GROUP 4 ENTREP 2 10:30-11:30 MWF

CHAPTER 4
THE RISE OF THE ROAMING ENTREPRENEUR

SUMMARY
The author starts this chapter with a sneak peek of what his life as a roaming
entrepreneur is, from being able to visit other countries like Hong Kong, Vietnam and
Laos, going sight-seeing while still doing work and enjoying this lifestyle once a week in
a month. A fantasy to others, but reality to some who has discovered that there’s a lot
more to entrepreneurship that everyone ought to know.
In the first case study of the life of a music teacher named Brandon Pearce.
Combining his curiosity and interest in technology, he was able to create an application
as a solution to the “disorganized music teacher problem” he and other colleagues are
facing – the Music Teacher’s Helper. It is a one-stop platform for music teachers of all
kinds to help them in handling all aspects of scheduling and billing. It became a success,
and three years later, Brandon and his family are living differently. They can now live
anywhere they want and his business will continue to increase because customers
commit for a long term and more music teachers are expected to join.
In the second case study of the accidental worldwide photographer, Kyle Hepp
who was laid off because he got hit by a truck and his husband who also became
unemployed after quitting his job as a construction engineer. Facing these difficulties
should have brought the couple down, but they chose to see it in a new light and just
decided to tour around Europe but at the same time updating her website and announced
that she’s accepting photography bookings. And that opened to a lot of opportunities, as
request after request keep flooding in. And now she’s touring around the world, enjoying
what she loves and earning more than before.
The third case is the story of the spreadsheet king, Bernard Vukas. As a developer,
he helps companies that use Microsoft Office applications to process large amounts of
data, creating or modifying extensions to make data easier to manage. He started by
pricing low which helped him establish a client base and good reputation but the best
decision he made was when he tripled his rates for new clients.
Because of the nature of their work, these businesses are technically location
independent even if they currently have fixed address. But one business model is
especially useful for location independence: the business of information publishing.
Publishing has changed in the recent years. Before authors chose self-publishing
because they couldn’t get a traditional publisher to purchase their work. Today, some
authors are deliberately choosing to distribute their work directly. Moreover, one doesn’t
even need to be an author or think like a writer to get into digital publishing as it tend to
fit into at least a few categories like one-off products, fixed-period courses and recurring
subscriptions. One successful story regarding about this is the “$120,000 E-Book”, done
by self-described professional geek, Brett Kelly who worked as a software developer but
with a large debt. He’s a power user of Evernote, the free note-keeping software and
noticed that there was no detailed user manual for people to get the most out of the
service. And came birth Evernote Essentials, containing screenshots and tutorials in a
big PDF file. Sales continued to bring in at least $300 a day, and if it were done through
a traditional publisher, he’d only get $18 a day from the royalties but because he is the
sole owner and delivery is digital, that sale was almost entirely profit.
But not every story of independent publishing is a success. Sometimes it works,
but many times it doesn’t, and there’s no guarantee of instant riches. The failures occur
because of unrealistic expectations. Partly as a result of the allure working from
anywhere, many aspiring entrepreneurs focus much more on the “anywhere” part than
they do the “work” part. Even these successful entrepreneurs were just able to enjoy the
benefits only after the business has been established. In the beginning, there’s usually a
fair amount of fumbling and a large number of hours spent working on projects that may
or may not succeed.
But then there’s no wonder that roaming entrepreneurs have been on the rise.
They are everywhere these days, building significant businesses while living in paradise.
Just remember that although not every passion leads to a good business model, you have
to have the right reasons for venturing to such and combine passion and usefulness to
build a real business because it doesn’t really matter where you end up living.

