Christian Dale Apolinario

Christian Dale Apolinario

Entrepreneur

My 2024 year in review

Mango pizza in guimaras island

2024 has come to an end, and I am grateful for the new opportunities as well as the new challenges that I faced this year.

Since everything happens so fast, I usually don’t get a chance to document it all in one place. This is why I decided to write a yearly recap (2021 | 2022 | 2023), so I can keep a diary of myself to reflect on as I get older. 

Plus, some friends seem to be enjoying reading these recaps. This gives me more motivation to keep writing 🙂

Personal highlights

This year, most of my time was spent in our vegetable business. But despite my hectic schedule, I was committed to working out regularly to become healthy. 

And it doesn’t matter whether I’m in Roxas or Iloilo. So when I was in Roxas, I worked out in the Villareal stadium or played basketball with friends in the Civic Center. Whenever I’m staying in Iloilo, I work out in the Iloilo sports complex or play basketball with friends in private subs.

I guess it’s been really helpful doing a lot of things and still being productive by learning how to manage my time, which is one of my goals for this year. 

But still, there’s more to learn about time management, and I currently exploring and utilizing software tools to organize and manage project/time efficiently. 

And because this year has been hectic, I haven’t been able to travel to a lot of places. But I do have one that I love to share.

In February, together with Shin and Ian, we circumnavigated Panay and Guimaras Island. 

During our adventure, we got to see the town of San Dionisio, which brings a Palawan vibe to the place, sip native coffee on a cliff in San Rafael, island hopping and try the famous mango pizza in Guimaras island, catch up with some friends in Iloilo city, and slept at a treehouse in Antique. 

It was a tiresome 4-day trip, but it was a lot of fun and adventure. Unfortunately, most of our photos have been accidentally deleted and only a handful are left.

Glad that the mango pizza isn’t one that has been deleted because that’s one of my favorite parts of our trip 😂

And It just tastes damn delicious!

And if I get to ask what was the most special moment in this year, it was that Kobe (one of our dogs) got cured with his sickness.

For those who don’t know, Kobe was diagnosed with a venereal tumor in 2019. And most experts recommend that the best way to cure this sickness is through chemotherapy. 

And it’s sad to see him suffer because the tumor gets bigger and bigger as days pass by, and there’s bleeding on the infected area that causes his severe discomfort.

Back then, I was scared that chemo treatment may do more harm than good, which is why I didn’t consider it. Plus, chemo treatment is expensive and Vets don’t guarantee that the patient will fully recover from the treatment.

Then this year, it really got to the point that the tumor was so big (almost the same size as my first) and Kobe is really having severe discomfort. And because chemotherapy is the most recommended treatment, we took the risk.

And after a series of chemotherapy, it really did cure Kobe from the sickness. So when he got cured, I was really mad at myself for letting him suffer by waiting too long and not letting him get that treatment right away.   

So for those who have fur babies reading this, if one of your dogs gets infected with a venereal tumor, it’s best that you treat it with chemotherapy right away. 

Here’s a photo of Kobe feeling better now. And by the way, Kobe just turned 6 years old this year 🙂

Business highlights

Just like in 2023, I’ve still been looking and doing some side gigs, and definitely won’t stop until I reach the point of profitability for my business. 

And one side gig that I did was performing a live solo acoustic in some bars in Iloilo. 

So to those who don’t know, I can play guitar and can sing pretty well. Well, at least that’s what my friends told me, which gives me confidence to consider this type of gig 😂

And I like the idea for this gig because you only get to play for like 2-3 hours per gig and the pay is quite pretty good. 

So when I was in Iloilo, I tried my luck and did live auditions, and surprisingly, one bar did consider hiring me. 

And during those performances, you can’t imagine how nervous I was and the pressure of performing in a live audience.  

So as a beginner performer, I made lots of mistakes early on. But as the performance went by, my confidence seemed to get stronger and became more comfortable on stage.

It was really an unforgettable experience. I get to do what I enjoy, share it with everyone, and get paid for doing it. But I didn’t continue doing it for so long because those types of gigs don’t work regularly. 

So basically how it works is that you don’t perform every day. It works on schedule and rotations of a series of performers which is not a sustainable way of earning on the side.

Here’s a photo of me doing an all-out performance at Cubix Park, Iloilo 😂

Vegetable business

This year is a great year for the business because we operated continuously unlike those previous years (2022 & 2023) which we sold seasonally, then were fortunate to get a consignment deal, and opened a new store in Iloilo City. 

I’ve been very busy this year because, by January, we already started selling truckloads of onions in Panay Island and even to Bacolod City. 

And if you’re thinking about how we got to start this capital-intensive business, this was made possible by being fortunate to secure a consignment deal with our onion supplier. 

So basically how this works is that our partners entrusted us with their truckloads of onions delivered from Nueva Ecija to Iloilo city. Then we pay our partners only after the supplies have been sold.

