Waiting for the right time to start an online business from home? Now would be the perfect time, with everyone at home, logged onto their social media accounts every single day. With the power of the Internet comes great opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs.

To create a successful and profitable online business, here are the most important steps.

1.Choose a profitable product or service

All kinds of businesses start from one thing: an idea, hobby, or passion that turned into an opportunity. The first step to creating a business is knowing what to offer by researching and identifying the pros and cons of the product or service. See to it that the product or service has an existing audience, thereby proving its potential in the marketplace. An important reminder: do not jump on trends, fads, and bandwagons that are deemed fleeting.

2.Build the core strengths of an online business

With an online business, the non-negotiables are a website, an email list, and a good social media following. A clean and simple website should make the business’ credibility available for all to see online. An email list, on the other hand, comes in handy for marketing needs. Lastly, a strong social media presence is essential to further widen the brand’s reach thereby converting followers into customers. Identify the top platforms used by the target audience and prioritize building a great following in those same platforms.

3.Keep the audience engaged

A strong social media presence is the result of a great following and engaging content. Keep in mind that an aesthetically-pleasing Instagram feed can have a lot of followers and likes, but the goal is to keep the followers coming, retain them, keep them entertained, and most importantly, entice and convert them to becoming customers. Focus on posting engaging content about the business that they will not only like, but also share and comment on.

4.Establish a wide network.

A vast network is crucial when it comes to starting a business. Start building a relationship with entrepreneurs, suppliers, and even couriers by joining groups, events, expos, and online caravans to know the in’s and out’s of the digital landscape. In these trying times, collaboration, not competition, is key to the survival of a business.

5.Get the right connection.

The right connection matters -- literally, in the case of online businesses. What good is an online business without a reliable and stable Internet connection? This is where PLDT Home Biz comes in. Get a strong Internet connection with affordable PLDT Home Biz Plan, plus access to a wider network through readily available ecommerce solutions that come with each subscription and virtual trade expos that PLDT Home Biz provides in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

With many people starting their businesses online, the need to stand out and get the attention and loyalty of an audience seems difficult, to say the least. But with the right tools and a solid foundation, any startup online business has the potential, not only to survive, but more so, thrive.

With PLDT Home Biz, anyone has the power to create a successful home-based online business. Find out more at www.pldthome.com/biz.

Staying on top of your health is one of the most important things you must do these days. With COVID-19 cases continuously rising, minimize your exposure by staying home and ensure that you and your loved ones stay in tip-top shape by eating a balanced diet, practicing good personal hygiene, and drinking vitamins. As they say, prevention is better than cure!

To stay healthy, it’s imperative to keep your household well-equipped with health and wellness essentials including medicines, supplements, and hygiene products. Be ready for anything by stocking up your pantry with food items with long shelf lives as well. Aside from giving you peace of mind that you and your family have enough to eat in case of emergencies, a loaded pantry helps you minimize your trips outdoors.

This April 15, enjoy big savings by buying your daily necessities at Shopee’s Payday Sale. Make the most out of your sweldo with the deals on health and wellness essentials below:

‘New normal’ staples you need to stay healthy

Going out to work and run errands? Wear Ilwoul KF94 Mask, which comes with four layered filters to protect you against fine dust, bacteria, and viruses. While you’re on the go, remember to apply Zenutrients Sanitizer, which contains ethyl alcohol and soothing peppermint essence to keep your hands clean and virus-free. Make sure you’re also stocked up on alcohol at home. CleanSol Isopropyl Alcohol contains a gallon of 70% isopropyl alcohol for the whole family’s disinfecting needs. Boost your loved ones’ immunity with Wellspring Vitamins, which promotes healthier skin and guards against diseases.

Grocery basics to keep your pantry filled

Reduce your trips to the supermarket by always keeping your kitchen stocked with your grocery basics, including products that are ready to eat and drink. Prepare a quick, fuss-free breakfast with Capitan Del Mar Milkfish. Each can contains tomato paste, olive oil, and bangus. For lunch, whip up a bowl of Knorr Nido Oriental Soup by simply adding its contents to a saucepan with water, bringing it to a boil, and adding a fresh egg. Then, keep your family’s bones healthy with an easy-to-prepare glass of Bear Brand Powdered Milk, fortified with zinc and calcium.

