refine your business no matter how simple it may seem.

If there's a one thing I want you to consider as a key takeaway for this is that you need to learn how to delay gratification. I could have easily spent that Php 3000 in something else instead of re-investing it in the business for cart #2 but I knew that with a bit patience it could even be better. The good thing about this concept is that you can apply this to other business/es i.e. apartments, franchises, Grab cars or bikes, etc.

Now it's your turn. On what business/es would use the concept of REINVESTING your profits on? Share your thoughts in the comments below :)

Check our other Blogs here

Subscribe to this blog's RSS feed using https://iambeyondalpha.com/blogs/beyond-alpha-mentality.atom