By Pennie Azarcon dela Cruz, Executive Editor
Sunday Inquirer Magazine

IT was our version of this year’s global meltdown.

It was 1984. The year struck a fearsome chord in us, and not just because of George Orwell’s futuristic novel and its vision of a totalitarian society. It was the year after the Ninoy Aquino assassination and suddenly, the country erupted into daily protest rallies, capital flight, business slowdown and a general sense of panic and doom. Pundits gleefully described it as 1980-POOR, and indeed, everyone feared for their jobs and their wallets.

Everybody was talking sidelines, ingenious ways to make ends meet, and soon enough, everyone in the office had something to peddle—from frozen hotdogs to local chocolate bars to Bangkok clothes and Marikina shoes. Except for me. Well, I’ve never been good at business, thinking it an imposition on other people to take their money in return for my merchandise. “Baka hindi lang makatanggi,” I would think when people actually bought the toys I had thought of selling on installment basis at one time when I wanted to add up to the kitty for my C-section delivery.

I’m definitely the exception, but most women I know, especially when faced with the prospect of their kids going hungry, manage to hold their own in a strange trade, including business. In fact, given a bit of training, women have excellent business sense. A few logical explanations:

1. You can bank on women; they’re a good credit risk. Women have a much higher chance of repaying a loan than do men. The Grameen Bank experience in Bangladesh and similar schemes show that women pay back loans 97% of the time, compared to only 89% among males.

The conscientious payment can often be traced to women’s socialization as mainly responsible for the household. NGOs that loan out money to women note that while men tend to go out and gamble or indulge in similar vices (like drinking or smoking) when flushed with cash, loans to women often end up improving the lot of the family: the children eat better, they go back to school, the home repairs get taken care of.

2. Women’s training in household management also comes in handy when handling a business. When you think of multi-tasking (watching the baby while cooking rice or cleaning up), attention to details, budgeting skills and resource management, you’re describing a housewife or a homemaker. Those same skills can translate into a sharp eye on inventory, counting pesos and centavos and balancing the budget, sourcing out good suppliers (the “suki” mentality comes to mind), and keeping long hours.

3. A financial analyst also notes that men can be too competitive and take too many risks. In contrast, women are more risk-averse and take time to plan and study their next move. Most women go into business while still holding down another job, just to make sure they won’t be risking their regular paycheck. When the business takes off, that’s when they let go of their monthly pay and bring along the husband into the business.

Of course one hopes they wouldn’t open up too many sari-sari stores that end up under pricing each other, but that’s the dark side of being too timid in business. The tendency to go into this micro enterprise, even among women OFWs who have sizeable capital, can be traced yet again to women’s primary role in the household. Most sari-sari stores, usually just a few bottles of candies and chips, some canned goods and softdrinks arrayed in front of one’s home, provide women a good excuse to earn some money while staying home minding the kids and doing the chores.

But if you really want to earn serious money in business and become an entrepreneur, you’d do well to check out the March 1 issue of the Sunday Inquirer Magazine. It’s all about women, money and business: how to start one, where to invest your money, how to protect your funds, how to choose a pawnshop, what luxuries to indulge, which businesses are recession-proof, what traits you need to succeed in your venture. This issue is SIM’s way of celebrating Women’s Month with its female readers.

SIM comes free with your copy of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.