Ian Fernando: What's up guys Ian Fernando here and I'm right here in the Philippines and I want to give you a special guest that I’ve actually followed about ten years ago when I got online ok and I’ve actually met him in person since I moved here just couple months ago and when I was a beginner affiliate or a blogger you want to say I've actually found this kid and he was about he was really really young I mean I was definitely in my twenty's and he was probably in his teens I believe and he had a blog called kidblogger.com and I want you guys to understand that this interview is going to be about his past, how I followed him to where he's at right now, ok so Carlos go ahead and introduce yourself.
Carlo Ocab: Hi I'm Carlo Ocab and I started blogging at the age of thirteen years old so basically it started when I was playing this online game is called (name – 00:59) so it was really big the past decade here in the Philippines and before there were no broadband or well yeah they didn't have it you know commercially, so we had to pay for the Internet card to play that game yeah. What do you call that dial up, yeah you have to pay for that card and that we also had to pay for the game card to play that game (name – 01:31). And then my dad noticed that we were playing it for the whole day and we were burning our allowance for that game so he suggested that we try to do something productive and you know at that time he was reading about blogging we don’t have
Ian Fernando: Your parents actually got you started
Carlo Ocab: Yeah my dad is a bit techie and
Ian Fernando: That’s good
Carlo Ocab: He wants to be you know advance in stuff. So he was able to read about blogging and he suggested that we try it since he read that it's possible to make money through blogging. So my cousin and I tried that blogging and then we actually started with blogger blogs, BlogSpot blogs and then we read that we needed content, so what we did was we copy pasted content from other sites and plastered banner ads, Google adsense actually
Ian Fernando: Did that work back in the day?
Carlo Ocab: No it got deleted.
Ian Fernando: Yeah ok
Carlo Ocab: So that's how it was a bit devastating since we were buying the Internet cards to create blogs and copy paste content instead of playing
Ian Fernando: Yeah
Carlo Ocab: And then it just got deleted after a week. So yeah but then we searched and we found out that you cannot do that and so what we did was we created a new blog and then this time we bought a domain and we blog about the game we were playing so we were playing it for the whole day so we got pretty good at it and then we created a site about that game and we got a following so that's how we got our first check from Google Adsense
Ian Fernando: How much was that check?
Carlo Ocab: One hundred bucks that was the minimum right?
Ian Fernando: Yeah that was the minimum
Carlo Ocab: Yeah
Ian Fernando: I mean I still get Google Adsense checks now I mean
Carlo Ocab: Yeah that’s good
Ian Fernando: Over a hundred dollars so I mean its old content that I did back in the day and it’s still good. So well the best part was that I remember reading his blog blogging alongside like John Chao, shoe money, problogger.net and it was interesting to see you said you were thirteen
Carlo Ocab: Yeah
Ian Fernando: Fourteen to see that he's already blogging and creating already sustainable revenue him and the reason for this video is because I wanted to show you guys his growth and this video is going to talk about his growth onwards ok. You also had alongside kid blogger which talked about you know marketing, you also had your Click bank product, info product
Carlo Ocab: Yeah
Ian Fernando: Do you still remember what it was?
Carlo Ocab: Yeah it was I think eighty, seven years ago. And after that (inaudible – 04:08) site I started to create the kid blogger site, the Carlohub.com and then I blogged how I made money from the (inaudible – 04:17) site basically I just create another site since I thought that it would maybe increase my income from Google since I use Google Adsense as well there. And then my dad suggested that you know I create the headline “make money online with a thirteen year old” to grab attention
Ian Fernando: I mean it did work am like what the hell.
Carlo Ocab: Yeah, it did work so well and yeah after that I got the following from that site and basically they were wondering how I rank number one on Google for the key word Make Money Online
Ian Fernando: It is a very competitive word I mean even John Chao was one can, well he was number one I think he was
Carlo Ocab: Yeah he was yeah then he got penalize for
Ian Fernando: Yeah he got penalized
Carlo Ocab: For something
Ian Fernando: Yeah I know that
Carlo Ocab: And then so I can't really you know I gave the techniques on how I built those links but they also wanted the theme that I was using
Ian Fernando: Yeah I remember like basic template for the site yeah
Carlo Ocab: Yeah so how I optimize the heading tags the tags since Google back then gave more importance to those tags unlike now
Ian Fernando: Correct
Carlo Ocab: So people wanted the theme, so what I did was I hired some programmers to make the theme easily customizable by adding theme options and the
Ian Fernando: And this is all through Word Press?
Carlo Ocab: Yeah Word Press theme, it’s a Word Press theme it’s called ultimate blogging theme.