New mom must-haves for taking care of your baby

Moms, your babies deserve nothing less than the best with these top baby care items. Tender Care Baby Wash is scented with jasmine, gentle, and safe for babies. Pampers Diaper Pants will keep your baby dry and comfortable by evenly distributing and locking away wetness. UniLove Baby Wipes is infused with aloe vera, lanolin, and vitamin E for mild yet effective cleansing of your baby’s delicate skin. Ensure that your baby bottle is free from breastmilk residue and ready for the next feeding with Cradle Bottle & Nipple Cleanser.

Personal hygiene products to take better care of yourself

Personal grooming is the first step to good health. Keep your locks healthy with L'Oreal Paris Shampoo and Conditioner. Its sulfate-free formula washes away pollutants, prolongs hair color, and strengthens hair. Stay squeaky clean using the Protex Antibacterial Soap, which eliminates 99% of bacteria and provides long-lasting freshness. Next, moisturize your body with Nivea Body Lotion. This product minimizes dark spots and rough skin. Lastly, brighten your face and protect it from harmful UVA/UVB rays with Garnier Serum and Sunscreen.

Make spending time at home more comfortable by ensuring you have all these health and wellness essentials. Get all these deals at Shopee’s 4.15 Payday Sale. For more information, visit https://shopee.ph/m/payday-sale.

Don't forget to top up and shop with ShopeePay to enjoy more discounts and rewards. Check out https://shopee.ph/m/shopee-pay for details.

Download the Shopee app for free via the App Store or Google Play.

Consistent with its mission to continuously provide the most quality and family-friendly health and wellness products, PascualLab launches its newest pedia product ProBio7 Kids.* ProBio7 Kids is a probiotic food supplement powder with 7 probiotic strains, that goes beyond improving digestive health¹ — it also helps augment the body’s immune system.

With the pandemic still looming over our heads, everyone, including children, continue to be susceptible to attacks from COVID-19 and its new variants, as well as other viruses that can cause infections.

Given this uncertainty, the question that begs to be answered is: how strong are children’s immune systems? Enter PascualLab’s newest product offering ProBio7 Kids, which helps boost immunity by fighting off infection with its 7 Probiotic strains: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactococcus lactis​, Bifidobacterium longum, and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis​.

While probiotic strains are more widely known to aid gut health by increasing a child’s probiotic diversity, ¹ they also help the body’s response against viruses and bacteria.² Studies show that children who take probiotics are less likely to get colds and flu, thereby reducing their absences from school.³

Moreover, some studies also show that probiotics even help boost the growth of children as it aids digestion of nutrients, ⁴ especially of lactose. ⁵

ProBio7 Kids, is the latest addition to PascualLab’s family of pedia health products including Poten-Cee Plus and Boostavit.

ProBio7 Kids can be administered directly or mixed with food or water. It comes in Grape flavor and is available in sachet format in boxes of 30s at select drugstores and supermarkets nationwide, or online via PascualLab‘s official flagship store in Lazada and Shopee. Suggested retail price is Php 1,140.00.

*MAHALAGANG PAALALA: ANG PROBIO7 KIDS AY HINDI GAMOT AT HINDI DAPAT GAMITING PANGGAMOT SA ANUMANG URI NG SAKIT.

References:
¹Probiotics and Prebiotics. World Gastroentorology Organisation Practice Guideline. May 2008
²Mirzaei, Rasoul. The emerging role of probiotics as a mitigation strategy against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). National Library of Medicine In https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33745067/ Accessed March 2021
³ Leyer GJ, Li S, Mubasher ME, Reifer C, Ouwehand AC. Probiotic effects on cold and influenza-like symptom incidence and duration in children. Pediatrics. 2009 Aug;124(2):e172-9. doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-2666. Epub 2009 Jul 27. PMID: 19651563 Accessed from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19651563/
⁴Ojochenemi J Onubi, et al . Effects of probiotics on child growth: a systematic review In https://jhpn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41043-015-0010-4#:~:text=Probiotics%20may%20improve%20child%20growth,risk%20of%20anaemia%20%5B16%5D. Accessed April 2021
⁵Rosaura Lei. Effects of Prebiotic and Probiotic Supplementation on Lactase Deficiency and Lactose Intolerance: A Systematic Review of Controlled Trials. MDPI. May 2020.

The City Government of Marikina has tapped digital financial services leader PayMaya to roll out contactless payments for real property and other business taxes within the city.

