Live in the Philippines

I don't know about the rest of the country, but here in Caraga we've been dealing with an alarming increase in power outages. Sure, the Philippines is a developing country and power outages are to be expected from time to time, but lately, they have been occurring far too frequently and they are proving to be very damaging to the local economy. The frequency of power outages has gotten so bad that we have had to buy a generator for our small business. A generator was simply not needed for the past 8 years. But now things are different. In the past, it was easy to deal with power outages that happened for perhaps 4 hours and only once in a 2-3 … [Read more...]

Every now and then we need to make time for ourselves. We all need time to take a step back from our businesses and go on a much deserved vacation. Personally, I try and take a vacation at least once every year. And by vacation I mean at least a week away from business. A one week mental-break from business can do wonders for you. A vacation can literally recharge a person, and can help you spot areas for improvement in our own business upon return. What was easily overlooked before is sometimes brought into sharper focus after getting back from a vacation or extended break away from the business. Everyone will have their own idea of what makes … [Read more...]

A few articles back a regular commenter, Dennis, suggested it may be useful to offer some suggestions on non-traditional advertising possibilities for small businesses in the Philippines. This article will offer one such suggestion. There are a number of avenues that might be considered, so hopefully this first suggestion will serve as a means of opening up the debate on how small businesses in the Philippines can think strategically about using their typically small advertising budgets most effectively. Being a small business owner myself, I have encountered the common headache of how to go about advertising when the traditional mediums are … [Read more...]

A little something extra. For the effort. I'm talking about tips and tipping. Not all small businesses have any forms of gratuity associated with good service, but many do. Food businesses. Bars and clubs. Tour guides. In a nutshell, gratuities of some form or another play a part in the compensation of employees in many of these types of businesses. If your business does involve gratuities, should there be an established policy in place when it comes to tips and other forms of gratuity? I do not believe there are right nor wrong answers because every situation will probably call for its own solution, but perhaps a little discussion on the issue … [Read more...]

F&B Insider is a special column that appears on occasion in the Small Business File. Each week the Small Business File addresses some interesting topic related to entrepreneurship or small business management in the Philippines. F&B Insider columns focus on issues of particular interest to those small business operators in the food and beverage and hospitality industries in the Philippines. One of my favorite Seinfeld episodes was the one where George and Jerry try and explain 'shrinkage' to Elaine. In case you need to refresh your memory, search Seinfeld and Shrinkage in YouTube, and you should get directed to one of the many clips related … [Read more...]

I just wrapped up teaching a class on Managerial Economics for MBA students this semester at Father Saturnino Urios University. One of the topics we covered was the use of learning curves in business. In a nutshell, learning curves are used by managers to help understand how organizations become more productive over time as people get better at doing their jobs. The basic premise is that as people get better at their jobs with time, they become more productive and the organization reaps the benefits when errors are reduced or corrected. The idea is simple. But to reap the benefits, people must learn to reduce their errors and make the necessary … [Read more...]

F&B Insider is a special column that appears on occasion in the Small Business File. Each week the Small Business File addresses some interesting topic related to entrepreneurship or small business management in the Philippines. F&B Insider columns focus on issues of particular interest to those small business operators in the food and beverage and hospitality industries in the Philippines. Not many restaurateurs or bar owners start out with their own building in a prime location. In almost all cases, finding an appropriate commercial space to lease is the norm. When thinking about where to lease a commercial space for your restaurant … [Read more...]

Sometimes I take the little things for granted. Like all of you, I'm a busy person. Most of the time I assume that readers who come here to the Small Business File already have a fair bit of knowledge about small business. That's simply not the case. I know there are people who are just starting out. I remember when I was first getting involved in entrepreneurial activities, and I'm happy to admit, I too was very 'green'. So this week I'm going to offer my views and reviews of three websites I think offer excellent information to people who have recently been bitten by the 'entrepreneurship' bug. I'll revisit this topic at different times in the … [Read more...]