EVERYBODY dreams of making it big in his own business, but does everybody have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?
Question worthy of a highly paid professor’s two-full-hour lecture in the country’s best business schools. Personally, I think the better question is: do you have what it takes?
A little-known book called “Dreamers, Doers, Risktakers” published by the UP Institute of Small-Scale Industries tells of persons from all parts of the wealth spectrum — from rags-to-riches dreamers to wealthy doers — and how they made their dreams come to fruition.
Different backgrounds, different training. Different personalities. A more popular book, “Go Negosyo,” shows the same thing. What’s the entrepreneurial gene that binds them all together? And on top of that gene, what behaviors and market conditions allowed them to build a business that not only made them wealthy, but also allowed them to employ other Filipinos?
This new blog called Open For Business is a testament that Filipinos can be entrepreneurs. We may have to fight against years and years of cultural flaws that keep us from becoming dreamers, doers and risk-takers. We may have to train our minds to embrace and accept ways of thinking that might seem different and strange. We may have to accept that not everyone will eventually strike it big.
But we can try. We can try to prove that entrepreneur is the one in front of the mirror.
So jump in, and join the discussion. Let the idea viruses flow.
Photos courtesy of Entrepreneur Bootcamp for Kids
September 12th, 2007 at 8:17 am
enterpreneurship requires some spiritual calling. as much as everybody wants to be financially rewarded, it requires passion to actually sustain business and sanity altogether.
September 10th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Hey Salve, congrats on ur 2nd blog! It’s about time u have one on entrepreneurship… marami ka na namang mae-empower! Galing mo talaga…more power!
September 10th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
I strongly believe that my wife has got what it takes to be a very good entrepreneur. She has a lot of ideas and has the drive to put it into use.
I remember before we got married, she managed to cover her apartment utility expenses just by selling home-made sandwiches at their office.
But now I, being the scaredy cat that I am, continuously discourages her in becoming a full-time entrepreneur. I told her that for now, it is best to keep our current jobs and enjoy the guaranteed monthly income. She is now 6-months pregnant and we are now refurbishing the condo. We can’t afford to lose 1 of our monthly incomes.
I just wish that I can bring myself to allow her to pursue her passion. I guess I will have to bring my salary up first.
September 10th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Well easy to say Yes…But Basically, It really depends on one’s personality…
September 10th, 2007 at 8:15 am
Not possible because who then would drive the taxi or the tricy or do the farming or who will labor in our infra projects. Everyone has a unique role in life.
September 9th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
it is for the bravest of heart!!! and, the world is full of that right now!!
September 9th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
I think the real dilemma is the government’s and govt. controlled companies’ initiative to give away the good businesses & investments to foreign companies since their “lagay” from this companies will be deposited to their foreign banks.
Look at SSS-with a holy budget of $1.0Billion to be invested to foreign companies??? Am I hearing it right??? I’ll put up multiple biodiesel refinaries for each province + at least a minimum of 20,000 hectares for it to be viable - can I borrow these amount from the government since biodiesel is a government initiative?
Look at PNOC-AFI who has so far signed multiple contracts for BOT biodiesel plants from various foreign companies w/c half of them are even not legitimate.
Why do we have to sign it with these guys when in fact we Filipinos can do this by ourselves??? Why can’t I form the companies to go venture for this with the government’s support & money w/c actually came from the people???
September 9th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Salve you have a 2nd blog about money again? Wow, すごい , congrats! You must be, umm, RICH? hehehe
September 9th, 2007 at 1:37 am
more of Ms Ca T’s entries
salamat kay Ms Ca T for sharing thru her blog to educate us
http://cathcath.com/?p=3003#more-3003
Reasons why small businesses fail Part 2
Posted by Cathy - May 4th, 2007
Dear mouse,
Subtitle of the blog: Why the businesses of Overseas Filipinos and or OFWs fail.
