TRP Gazette 2015

10 Deadly MistakesEven Experienced Real Estate Investors Make and How to Avoid Them (Part 7)

No man is an island, as the popular saying goes. Our next mistake is:

Mistake #7:Trying to Go Solo

There is definitely safety in numbers. That is why we created the Think Rich Pinoy and RE/MAX TRP in the first place. The trick is to be independent yet interdependent. You register your own Real Estate Company as the majority shareholder so you have full control.

Still, by networking and going to your local PAREB or REBAP Real Estate Association group meetings and getting involved and learning who the players are, you can be successful. As an investor, you have to associate with successful people.

For investors who are interested in really being successful in the real estate industry, hang around people that are successful and people that are buying a bunch of deals and know what they are doing. They either have a lot of rentals, or are buying and selling a lot, and know how the game is played. Not only are they doing a lot of business, but good clean business.

Beyond the REBAP and PAREB meetings are smaller sub-groups that meet outside the big meetings (ex. MUNREB in Muntinlupa) and are even better for networking, because they provide a better opportunity to get to know people on a much more personal level. The valuable information regarding real estate and what is going on in your investment community that can be learned from other experienced investors is absolutely tremendous.

Without a doubt this is a new trend in real estate investment, an opportunity that was not available 10 to 15 years ago. Taking advantage of education (free or otherwise) and meeting other investors is essential to success in the real estate business. You are independent but interdependent.

In RE/MAX TRP we like to say, “You are in business for yourself, but not by yourself.”In the Philippines, Real Estate Associations are not a common practice (ex. real estate investment clubs). So you

have to take initiative to hunt up and befriend successful investors and/or real estate developers. The grief you save yourself for the effort and humility needed to find experienced and successful Real Estate Investors will be well worth it.

With passion and purpose,

Larry GamboaAuthor, Think Rich, Pinoy; Founder, Think Rich Pinoy Masters

Volume 1 • Number 17August 2015


When you go into real estate investing, you must be clear in your mind what you want to achieve. So our next mistake is:

Mistake #8:Unclear Investing Goals

Investing in real estate as a private lender is simply loaning somebody money and collecting passive income on agreed terms.

Even for those investors who are private lenders and are happy to collect passive income, such investors are still actively involved because it is essential to get regular checks and reports on the investment.

For example, CentroMaven Inc. has started providing passive income to Real Estate Investors who simply want a safe place to park their money without getting into the hard work, headaches and problems of running the business actively.

Although finding someone experienced that will do the hunting down of real estate properties, getting the deals, making sure that the rehabs are taken cared of and then splitting the profit with them is a great way to do business, an investor still needs to be actively involved by making sure the person he is working with knows what he or she is doing and is trustworthy. Even for those who are equity partners, you will want to know where your money is going as far as properties, closing costs and fixing up a property are concerned. Get regular reports from your active partner. Trust but verify.





Going into real estate investing means gaining income. Certainly that is what an investor hopes. What if you make this next mistake?

Mistake #9:Overestimating Rent

Overestimating rent can definitely be a major problem for real estate investors who assume they will be making a certain percentage of the mortgage every month. The difficult part about overestimating rent is that many investors will examine homes in the area for rent and assume that their house will make the same amount. While this may be true for the time being, the value of rental properties may change, and a home that used to get $700.00 or Php5,000.00 a month might not get that any longer.

The rental market fluctuates with the market value of homes, interest rates and even the current job market, so the rental market can change at any given time. If an investor got into the rental game while the market was look-ing good in that department, they may be surprised to find they cannot make that much on a rental home a few years down the road.

With this in mind, it is important to never overestimate how much will be made off of a rental home in years to come or to assume that the mortgage will always be covered. It is essential for an investor to give themselves leeway between the mortgage and insurance payments and the rental payment per month.




What’s Your Dream? (Editor’s Note: This is the start of a series that will form the book Innovate, Start and Scale.)

I like to dream. My dreams bring me to different places. For example, here’s my “IF” dream. IF every Filipino deserves to be rich.And IF we truly believe that YES, the Filipino can. And that as Ninoy stated, “The Filipino is worth dying for.” Then it’s logical that the Filipino is worth LIVING for.So why not work with Bo Sanchez “To help good people become rich”? Because history shows that it is good

people that makes a difference. Let’s change the world. One employee at a time. One student at a time. One entrepreneur at a time. It’ll be fun.

