AT 50, while other people her age would be at the top of their game in their chosen career, Fil-Am Diana Limjoco ventured into the unknown. It was 1998 then, and web development was something new. But there was something about it that interested Diana since her friend, out of frustration, sat her down and forced her to learn web design from him in two hours. Her friend was frustrated that Diana lacked the interest to exhibit her photographs at art galleries. Diana was a professional photographer then.

Since that lesson, Diana was hooked. She first made a website about her family, the Limjocos. Then she made a site for her town, Mt. Shasta in California, pro bono as a form of public service. More websites followed, such as www.batangasnow.com, a website showcasing the beauty of Batangas, her home province. Then in 2002, she went into e-commerce by helping her friend Dave Dewbre sell products online. With Diana’s SEO skills, the site became number 1 in all keyword categories within one week, and generated 1,500 in orders in one day.

Today, Diana and Dave run Digital Web Group, Inc. which builds and maintains websites, and provides e-commerce support and web hosting, among other things. They also run successful retail stores and eBay auction stores. They are also establishing a partnership with a Filipino entrepreneur who sells environment-friendly electric motor bikes. Diana is the president and CFO of the company.
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I WAS astounded as my friend almost cried over the phone a couple of weeks ago. She is the head of a trading company in Manila and just discovered that her most trusted assistant had been taking money from the company for the past six or so months. The amount: over P1 million already. And it all happened right under her nose.

My friend is a kind person and trusted her assistant greatly. Whenever she had to go out of the country or out of town, which happens at least once or twice a month, her assistant would oversee the day-to-day operations of the company.

This assistant has been with the company for over two years already and has shown herself to be reliable. She had great administrative skills.
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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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Cristyl Mae B. Senajon*

We all dream of a Philippines without corruption, where people pay taxes without being goaded to do it, where officials use public funds for public good, where deeply ingrained respect for others make most traffic rules unnecessary, and where each child can get quality education that will give her plenty of job options and good pay.

Mary Ann Alampay, a 20-year old BS Management student from the Ateneo de Manila University, believes in this dream. How to reach it, however, was the big puzzle.

Perhaps it was her love for teaching or her hope for the Filipino child that pointed her to a direction that might change a nation. Mian to her family and friends sat herself one Saturday afternoon and poured her heart out on pen and paper. The result was Bright Kids Learning Center, a social entrepreneurship project that would teach underprivileged children for free that art, colors, counting, and reading are as much fun as showing empathy and respect for others.
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THERE comes a time in any organization when change needs to happen fast for the company to progress. A good effective leader can bring about change well.

“One man’s or woman’s idea can bring about change,” said Maria Ressa, head of news and current affairs of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, and managing director of ANC. For instance, Lee Kuan Yew, she said, took a backwater nation and turned it into the first world country we now know as Singapore.

At the Women to Women Mentoring Conference at the Philippine Trade Training Center held last April, Ressa revealed that she had to catalyze change in ABS-CBN upon joining the broadcast company in 2005. Their news programs were overtaken by those of GMA in the ratings game. And she felt the company had to emphasize its core values of transparency, accountability and consistency for it to come out on top.

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