Monday, January 30, 2017

Old Rich's Secrets to Lasting Wealth Shared at Network Of Enterprising Women (NEW) Monthly Seminar



Can you really make your money last through generations? This was just one of the questions tackled and answered through Wealth Management 101 organized by the Network for Enterprising Women (NEW) last January 25, 2017 at Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City.

Richard Gan, an entrepreneur and one of the founders of Wealth Academy was the day's esteemed speaker. During the seminar, he made a comparison between two billionaire families in the late 19th century which are the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers.

The Vanderbilts were considered as the wealthiest family in America in 1800s. Their business started with shipping and railroads that soon expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy.They also went on to build great mansions and luxurious summer cottages. Their prominence lasted until the mid-20th century when their family's great possessions were torn down and were sold to museums. On the other hand, the Rockefellers whose humble beginnings started from oil business were able to retain their success and wealth up to this date. This family was able to keep a system of protecting their assets for generations, the kind which Gan introduced to all the participants during the half day event.

According to Gan, having a system and being able to plan ahead is the key in creating, maintaining and protecting one's wealth. This is how the elites are able to keep their status and wealth for generations, as compared to the average entrepreneurs and investors.

An average person as per Gan,  has two columns in his finance sheet – capital (in the form of savings and investments) and expenses. While on the other side of the spectrum, the wealthy people have three columns –capital, expenses, and the additional column on returns. The returns column comes from the dividends they receive from their capital. The key here is to create a plan to make the returns stable and consistently increasing at long term until such time it is more than enough to add more capital and take care of the expenses.

Another point of discussion is the three levels of wealth management: to have the capital as level 1, to secure the capital/ wealth as level 2, and to have the cash flow (business/investments) as level 3. However, Gan pointed out that most people jump into level 3 without having a secured level 1 and 2. And this is why the average Joe when investing and failed always starts from scratch but the wealthy does not. Whether their investment fails or not, they still have an ample left to keep them comfortable. 

Wealth Management 101 was among the seminars organized by the Network for Enterprising Women (NEW), a group of aspiring and current women entrepreneurs. NEW's advocacy is to create an environment where there is an exchange of business ideas, sharing of experiences and creating opportunities for women to trigger entrepreneurship. The goal of NEW is to uplift women to follow their dreams and shatter the stereotype that women can only be wives and mothers.

Monthly gatherings which includes seminars like the Wealth Management 101, are all part of the organizations' many activities. Following the success of the event, NEW is also preparing for its annual women conference on March 4, 2017 at the New World Hotel from 8:00 AM to 12:00 NN tagged as the "10th Annual Women Entrepreneurs Conference". This yearly culmination includes esteemed speakers and celebrated entrepreneurs which are set to inspire and help women in fulfilling their entrepreneurial dreams.

ABOUT NEW
Network for Enterprising Women (NEW) is a group founded in 2006 which aims to empower women to expand their horizons and be free to share their ideas, experiences and opportunities in the business world. For more information about their advocacies, you may visit their website at www.new.com.ph or visit their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/newphilsFor the 10th Annual Women Entrepreneur Conference tickets and reservation, please call (02) 908-2558 and/or (0917) 540-8697.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Queen Pia Sings Confidently Beautiful With a Heart

Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach is all smiles as she brings home her own Grand Videoke.

Our Philippine pride, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, was given a touching musical tribute a few days before she relinquishes her crown as the reigning Miss Universe. Her struggles as a breadwinner, a showbiz personality and a successful pageant queen were set into music and performed by the theater group, Stages.

One of the ancillary events of the 65th Miss Universe Pageant, Queen of the Universe: A Tribute to Pia Wurtzbach was held at the Harbor Tent of the Sofitel Philippine Plaza, CCP Complex. The 86 candidates vying for the title of Miss Universe were also present in the event. 

Aside from the musical, the beautiful ladies and guests were treated to good food and fun activities, such as the#SingConfidentlyBeautiful Challenge courtesy of Grand Videoke, the country's leading videoke brand.

This challenge was essentially a group singing competition, participated by 3 teams, all comprised of this year's Miss Universe candidates. The rules were simple: each team must pick a song, sing it until the first chorus, and the group with the highest score wins.

The most memorable moment came midway during the final group's performance. To everyone's surprise, the Queen herself, Pia Wurtzbach, joined Miss Ecuador Connie Jimenez, Miss Guyana Soyini Fraser, Miss Jamaica Isabel Dalley, Miss British Virgin Islands Erica Creque, and Miss Paraguay Andrea Melgarejo, in singing Rihanna's "We Found Love". This led to the delight of the more than 300 people in attendance!

Probably inspired by the crowd, the ladies from this group received a near-perfect score of 99 and eventually emerged as winners of the challenge. Each member of the team received a Grand Videoke unit as prize.

The first group was composed of the French-speaking girls such as Miss Curacao Chanelle de Lau, Miss Haiti (and quarter Filipina) Raquel Pelissier Miss France Iris Mittenaere. They chose the song “Marvin Gaye” by Charlie Puth. The stunning women’s score 77.

Pia, coaxed by the excited crowd, gave her own rousing rendition of the Taylor Swift hit “Shake It Off”. This to the further delight and elation of the well-dressed crowd. After the performance, the host awarded Pia with a Grand Videoke unit of her own.