It’ll be hard. But it will be worth all the effort and the work.

Volume 1 • Number 21November 2015

Let’s work together to help scale-up the Philippines. Let’s encourage start-ups. Let’s help start-ups scale up. So we become a start-up nation of quietly self-confident entrepreneurs. A nation that provides the world with innovative entrepreneurs who are willing to tackle the world’s biggest problems. How? Simply by collaborating to execute best practices.

Online and offline.

Why Scale Up?

So you ask me, “Why take the trouble to scale up start-ups?” I heard the answer from Edward Lee of COL Financial, “Because every Filipino deserves to be rich.”

That’s the mindset. It’s the mindset you and I have to cultivate as you begin reading this book. The mindset that we can do it. Why? Because we are ALREADY doing it.

Easy to say, Larry, “But how do we do this?” Here’s the secret in one sentence on how to make real the belief “Every Filipino deserves to be rich.” Drumroll. Here’s the secret, my friend.

Larry’s Secret #1: Tackle the BIGGEST problem(s) holding Filipinos back from being world-class.As students. As employees. As global Pinoys. As entrepreneurs. What’s the biggest problem holding us back?Tackle ONE big problem. Stick with it. And you’ll impact the world. Here in the Philippines, we look up and see

this happening. We are currently tackling big problems. We just need to scale.For example just over 10 years ago, we were called a “damaged culture.” And where are we now September 30,

2015? One of the fastest emerging economies in South East Asia. So what happened?As employees, we’ve learned the art of advancing our “careers” (fancy term for work). Once students learn the

art of advancing their careers, they hit the ground running. Imagine, even before she graduates from K-12, a student has the chance to develop a sense of purpose that’s

grounded on work that provides value. The student doesn’t have to wait till he or she finishes school to experience the value and joy found in work.

That’s what happened to me at third year high school. That would be the equivalent of K-11 today. I was made the editor-in-chief of the high school yearbook of 1962 entitled “Visit Manila.” It was my first experience of working with a team to put together a product.

Young students learn to grow in “wisdom, grace, and age” even as they transition from school to careers. It’s possible and it’s currently happening. We just have to scale.

Yes, it is possible to Innovate, Start and Scale graduates from the K to 12 system. Students can aim to get an internship and earn money even before they graduate. How? They intern in companies as early as K-11 or K-12.

Of course, it’s possible. And it’s happening. And it can happen even more. The Filipino is worth dying for. And the Filipino is worth living for. Every Filipino deserves to be rich. He or she simply needs to see it and do it. SEE-SOW-SURRENDER.



Volume 1 • Number 21• October 2015

What’s Your Dream? (Part 2)See-Sow-Surrender

(Editor’s Note: This is the start of a series that will form the book Innovate, Start and Scale.)

What does SEE-SOW-SURRENDER mean? It is this:

• See things clearly and with feeling.• Sow the seed with action.• Surrender all to Him. “Lord, give me what I want. Or better.”

Write and Act as You Read

Especially if students want to tackle something as real as real estate. In the old days, it was royal estate, since only royals could own land. Today, it’s like owning and renting out a home or an apartment. That’s pretty real. And owning property feels like you’re royalty.

Or tackle a field like hotel and restaurant management. Or any of the fields or industries that are sprouting all over the country.

In effect, this book aims to empower each person to coach entrepreneurs to be wealthy and to be coached by entrepreneurs who are themselves growing in wealth. Entrepreneurs who want to give back by coaching other entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs coaching entrepreneurs.

So my friend, don’t just read this book. Devour it. Use it. Engage. Roll up your sleeves and work to give value to others. Wrestle with a big problem.

So use this book as a tool. As a workbook to strengthen your existing business. Or, for some, use the book as a workbook to start a business and tackle a big problem like slow and expensive internet access. Hint?!

In effect, write and act as you read.Notice how Innovate, Start and Scale provides a blueprint for individuals

and organizations to take the first steps to become a start-up organization that scales?

Through this blueprint, I’d like to coach you into becoming the best you can be in your career path as employees. Or in your career path as entrepreneurs. Some may see themselves as “entrepreneurial employees.”

As you read this book, or as you work on the book as a workbook, treat both as tools to help you create or disrupt a business. Visualize and act on your idea as you go through the workbook one chapter at a time.