After working abroad, the OFWs/OCWs dream of putting up their own businesses so that they can make their savings last without having to go back abroad. The overseas Filipinos aka permanent residents of foreign countries set up businesses back home to provide employment/sources of revenues for their dependent relatives.
I read somewhere that ninety per cent of these ventures fail. The news did not mention the causes of failure. So here I am enumerating what must be the causes.
1. Lack of experience- Most of the wannabe entrepreneurs are enticed by the relatives to go into a type of business which they think are making money. One of them is internet cafe.
The first time, I made a balikbayan, I went to an internet cafe near our place. The per hour rate was 50 pesos. And I still have to go to Alabang. That time, the internet cafes are not yet dime-a-dozen. The second time I went home, I found many internet cafes closer to where I was temporarily staying. The charge was 30 pesos per hour. There were only 10 units that obviously are home assembled pcs ala Frankenstein. Malaki tipid than buying the finished branded. I thought that the guy knows the business.
A friend here in the US asked me if I know somebody who want to partner with him in the internet cafe that he is buying from a friend who’s also here in the US. First question, I asked was, why is the owner selling?
He said something about misappropriation of funds by the trusted relative who managed the business. He did not say, it is “bloody bleeding” at the bottom. translation: losing.
It was a principle of instead of giving fish, teach them how to fish that made the overseas Filipino financier/owner to set up the internet cafe for his relative in the Philippines.
The relative’s knowledge about computer is only the distinction between a pc mouse and that little rodent that run on the keyboards every night when the lights are out.
He hired someone who he thought was more knowledgeable of the operation. Ito ang sinasabing, pinagkatiwala sa pusa, ang pusa naman pinagkatiwala sa daga.
The projected payback is one year. hohoho.
People mistake payback from recovering back the investment. Malaki ang difference kagaya ng difference between divorce and annulment na sinabi ng senatoriable Richard Gomez, walang pinagkaiba kung hindi spelling. hohoho.
Sandali bakit tayo napunta sa divorce.
In paybak computation, you make use of the net profit from the project, NET PROFIT mga ineng at mga totoy. Ibig sabihin pagkatapos alisin ang mga gastos sa mga natanggap ng kaperahan. Most people use the gross receipts.
Tipong kagaya ng internet cafe napapawow sila pag kinompute sa kanila na sa 10 units at sa 30 pesos per hour, at 12 hours operation, ang investment daw ay marerecover after 5 months.
hohoho .Oo nga naman pag ang computation ay ganito at ang assumption ay full capacity.
30 x10 unitsX 12 hoursx24 days a month= 86,400 pesoses
Kung ang capital ay 400,000 para sa sampung units, limang buwan nga naman ay kuha na ang investment at ang mga susunod na taon ay panay na profit. MALI.
Bakit mali?
1. The assumption is one hundred per cent capacity utilization. Ibig sabihin ang lahat ng computer ay gamit oras-oras, araw araw, gabi-gabi. Oops may kanta niyan. In the real world, kailangang may agimat kang katulad ng aking lola na pinapahiran ng bawang…. oooops ano ba ang pinagsasabi ko para unang buwan pa lang ay pinupupog ka na ng mga customers.
2. After deducting expenses, cash expenses/disbursements the net would be what’s left for you to roll over to the next month’s operation. Is there enough to pay the monthly amortization from the cash advances that you get from your credit card or bank?
3. How much is the roi per month? Is it more than the interest rate of the cash advance or bank loan?
If you are making an roi lower than the interest rate, magdasal ka na ng paluhod sa St. Jude, the saint of desperate causes.
Some people think that the money that rings the register in is already the income, No honey, because cash registers also ring out not to mention the checks that are used to pay other expenses.
These are but cash matters. There are problems of dsl connections, power outage, pilferage and potential competitors before recovering the investments. Alam mo naman ang mga Pinoy, may sari-sari store mentality where in one street, there may be one store for every two households. Dito sa States, may mga regulations sa county or city where a business of the same nature may not be allowed within a certain radius where there is already one of the same type.
