Summer Is Over

Summer is over. Thanks God. The last summer was a blast to me since I started offering local tour packages and slots for festivals around the country. When I started last year I did not expect the massive influx of clients all I got from the combined SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) I experimented in my blog.

No, I did not started a blog to be famous then have a mini-celebrity status nor be ambassador of big brands, all I want is money. While most of the travel bloggers have chosen to write about the do-it-yourself way, I chose the road less-traveled... YET,  one who advocates tours.  

And I made quite a little for the past six months. It funded my birthday getaway last February to El, Nido Palawan and this July I will be going to Singapore then Malaysia all because of this. Come July I will post the figures as my mid-year report to make everything transparent. But you know not everything is a walk in a park.  I have been sleepless and tired all throughout these past months. I have had full body massages almost every week just to compensate the muscle pains that come with it. I have also sacrificed my 7-year full-time job for a few absences whenever I need to. 

What is rainy season to Tourism Industry?

Raining means inconvenience in general. Same in tour business. People would rather prefer staying at home than go out. Wet season in the Philippines starts in June, peaks in July to September then peters out in October. This means a period of low income generation. June has just started and the number of inquiries that I get has dropped to almost 70%. 

Was it a bad news to me?

While not so much money is coming in, It is never a bad thing to me at all. Yes maybe for those who are doing this full-time because they have a family to feed and bills to pay but life is NOT all about money or should I say making money. This is actually the best time that we have to be creative and be resourceful in other ways. This is also the time to rest and give ourselves a chance to do other things that we have not paid attention prior because we were so busy like our health. One example is taking Yoga class. Let me quote this Zen of Entrepreneurship article by Rizan Virk:

In the yogic traditions, our mind-body consists of a several clear sheaths (called kosas), and as we experience stress in our lives and our work, we build up imperfections in these sheaths (called samskaras) to the point where they become muddy and don’t let light shine through. Ultimately this blinds us to seeing the results of our actions clearly, and we get caught in repetitive patterns. Unlike exercise, which is primarily a physical activity, meditation and yoga practices helps to clear these sheaths, like cleaning a dirty windshield, which allows us to perceive more clearly what we’re dealing on the road around us, and then take appropriate action. As entrepreneurs, we are so busy convincing investors, employees, advisors and customers of our vision of the future, sometimes we’re blinded to the underlying reality of the market around us until it’s too late.

So go on, I don’t mean just the Yoga class alone but it is something or someone you might have    overlooked. Spend a little more time to your family, catch up or patch things up with those you have not seen for sometime.

That's why SAVING  is a must and INVESTMENT matters

Yes, everywhere around us we are pressured to buy the latest gadgets and outfits because everyone has it.  The value of these depreciate very fast, in fact if you try to resell in a matter of time I don't think you can get half of the money back you bought these for.   

So while there are a lot of sales coming, you gotta save. Or use it to buy things that will have more value in the future like land  titles, authentic jewelry or play in stock markets.

Go travel! 

I don't like the crowd when I travel. I don't go to a place if there is a celebration as much as possible. And of course everything is cheaper during rainy season so this is the best time to travel: cheap flights, big discounted hotel rates et cetera. So go pack your bag soon!

There was one incident that I have to go a doctor, to ask a written voucher that I don't feel well so I can forward it to my office and be filed as a sick leave which entitles me a pay even though I was absent. I had a hard time convincing her when my reason was "I just want to lie down Doc." She replied abruptly " I-just-want-to-lie-down, pwede ko ba yang ilagay sa medical certificate mo? Yan ang hirap sa mga tao ngayon, kung makapag trabaho para wala nang bukas!".

Take some time to go offline

I live online. When I wake up in the morning I check my  emails (Yahoo and Gmail) instead of grabbing a newspaper. Then I check my Facebook, Instagram, Forsquare, Twitter, my blog, blogs I follow while I sip a hot coffee. I also check my Wechat, Viber and Whatsapp for messages. I read news to my bookmarked websites and check with a group of online communities for events I am interested to join.  I think have a lot more of friends that I have added on Facebook than what I have added in real life.

I have seen a lot of people spending countless hours in front of the computer Facebooking and all that stuff.They have become slaves of the online world. And I feel that myself is also one of. When I got a chance to have dinner with my friends I have not seen for a while and the area is free wifi, they have noticed I can't let go of my smartphone while I talk to them. They said I have become disrespectful which I have to agree.   There should really be a time for us to go offline and feel the real world.  So go out, talk to people you care in person and por favor, please keep that smartphone off your hand.