Today's Issue
- Editor's Take
- Featured SME of the Month: Ultra Bio Corporation
- Events: 3rd Young Market Masters Summit (Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 August); Cashflow 101 Financial Literacy Workshop and Wealth Course (Saturday 9 August); Basic Investments and Analysis of the Financial Markets (Saturday 9 August); Advanced Technical Analysis (Saturday 9 August); Finding the Right Market for the Right Product (Tuesday 12 August); ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System Documentation (Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 August); 8th Service Marketing (Tuesday 12 and Wednesday 13 August); and 17th National Retail Conference and Stores Asia Expo (NRCE) (Tuesday 12 to Friday 15 August)
- Tax Calendar
Featured SME of the Month:
Ultra Bio feeds Philippine Livestock Industry!
In mid 1997, Cesar Castañares was a Sales Representative in a certain veterinary company that experienced an internal crisis and it forced him to resign voluntarily. Armed with his experience in the industry and coupled with his partners’ thorough technical understanding about the products they are going to sell, they started the distribution business in Cebu with no initial capital since no bank granted him a loan.
“They (the banks) required tons of documents on properties as collaterals, which I don’t have. Remember, I have no money and no job,” Mr. Castañares admits.
“I have tried some partnerships, but at the same, I failed … but God is really good because he used an instrument when I met Mr. Jose Reano of Broadchem Corporation. He entrusted my company to sell his products on a consignment basis in VisMin (Visayas and Mindanao) area. I paid him back when I was able to collect.
“He lent his car to me to be used in my operations. In return, I did my best to sell his products in VisMin. After a year of persistent promotion and marketing of the products, customers started calling me to inquire about the stuff we were selling,” he shares about his early, humbling start.
To read full story, click here!
Tax Calendar
Monday 11 August- e-Filing & e-Payment of 1600 together with the Monthly Alphalist of Payees (MAP) for Month of July 2008.
Monday 11 August- e-Filing of 1601C & 1602 L & SNL Taxpayers (Group E) and 1601E & 1601F together with the Monthly Alphalist of Payees (MAP) L & SNL Taxpayers (Group E) for the Month of July 2008.
Source: Bureau of Internal Revenue
Editor's Take
In her annual address to the nation, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gave assurance that the country will survive the global food and oil crisis. Accordingly, Mrs. Arroyo made a solemn commitment to let no one hinder the “people’s progress and prosperity” or “threaten our nation’s survival.” Furthermore, Mrs. Arroyo bared three strategies to solve the ‘complex changes’ facing the Philippines today.
Mrs. Arroyo has pledged “a targeted strategy and set of precise prescriptions to ease the price challenge we are facing; second, food self-sufficiency, less energy dependence, greater self-reliance in our attitude as a people and in our posturing as a nation; and third, short-term relief cannot be at the expense of long-term efforts. These reforms will benefit not just the next generation of Filipinos, but the next President as well.” Strong words coming from a President who envisions the Philippines to enter the ranks of First World nations by 2028.
To all these a sharp-tongued wit recently quipped that “inflation isn’t the problem; it’s not having money to spend!” The same wit proposes the street-smart slogan “fight poverty, employ your self!” And so, to make both ends meet, more Filipinos have become enterprising and are resorting to the most creative income-generating ventures.
Faced with an increasingly high cost of living, observers from afar wonder how Filipinos can still manage to hang on (and smile). To find answers we can look back to the slump of the early 1980s, when Filipinos displayed self-reliance, initiative and the uncanny ability to thrive.
Politically incorrect as the views of the street corner pundit may seem, the significance is not lost on policy markers and advocates when, for the first time, this year’s celebration of SME Development Week has included the micro enterprise sector.
“Employ thyself!” This recognition speaks volumes about the essential part played by bootstrap businesses in providing jobs, income and opportunities for the majority of citizens. Such recognition is a necessary step forward along the route to far-reaching social progress.
I propose that the idea of the Philippines achieving First World status seems way off the mark, but it can never be too early for Filipinos to passionately embrace competitiveness, entrepreneurial initiative, collective prosperity and mutually beneficial ties with our Asian neighbors.
In order to do that, this country needs to go beyond paradigms of mere hand-to-mouth survival—or isang kahig, isang tuka—and related superstitious nonsense that wealth will eventually trickle down from the top of the pyramid.
Let us accept the fact that hand-outs certainly help; but only in the short-term. For society to sustain itself, new wealth has to be created, and this can only be done from the bottom of the pyramid up. The solution is not charity but fresh ideas and exemplary action to illustrate the viability of a providing a “hand up” or “handholds” that will allow people to enter the marketplace, integrate themselves in the mainstream economy and enjoy the benefits of opportunity that they richly deserve.
What's your take on this? We want to hear from you! To participate in the discussion, click here!
