Thong Sandals for This Summer

It's summer time once again (well, at least for some parts of the world). Time to hit the beach, the poolside and generally, have fun.

What better way to have fun this summer than to ensure that you wear the most comfortable footwear there is. Yep, I'm talking about thong sandals. And not just any thong sandals - thong sandals that are in the bestselling list of Amazon.

I wrote the first hub, Amazon's Bestselling Women's Thong Sandals, a few days ago. I couldn't help but feel that I just want to add everything on My Cart and buy all of them. Those are some great choices, great designs, cute colors and they all look comfortable and easy to wear too.

Not content with the hub about women's thong sandals, I published the Amazon's Bestselling Men's Sandals barely 24 hours ago. I know I'm not a man nor do I have big feet to fit on one of those men's sandals. But I do know that they look just as interesting as the women's thong sandals. I'm hard pressed to hide these wonderful products from my husband just in case he gets it into his head to buy one of those sandals.

So, whether it is men's sandals or women's thong sandals, I really hope you will find what's best for you. Have a happy summer!

Franchises: Advantages, Disadvantages and Things to Consider

Franchises are the 'in' thing nowadays in the business world. In fact, in my country, there's never a better year (or decade) than this one to go into franchise. Notwithstanding the financial crisis, franchised business are springing up left and right.

So, are you one of those who are interested in getting a franchise for your business? Are you ready to become a franchisee? In this hub, I wrote about the things that one needs to consider before getting a franchise.  They're actually more on questions that you need to ask yourself before even pursuing any franchised business.

Before going for a franchise, you may want to know about the advantages and disadvantages of franchising. Forewarned is forearmed and franchising is no exception. You may have the guts, you may have the money, you may have the brains but still, if franchising is not meant for you and you don't have the passion for it, then nothing can make you successful in it.

So good luck. I hope you find the right franchise for you.

For the 2010 Philippine Elections

Two months from now, we'll be choosing a new set of government officials, from the President, to the Vice - President, the Senators, the Congressmen, mayors down to the city councilors. I tell you it's no easy feat to choose the right candidate. Here are just some of the statistics - 9 presidential candidates, 7 vice presidential candidates, more than 60 candidates for senators. And those are just in the national level, what more in the local levels?

In recognition of these all - important elections, I have written two hubs to introduce and provide some information about the presidential and vice - presidential candidates. My hub on Meet the Philippines 2010 Presidential Candidates lists the nine presidential candidates. Nearly all of the candidates have political background. One is a son of a former president, another one is actually a former president (!), four are incumbent senators, one is a former cabinet secretary, one is a councilor (the youngest at the age of 40) while another one is from the private sector. Two of these candidates are running as independents and have no vice - presidential or senatorial candidates. Only one among these nine candidates is female.

My second hub on Meet the Philippines 2010 Vice - Presidential Candidates lists seven candidates, only one of whom is female. One is a current mayor of the business district of the country, two are senators, two served as heads of several government agencies, one is from the private sector and one comes from the entertainment industry.

This is a crucial time for our country as a lot of people are hankering for real changes that can make an impact in our lives. Choosing the right candidate will go a long way towards ensuring these real changes. So vote wisely and may the best candidate wins!

My Business Hubs

Two weeks ago, we had a HubMob topic in Hubpages about small businesses. Boy, was I excited. I mean, I'm no businessman (or woman), I certainly don't have my own. But if there's one profession that is so inter related with business, it's mine - accounting. We do the books, know the accounting, the taxes, etc. We're the go - to guy whenever the business owner needs an advice about the business and the balances. So yes, you might say we're the hired help, but we're the hired help who knows a business.

So, getting back to this HubMob topic, I was really kind of busy during that week but as the topic was right in my alley, I really have to put my two cents in. It turned out I managed to write two hubs and here's a brief rundown of them:

The first tells about the Advantages and Disadvantages of Franchising. Franchising is a hot (and I  mean HOT!) topic right now in my country. In fact, even with the current financial crisis, franchising is still a thriving business. A lot of companies managed to expand (despite the odds) through franchising. But, let's face it, franchising is not for everybody, much like starting a business is not really for everybody. In this hub, I wrote the various advantages and disadvantages of franchising. But don't take my word for it, bottomline is, if you have the stomach (and the guts) to take the risk and go into business (whether it is a franchise or not), go for it! And if you've decided to go into a franchise business (or any business for that matter), why not read my next hub?

My next hub is all about managing cash flows and why is it so important to do this. I've seen a lot of good business ideas take off only to slow down or even to go out of sight because of one thing - the business owner did not know, and was not able to, manage the cash flows well. You might get tired of hearing (or reading) this but I have to say it again - cash is the king in a business. Not profit (although I think this is the queen), not your assets, but cash. Having enough supply of cash spells the difference between a successful and failed business and a liquid and bankrupt company. And if you can't handle the cash of your business well, then you're better of closing it down and becoming an employee, where you'll receive a sure amount of money every month. And that's all I have to say.

'Tis the Season for Love, Happy Valentine's Day!

