Make a Million, Make a Difference!

By Jason DC Gavina

Two Saturdays ago, I, together with fellow motivated friends attended a seminar entitled “Make a Million, Make a Difference” organized by the Asia Society. It was an intriguing topic because it deals basically with the two major goals of my life- and that is to become filthy rich, and leave a legacy to the world. The speakers were all entrepreneurs: Romel Juan of Binalot, Mark Yu of Seaoil, and the Enrique Gonzalez of IP Ventures Here are some of the insights:

  1. You don’t need a Facebook idea to start a business. I am calling this Mark’s fishball theory. He said that people should start engaging business even with a fish ball stand. The best way to learn business is through experience. And one can start that by setting up a lemonade stand, or a small franchise at least to master the fundamentals (cash flow, marketing, etc. ). Start something, then evolve. As Romel Juan says, many people who want to do business are in a perpetual stage of “analysis paralysis”.
  2. Strategy is important, but execution is key. A lot of people have great ideas, and a lot of people are extremely good in planning. But it takes actual hardwork, persistence, and consistent improvement to accomplish the big goals. Likewise, it is important to find the right team- smart people who are just as passionate as you about the mission.
  3. Your salary increases as the value of the problem you solve increases. This appears to be common sense, but it also asks us what kind of problems we are willing to solve. To create real business value, we must solve a customer’s problem. So in the end, “the only way to make a million is to make a difference”.  Add value to others and the money will come.

So what’s the formula? Do we quit our jobs and start selling mangoes on the street? Their answer is of course “it depends”. First, find your passion – what you are truly in love with. What kind of product would you sell? You have to believe in the product with all your heart. Then test yourself for “adversity quotient”. How many times are you willing to fail?

Just like any other good seminar, it doesn’t leave you with the clear cut answers, but the perfect questions.

The author is a British Council Global Changemaker. He currently works for an NGO supporting microfinance institutions and Filipino microenterprises. Visit his blog at www.billionairechangemaker.wordpress.com