Business in the Philippines

I am encouraging Filipinos to do business in the Philippines. Let us start entrepreneurship and start our own business. It is risky, but our country needs business heroes and leaders. The problem of unemployment in our nation is already apparent and even the employed ones are not receiving enough wages to cover their daily expenses. Most Filipinos are spending their years in school and universities just to prepare themselves for good jobs and employment. Only few are preparing and actually starting an enterprise while they are young. We can’t blame ourselves, this is what our parents have told us; this is what our parents dreamed us. Filipinos invest money for their children to get diplomas and have a well-compensated job. This tradition has continued for many generations. But of course, there’s nothing wrong with being an employee. The only problem is that when everyone is hunting for a job, the result is employment scarcity – and that is what’s happening in our country… that is also the reason why the Philippines became an economically poor country.

Business vs. employment
If we can observe our land, most of the wealthy people here are Filipino-Chinese. Even the richest Filipino for 2011, Henry Sy, was an immigrant from China. Henry Sy, known as the “Philippine Retail King”, is the founder and chairman of SM Prime Holdings, the largest retailer and shopping mall operator in the Philippines. The Chinese community in the Philippines has a different tradition when it comes to forming the future of their young. They are honing their children to become successful entrepreneurs and business persons, while the traditional Filipinos are doing everything to get their sons and daughters land on that perfect employment. And the consequence is? Majority of the pure Filipinos become employees and servants of their Filipino-Chinese employers and business owners.

The challenges of entrepreneurs
Henry Sy and other Filipino-Chinese business tycoons did not instantly become rich. They all made their fortune on their own, and they have their own rag to riches stories. They gamble, they sacrifice a lot of things, they survive, and they finally achieve success. Now, how about us? Are we gonna stick to our employment tradition? What shall we pass on to our children? What kind of legacy do you want to leave for them? We cannot put our diploma or our employment certificate in our last will and testament, but business ownership or shares of stocks will. So why don’t we try doing business and start even a little? Yes, taxation in the Philippines seems to be harsh, especially to small business owners. There is income tax and there is business tax. With income tax, you will remit money to the BIR when you do business well and earn a taxable profit. With business tax, such as VAT and Percentage Tax, you might be liable for taxes whether you gain or loss on your business as long as you have gross sales or receipts.

Moreover, the government officials are even proud of the overseas contract workers, rather than helping out our Filipino entrepreneurs who choose to build companies and enterprises here in our country. They believe that the dollar remittance is saving our country. Of course it is saving our economy like a bandage that covers the deep economic wound of or country. But that solution is only temporary. We need permanent solutions. We don’t just need a higher peso currency, but we need a stable currency.  Government aid and financial support for small entrepreneurs are not widespread. But all of these should not discourage Filipinos to have an entrepreneurial spirit and start entrepreneurship. Let’s do business, let’s create jobs, let’s face the hardships, and let us succeed.

Let’s start business and entrepreneurship
We don’t actually need modern heroes if we are forgetting the ways of our old heroes. The heroes of the past choose to serve their country first, rather than themselves, and even rather than their families. Leaders don’t play safe; they play hard to ensure the greatest of success. The progress of our nation lies on our future entrepreneurs. Therefore, let’s promote business and entrepreneurship in the Philippines! Yes it’s hard, it’s risky, it can give you losses, and it can make you hungry. But we have been singing our National Anthem since we are kids. Have you already forgotten the last part of the song which sings “ang mamatay ng dahil sayo (to die for you)?

Vic

Victorino Q. Abrugar is a marketing strategist and business consultant from Tacloban City, Philippines. Vic has been in the online marketing industry for more than 7 years, practicing problogging, web development, content marketing, SEO, social media marketing, and consulting.