Pretty cool, right? But keep in mind that consignment deals have their pros and cons. So I’ll try to make a blog post about this topic some other time.

But even though it seems that it was a great year, it was actually challenging.

It was challenging because the industry is very competitive, vegetables are highly perishable, and getting a space for our store in Iloilo City is too expensive.

And with regards to our store in TATC (Teodoro Arcenas Trade Center), in Roxas City, we shut it down entirely and give our full attention to our new store located in Iloilo Terminal Market.

I just hope that in 2025, the business will continue its positive momentum and be on point of being profitable.  

Digital Publishing

When I told my friends that I’ve been doing digital publishing, they’ve been wondering what it does and how it works. 

Digital publishing is a broad term for publishing content online such as blogging, vlogging, podcasts, and ebooks. But what I’m referring to, and giving attention right now, is blogging. 

At first, I didn’t consider blogging as a business. I just want a platform to express myself and share my experiences. But when I researched and learned how it works, blogging can actually be considered as a business.

In fact, you can make a lot of money by blogging in different ways. Here’s a post where I share how to make money blogging.

And the blogs that I currently build and maintain as a business are FaultyBlogger, Plankton Media, and my Personal Blog.

I tried to post consistently this year, but I just couldn’t find some time. But now that I have been getting better at time management, I will be publishing content consistently for 2025 and beyond.      

Magpainsure.com

This year, my friends Mikey and Robert approached me if I would be interested in joining the team they were building for a project they had in mind. 

So when they proposed the idea, I liked it and was excited to test and practice some of the digital marketing strategies that I’ve been learning. And because the business operates entirely online, I agreed to help them.

And that’s where Magpainsure.com was born. Magpainsure is a lead generation company that connects every Filipino with SEC-registered insurance providers in the Philippines.

We haven’t started promoting yet, but expect us to go all in 2025. 

And while our website is still currently in beta, feel free to give us feedback so we can improve it even better 🙂

Lessons Learned

I have learned through reading books, blogs, personal experiences, and talking to other people. And since life never stops teaching, never stop learning.

Below are some of the lessons that I have learned.

Your energy is contagious

The energy you produce influences your environment like an epidemic. For example, bringing a positive attitude fosters positivity within your team.

Bottom line > Top line

This means prioritizing profitability over revenue growth. By minimizing and avoiding unnecessary operational expenses, you can achieve profitability even without high sales.

In many cases, you can have high revenue but still lose money.

Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right – Henry Ford 

Time management has been invaluable for me this year. For example, setting a strict deadline for a task often allows you to complete it in a shorter time than working on the same task over a day or two without a clear deadline.

Books for 2024

I haven’t read a lot of new books this year because I’ve finished reading those books that I haven’t finished yet that I bought the previous years. 

But still, I have 2 new books that I would love to share.

Eat that Frog!: 21 great ways to stop procrastinating and get more things done in less time by Brian Tracy – You will learn how to eat a frog. But don’t worry about eating frogs because it’s just a metaphor. So I recommend you read the book if you want to be better at time management 🙂

Start with Why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action By Simon Sinek – By doing why you do things, will attract those who believe what you believe.  

Goals for 2025

Take more pics

And just like every year, this has always been the hardest. Well, I have valid reasons now because I broke my phone’s camera haha!

But still, I will be doing my best, again for 2025 🙂

Be better at time management

I’m getting better but there’s still more to learn and improve. I will be utilizing project/time management tools more often now. 

Blogging consistently

I tried to blog consistently for my weekly posts on FaultyBlogger, but I couldn’t make time for it. However, I’m now committed to dedicating more time to growing my blogs.

And because I’ve 3 blog sites now, it’s become impossible to post weekly, but I will try to post 3 times a month for each blog site. 

Seems impossible, but definitely doable, now that I’m getting better at managing my time 🙂 

Invest in startups

And because time is finite, I can’t do everything all at once. I have lots of business ideas but unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to manage them all simultaneously, which is why it’s better to help other startups that need some support. 

For now, I’m considering investing in equity crowdfunding like Wefunder. So to those who have experience investing with this platform, I appreciate you sharing your experience by leaving a comment down below 🙂

Launch an online store – I’ve always wanted to start and grow an online store even though I tried and failed back in 2021. Well, I learned my lessons and would like to start again in 2025. 

And one of the businesses that I would like to see succeed online is Gohealthy Philippines, which I haven’t given a lot of attention to, this year.

I believe that this business needs to be in the market again soon so that more consumers can have more access to delicious and nutritious food at a cheaper price. 

Look for more exciting, yet good-paying side gigs

To anyone who’s reading this blog, I highly welcome your side gig suggestions. So feel free to comment it down below 🙂 

Despite all the challenges in 2024, I’m grateful for the things that happened. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, because what matters is how many times you pick yourself up.

Anyway, if you are interested in making your own yearly recaps like the one, check out my tutorial on how to start a blog for beginners.

In the meantime, enjoy more pics in 2024, and have a great year ahead! 🙂

  

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