Valentines days is coming up, have you already booked yourself and your partner for a perfect romantic getaway? or you belong to the “SMV” or the Samahan ng mga Malalamig ang Valentines? Well, if your part of the latter, don’t drown yourself in tears instead make yourself busy and grab this very special moment to earn extra income!

Here are the click mini-businesses this Valentines Day that are cheap and easy to do:

1. Homemade chocolates and pastries-Chocolates and brownies are what most guys buy for their girlfriends as a perfect partner for flowers. What you just need is to learn how to make chocolates (which you can search via internet), molding plates, and your quirky imagination. Chocolates in the market usually expensive during Valentines so why not grab the chance to sell cheaper chocolates but expensively tasty! You can also do personalized chocolates, though you will invest a little money on this.

2. Personalized couple-items- From clothes, mugs, tumblers, key chains, necklaces, caps or anything that can be personalized and designed for sweet couples. Everything personalized is in especially for those hopeless romantics and cheesy couples who want to share the same item with their partner that will show the whole world that they are in love together. however, since you need to invest money here, I advice that look for cheaper stores where you can buy all your materials. Divisoria offers almost all things that you needed, just be patient to look for cheap but high quality materials.

3.  Offer yourself as the “date planner”- How to be a date planner? Create your blog,offer your services like you may book them to restaurants, spas, resorts, hotels, motels or contact flowershops for flower delivery or send chocolates,  or anything that you can do. Most guys (especially) are at work and usually had no time to prepare for a date so once again, grab this chance to offer your services in a very affordable price.

Let’s all admit. Money is important and a MUST have nowadays.

We need money to buy the basic things that we must have; from food to clothes, rent bills, amortizations, tuition fees, etc. etc. etc.  And the thing is, money is not something that you can get and have as much as you want, it might go in a snap, and you’ll lose everything that you have. So as early, we should know how to use money wisely and SAVE.

How to save money:

1. Before you decide to save money, the first thing that you should do is to condition yourself and have a mindset that you will SAVE. Good discipline is the key to have a proper savings.

2.   Spend Less- This is probably the best way to save money. Buy only the things that are necessary and spare from buying items that you never use in the long run.

3. Spend Wisely-  Buy items that has high quality. It is better to buy something expensive but you can use for a longer time than the cheaper one which has a lower value and no quality at all. Also, make sure that you bu something that has a warranty.

4. Make a budget plan-Have a weekly budget. In case you are working, compute the average money you spent everyday and multiply it by 5 or 6 days (number of days at work), and your food allowance.  Make a separate budget for other fees like electric bill, rent bill, phone bill etc. and make sure you pay it on time.

5.  Open a savings account- This is the best way to save money. Open a bank account in your TRUSTED bank. You can also make it as atime-deposit to make sure that the money that you will use the money that you are saving in a certain time or age.

6. Less gimmicks- Most teens  spend their money on too much nightouts or shopping which lead them to get broke at an early age. hanging out is good once in awhile but too much is not healthy anymore.

7. Have a piggy bank- Piggy bank is old school to some yet it is still effective if you have a strong will to save. Save the change coins that you have for the day and put it in your piggy bank.

8. Spare from vices- Never ever deal yourslef from any vices especially gambling. Money is at stake in gambling and you might lose everything you have in a snap once you try playing it. Gambling is win-lose game. There are more probability in losing than winning.

9. Get a part-time job/sideline- If you really want to save more money then get yourself another job or invest in a small business. Having something where you can get anotehr extra money would help you save more.

10. Spare yourself from debts- Before you get yourself a credit card, assess yourself first if you have enough capability to pay on time, regardless of how big the interest is. Because if you can’t, long lists of debts will follow you wherever you go. Also, pay your bills on time and not let it double or triple.

Who does not have Twitter and Facebook account in this “new generation” that we have? In case you were born yesterday, let me tell you what is Twitter and Facebook’s about and why most small, medium and giant firms use these two social networking site as an outlet to reach millions of people worldwide.

Facebook

- Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg in his dorm during his sophomore years in Harvard University in 2004. He launched it on February 4, 2004 with having his school mates as its first members. From 2004 up to present, Facebook became popular worldwide especially for ages 16-40 years old. It draws attention not only to normal low-profile people but also to the big names in politics and business industries.  Facebook now has more than 350 million active users and  has more than 35 million users who update their profile everyday.

- On business aspect, Facebook now has more than 700,000 local business firms which created their own “pages” to reached out to people worldwide. Facebook is so powerful that it can actually let your business be known worldwide in just a simple click. Facebook also offer “banner ads” which are posted on the site simultaneously. The ads rate start with USD10-up. The best thing about Facebook is the interaction. You can . It is also very ideal for small-time businessmen to post their services online and tagged as many people as they want to get more views. Facebook let members to create their “page (fan page, business pages, etc), groups (political, friendship, etc.) and private or public profile for FREE. Facebook is now accessible through mobile use.

Twitter

-  How can you put together a sentence, and make it a strong statement if you only have 140-character to do so? Twitter was tagged as the “sms in the internet” due to it only allows you to create a statement or phrase with just 140 character-same with SMS or text messaging.Twitter is created and founded by Jack Dorsey in 2006. Twitter now has 18 million users worldwide.

-Twitter became an outlet of expression. Most of the users use twitter to express their opinions on politics, day to day activities, entertainment, etc. It also became a forum site for those who want to have an interaction with other users. The objective of twitter is for you to be heard so the best thing to do is to follow more people and to have more followers as well. Especially for businessmen or bloggers who wants to promote their services or blogs, they often follow more or tweet more to get attention. Hence, the best thing to get attention from the “twitterworld” is to interact with fellow tweeter users.

Facebook and Twiiter are predicted to be bigger this year as more and more people get hooked with social networking. The two social networking sites are eager to get more members this year now that the two are getting more intrested companies that are willing to invest.

Social networking sites are now the best way to advertise your product, and it’s free. But the key to your success using facebook and twitter still lies in your skills to get noticed.

Brother International Philippines Corporation in cooperation with GoNegosyo is inviting all career driven and business minded Filipinos ages 18 years old and above to join the Life Enriching Discoveries(LED) contest.

Brother and GONEgosyo aims to find the best new and innovative business ideas and concept for 2010. The winner will be given P100,000 cold cash as a starting capital of his/her business choice.

Contest Requirements and Qualifications:

• All participants must love within Metro Manila only.
• The contest is open to individual or group up to four (4) members.
•  The contest requires a written business brief in general terms and should outline the business idea, the market, the competition, and competitive advantages.  Specific market and financial forecasts are not required, although participants should have a basic idea of the level of financing they would need to start their business.  Concepts are evaluated on their viability and feasibility in the current marketplace.
• Submission of entry is until February 22, 2010.

Interested applicants may download the registration form at www.brother.com.ph and submit the completed form at uniquebiz@groovecom.ph or brotherph@yahoo.com. Please note that an email confirming receipt will be sent to all those who joined.

Download the business plan template .

The announcement of best idea/concept winner will be on March 09, 2009.