Ian Fernando: Yeah yeah I remember that
Carlo Ocab: Yeah and then I sold it for I think one forty nine.
Ian Fernando: For a package of a theme
Carlo Ocab: Yeah the package of theme and then one twenty nine, so people got the one forty nine more since that was the unlimited one.
Ian Fernando: Ok
Carlo Ocab: And yeah that was my realization that I could really make something out of the internet since when I launched the product I got shocked that because
Ian Fernando: That people actually made any money
Carlo Ocab: Yeah the earning I got from a day was my month’s earning before for the blog or the other site that I had. So yeah because of that you know it's a mindset changer for me and so I stuck with that you know Internet Marketing.
Ian Fernando: Yeah I mean marketing is great I remember it was very very easy to make money back in the day. Now out of that phase I mean how old are you now?
Carlo Ocab: Twenty four
Ian Fernando: Twenty four so about ten years different now since I got here in the Philippines he told me about his new project development agency and tell us a little bit about that?
Carlo Ocab: So after all those Internet Marketing, blogging I was very fortunate to meet a lot of people and they had you know the internet marketing crowd now got crowded with all the affiliate you know e-books
Ian Fernando: EBooks yeah, info marketing, make money online
Carlo Ocab: Yeah so I wanted to you know create a new path for me to make something sustainable and not just launched and launch
Ian Fernando: Correct
Carlo Ocab: You know e-books that doesn't have that much quality since I wanted to give quality to my customers. So at first I started with mentoring and coaching clients on how to blog and how to you know market themselves on the Internet. But then I realized that most of them want their project to be done for them
Ian Fernando: Yeah nobody wants yeah not a lot of people want to do that
Carlo Ocab: Nobody wants to work yeah
Ian Fernando: Yeah nobody wants it done
Carlo Ocab: So we shifted for a done for you option for a while but now what we mainly do is we develop white label developments Word Press and other platforms for other companies in the states
Ian Fernando: Ok
Carlo Ocab: So they charge their clients ten thousand, five thousand per site you know simple Word Press site
Ian Fernando: Yeah
Carlo Ocab: But you know the rates in the states are very high
Ian Fernando: Yeah
Carlo Ocab: And then they pay us a small amount compared to that.
Ian Fernando: So you charge like a ten percent fee.
Carlo Ocab: Yeah kind of ten percent ten, twenty depending on the project but since I'm here in the Philippines I can leverage the people here and so Filipinos are very hardworking employees
Ian Fernando: Yeah
Carlo Ocab: So we can deliver projects you know very fast and we can create a lot. So it's more on a bulk and it's very sustainable since we partner with lots of agencies in a cool sense
Ian Fernando: So you like a mediating agency technically you want a website, you want graphics you can go for it.
Carlo Ocab: Yeah
Ian Fernando: Let’s go backwards a little bit you mentioned about crap e-books you know, sustainability, now make money online is very very saturated and all that stuff you know what do you think about people that are trying to get online and see all of this make money online e-books like should they buy it, should they not buy it, wish to get information what do you think?
Carlo Ocab: Well I think the difference between people who succeeded in Internet Marketing compared to those who did not they stick with one certain aspect of Internet Marketing say for you
Its affiliate marketing.
Ian Fernando: Correct
Carlo Ocab: That's how you got established and for me it was blogging but if you're going to buy an e-book you know if you think it's pretty good you search online if it's pretty good then you follow it and not just buy e-books from this guy and this guy and this guy and you just get information overload so
Ian Fernando: That’s true
Carlo Ocab: You know analysis paralysis and you end up with nothing.
Ian Fernando: Yeah all the people just want to read and assume like I know consultations or website consulate that basically say hey I can build a site for you, I can SEO optimize it for you, he doesn't even have his own website you get.
Carlo Ocab: Yeah
Ian Fernando: You know so I mean people just want to have information just so they can resell them self technically and I think that's what's bad about it in that space. Especially now that they trying taking advantage of people and just want to make money off them you know. So you went from a blogger to an info product or digital product guy to owning your own mediating agency how was the transition from one to the other to where you are at now, was it difficult, too easy or was it you know as you grow?
Carlo Ocab: Well I think for me it was a bit there were challenges it was a bit difficult since you know I was thirteen back then so I had to go through high school, college
Ian Fernando: So your parents made you go to school
Carlo Ocab: Yeah and it was actually a blessing as well since I paid for the school.
Ian Fernando: That’s good
Carlo Ocab: Yeah
Ian Fernando: Actually I think I remember reading a post about that, I thought it pretty cool.