LEARNING INSIGHTS:

ALO, Liezl
This chapter introduced to us a new and rising trend in doing business – the
roaming entrepreneurs.
Roaming entrepreneurs are those people whose businesses are location
independent and so they were still able to do business even if they’re not in their home
country. It sounds so promising and it was made possible by combining business and
technology. The appearance of technology and its continuing development opened a wide
array of opportunities that the traditional way of doing business has been replaced with
an easier and more convenient approach. Because people have become more dependent
with gadgets, this introduced a lot of needs from its users which the aspiring
entrepreneurs took the advantage of. They created applications to cater those needs and
sold them to their customers not just locally but worldwide so that’s what makes it in a
bigger scale and in turn makes more profit.
 But it’s not just answering others need, sometimes you also need something yet
you haven’t found anything that would cater to it, so you start making it – and that is
innovation just like the story of Brandon Pearce. He took the initiative of finding a solution
to his problem and then created a business out of it by selling it to others who were facing
the same problem. Combined with his passion and hard work, he is now a successful
roaming entrepreneur, staying from one country to another.
This kind of lifestyle attracted a lot of people, because who wouldn’t want to tour
around the world, right? But that’s the thing. This chapter strongly emphasized that if you
are pursuing this for all the wrong reasons, you’re still bound to fail. Most of those people
who wishes to be a roaming entrepreneur, focuses more on the benefits and fun they’ll
get but weren’t able to recognize the hardships that come with it. After all, good things
are not served on a silver platter, effort and sacrifice are crucial to success.
This chapter surely opened my mind of all the possibilities and opportunities
anyone can take if one just knows how to make use of the available resources
surrounding him. It gave me a lot of ideas and made me see that there’s so much more
to entrepreneurship than what I used to know. But to be successful, it’s a different story.
Passion, perseverance, hard work and some cleverness in doing business would surely
bring you to the place where you belong. As what the author said, it doesn’t matter where
you end up living because at the end of the day you define your own success.

APOLONA, Mildred
The Rise of the Roaming Entrepreneur teach us that doing business anytime or
anywhere doesn’t matter at all. We all know that being an entrepreneur is a great
challenge and a hardest one especially for beginners. You need to put your full effort and
spent most of your time on it. But the stories of some entrepreneurs all over the world
tells us that they can balance their time, for work, family and sets time for leisure. For
them time zone and location are irrelevant if you already have the things you need for
work. They are always prepared and getting set up before they travel somewhere to do
business. On the other hand, becoming an entrepreneur can also be an accident you
might not expect it as well. Just like the story of Kyle Hepp, an accidental entrepreneur.
Because some uncertain things that happens to our life can lead us to what we are in the
future, it might be a way for a life changing events.
The stories of the entrepreneurs shows us that they possess creativity and
persuasiveness. They have the creative capacity to recognize and pursue opportunities
out of the things that are happenings to their respective life. Entrepreneurs are versatile
they didn’t usually rely on their colleagues and friends to provide them service or support
but instead they typically start at their own. They are also flexible and open-minded for
the things that might going to happen and embrace the change in the business world. As
change is an inevitable to our life. Their life experiences made them to drive their business
through their own and must be proactive in their approaches to everything. Indeed, being
an entrepreneur is not easy at all as it takes courage and determination to help you to go
through.

FLORES, Jundemar
Having read the different cases of entrepreneurs being successful in the business
they ventured into, I learned that it’s always a matter of effort, persistence, and passion
to work for the discovery of new business opportunities that entrepreneurs achieve great
successes. Effort, in that they took time to research and learn the business they wanted
to create. Passion, in that they worked for it because they’re good at it and they just love
doing it. Moreover, in this world of fast-paced technology, entrepreneurs have proven that
there are always room for them. Many have established great businesses, earned good
income, and are now living a better-off life through the Internet.
Nevertheless, one must not forget to take into consideration that not every passion
leads to a successful business.

