MANILA - Tech blogger, entrepreneur and former PLDT vice president Carlo Ople may already have a string of titles to his name, but last Friday he added another: author.

At Unbox in Greenhills, Ople launched his book “Sweldo is not enough: A guide to side-hustling and digital entrepreneurship.”

Among rows and rows of transparent boxes containing rare action figures, sneakers, designer bags, toys and other collectibles, Ople said he wrote the book “to empower and help people to generate more income, lalo na with the digital age.”

Unbox itself may be seen as a testament to this goal. It is a mini-mall of sorts where people can rent transparent display boxes for items they want to sell. From sneakerheads who want to sell rare Jordans, to otakus seeking to unload Dragonball or Naruto action figures, to fashionistas who want to earn from excess designer bags and shoes, anyone can tap Upper Box to serve as a market for their wares. It is for people who want to dip their toes into entrepreneurship.

Ople however explained that he is not advocating that everyone who wants to try the entrepreneurial path to go all in and quit their jobs to pursue their business dreams.

He said it is better for people to keep their day jobs and do business as a “side hustle” so that they will still have a steady source of income.

“You do things on the side that you can manage, without compromising what your day job is,” Ople said.

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Ople himself had kept his job at PLDT for several years despite already owning one of the most successful tech websites in the country.

He said he only went into full entrepreneur mode, after saving enough “when the math made sense.”

But he also said that in the digital age, with ubiquitous connectivity, it is very easy today to do business as a side hustle.

“Sipag, tiyaga at internet lang ang kailangan,” he said.

While others take months, or even years to publish their books, Ople said “Sweldo” was written, edited, designed and printed in just 3 weeks.

The book itself is quite concise— just 116 pages long, and very easy to read, as you would expect from a guy who honed his skills writing blogs.

But Ople also emphasized how important the message of the book is.

“This book is also very personal to me in that it carries a lot of what I really believe in, which is to live a very fulfilled, happy, fun life.”

“We only have one life to live, most of your time will go to work. Might as well make sure that the time you spend on work is time that you enjoy.”

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