Carlo Ocab: I was very fortunate yeah I was able to pay for high school, college tuition and I think I was eighteen then when I bought my first car
Ian Fernando: Ok
Carlo Ocab: So it was a blessing that I got into this business at a young age and
Ian Fernando: Supposed to have been pretty easy
Carlo Ocab: Yeah and then the transitions were hard since you know I concentrated on a different aspect for a while and then I transition to a different business model but you know you just really have to give your time to it and but I think the most important part of what you should do is you should have a sustainable income before you transition to another one so that when you transition to that new business model you know you'd have money if you fail.
Ian Fernando: Well my question is then because I know affiliate market very well though or internet marketing in general very though. Like you say like SEO search engine can drop you tomorrow with new Google update. So if you're an SEO guy or a blogger like you're a kid blogger back in the day and you're saying ok I want to be blogging to be sustainable is blogging really that sustainable or is info marketing really that sustainable if you always have to recreate products every other month right or now mediating, mediating I think is more of a sustainable business than the other past two.
So how does one really transition much if he thinks or she think that, my blogging or my video blogs are going to be sustainable like more recently YouTube change their whole payment process to their comic creators right. If one guy would depend on his YouTube channel for revenue and now that change hit him, how does he switch his mind to create another business or to make another sustainable business?
Carlo Ocab: Well since you're making a living out of that certain aspect then like any other business or like entrepreneurs you should always be you know on the look up on what’s coming new you know Internet Marketing is the only difference is online but it's still a business
Ian Fernando: Yeah exactly, marketing is marketing is all numbers
Carlo Ocab: Yeah, so you have to be on the lookout on what's new, what's coming what can this coming thing do to your business? How you can adjust because you if you're an entrepreneur you have to master change. You can't avoid change
Ian Fernando: Yeah you really really can't plus this is internet marketing where everything is very revolving. Like for everybody that wants to start their own business like everybody the word entrepreneur such a recycled word right, but I feel like you should fail first right. So your kid blogging and your info products where there any failure that made you continue to do more or did you feel like you're quitting or wanting to quit along the way?
Carlo Ocab: Well you know when I started first try was a failure
Ian Fernando: Of course
Carlo Ocab: And so I guess that single thing you know putting all our efforts into you know this blogging thing copy pasting content and then realizing afterward
Ian Fernando: That Google just
Carlo Ocab: Yeah it doesn't make sense. That really stuck you know to me and every time I do something I'm cautious and in doing it but I don't do it half asked even though I am un cautious on what to do you know more on strategically starting new things
Ian Fernando: Ok
Carlo Ocab: And you know entrepreneurship is just really working your ass off and it's not work smart well you do work smart but you also work hard very hard you don't work eight hours a day
Ian Fernando: like sixteen, twenty hours a day
Carlo Ocab: Yeah you're not an employee you're the boss it's not easy now that you're an entrepreneur it's actually very very hard
Ian Fernando: Yeah
Carlo Ocab: And to being eight hours a day that's nothing
Ian Fernando: That's like
Carlo Ocab: You're on vacation.
Ian Fernando: Yeah I agree
Carlo Ocab: You’re working eight hours a day. You really hard to work hard get the experience and you know have something sustainable like a job you can still have a job and be an entrepreneur.
Ian Fernando: Yeah there’s no problem having a job you know and then trying to pursue your goal to be an entrepreneur or pursue your goal right. A lot of people think that they need to quit their job right away and become a business owner or start up right away. But then where is your revenue coming in, ok you’re going to seek investors. I feel like sometimes seeking investors is a bad idea you know what I mean.
But you talked about experience right and you definitely need to have experience when you do online marketing, is there a point where if I'm doing this for five years I'm not getting anywhere should I quit? I know people that are in this space especially affiliate marketing they're only good at one thing or they’ve been trying for the past five years or ten years and they still can’t do it right. I mean my break was after two years in the space you know.
So at what point do you think or is there a point in a person's life span where he should just quit because you know that business is not for me, like is dancer going to be a great dancer if he dances for twenty years but he’s not recognized by anybody?
Carlo Ocab: Yeah you know like I said a while ago change is constant and before I was just blogging I blog for yeah I think five years and I realized that it wasn't for me that I can do it you know as a career to you know reach the goal that I want you know
Ian Fernando: So you had a personal goal
Carlo Ocab: Yeah you can't you know really be insanely rich through blogging. So you know you change, you shift and you go where the market is.
Ian Fernando: There you go that's a good (inaudible – 17:46) marketing. Wherever the market goes guys all it is it’s all about the data tells you alright. So this concludes interview with Carlo Ocab were still in the Philippines, this is basically a video on entrepreneurship is overseas, why travel around the world. So Carlo thank you for this interview and appreciate it men thank you.
Carlo Ocab: Thanks.
