I am what I am today, thanks to my seven years in-depth and hands-on experience in the three direct selling companies I worked for, the longest and best of which belongs to Avon. From a geek who often replied in single words, I can now express and describe a single term in multiple paragraphs and has no qualms speaking to large groups of people; besides the awesome people and sales management skills I learned. For someone who intends to be general manager one day, you’ve got to make “sales” part of your career itinerary because it simply goes a long way in molding you to the right future head of a company, large or otherwise. Direct selling is here to stay; you can’t discount the fact that it offers the lowly poor an invitation to succeed if he or she puts their heart and mind into it.

It’s been weeks since I attended Randell Tiongson’s “No Nonsense Seminar on Financial Planning,” more often referred to as a personal finance seminar. I met Randell after having e-mailed him a few times and asked if we could meet – I had a web project then that needed writers of his stature for enticing the North American market to come to the Philippines besides vacationing. This involved not only retiring in the country but more towards investing and hiring (or outsourcing), to name a few. The only thing we had in common was our high school alma mater.

I spent 7 years in the Direct Sales industry after 7 years in I.T., which was then called EDP and subsequently MIS. Through the years of understanding dealer networks, sales management, salesmanship, customer relations, distribution and such, I came across many acronyms that led to incorporating these business principles in my life. One of these is B.M.W. – known as Birthdays, Marriages and Wakes.

Randell’s talk on financial planning was geared towards the individual and the family. When he began his presentation, I thought of many friends who should have been at the event to listen to Randell talk, people who were just starting their careers and new mothers and fathers.