Using PayMaya's payment platform, residents and businesses can now pay for their city government fees online from the safety of their own homes. All they have to do is log-in to Marikina's online portal powered by PayMaya Checkout and pay using any credit, debit, or prepaid card as well as their PayMaya wallet. This initiative is in collaboration with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

“Through this cashless initiative with PayMaya and DBP, we are empowering our constituents with a safer way to pay for taxes and other fees online so that they don’t have to physically go to the city hall, especially at this time. This will contribute towards safer and more efficient government transactions during this pandemic. At the same time, this will allow us to continue delivering critical services to the public,” said Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro.

“We thank Marikina City for being our partner in enabling the public sector with safer cashless payment solutions. Digital payments is a key component of the transformation of our local governments and we are excited to bring this forward with other digital financial services ecosystem initiatives,” added PayMaya Founder and CEO Orlando Vea.

Marikina City is the latest in over 60 national agencies and local units that have already embraced cashless solutions powered by PayMaya, which includes cashless payments acceptance as well as disbursement solutions.

Other national government agencies and local government units that have embraced cashless technologies powered by PayMaya's platforms include the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Social Security System (SSS), Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Land Transportation Office (LTO), Bureau of Customs (BoC), and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), as well as the cities of Manila, Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Pasig, Caloocan, and Valenzuela, among many others.

PayMaya is the only end-to-end digital payments ecosystem enabler in the Philippines with platforms and services that cut across consumers, merchants, communities, and government. Through its enterprise business, it is the largest digital payments processor for key industries in the country including "everyday" merchants such as the largest retail, food, gas, and eCommerce merchants as well as government agencies and units.

Through its app and wallet, PayMaya provides over 28 million Filipinos with access to financial services. Customers can conveniently pay, add money, cash out or remit through its over 200,000 digital touchpoints nationwide.

Its Smart Padala by PayMaya network of over 37,000 partner agent touchpoints nationwide serves as last-mile digital financial hubs in communities, providing the unbanked and underserved with access to digital services. To know more about PayMaya's products and services, visit www.PayMaya.com or follow @PayMayaOfficial on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Staying safe at home is the best way to spend this summer. While this may have you missing your favorite vacation spots, it doesn’t mean that you should miss out on the fun. Instead, plan for your best summer at home with your favorite snacks and treats, free-flowing drinks, and all of your favorite films and TV programs to watch and rewatch anytime you want to.

Ready with your food, drinks and watchlist? All that’s missing now is an awesome new TV for the ultimate binge-watching experience. Hisense has got you covered with its Sizzling Summer Deals Promo. Get into the summer groove with a FREE Devant SB-50 Soundbar, valued at P5,450, with every purchase of a Hisense 50” to 65” 4K UHD Smart TV or 4K ULED Smart TV.

With a Hisense 4K ULED Smart TV, your home will surely be TV marathon ready this summer. Enjoy the absolute best picture quality in Ultra HD with a 3840x2160 display resolution and Ultra Smooth Motion. All Hisense 4K ULED Smart TVs run the patented Vidaa U Operating System, which is both fast and responsive. It has the ultimate binge watcher’s video streaming apps preloaded in the TV so you don’t need to download it anymore. The remote also features a one touch access button to quickly open the apps! You also gain access to the VIDAA Store, where you can download more apps!

 

A mere shy mom. That is precisely the description of me. Not a loner but prefer to be quiet. I only react if asked or if someone started a conversation with me. I'm more of a reactive person perse.

How I become a blogger?

Well, I really don't have any idea about blogging at first. I'm not curious, and I don't have any slightest interest in writing (Right now, I'm still in the process of learning more about writing). So the possibility of me writing about my experiences is very far from what I am doing right now. I would do my stuff rather than spend my time in front of the computer and tell stories. More so, about my personal life.

So, when my husband got interested in blogging and started earning online, I just observed and wonder if it's feasible. His first year was a bit rough because he began everything from scratch. He has zero knowledge, so he has to learn it all by himself. I couldn't help him that much that time because I don't know anything about it.

When he was receiving earnings and perks, that was the time I started my very own blog with his guidance. Later on, I was learning and knowing that this really could be a good business opportunity. But of course, I still do other duties aside from being a wife and a mom of two.

The Experience

It started from a personal blog to entertainment and lifestyle. I tried sharing myself first, then later on with my experiences. It's hard to create content. For me, I don't have any metrics to know if they will like it or not. But, hey, as long as I'll just be myself, I know they will understand it. And I'm sure my fellow mommies out there can truly understand because most mommy bloggers like me started simple.

