A MONTH AGO, CNN Money.com came out with a feature entitled “The smartest advice I ever got.” Successful business people were asked to share the best advice they received regarding money. For Bobbi Brown, founder and CEO of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, it’s “Create your own opportunities.” For Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, it’s “Money doesn’t make you happy.” And for Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, it’s “Know where your money goes.”

Going into business isn’t a walk in the park, so part of the homework is heeding the advice of other people. This ties in with Proverbs 15:22: “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”

A couple of businesswomen share here the smartest business advice they ever got. See if you can apply these to your life as well.
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By Terri Jayme*

I left the Philippines eight years ago to pursue college in the US. As is the case with many Filipinos living abroad, being away from the country compelled me to give greater thought to what it meant to be Filipino and to learn more about the culture and history that define us. Being so far away, I felt the call of home and family. I struggled to preserve that connection and sought out little ways to affirm my identity: I am Pinoy.

Aside from the occasional “Got Adobo?” shirt, I’d come home during my first few years away and find very few Filipino products for young people. I had to choose between campy souvenir shirts or the more traditional capiz or bamboo Filipiniana wares. It made me wonder whether the absence of more modern options implied a lack of interest among young Pinoys locally.

Fortunately, things seem to have changed in recent years. I moved back to Manila last year and was surprised to find a growing market of fun and young product lines celebrating pride in being Filipino and exploring different aspects of this identity. They proudly showed off names of cities and local streets. They flashed modernized images of Philippine heroes. They documented the little quirks and perks that make daily life in the Philippines unique. I found everything from clothes and bags to books and music. In terms of clothes, my personal favorites back then were the things I’d find in Team Manila and Bayo.

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FINALLY, the new iPhone 3G is now in Manila. At 12 a.m. Friday morning, while most of the city was asleep, Globe Telecom at Ayala Tower in Makati City opened its doors to hundreds of people awaiting the gadget’s debut. According to a news article written by Lawrence Casiraya for the Inquirer’s Tech Addicts blog, people fell in line as early as 3 p.m. on Thursday and awaited the countdown for the big reveal.

The scene has been repeated several times in the past in many places, from Los Angeles to Tokyo. Fans camped out two days before the launch. Critics say the hype generated during the waiting period for the iPhone debut made the gadget more attractive to buyers.

The iPhone is not the only product introduced to the public this way. Do you remember how lines snaked all over the block at Fort Bonifacio before the opening of the country’s first Krispy Kreme outlet? And the Harry Potter books have all been sold worldwide in the same manner—starting only at the exact time announced.
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THESE DAYS, many people work in a nontraditional way. Just when most office workers are braving the Edsa traffic on weekday mornings, these people are at home brewing coffee, dressing up and getting ready for work a few feet away from their bedroom. They’re the work-at-home people, and their numbers are growing.

With today’s technology, more and more jobs can be done anywhere, not just in the office. You can sell just about anything from home, and perform services for clients from bookkeeping and marketing consultancy to graphic design and tutorials as long as you have the basics—a phone line, Internet connection, and a computer.

There’s another item I will add to this list of basics: self-discipline. With no boss looking over your shoulder, you as a home entrepreneur should be disciplined enough to do what you’re supposed to do—even if a replay of your favorite TV show House is on and the cool “bed” weather these days makes you want to go back to bed to sleep some more.

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JUST the other day, my friend Monique e-mailed me a list of Pinoy business names. You’ve probably heard of the salon Felix D’ Cut, the moneychanger shop Starbucks, the carinderia Cooking ng Ina Mo and its competitor Cooking ng Ina Mo Rin. Three years ago, Tahanan Books published a book entitled Ngalang Pinoy edited by Neni Sta. Romana Cruz featuring all the funny business signs around town.

Well, according to Monique’s e-mail, we have new funny business names. There’s a goto restaurant called Goto Ko Pa!, a fishball cart called Eat My Balls, and a chicharon store called Chicha Hut. Over in Quezon City, there’s a photocopy stand called Pakopya ni Edgar (sounds like the band Parokya ni Edgar), and a shoe repair shop called Shoes Ko Po. And how are these for laughs: a laundry shop in Manila called Summa Cum Laundry and a tombstone maker in Antipolo called Lito Lapida (with apologies to actor and legislator Lito Lapid).

Last year, in a photo shoot for an article in SME Insight magazine, we got to talk to Dick Balajadia, owner of I Have Two Eggs, a classy tapsilog restaurant on Tomas Morato Ave. Extension in QC. Dick said they had a difficult time getting the name approved but eventually, they got the permit. But a mall refused to give them space unless they change the name. Dick, however, refused to change the business name because the menu is anchored on the concept of offering two eggs, whichever way you want them cooked, with every entrée ordered. So it’s still I Have Two Eggs.
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