Web design is a business. Freelancers are businessmen. Small time, yes. But still, they don’t have a boss to answer to so that makes them a businessman. In starting out as a freelance web designer, you are in charge of how far you can go, everything is up to you. Now, when you start to earn money from your web design works, always remember that in business, you need to invest in order to grow.

Always remember that the money you earn in web design as a freelancer is not totally yours. The government has part of it (tax) and most of it are for your business. Only allot 10% of your earnings as yours to be freely spent (living expenses). The rest, you should reinvest in your business. Here is a list of things that you should pay attention to and spend your money when you already have your web design business taking off the ground.

1. Invest On Stock Photos. Always remember that picture paints a thousand words. In web design, this is important, if you can replace a bunch of texts into a good looking picture, its golden. And besides, web designers are artist that wants to make the site look good. Purchasing lots of stock photos from the start is a good investment that you can never go wrong. Plus, you can keep them and use them again and again. Start collecting premium and high quality photos, don’t be afraid to buy them if its really good. That differentiate a good designer from a noob. Noobs only use google & find stock images, professional designers invest their money for high quality images.
2. Invest On Tools, Add Ons & Other Programs. If you’re using photoshop to make your web designs, you know that there are a lot of things that you can add on to it. Brushes, patterns that all comes in different varieties made by other web designers. Some of it are free, some of it are not. This is also a good investment as they can save you a lot of time rather than making the same effect over and over again.
3. Invest Icons, Eye candies. I definitely hate making icons. They are so small yet they take so much time to create. But the good thing is that they can be bought. If you think you are wasting time in doing these kinds of stuff, buying them is the best option.
4. Invest In Yourself. The best investment that you can never go wrong is yourself. Purchase videos, dvds, tutorials or training seminars & even subscription to design magazines to further enhance your design skills. Buy tickets to conventions like Graphika Manila where you can broaden your knowledge on the latest trends. There is no limit when it comes to web design. Since we are fueled by creativity, it has no limits. The best way to be on top of this industry is to always be aware of the latest trends, effects, and make sure that you have the money to grow your knowledge in the field.

Gangster/mob movies are a great example of men with dignity and balls. People that take what they want and not whine about anything because things aren’t going well. They doesn’t talk much but do things a lot. They don’t whine about the government, they make ways. They value, respect & protect everybody in the famiglia. Though, we know that gangster/mob movies will all end in tragedy or being jailed by the protagonist, there are a lot of things we can learn from them. Here are the 22 things I learned from the best gangster movies I watched.