So going back to this friend of mine, I said no way. I heard from some friends back there, that there are price wars going on among internet cafes to get more customers.
Itutuloy
The Ca t
Why small businesses fail part 1
business planROI,payback
Dear mouse,
First ahem, this is the 3,002th blog entry of this website.
Second, this is the continuation of the discussion of causes of failure of businesses put up by OFW/OF.
2. Poor inventory management
This pertains to businesses that stock inventories. Even service businesses like restaurants, beauty parlors and motor shops carry inventories of supplies.
They say that restaurants or anything about food is “tubong lugaw”. OO nga lugaw ang kakainin ninyo oras na bumagsak ang negosyo because of poor inventory management.
Alam ninyo ba kung may nagsashopping ng mga dressed chicken,mga kamatis, bawang at spices sainyong restaurant? Paano? Eh hindi naman puwdeng ilagay ito sa bag o sa bulsa ng mga empleyado ng restaurant?
Eh di inilalagay nila sa basura. Ekkk. Basura ba ikanyo. Hindi ba ninyo ako narinig. OO ah. Binabalot nila ng makapal ng maraming plastic at inilalagay sa trash bin. Pag inilabas na ang malaking basurahan, nag-aabang na ang kakutsaba para isalba ang mga kawawang chicken para hindi makolekta ng basura. Tapos pinagbibili nila ito sa mga maliliit na restaurant o kaya ay sa mga nagtitinda sa palengke ng mga tingi, kagaya ng paa lang, o kaya, pakpak lang. Sinong lugi, di yong ma-ari ng restaurant.
Ang mga supplies naman ng beauty parlor ay paboritong kurakutin ng mga beauticians. Naalala ko ang usapan sa telepono noong kakilala ko at ang kapatid niya na nagtatrabaho sa beauty parlor.
Oy ache, wala na pala akong acetone. Pauwi nga. Saka nga pala, hiramin mo muna yong kulay pula diyang nail polish at magpapamanicure ako saiyo. O divas. Para bang beauty supply store ng kawawang beauty parlor kung saan kumikita ang kaniyang kapatid.
At hindi lang sa maliit na negosyo yan ha. Sa grocery na pinupuntahan ko rito, dalawang beses ko nang nakita ang empleyadong lalaki na kumukuha ng mga prutas at padisamulang hinuhulog ito sa kaniyang dala-dalang cart na puno ng mga sirang gulay. Hindi naman sira ang mga kinukuha niya.
Nang Biyernes, napansin ko na isinara na yong isang exit papunta sa likod ng grocery. Palagay ko maraming nawawala kaya naghihigpit sila. Kung gagawin nila akong consultant, tuturuan ko sila kung paano nagagawa ng mga empleyado, mga customers ang pagnanakaw at kung paano ito maiiwasan.
Isa sa mga karanasan ko pagiging auditor ang paghuli kung paano nailalabas ang mga libro ng buo mula sa publishing company na aking inuaudit. May mga babaeng security guards ang nagchecheck sa mga empleyadong babae kaya hindi puwedeng maglabas ng isang libro.
Tanungin ninyo ako kung paano. Sige na. Sige na. Sus, ayaw mo di huwag.
Hindi buo nilalabas. Chapter by chapter lang. Tapos binubuo nila pag nakumpleto na. Nakatiwangwang lang naman kasi ang mga tapos nang naimprinta dahil ang isip ng management, sino naman ang magkakainteres sa librong hindi naman kumpleto. Saan kanyo ipinagbibili? Doon sa Recto. Sa mga used books. Murang mura, kasi wala naman silang capital kung hindi tapang ng apog at kapal ng kunsensiya.
Itutuloy
The Ca t
inventory management,Small businesses
September 9th, 2007 at 1:31 am
copied from Ms Ca T’s blog, very informative analysis from a person with Experience
http://cathcath.com/?cat=54#038;paged=1
Why small businesses fail Part 3
Posted by Cathy - May 7th, 2007
Dear mouse,
First ahem, this is the 3,002th blog entry of this website.