I know, I know, it's just after Christmas and New Year and we're still feeling the after-effects of that season. But we're nearing the month of February and we all know what that means - Valentine's Day a.k.a. the 'love' season is here.

So, to celebrate this season of love, I have written several 'love' hubs.

There's my hub about how we, Filipinos, celebrate Valentine's Day. It features, among others, our famous Dangwa Market, where one can buy various kinds of flowers at cheaper prices during Valentine's Day. It also includes our favorite Valentine's gift, the famous 'Harana' (serenade) and the candlelight dinner for two in, of all places, a fast food restaurant.

Another hub tell about how to spend Valentine's Day when you're single and unattached. A lot of single people complain that they don't have anybody to spend Valentine's Day with. Well, worry no more. Who says you can't have fun on Valentine's Day even if you don't have a special someone? You can definitely have fun and more. Just some of the ways you can have fun (as featured in this hub) - go to a party, go to a spa, buy something for yourself or for other people, go home and rest and, best of all, relax and love yourself this Valentine's Day.

Of course, being a day filled with gifts, one can't avoid writing hubs that are geared buying or receiving gifts on Valentine's Day. There's my hub on my wish list this Valentine's Day. Some of the things I would love to receive this Valentine's Day? Perfume, chocolates (of course), roses and jewelries.  If you can't find anything you like here, then head on over to my next hub - the bestselling romantic gifts from Amazon. I'm pretty sure you'll find something in there.

Have a happy Valentine's Day!

A Tribute to Filipino Bloggers and eCommerce Sites

eCommerce sites and the Internet, in general, have been around for like almost two decades (?) now and there are a lot of such sites in the online world. However, for us Filipinos, we are still playing catch up on the virtual world. I would think in terms of the number of blogs and eCommerce sites, we are still behind those of our Western counterparts.

But that doesn't mean that we aren't catching up fast. In fact, Filipino sites are sprouting up everywhere, from blogs about travel, food, life (in general), motherhood and fatherhood to eCommerce sites on Filipino products, delicacies, clothes, etc., we already have these and more. In fact, the Filipinos are starting to have a major presence in a certain networking site (where we can also find a lot of Filipino entrepreneurs), multiply.com. Filipino users of this site are so many and so active that when we had a holiday, multiply.com's management reported a major drop in the number of its users for the day! Talk about major!

To pay tribute to the Filipinos' ever growing presence in the online world, I have written two hubs. The first one is about the Top 10 Emerging Influential Filipino Blogs for 2009, which is based on a survey conducted last August 2009. The topics written by these bloggers are quite varied - from Filipino food to Filipino travel, to motherhood, fatherhood, to pictures and blogs about these pictures and to life in general.

The second hub features some Filipino eCommerce sites that are making waves in the online world. You have here a site about the Barong Tagalog (the formal attire for Filipino men), a site selling Filipino delicacies (the FilVeggie Online Store), a site modeled after the most famous shopping area in the country (Divisoria.com) and a site selling music, movies, books, personal care and beauty products that are proudly Pinoy (Kabayan Central.com).

So, if you are a Filipino reading this blog, why not go ahead and visit these hubs? If you're not a Filipino, you are also more than welcome to visit and read my hubs. Thank you very much and a Happy New Year to you.

Accounting in My HubPages

Being an Accountant is not an easy job, but after having this career for the last 12 years, I can honestly say that I like what I'm doing. So how else will I show this appreciation but by writing hubs about Accounting.

Let's start with the basics. Why do we need to learn basic accounting? I've seen a lot of people, even businessmen, who prefer to leave the accounting work to their Accountants and do not even bother understanding what is written in their financial statements. But, personally (and not because I am in the profession), I think this is a big mistake. Those who are in business, even if they are not accountants, should take time to learn and understand their numbers. And I mean learn and understand. It's not only merely reading the numbers but actual comprehension of what these numbers mean. If you're a businessman, is not an Accounting graduate, but can read your financial statements, then congratulations! You're definitely reaping the advantages of knowing the basics of accounting.

Or how about a hub of the most busy time of the year for us Accountants? The busy a.k.a. tax season. This is the time when we Accountants work overtime, work during the week-ends and even, sometimes, work overnight.
Sleepless nights, pressure from work, restless energy, quick tempers - these are just some of the things you might see when an Accountant is neck deep in doing the taxes of his or her clients. You will find the descriptions of these things and more when you read the above hub.

As an Accountant, there are really some things that I can't do without. This may be my trusted 5-year old calculator, or my computer or my Excel spreadsheet, or my pencil and ball pen. These are the things that I often use in my profession and the things I can't do without.

Lastly, let's get a little bit serious here. Accounting is a good career, don't get me wrong about this. But then again, there are really things that tend to bring down my profession. I'm talking about scandals, those that rocked the accounting world. In my hub, I outline 10 such scandals (major ones at that) and what the issues really were. These scandals are more than enough to put one on alert and definitely will make one think twice on whether or not this is a good career to be. I'd still say, it is, we (the Accountants) just have to be careful
to ensure that we use our profession in the proper manner. Thanks for reading!