1. Even the boss must get his fingernails dirty. Even if you’re already the one handling people. There are things that only you can do alone. Don’t make people do things they don’t know or not willing to do. If you’re the leader, A leader must lead by example.
2. For every one word you say, let your enemies say 10. The best way to explain this is, learn to shut the hell up.
3. Women Are Icing On The Cake. Our friend Socrates, the scholar, once said “If You Make Woman As Your Equal, She Becomes His Superior”. Do not put any woman in the pedestal. Romeo wannabes are pussies. There are no such man that women would die for. These are only fantasies, chick flicks. Real men have life, ambition & power. Woman are just icing on the cake. Of course, you still have to bake the cake (your life). Search for power, riches then add the last touch of icing on your cake. And what do you have? A fine piece of cake of life.
4. Do Not Give Your Opinion Unless It Is Solicited. We live in a very noisy world. A lot of people want to say something. Freedom of speech as they say. But those who voice out their opinion to even the smallest of things you’ll know that he is not someone that you can respect and admire. I’m not saying not to have an opinion. In fact, its better to have a bad opinion than none. What I’m saying is, always have an opinion on something. But don’t tell anyone about it unless it is asked. Opinions are the CHEAPEST advice in the world. It is free. People will ask if they need it.
5. Never Reveal 100% of Something to Anyone. In a competition point of view, it is very important not to reveal your cards to the enemy. In a friend’s terms, Always hold something back, reveal only 75% or 90% of the plan if you have to. It protects you and ensures that your great idea stays yours. Also, you want your friends to learn, let them learn. Give them only the information that they can build their blocks to success.
6. Never make a decision when you’re angry. Smart, careful men realize they must have a clear head to think. When you’re angry, it’s your boiling bloodlines that speak for you, not your logic. Control your emotions. This is one of the most important rules there is. When you’re angry, you make threats you often can’t deliver on, or decisions you come to regret.
7. A man is nothing without his word. One of the few things even a poor man has is his word. Your word should never be broken. Always keep your promises. The minute someone doesn’t trust you, is the minute you lose them.
8. Never Forgive Betrayal. Betrayed by your friend? Caught your girl cheating? There is a saying that goes “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me…” Well there wouldn’t be a second time. Everybody is replaceable. You don’t need someone who have the guts to betray you. People will say that you have a high ego for not forgiving the person. It’s not like that, look on the other perspective, that person haven’t have the character to be trusted. You know that there’s a situation that he can & will betray you given a circumstance. You don’t need friends, girlfriends like that. For the players, there goes a saying, “If you caught your girl cheating on you, the best revenge is to let HIM keep her.”
9. The best way to dodge an enemy’s bullet is by never being in a position where he can hit you. Don’t be in a position where you will be in trouble. Avoid being put between a rock and a hard place. Never be in the same room with your enemy and he’ll never have a clear shot at your head.
10. When you can’t win a war by playing fair, bend the rules. Better yet, break them. Unless you’re some salame who’s as motivated as a slug, you always want to win. Winning doesn’t mean you have to play by the rules. It means winning. If you want to get ahead in life, you have to learn the rules of the side game. Those who run this country learned this rule a long time ago. Michael Jordan knows this too.
11. Whenever you’re in doubt about whether an enemy should respect or fear you, always choose fear. Respect is great, fear is better. Machiavelli made this one famous. Fear is a better deterrent than respect; fear will stop an enemy in his tracks more than respect will.
12. You Can’t Make People Respect & Like You At The Same Time. Only great people can make themselves liked & respected, either one comes first or another. I like Jose Rizal, but I don’t respect him. Not until I learned about his life. In a group scenario when you have the leadership. Do you want your subordinates to Like you? Or respect you?
13. A woman’s anger can always be subdued with a diamond ring (and a man’s with sex). I don’t mean to be sexist but I know some guys out there can back me out on this.
14. Behind every great man is a great woman. You need the stability of a great woman to be great. A man without a family can never be a complete man. A mediocre wife will always stop you from fulfilling your potential.
15. Nothing lasts forever. Love, success in business, money, your hair. There is always an end to everything. Nothing lasts forever. Cherish every moment you have good or bad.
16. Never give a tip to someone who isn’t looking. If you know how to exploit or game something that you can earn lots of it. Do not give it to anyone who isn’t looking. In other words, learn to shut up.
17. If you go to war, always strike first. Strike hard, and hope it’s the only strike you need. When a conflict or fight is inevitable, always strike the first blow. You will knock your enemy off balance, and if your blow was strong enough, you could knock your enemy out completely.
18. Peace is only a prelude to war. Just because everything is going great in your life now, doesn’t mean it always will. Always be ready for the worst, even if you don’t live as though the worst is actually happening to you.
19. Overestimate the time something takes, and underestimate its rewards. In other words, expect to give a lot of effort and expect small things as a reward. Even the best plans sometimes don’t come to fruition (yeah, big word, I know). Most of the time, we have to work to get something, and that means being patient. Overestimating the work and underestimating the reward will never leave you disappointed.
20. To make money, you have to spend money. There is no such thing as something for nothing. Don’t be afraid to spend money if it will bring you more. Take a loan at the bank if you have a great idea for a business. Pay a good employee a decent salary. Pay for expert advice. If you are a smart businessman, you will always come out on top. We can’t hide the fact that when you bring out this statement to a friend, they will always say “What if you can’t pay back the money you borrowed, or your business was a failure.” First of all, if you want to make more money, you have to have a business not a job. To start and run a business needs balls. Risk that you are willing to take. If you’re not man enough to do that, start looking for a pen and scan the classified ads.
21. Lucky is the man who suffers humiliation in front of others, for his revenge will be sweeter. If someone ever embarrasses you, make sure he gets a good laugh; make sure people see this embarrassment because the memory will eat at you until you get your revenge. Too often, people don’t retaliate when they’re humiliated. Raise the stakes, and you’ll have no choice but to return with a vengeance.
22. Never Betray Your Values. There’s a difference between a strong and a weak personality. A weak personality will try to get the approval of somebody. Peer pressure? This is just a result of a weak personality. If I can influence you to take drugs which violates your values as something bad but still did it, you have a weak personality. If you betrayed what you believe in just for the approval of somebody, you don’t have character. The strong personality on the other hand, will never give a fuck about what people say. His values are rock solid and lives his life by those values.