See-Sow-Surrender. See things clearly and with feeling. Sow the seed of an idea with action. Surrender the outcome to Him. “Lord, give me this (what I ask for) or better.”

Sowing, at the end of each chapter by doing your “assignment.” Have fun as you do it. Sow with care and diligence. Slowly. No rush.


You are filling the blanks slowly as you write down your assignment. For example, as you do your assignment, you’ll discover you’ve built a Business Model Canvas for your organization.

In effect, with this “book + workbook,” you take the first steps to provide value to customers. Yes, provide value to customers. Wow! That mindset is a breakthrough for starting employees or starting entrepreneurs.

Choose Doing

Students as early as K-12, begin looking for new customer segments. People to serve. Students serve society by tackling the pain they notice existing all around them. They tackle small then big problems.

For example, take the problem of the slow and expensive internet connection that exists in the country. How much pain is slow internet access causing you?

As a student shifts the focus from self to a customer segment, using the Business Model Canvas, students find a neat way to transition from school to the work force. Why? Because they use the same Business Model Canvas for both school and work. How? The shift from Business Model Canvas to Business Model You. And vice-versa. Students start tweaking their mindset.

Should I complain about slow and expensive connection or should I do something to address it? Here’s my next secret.

Larry’s Secret #2: If there is a choice between complaining and doing something about a problem, choose doing.

Doing something about a problem is like entering into Plato’s cave, diving in, and coming out standing at a larger cave filled with stalactites and stalagmites.

Amazing view to a whole new world.



Volume 1 • Number 22• November 2015

What’s Your Dream? (Part 3)Let’s Catch Up

(Editor’s Note: This is the start of a series that will form the book Innovate, Start and Scale.)

That’s how I found the Business Model Canvas. A blueprint on how to position, package, promote and partner with others to launch a business that gives value. I found my Secret #2 because I wanted to catch up with my schoolmates that had left me behind since I joined the La Salle Brothers and invested four years of my life training to be a teacher. I was wrestling to find the “why” of my life.

It did not matter that after four years, I changed my mind. When I left the Brothers, I looked around and saw my high school classmates were finishing college and working and were doing well professionally.

And I felt left behind. How could I catch up? So that led to Secret #3: Find where your competitive spirit is challenged and let it challenge you to move forward.

In effect, the competitive spirit where I felt left behind by my peers compelled me to figure out a way to catch up with my schoolmates. My answer? To win a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a Ph.D in Business Administration at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The jump from Education to Business was a long shot. And going for the Ph.D beats doing an MBA. Doing both, Education shift and Business start, I felt, should help me catch up. And grow up.

Secret #4: Getting out of your comfort zone to an adjoining uncomfortable zone will stretch your learning while minimizing failure as a likely outcome.

The Tool to Catch Up

Today, we as a country are playing “catch up.” We are now entering into a new phase. That of ASEAN integration where borders open up and trade barriers are

taken down. Cross border business between and among ASEAN countries becomes a reality. Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia.

And as we compare our economy with theirs, it becomes apparent we are being left behind.

It’s time to catch up.Just think, 10 years ago the Philippines was labeled

“the sick man of Asia.” Sick man, my foot. We are, as of today, August

10, 2015, one of the hottest emerging economies in the world. Seems like we are sitting pretty.

But will it last? Do we have the foundation to support growth so it’s sustainable?

Thus this business model canvas workbook, Innovate, Start and Scale. This workbook can be used as a tool to empower the Filipino to take part in building start-ups that scale.


The workbook can be used as a strategic weapon to wield in the midst of this current real change known as ASEAN Integration. And you don’t have to ask anyone permission to use this workbook. As a student, employee or entrepreneur, you can decide to “just do it.”

You have to find your WHY. We will provide the HOW.So here’s the HOW, the weapon that we should master and wield, the Business Model Canvas.

That’s it. One page. Nine boxes. The basis for a book. And a workbook. A strategic weapon?!



Volume 1 • Number 23 • November 2015

Coincidences Galore?

Let me tell you the story of a meeting. A simple meeting between two people—Patch Dulay and I. A coincidence you might say.