Probably the benefit of having a hubby who's a blogger is his guidance. Even though you don't have much knowledge about writing, he is there to correct your mistakes. The only downside is that sometimes I asked too much that makes him a bit cranky. Sorry, you're the one who knows much about blogging.

Just like sudden rains, things started to fall on their path, and for a mom who joggles mommy duties, these are all blessings because one by one, brands and PRs began sending an invitation to their launching events or movie premieres. It is something that I only dream of before, but now, I'm experiencing it!

I think brands had finally reached the point where they look at bloggers and influencers as one of the best ways to endorse their products. Unfiltered and honest opinions, especially from mommies, like me. The rawer the things that moms do, the better.

The Perks

Mommies, like me, are naturally frugal. If we can get discounts and budget packs, the better. And since we're writing about brands and products, one of the simplest ways for brands to complete bloggers and influencers is to provide tokens as a way of appreciating the works, our works. These tokens are indeed a great help in budgeting household expenses. The thing is that we can use the savings for other things needed in the house.

Developing our skills and learning more about the things we don't know is just part of the whole picture of evolving ourselves. For blogging, it became my source of extra income.

During these times when we should limit non-essential trips outside our homes, we need to turn to more convenient ways to stock up on everything we need. Online shopping, which is safer and easier, can help us keep our trips to a minimum and avoid the long queues and waiting times at supermarkets and drugstores.

Nowadays, you can quickly find everything you need online. At Shopee, for instance, you can buy a wide range of necessities and tick all items off your shopping list, including food and groceries, home care products, and work-from-home essentials.

Aside from the variety of products and risk-free shopping, you can also enjoy lots of perks when you shop for your essentials on Shopee. Shopee’s 4.4 Mega Shopping Sale offers discounts up to 90% off, free shipping, and cashback deals.

Shop these essentials for yourself and your loved ones this April 4:

Stay virus-free with hygiene must-haves

Always keep a supply of masks, disinfectants, and antibacterial products at home to ensure you and your loved ones are protected from the recent surge in COVID19 cases. Wear a Cleanwell KF94 Mask every time you go out. It features a high-efficiency ultra-static HEFA filter and a comfy, breathable structure. Upon getting home, immediately take a shower using Safeguard Body Wash, which removes 99.9% of germs and slows down their regrowth. Don’t forget to disinfect your car as well. Lysol Disinfecting Spray kills over 100 illness-causing germs, including cold and flu viruses.

Keep your kitchen well-stocked with your staples

Make sure your home is well-stocked with canned goods and other pantry essentials in case of emergencies. Get the day off to a great start with Milo Choco Malt’s yummy combo of malt, cocoa, and milk. Each glass provides essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium. For an easy but nourishing meal, stock up on the preservative- and cholesterol-free Century Tuna Flakes in Oil which contains Omega 3 DHA to boost heart and brain health.

Have all your basic baby care needs on hand

If you’re a new parent, ensure that you have all the products that support your child’s health and comfort. Try incorporating J&J Milk Bath Oats into your baby’s bath routine. This body wash is formulated with milk proteins and oat extracts to gently cleanse, soothe, and moisturize your child’s skin. Keep your newborn dry and comfy throughout the day with Huggies Dry Diapers, which rapidly absorbs wetness and provides gentle protection for delicate skin.

Boost your productivity with work-from-home essentials

Upgrading your work-from-home setup? Enjoy lag-free video calls and uninterrupted work with Globe at Home Prepaid Wifi, which also comes with free 10GB worth of data. Accessorize your rig with Logitech Wireless Keyboard & Mouse. With this combo, you can finally ditch tangled cords and work wherever you want. For your charging needs, invest in a Xiaomi Power Strip. Aside from organizing cables, it also protects your gadgets by automatically cutting off the power supply once the electric current exceeds the limit of 10A max.

Shop for your essentials safely from your home while enjoying big discounts at the Shopee 4.4 Mega Shopping Sale. Don’t forget to tune in to All out Sundays on GMA 7 and Shopee Live on April 4, 1:00 PM for a chance to win ₱200,000. For more information, visit https://shopee.ph/m/4-4.

Want more? Top up at least ₱300 on ShopeePay this April 3 for a chance to win ₱20,000. For more information, visit https://shopee.ph/m/shopee-pay.

Download the Shopee app for free via the App Store or Google Play.