I am proud to say that I am the black sheep in the family. I think differently from the rest of our family and relatives. Especially when it comes to the country’s state. I never see that the Philippines is in bad condition but instead, the situation we are facing today is a lot more of an opportunity than a curse. I will always hear my dad tell me “Gago, naghihirap na ang Pilipinas!” or my sisters say “Kuya, ang weird mo!” just because I’ll say and debate to them that the Philippines is not in a bad state.

I was watching tv with my kid sister. The tv show was about different marine animals. Then there’s this marine creature that’s called Mantis Crab/Lobster. This creature can see heat & light under the sea. In which the narrator says “only they can see things that other marine animals can not see“. Looks like he have thermal camera on its eyes and night vision too. Then I said, “Wow, that crab can see things not all fish can see. He’s weird!”.

You see, people will judge you by how you see the world. What the crab can see that other fish can not see is not something weird, but a gift. If you see things differently than others you should be happy. I know a lot of people will just stay quiet in one corner just because they have a different view in life. Marconi was put in a mental hostpital because he said he can talk to people from other town without using wires. And now, we are using the product of his vision, the cellphone & wireless communication.

Let’s take the Philippines for example. A lot of people will be ranting about high gas prices, economic depression. As we all know, these things comes in cycle after a few years. It will go down and up. But what’s important is when there’s a bad situation happening, there’s always a new opportunity coming up. So to give you a hint, during the economic depression, stocks are low, which is the best time to invest! When the stocks got high again you’ll get a good amount of profit.

In an affiliate marketing perspective, because of the economic set backs, companies are lowering their advertising costs. Big companies can easily dominate the PPC arena just by bidding insanely high, that most affiliates can not compete. Because we are in a world wide economic crisis, these companies need to cut the cost and bid low. This is the best time for affiliates to get the best of the profit because they can now compete with merchants head to head price wise.

Do not be afraid to be criticized by people just because you think differently. Most of the time, thinking out of the box is where you’ll find great opportunities waiting for only those that are brave enough to think & act that way.

I’ve been sitting in my office thinking, there has been a lot of people jumping into affiliate marketing and find themselves confused and down as to why they can’t earn money from it. First of all, making money online is not just about affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is one of hundreds of ways to earn money online. It’s just a preference. I know a lot of people earning thousands of pesos per day in adsense, paid reviews, paid to click and filling online surveys and more. Affiliate marketing is just one of these ways. No other thing is better or best its just how you decide to focus and grow and be good at what you do.

First thing, if you want to dive in this industry there are things you should check first and evaluate your values if you are really into this industry and if you want to make it big. Though the promise of huge income is present in affiliate marketing, there are also consequences in return for the big prize:

• Affiliate marketing is not for the faint of heart. If you don’t want to spend money, this industry is not for you. You can lose a lot of money in this industry (big money) especially when you’re starting up. The figure below suggests that I must bid Php1,809 per click to show my ads.
• Long Hours Of Work. If you can not devote 16hrs - 24hrs working in front of the computer just to test out a niche for months and find out that it is not profitable, this is not for you. Affiliate marketing is an on going process of testing out everything. You want to know if you’ll earn big bucks in this particular niche? You have to test it for months. There is no guarantee that you can get your money back. Well, that is business. But once you got that particular niche that are doing good, it can give you money for years without doing anything.
• Frustrations. Most of the time, you’ll be dealing with google and their algorithm. Slaps are as natural as any affiliate marketer experience this. Most of the time, you’ll get slapped every week and your site will be black listed. After spending months developing the site, you have to make another one again, and again and again. If you are easily discouraged, affiliate marketing would be hard for you.
• You must be creative. People who are earning big bucks in affiliate marketing are very creative people. They know that everybody is doing this and that and that gives him the motivation to do another thing (might fail or succeed) but its worth the shot. You may lose time and money in the process but its really worth it.
• Tough Competition. If you’re doing adsense sites, you know that competition is fierce when it comes to optimizing current events. You may earn big money for that but because of competition it will diminish. Now multiply that competition by a hundred folds in affiliate marketing. Competition is not really bad. Its also a way to know how much money you can earn in a particular niche by knowing how much competition there is in the niche. Which can save you time in the long run.
• There is no one way to do affiliate marketing. I am guilty of this. When I started out, I sought out mentors that would teach me how to do affiliate marketing. What I learned from each person I asked is that, there is no one way to do affiliate marketing. You just have to know the basics (which you can get for free on the internet) and get out there and do it. Do not be afraid to lose money and fail because everything is a learning experience. Then after that, you will develop your own way.