A few months back, a friend proposed a franchise business to me that cost only P10,000. The business plan would allow me to choose whether to get a waffle stand, a burger stand and some other options I don’t recall anymore. She had forked over her money to the company before she met with me and she told me it would be a good business for both of us. I winced. I didn’t want any part in the business.

First, it had no track record and sounded too much like a network marketing business that was trying to sound like a franchising business. I know some very good companies that use network marketing strategies, but when there’s deception involved – even just a little bit – I know from experience that it’s best to stay away.

This article from MoneySense talks about five franchising myths to watch out for:

[Read the rest of this entry »]

Some eye-popping figures came out of Cartoon Network’s latest study on Filipino children and their lifestyles.

P37 billion – spending power of kids in their “tweenies”, or kids seven to 14 years old

46% — of Filipino kids are now using the Internet versus 26% in the 2005 study

[Read the rest of this entry »]

One of the most interesting rags to riches story in the country is that of John Gokongwei. You are all familiar with how he became one of the Philippines’ top billionaires. He started selling peanuts from his backyard and now sells snacks to the world. He is now worth $425 million and is the 34th richest man in Asia. Gokongwei’s empire touches every Filipino household – from food and drinks, transportation, telecommunications, real estate, and malls, among others.

His message, which received a standing ovation at the Ad Congress going on now in Subic, has this as his main message:

Why serve 86 million when you can sell to four billion Asians? And that’s just to start you off. Because there is still the world beyond Asia.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

Being the jaded journalist that I am, I find myself cringing whenever I hear the phrase “Anything is possible.” It sounds too much like an opening speech gone bad.

Yesterday, I heard it again during a Go Negosyo even that I covered. This time, however, I couldn’t quite argue against the motherhood cliché with my usual skepticism. The subject of the speech spoke more than the three-word-phrase that I usually scoff at.

Picture this: five persons with disabilities who have successfully run their own businesses for many years against all odds.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

I have packs and packs of muscovado sugar in my kitchen. Some of them have been there for months! I buy them in the grocery store on moments I feel like “going organic” or “going green”. But I forget to use them or fail to tell the maids to use them. The distinct flavor that comes with the brown sweetness takes some getting used to, I guess.

But when I talked to muscovado sugar farmers at the Good News Kapihan yesterday, I realized that with all the chemicals used in making sugar come in white granules, we could be slowly putting in toxins in our body or killing the environment with pesticides. (Here’s an excerpt but you can read my entire article here.)

A lot of people use “sweetness” to get their way. For muscovado farmers Reynic S. Alo of Negros province and Cornelio E. Castañeda Jr. of Sultan Kudarat, it brought in money, a business that is not only good for the environment but also helps poor farmers in the countryside.

[Read the rest of this entry »]