CECILIA M. Ordoñez grew up seeing her parents meet American buyers, procure materials for orders, and package gift baskets and other products for shipping abroad. Amo Philippines Inc. was established in 1973 by Cecilia’s parents as a typical cottage industry doing gift baskets. The business grew and the company would join trade exhibits here and abroad. Cecilia and her siblings helped out in the company in finance, production and sales.

While working for the company, though, Cecilia observed that management could have been stricter in running the company. The high level of inventory could have been controlled more. Controls could have been put in place to prevent pilferage. To make cash management more effective, cash advances to employees could have been given less freely.
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HARDWORKING entrepreneurs can be counted on to be hands on in their businesses 24/7. An order hasn’t arrived at the end of the day? The businessman/woman will be on the phone instantly to find out from the supplier why the order hasn’t arrived. The computer system bogged down at 9 p.m.? No problem. The hardworking entrepreneur will go to the office to determine what’s wrong then communicate with the server people. Even on weekends, some entrepreneurs will still have business on their minds and will check on their stores (or the competition) if possible.

But working doubly hard for long periods of time without taking vacations can be bad for your physical and mental health. It’s like your body is on constant red alert. In an article entitled “Stress Basics,” staff at the Mayo Clinic say, “Over time, that level of stress leads to serious health problems.”

Migraines, back pains, vision problems and even allergies are just some of the health problems associated with work stress. While relaxation techniques and delegating tasks help, a good stress-free vacation can do wonders to recharge and reinvigorate the working man.
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WE SEE the signs around us: more stores putting up “Sale” signs to entice more shoppers to come in, and less people eating out and buying clothes. Just how do Pinoys behave in a financial crisis like the current one?

“Some people ask, ‘With all our economic problems, why aren’t people out on the streets? Where are the riots?’ Coping is an uphill battle that has left consumers frustrated and overextended, and this is even more true for those at the bottom of the pyramid, which is the biggest chunk of our population,” says Emil Avenido, research director of the Philippine Survey and Research Center-Research International (PSRC-RI).

The reaction, says Avenido, is not aggression but of withdrawal: focusing on oneself and family. Family is very important to the Filipino.
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WITH FACEBOOK being the most popular social networking site around the world, it’s time you got on it too. Did you know that you can use Facebook to promote your brand?

Here are some of the ways you can use Facebook for business:

1. Advertise. Of course. You can reach as much as 200 million active Facebook users according to the Facebook Advertising page. You may even have your ad sent only to your target market according to age, gender, location, and more. The ads are small and are not big and jarring like those on Yahoo Mail. You can put an image and short text in your ad. Payment can be based on the number of clicks or impressions.
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THE RECENT survey on corruption in Asia released by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) places the Philippines as the sixth most corrupt country in Asia in 2008. This is already a marked improvement from the country’s performance in 2007 when it was ranked the most corrupt country in the region then.

Bagging the title in 2008 is Indonesia, followed by Thailand, Cambodia, India and Vietnam. Perceived least corrupt in the region is Singapore, followed by Hong Kong, then Australia. (See story here.)

I first witnessed corruption as a young girl when I saw a jeepney driver slipping a P20 bill in between his driver’s license and LTO registration official receipt and handing this over to a policeman apprehending him in one of the major thoroughfares of Quezon City. When the policeman handed back his license and the jeep sped off, the driver chuckled and boasted to us passengers how he got away with just a P20 bill.
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