MEMBREVE, Shiecamae
The 4th chapter of the book – The $100 Start Up talks about the Rise of the
Roaming Entrepreneur. Chris Guillebeau, the author, has stressed in the foremost part of
the Chapter the quote: “A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world” by
JOHN LE CARRE, in my own understanding it means that if your stay behind your desk
or you’re still locked up as a paid worker by a particular employer you will not be able to
see the world as it is – a rapidly changing place.
The author wants us to know about people who used to be an employee but later
on realizes that it’s better to build up or start up their own businesses. Just like Brandon
Pearce who used to be a successful piano teacher, he then learned that it would be better
for him and his family if he starts up a business, they would earn bigger digits and live a
comfortable life. They’re now able to live anywhere they want, roam the world anytime
and anywhere. The second case is about the entrepreneur Kyle Hepp who used to be a
paid worker as well as her husband, but one unfortunate day, she was gotten over by the
car while her husband was laid off. While they were on their honeymoon, she received a
request for a wedding photography which she used to have interest into. She took the
opportunity and now they’re working all over the world and earning bigger money. In case
three, Bernard Vuka’s journey of being an entrepreneur has been revealed. Bernard used
to help companies that uses Microsoft Office applications. The strategy that he used
worked well in helping him establish a client base and a good reputation.
The case of the “The $120,000 E-Book” is my favourite part. Brett Kelly, who
worked as a software developer and who used to have many debts, invented Evernote
Essentials – the definitive guide for helping Evernote users get the more out of the
services since he noticed that there was no detailed user manual. His efforts were paid
off as he earns a lot of money from it and not just it, the executives who developed
Evernote wanted to hire him.
One thing I learned after reading this chapter is that if you give your best, strive
hard, and make use of the resources you have, you really can earn money. Even without
getting a job, you just need to innovate things and try risking for a business and it might
grow well beyond your expectations.

DARUNDAY, Rhona Christine

Roaming entrepreneur travels around the world. They go different places where
there is business. For me, roaming entrepreneurs, as they travel, they build significant
business as they live in beautiful places. Because some example of the case studies in
this chapter, when they have their business in this place, they will bring their children and
when they go to another one, almost everywhere they can travel. But I know this kind of
business takes time. You cannot just roam or travel the world doing business without a
plan. As you roam, you can build good relationship to your clients. It is also important to
balance your work and adventure.

BASTASA, Queenie Noreen

The Rise of the Roaming entrepreneur discusses people who have managed to
rise vertically up the ladder of success while travelling horizontally across the globe. The
author discussed a few tips for people who work out of a suitcase. If you can’t find a smart,
interesting, supportive community of entrepreneurs, the solution is to build one yourself.
Being an entrepreneur is one of the most exciting, interesting and popular things to do
but we all know that being an entrepreneur is a great challenge and a hardest one
especially for the beginners. Starting your own business isn’t easy.
Dreaming a dream is one thing, but bringing the dream to market is another
dimension entirely. Business is all about making money. Success at this stage often
depends on how open-minded you are. Time zone and location are irrelevant if you
already have the things you need for work. They are always prepared and maintain a
balance between adventure and work. Remember that most people work regular jobs and
travel only once in a while, so be sure to take advantage of sight-seeing and experiencing
the local culture.
The entrepreneurs show us their creativity and persuasiveness. Some of the best
entrepreneurs are never satisfied with what they have achieved. No matter how much
they have succeeded in their business, they always aim higher. They should strive to
possess all these skills in order to be successful. Running a business can be scary
experience. Becoming an entrepreneur can also be an accident you might have not
expected it as well.

APA-AP, Mitzi
After reading the different stories of successful entrepreneurs, l learned that being
an entrepreneur takes a lot of effort, courage, patience and passion. If you want to be
successful, you have to put so much effort in learning all the things that you have to learn,
even the smallest and the most complicated details of your business. Especially when it's
a sole proprietorship because you're the only one running and managing your business.
You must work hard for you to become successful. You should also have the courage to
take all the risks. There will always a time that you'll encounter failure. You never know
when a natural calamity would happen or you might encounter bankruptcy so you should
think and consider those risks if you're planning to start a business. You should have the
courage to face those risks. Patience, this is also important especially if you're just a
beginner and a first timer in the business field. Your name and the name of the business
is not yet known to the public. You cannot easily gain a lot of customers and you cannot
gain back your capital or investment so you have to be patient. Never surrender easily.
And lastly the passion. It is not enough that you're skilled and experienced enough for to
be successful. You really have to love your work. You should love what you are doing.
That is what we called passion.
These are the things or qualities which I think an entrepreneur must possess for
him to become successful in his chosen business venture.