Today's Issue
- Editor's Take
- SME News: Championing the cause of the Filipino SME
- Events: Advance Key Account Management (Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 August); 23rd SME Toolkit Road Show (Thursday 21 August);; Import Procedures and Documentation (Thursday 21 to Saturday 23 August); Technical Assistance on Surface Paint Coating (Friday 22 to Sunday 24 August); System Integration Philippines 2008 (Friday 22 to Sunday 24 August); Korean Language and Cultural Program for Beginners (Monday 25 to Friday 29 August); Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) ( Tuesday 26 to Thursday 28 August); Internal Quality Audit (Wednesday 27 to Thursday 28 August); Business Recording (Thursday 28 August); ISO/IEC 17025 Laboratory Internal Audit (Thursday 28 and Friday 29 August); Advance Balloon Sculpture and Design (Friday 29 August)
- Tax Calendar
Championing the cause of the Filipino SME
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) comprise about 98% of all registered firms in the Philippines, employ over 65% of the labor force and contribute over 30% to the economy. And yet, surprisingly, there is no organization that seriously represents it.
It is with this realization that in their recently-concluded annual planning session, the Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. (AFFI) decided to take up the cudgels for the Pinoy SMEs. Since all of its members are SMEs themselves, it will actively promote and champion the SME sector by actively promoting entrepreneurship and championing its cause.
"The SMEs are the backbone of the Philippine economy. They help disperse economic activities to the countryside. They also provide an avenue for budding entrepreneurs to invest in a business that they feel they can handle given their limited resources and sometimes, insufficient knowledge and skills", says AFFI president Rommel Juan of Binalot Fiesta Foods.
To read full story, click here!
Tax Calendar
Thursday 21 August- e-Filing 2550M & 2551M together with the Summary Alphalist of Withholding Agents of Income Payments Subjected to Withholding Tax (SAWT) & BIR Form No. 2307/2306 to be filed manually within fifteen (15) days from e-filing - L & SNL Taxpayers (Group E) for the month og July 2008
Thursday 21 August- e-Filing 2550M & 2551M together with the Summary Alphalist of Withholding Agents of Income Payments Subjected to Withholding Tax (SAWT) & BIR Form No. 2307/2306 to be filed manually within fifteen (15) days from e-filing - L & SNL Taxpayers (Group E) for the Month of July 2008.
Source: Bureau of Internal Revenue
Editor's Take
People the world over are caught up by the media hype generated by the Beijing Olympics. For the past couple of weeks, fans and enthusiasts remain glued to their television screens and the web, cheering for the favorite teams and athletes in the most prestigious worldwide sports competition.
As athletes pursue their dreams of gold, let us also remember that the Olympics are about the coaches too! Athletes need good coaches to attain their goals. The same goes for business, where entrepreneurs and managers need to coach their team.
Coaching is serious business. Poor coaching is a reflection of poor leadership; and poorly coached teams are certain to perform poorly or behave badly no matter how many “star players” it has.
Here are five points for SME owners and SME marketers to think about while coaching their teams.
First, think about getting pointers from experts or veterans. Letting the ‘old head’ get on the shoulders of your team is an ideal way to transfer knowledge and technology to less experienced team members.
Next, do some playbacks. In taping or doing a film—the production team particularly the director watches playbacks. Why is it important? It is extremely vital because with playback, which can be compared to a regular debriefing session allows the coach and his team members to check what needs to be improved. As a team coach—you need to find ways on how to make your team win especially a challenging even just occurred—like losing a sale. This is where you inject an effective way of asking, "What was the client trying to ask during the meeting or the inquiry?" Playback can also consist of reviewing financial performance. By comparing output with budgets, the coach can involve team members in figuring out factors that result in gain or loss.
Keep limitations in mind. As the coach, never lose sight of the individual team member's potential. Rather than focus on 'what could be a dismal performance', spot the potential of each team member and help develop them to achieve greatness. Rotating people through jobs in your team helps them develop strengths and improve on weaknesses.
Practice makes perfect. This could sound a cliché, but practice is effective in all professions. Just take the case of basketball players, the coaches get to practice the team everyday with simple drills on how to shoot, pass and dribble. So in your company assembly line or front desk, you need to do regular drills to keep your team members attune to your venture's goals.
Don't play while coaching. Yes, be the coach. In the business ballgame, coaching your team involves seeing the whole picture. Getting too involved with the daily grind brings keeps you from observing the performance of the whole team. Chances are—you will go down the drain with your team. Be the coach. This way you can be watchful for ways to steer your team to victory.
Observing these five pointers may not just help your team achieve its goals, but also earn the necessary experience that makes future champions.
What's your take on this?We want to hear from you! To participate in the discussion, click here!