Second, this is the continuation of the discussion of causes of failure of businesses put up by OFW/OF.
2. Poor inventory management
This pertains to businesses that stock inventories. Even service businesses like restaurants, beauty parlors and motor shops carry inventories of supplies.
They say that restaurants or anything about food is “tubong lugaw”. OO nga lugaw ang kakainin ninyo oras na bumagsak ang negosyo because of poor inventory management.
Alam ninyo ba kung may nagsashopping ng mga dressed chicken,mga kamatis, bawang at spices sainyong restaurant? Paano? Eh hindi naman puwdeng ilagay ito sa bag o sa bulsa ng mga empleyado ng restaurant?
Read More »
Posted in Business and Money - 2 Comments »
Reasons why small businesses fail Part 2
Posted by Cathy - May 4th, 2007
Dear mouse,
Subtitle of the blog: Why the businesses of Overseas Filipinos and or OFWs fail.
After working abroad, the OFWs/OCWs dream of putting up their own businesses so that they can make their savings last without having to go back abroad. The overseas Filipinos aka permanent residents of foreign countries set up businesses back home to provide employment/sources of revenues for their dependent relatives.
I read somewhere that ninety per cent of these ventures fail. The news did not mention the causes of failure. So here I am enumerating what must be the causes.
1. Lack of experience- Most of the wannabe entrepreneurs are enticed by the relatives to go into a type of business which they think are making money. One of them is internet cafe.
The first time, I made a balikbayan, I went to an internet cafe near our place. The per hour rate was 50 pesos. And I still have to go to Alabang. That time, the internet cafes are not yet dime-a-dozen. The second time I went home, I found many internet cafes closer to where I was temporarily staying. The charge was 30 pesos per hour. There were only 10 units that obviously are home assembled pcs ala Frankenstein. Malaki tipid than buying the finished branded. I thought that the guy knows the business.
A friend here in the US asked me if I know somebody who want to partner with him in the internet cafe that he is buying from a friend who’s also here in the US. First question, I asked was, why is the owner selling?
He said something about misappropriation of funds by the trusted relative who managed the business. He did not say, it is “bloody bleeding” at the bottom. translation: losing.
It was a principle of instead of giving fish, teach them how to fish that made the overseas Filipino financier/owner to set up the internet cafe for his relative in the Philippines.
The relative’s knowledge about computer is only the distinction between a pc mouse and that little rodent that run on the keyboards every night when the lights are out.
Read More »
September 9th, 2007 at 1:07 am
lahat tayo gustong magkaroon ng sariling negosyo, maraming Fil-Ams na hinihingan ng pampuhunan ng mga kamag-anak sa Pilipinas para makapag start pero kailangan hinay hinay sa pagpapadala kasi kailang pag-aralan muna ng maigi kung kikita ba ang itatayong sari-sari store o meron bang magpapasada ng trycycle of ng jeepney, magtutulong tulong ba ang mag-kakapamilya o baka ningas kugon, sayang ang ipinadalang pera kung walang mangyayari. Minsan mas mabuti pang iinvest na lang sa mga financial institution katulad ng Manulife kasi mas may kasiguraduhan at hindi pa magkakaroon ng tampuhan sa mag kakamaganak, bakit si Pedro binigyan ng mas malaki kaysa kay Juan
September 8th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
[...] Open for Business : Can everybody be an entrepreneur? [...]
September 7th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
I agree. It takes passion. Whether a passion to help other people, or a passion to become rich, just as long as there is a drive to see the fruitation of your efforts and sacrifices, because there will be a lot of sacrifiices. And you are going to risk a lot, not just money, such as time with family, maybe even quit your job. You risk your pride and sef worth due to ridicule and blame, especially if you lost the family savings. If you have a strong faith in yourself and your ability and damn the consequences, then you have passion. This is a prerequisite to become a successful entrepreneur.
