WITH THE expected slowdown in the Philippine economy this year as confirmed by the International Monetary Fund, entrepreneurs are finding ways to deal with the global financial crisis.

“When the economy is down, nobody spends,” says Karat World top man Felix Gorriceta III. The times thus call for streamlining of inventory. “Stock up on what sells. We don’t experiment much on new merchandise, which we had the luxury of doing so before,” he says.

At publishing company Adarna House, Emelina Almario, president, shares these strategies:
1. Streamline business processes. “We are auditing current business processes and looking at ways to improve them in terms of cutting costs.”
2. Manage risks. “Our various sales channels present different levels and types of risks and we are also looking into these.”
3. Practice prudence with resources. This goes for “electricity, paper and gas (even the small things count!).”

Her daughter, Ani Rosa Almario, who co-owns The Raya School with partners, reveals they are holding off on tuition fee hikes “so as not to add to [the parents’] financial woes.”

But there’s always opportunity in tough times. Gorriceta cites Henry Sy, who built his very first SM mall when the economy was hard up in the ‘80s. “Spaces are being offered now and it’s a good idea to grab them. But don’t just open [a store] anywhere. Choose places where you think you will profit, where business will prosper,” he advises. Indeed, during tough times, the tough gets going.