How Mentorship, Missed Opportunities, and AI Tools Helped Me Grow

Hi again, this is G — back with another daily log, and today’s entry is all about guidance, grit, and gracefully missing a shot — but still walking away with new tools, deeper insight, and unexpected momentum.

Some days are about speed, execution, and visible wins. But others, like today, are about subtle progress — the kind you only notice if you’re paying close attention. Learning came through mentoring real people, receiving a gentle 'not yet' from someone I admire, and discovering a tool that sparked new excitement. This one’s for those building quietly — mentoring others while still learning how to guide themselves, one step and one insight at a time.

Mentor Log: Building Beauty Brands with Heart and Purpose

As part of my ongoing mentoring work for DTI's KMME program (Kapatid Mentor Me), I got to sit down with two incredible founders from Misamis Occidental: Jireh Grace Guantinas and Adesheen Aporbo. Both are in the beauty industry — but what they’re building runs deeper than just products or services. They’re shaping confidence, connection, and culture, all while navigating real-life challenges as women entrepreneurs in the province.

Jireh Grace Guantinas – House of Beauty, Oroquieta City

Jireh’s presence radiates clarity. Her business, House of Beauty, focuses on personalized service, and her strength lies in her team. It was obvious from her Business Model Canvas (BMC) how much she values her staff — not as labor, but as core assets. That kind of empathy-infused leadership? Rare and powerful.

Mentor Notes:

• Her pitch stayed within the time limit (love that!)
• Sharp target market focus: 95% women
• Strong vision to become Oroquieta’s go-to beauty spot

Suggested Refinements:

• Clarify her customer segment further — what type of women? Office workers? Moms? Brides-to-be?
• Highlight top-selling services when pitching offerings (para may impact agad sa listeners)
• Add better before-and-after visuals with context for more emotional connection
• Tighten her financials for future presentations — investors want to see those numbers!

Small changes, but in business, small levers move big results. With polish and presence, Jireh has the makings of a trusted beauty name in Oroquieta.

Adesheen Aporbo – Stylure Cosmetics

Adesheen's brand hit me right in the heart. Stylure Cosmetics is a love letter to morena Filipinas — a market long underserved in the beauty world. Her conviction was clear, her market insight sharp, and her BMC had strong bones. For a founder in a competitive space like cosmetics, her voice stood out.

She went a little over time (2 mins), but honestly? Worth it.

Mentor Notes:

• Lead her deck with value prop for better narrative flow — make people lean in right away
• Add systems/logistics for resellers (her clear growth engine — don't sleep on this)
• Personalize ChatGPT-generated content with her voice — mas may dating kapag real talk
• Include her founder journey in the KMME Impact slide — emotion sells, lalo na sa beauty industry

Behind every brand is a builder — and behind that builder is a story that deserves to be heard.

Both Jireh and Adesheen reminded me why this work matters. Mentoring isn’t about fixing flaws — it’s about surfacing clarity, building confidence, and celebrating the journey of entrepreneurship. Kahit nasa province, kahit maliit pa ngayon — greatness starts from where they’re standing.

Skool Rejection (And Why I’m Still Hopeful)

I got an email from Nate Herk, the founder of the AI Automation Society on Skool — one of the biggest n8n influencers on YouTube, and a builder I’ve been quietly learning from and admiring for months.

I didn’t get the community moderator gig I applied for. Not this round.

And yeah, it stung a bit. Especially knowing he has over 67,000 members in his Skool community and YouTube presence combined — and that I still made it to the shortlist.

But here’s the thing:

Getting shortlisted means I’m on the radar. And being on the radar means… not yet doesn’t mean no.

I appreciated the thoughtful rejection. It wasn’t cold or generic — it made me feel like I belonged. That matters. It showed that the culture he’s building inside AI Automation Society is worth staying around for.

So no hard feelings — just more fuel to keep swimming. Tuloy lang. I’m still learning from Nate’s content and community daily. And who knows? Maybe it’s not a no — just a “not yet.”

Resource Find of the Day: Rabbitmetrics.com

Rabbitmetrics is a goldmine I stumbled on while simply looking for Ghost blog themes — but what I found was much deeper. This site isn't just another analytics tutorial hub. It's a hands-on AI/ML learning environment geared for builders, founders, data scientists, and content creators who want real use cases, not theory.

What kept me exploring?

• AI/ML tutorials with ready-to-use Colab notebooks
• CRM & marketing automation strategies that feel 2025-ready
• Playbooks that show how to apply AI in actual e-commerce use cases — not hypothetical fluff

Even cooler? It's built using Ghost too — the same platform powering my blog. That made the inspiration meta and practical at the same time.

Exciting Use Cases for Me (and maybe for you):

• Embedding live analytics into AI workflows I build at Truelytics Solutions
• Prototyping AI + CRM experiments specifically tailored for Filipino SMEs
• Crafting a more insightful content strategy that blends AI writing with meaningful metrics

Rabbitmetrics is resource hub that can help in what I’m building but from a different angle. They focus on tutorials and data implementation, while I build agents and automations. Still, there’s overlap — especially in how they structure:

• Agentic thinking in data pipelines
• Workflow tutorials using Google Sheets, CRM data, and ML scoring
• Strong design + content combo that makes learning frictionless

Here’s a recommendation: If you’re a founder, builder, or even just AI-curious — and you’ve ever said, “I wish I understood how to make data actionable,” then go check this out.

🔗 Start here: How to Extract Instant Value from Data with Agents

Honestly, it’s not just for techies. The playbooks are written in a way that even semi-technical founders can follow. It’s the kind of site that makes you want to build something just from reading.

My plan? I’m diving into at least two of their agent walkthroughs and plan to do a full review once I test results in one of my client flows.

If you’re into automation, analytics, or education-driven AI workflows —Rabbitmetrics is worth your time and tab space.

🌱 Creator Log Reflection

Today reminded me that learning happens in layers:

• When you mentor others, you mirror your own gaps
• When you're rejected, you’re also re-routed
• When you find new tools, you rediscover old curiosity

It wasn’t a big content day. But it was a big heart day.

And in this long game we’re playing — especially in the AI + creator + SME education space — days like this are what actually move you forward.

Until tomorrow,

— G