“The first thing déjà vu leaders do to succeed is to listen to their hearts and invest in their inner desires and drives,” so writes Dr. Henry Cloud in his book 9 Things a Leader Must Do.

This is exactly what good friends Jenny Legarda and Anna Abes did. A year ago, while having breakfast with friends, talk veered to shoes and bags. “Anna had the experience in selling at bazaars while I had the shoe manufacturing facility,” says Jenny. “We both shared the same passion for shoes and bags, and the acquisition of well made and fashionable shoes and bags without depleting our bank accounts was our obsession.” And so a business was born to give other ladies what they were obsessing about.

Teal Shoes and Bags basically targets women like Jenny and Anna, who like stumbling on great “finds,” are fashion forward, and yet are conscious of their budget. Both of them brainstorm on the designs of their products. “Basically we design shoes that we ourselves would wear or something that we see our friends in. We get inspiration from everything: artworks, interiors, people we meet, our lifestyle, our current needs and wants, trends, everything,” shares Jenny.

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THE BUSINESS community is abuzz with the news that the search for this year’s Entrepreneur of the Year for the Philippines is on. Nominations are now being accepted and will be facilitated by SGV Foundation, Inc. Nomination forms can be downloaded here .

The award is given by the accounting firm Ernst & Young. Past winners include National Bookstore’s Socorro Ramos, Jollibee Foods Corporation’s Tony Tan Caktiong, Alaska Milk’s Wilfred Steven Uytengsu Jr., Cebu Air’s Lance Gokongwei and Senen Bacani of La Frutera Inc.

I’ve met Mrs. Socorro Ramos, fondly called Nanay Coring by everyone, before for a profile for Good Housekeeping Philippines. She was then 83 and was rushing from one meeting to another. It was then almost 3 p.m. and she hadn’t had lunch, thus she urged me to join her for some pancit and barbeque. Nanay Coring works more than 8 hours a day six days a week overseeing the operations of National Bookstore. She says, “If you have the love and passion for what you do, hard work is no longer a sacrifice but a joy. I love this business. Eighty-three na ako pero takbo pa rin ako ng takbo. And you have to be humble. To be a successful tindera, kailangan mas mababa ka sa customer. Give them what they are looking for at the lowest price possible.”
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By: Clare de Guzman Amador

We travel primarily for the experience and then after the experience, we tell our stories. Our stories set us apart—we may go to the same place but come home with different takes. We buy the same souvenirs but got them for different reasons for different people. Our photos are the same frames, still we show it to everyone.

All because our stories are our own and each experience hits us at the core. Travel is one of the best ways to experience the greatness of a place, of a people. It almost always leaves a positive mark—something that changes us and makes us look forward to every sunrise.

Youth Trip Philippines (YTRIP) began as a story. A story of traveling around the Philippines and how the experience can change us as Filipinos. Along the way, we figured, if only more Pinoys could do the same, things might just work better. After all, once we see how amazing our people are, how beautiful our country is—what would hold us back from loving and taking care of it?

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MAGEL CADAPAN is an independent art dealer representing artists Rogelio Guarico (impressionist watercolorist), Solano Cruz, Raymond Go (expressionist), and most of all, Inday Cadapan, her late mother.

Although there is a thriving community of art collectors in the Philippines, Magel is quick to point out that the art business, like any other business, is not that easy. “If you will look at the monetary return, you’ll get frustrated.”

This jives with what an art gallery owner said to me a few years ago—if you’re out to make a profit, there are other more profit-making activities than selling art. Indeed, between, say, hamburgers and paintings, more sales can be had with hamburgers. But this art gallery owner, like Magel, has stuck it out in the business because she really loves it and is happy with what she does.
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MY EYES were glued on Suze Orman, well-known personal finance expert and author, as she affirmed to Larry King yesterday on Larry King Live on CNN that the current crisis is comparable to the Great Depression. See the rush transcript here .

Because of the US subprime crisis, the US big banks are falling, and so does everything else—stocks, yields, even the super insurer AIG, so it does seem like the sky is falling worldwide. After Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Merrill Lynch, two other banks—Morgan Stanley and Washington Mutual–are up for grabs. Just a few hours ago, news came in that central banks in other countries are pumping cash into their economies to help stabilize markets.

So, is this really the Great Depression 2.0?

The Great Depression happened in 1929 when the US stock market crashed on October 29, which has since been referred to as Black Tuesday. Crop prices fell, trade declined, businesses closed, incomes diminished, jobs became scarce, and in Gone With the Wind, Scarlett O’Hara had no choice but to face poverty. It was a devastating event for people who just experienced prosperity in the roaring ‘20s. It spread from the US to other countries and lasted into the late ‘30s when World War II began.

Historians say the great imbalance of wealth and stock market speculation caused that 1929 Great Depression. The rich became so rich, while the rest of America discovered credit, and soon consumers had so much debt they couldn’t buy every new thing coming out of assembly lines. Farmers also encountered an over-supply situation in the international market, so prices fell. Then it snowballed from there.

But thanks to government reforms and assistance, the US and other countries got back on their feet. Economic slowdowns happen, but they don’t last forever.

Since then, financial reforms and restrictions have been put in place, so we stand a greater chance of bouncing back faster from economic setbacks. As the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas says, RP banks are safe.

A New York economist shares the same view. Mark Getler, an economist from New York University, was quoted by Wall Street Journal saying: “This has been the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. There is no question about it. But at the same time we have the policy mechanisms in place fighting it, which is something we didn’t have during the Great Depression.”

So business goes on. Back to work, guys.