September 7th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Everybody’s entrepreneur in its own right. You open a store, you sell your products. You apply for a job, you sell yourself. You work for a company, you sell your service. It’s a question rather of how profitable are we in what we are doing? As the saying goes, “If you hate the jeepney crowd, take a cab–or buy a car”. Likewise, if you think you’re better than your boss, then open your own business across the street and prove it. Else, stick with the job.
September 7th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Nice blog salve. Anybody with enough money can own a business. But not all business owners are entrepreneurs. They may be:
1) small vendors - the typical sari-sari store owner. Their micro-enterprise is their livelihood. It provides for their basic needs.
2) hobbyists - people who go into business just for fun, profit is secondary. My neighbor has specialty stores in plush malls. It doesn’t make money but it’s nice to have.
3) caretakers - people who inherited a business from their parents. They preserve the status quo for 30 yrs. I have relatives like this.
Entrepreneurs may be any of the above and more. The difference is their aspiration and capacity for growth and wealth creation.
A friend inherited a 100M company. She said I will make this company 10x bigger. If it’s still 100M when I’m done, I would have failed.
Another friend started as a newspaperboy in the street. He went into business that grew to 200M in his 30s. He’s still expanding and starting new businesses.
They are the true entrepreneurs.
September 7th, 2007 at 9:16 am
If they are passionate about it, yes. They wouldn’t take stumbling blocks as a deterent. Passion is the key. And you should use that passion to solve existing and future problems.
September 6th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
[...] to bag more outsourcing projects House Hunter : Century City video walkthrough Open for Business : Can everybody be an entrepreneur? Blog Addicts : Filipino blogger renews call for newspaper boycott The Nepales Report : Brad Pitt in [...]
September 6th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
The question “Can everybody be an entrepreneur?” is like asking “Can everybody go to the US?”. Of course, not. Because there are restrictions. First, there’s the personality profile. Second, you have to earn it before you become one. Third, your personal situation prevents you from becoming one. It’s a question of entrepreneurship being a right or a privilege. You have the right to become entrepreneur but it’s a privilege to become one because you have to work hard to earn it once the opportunity presents itself or once you thought of plunging into the entrepreneurship way of life.
September 6th, 2007 at 11:39 am
I have three questions about business: What, when, how?
September 6th, 2007 at 4:44 am
Definitely not every one can be an enterpreneur, however, anything is possible if we are willing to be teachable, coachable, flexible, determined and persistent to soar above all challenges of an ever-changing nature of enterpreneurship.
September 6th, 2007 at 3:01 am
Entrepreneurship can be learned. It’s just a matter of heart and desire. Success in business ventures can have many meanings. Is it how much money you are going to make? Is it fulfillment first and money second? Is there a limit to a vision that one has intended to follow?
September 5th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Can everybody be an entrepreneur ? The question really is, “can anybody be all that he/she can be”? And the answer is “YES”. With the right mindset and a personally crafted plan to follow, anybody can be what he/she can be. The sky is the limit when one aims high and achieves it by sheer determination and discipline.
September 5th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
[...] on the interview with Francis Kong in my post for Open For Business, INQUIRER.net’s entrepreneur blog. Join our virtual ribbon cutting!) [...]
September 5th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Hi Salve, Congratulations to your new blog. I’ve subcribed to the feeds already. I hope though, that full articles can be viewed through feeds
September 5th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Not everyone can be an entreprenuer. Being an entrepreneur has to do with the mindset. Its a belief that what has been done before and what is being done now can be done better tomorrow. It needs courage, risk-taking, attitude and disciple from childhood to adult, to be a successful entrepreneur.
September 5th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Kudos to inquirerbloggers for opening this blog for business. Here’s hoping business-minded people hop on to the blogging bandwagon.
September 5th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
we will very happy to get into business para maka uwi na rin kami sa pamilya namin! this is a very good idea!
September 5th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
I agree not everyone can be an entrepreneur but ironically we have the right climate that breeds it. Necessity, as well as scarcity not only encourages entrepreneurship but is the very foundation of economics