I met Patch Dulay at “The Next Bright Idea” in Enderun College.You see got another invitation from Enderun’s “The Next Bright Idea.” It’s the third year that I got invited to judge

in “The Next Bright Idea” held at Enderun College. Why do they keep inviting me? Frankly I don’t know. And I didn’t ask. But I felt good. Especially since I knew I’d be

meeting the future possible entrepreneurs of our country—K-11 and K-12 students, just before they entered college.But maybe the question should be, “Why do I keep accepting Enderun’s invitation to judge at their Pitch-fest?”

They were hardly paying me anything. But they got me excited. But wait, what’s “The Next Bright Idea” in the first place? Well, it’s like “The Shark Tank,” a TV show featuring

entrepreneurs pitching their ideas. But “The Next Bright Idea” features, get this (drumroll please)—high school students! What we now call K-11 and

K-12. And sometimes, even younger students sneak in. Youth is no barrier to entrepreneurship.Mostly 3rd or 4th year students (in K to 12 that would be 11th and 12th grade) from schools like Grace Christian

College, Xavier School, British International School, La Salle Green Hills and HEDCEN.The “Next Bright Idea” is a pitch-fest by senior high school students from different schools coming together at a

pre-agreed date and time at Enderun College who hosts the Pitch-fest. The prize is cash (P50,000) and bragging rights.

Volume 1 • Number 24December 2015

For example, a student might say, “My team and I qualified for a pitch-fest in Enderun, the top culinary entrepreneurial school in the country.” “Want to know how we did?” I bet you that student will have a crowd of other students (and even adults) curious to find out just how he or she did.

Now that’s how I got pulled into this crazy adventure. At this point, let me ask a simple question. Would the young students have been helped in developing their

pitch if they had been given a whole day exposure to the TRP Business Model Canvas? Enderun, do your hear me?To appreciate how crazy this crazy adventure is, let me tell you this unauthorized story...



Volume 1 • Number 24 • December 2015

The Unauthorized Story of Enderun College

Enderun College was started BY, FOR and WITH entrepreneurs.Enderun was started BY entrepreneurs (Jack Tuason, Danny Perez, Tricia Tensuan), FOR entrepreneurs (culinary

graduates launching a business), and WITH entrepreneurs (teachers who have entrepreneurship in their blood). You might say, Enderun is a school that mints start-ups. You know, just like the Central Bank mints coins, Enderun

mints entrepreneurs—culinary entrepreneurs. In effect, Enderun is turning out to be an entrepreneurial breeding ground for the culinary arts students they graduate. Entrepreneurship’s the goal. Culinary is the means.

And now, Enderun is giving blue-chip schools like La Salle Benilde a run for their money. Academically and entrepreneurially.

Academically, Enderun charges one of the highest fees, as if to proclaim, “That’s because we have the best program, bar none.” Entrepreneurially because they picked a niche that positions students to come out way ahead of the job hunting pack.

Volume 1 • Number 25December 2015

So now you have a clue as to why The Next Bright Idea came into being and how Enderun started an annual Pitch-Fest for K-11 and K-12 senior high school kids.

As an incentive to contestants in the Pitch-fest, Enderun put together prizes to get a high school kid’s competitive juices flowing. Whether for money. Or for fame. They were competing to win in “The Next Bright Idea” pitch-fest.

And Patch and I plus other invited judges decided which Bright Idea was 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place.

We listened to the pitches of students from K-11 and K-12. We asked questions. We learned and enjoyed each team’s pitch. Then from the exchange we rated them to pick out the best Pitch Team.

Each time a team pitched their bright idea, I experienced an entrepreneurial adrenalin rush. Here I was a student once more, learning from K-11 and K-12 students in the second half of my life.

As a judge let me share what I felt.I felt awed. Amazed at how awfully polished and smart the kids were. With each bright idea pitch, I learned.

Ideas, yes, and content. But surprisingly, I learned even more as I thought of questions to ask. That’s when I stumbled into Salman Khan and Khan Academy (see www.khanacademy.org). From start-ups in

high school, I discovered the model of how education can take place as early as the K grade. Listen to Salman Khan share on TED how he used video to reinvent education:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTFEUsudhfsIn addition to Salman Khan I stumbled into Secret #6: Ask at least one question or more in every seminar or talk

that you attend. Especially if you are paying for your seat.



Volume 1 • Number 25 • December 2015

TRP Gazette 2015

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