"Pia has given us so much pride and joy to our nation, and we're just glad that we are able to honor and thank her for what she's done", says Johenson Tan, Marketing Manager of Grand Videoke. "This is also our chance to showcase to the world our culture and our passions. And when we talk about passion, I don't think there's anyone more passionate about singing, than us Filipinos", he added.

For more than 15 years, Grand Videoke has been nurturing the Filipinos' love of singing by providing premium videoke experience in more than 170 countries. It is the first to introduce the revolutionary GeeVee™ Voice Command Feature, allowing one to just say the song title and start singing in less than five seconds! No need for a song book.

Next to take on the Grand Videoke challenge were the Latinas Miss Nicaragua Marina Jacoby, Miss Mexico Kristal Silva, Miss Uruguay Magdalena Cohendet and Miss Argentina Estefania Bernal. They picked Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.” In one bit, Miss Venezuela Mariam Habach also joined in on the fun. The bubbly ladies scored 66.

To protect consumers, Grand Videoke is also pushing for its Sing B4 U Buy advocacy. With a host of videoke products to choose from these days, it pays to be smart about investing in the right one. That's why Grand Videoke gives potential buyers some useful pointers to consider such as: It must be from a trusted brand; It should make the process of finding songs effortless; It has a good song library with no song duplicated; It uses an internal storage system; just to name a few.

Miss Ecuador Connie Jimenez, Miss Guyana Soyini Fraser, Miss Jamaica Isabel Dalley, Miss British Virgin Islands Erica Creque and Miss Paraguay Andrea Melgarejo sang to their heart’s content the Rihanna song, “We Found Love in a Hopeless Place.”

With the Sing B4 U Buy advocacy, Grand Videoke hopes to inspire more people to sing confidently beautiful, just like our very own Pia Wurtzbach! You can test out Grand Videoke at your favorite appliance stores and record bars like SM Appliance, Gadgets Hub at The SM Store, Astroplus, Odyssey, and Robinsons Appliance, and many more. You may also visitwww.grandvideoke.com for a complete listing of stores.

Friday, January 20, 2017

The Medical City Offers Non-Invasive Test to Assess Liver Disease


The liver is one of the largest and most vital organs and it performs many important jobs, including protein production, changing food into energy and removing toxic or poisonous substances from the blood. One cannot live without a functioning liver.

There are a number of diseases that can injure the liver and stop it from working correctly. One of these is hepatitis or the inflammation of the liver. With hepatitis, the liver stops working well.  It can lead to scarring (cirrhosis) or cancer. Viruses cause most cases of hepatitis. Viral hepatitis is the most common cause of liver disease in the world.

A person with a liver problem may not be symptomatic in the early stages of the disease. Sometimes the disease may be identified during routine tests for other reasons. However, once liver problems reach a certain point, symptoms will start showing up. The most common symptoms of liver disease include weakness and fatigue, weight loss, nausea, vomiting and yellow discoloration of the skin or jaundice.

According to the doctors at The Medical City (TMC) Center for Liver Disease Management and Transplantation (CLDMT), if you wait for these warning signs or symptoms before caring for your liver, it might be too late. An effective way of keeping track of your health is through regular health screening. 

There are also liver function tests which are blood tests that help determine the health of your liver by measuring the levels of proteins, liver enzymes, or bilirubin in your blood.
Your doctor may order a liver function test if you’re more likely to have liver damage or disease, like if you are a heavy drinker, or if you come from a family with a history of liver disease, if you are overweight and have diabetes or high blood pressure or if you are taking medicine that can harm your liver.

FibroScan Probe at The Medical City

In 2010, CLDMT introduced the first FibroScan probe in the Philippines. The FibroScan probe is a non-invasive, painless, and speedy alternative to biopsies used for assessing fibrosis, or the formation of scar tissue due to injury or long-term inflammation. The early detection of fibrosis is the key to preventing chronic liver disease, which is associated with conditions such as Hepatitis B, alcoholic liver disease, and fatty liver disease. 

Pressed gently against the upper right side of the patient’s abdomen, the probe makes use of transient elastography, creating a special pulse whose velocity is measured via ultrasound. The velocity determines how stiff the patient’s liver is—the stiffer the liver, the greater the degree of fibrosis. Based on the test’s results, the patient may then be recommended to CLDMT specialists for further analysis and treatment. 

The CLDMT recently acquired an enhanced FibroScan 502 Touch which offers a more improved patient data management system with more complete and personalized exam reports. It is compatible with the complete range of FibroScan probes and offers simultaneous connection of two probes giving flexibility for the patient assessment.  An indicator recommends the probe best suited to the patient's morphology.

The FibroScan examination is painless, quick, and easy. You will only feel a slight vibration on the skin where the tip of the probe is applied.

 The examination usually takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes to complete. The patient can go back to his usual activities immediately after the procedure.

If you suffer from a liver disease, ask your doctor about the FibroScan at The Medical City.



The CLDMT is a world-class facility managed by a team of internationally trained and renowned liver surgeons, transplant surgeons, hepatologists, radiologists, oncologists, pediatricians, and intensivists. The Liver Center offers diagnostic, therapeutic, medical, surgical, and radiologic services for acute and chronic liver conditions. For inquiries, call the CLDMT at 9881000 local 6506.