Business as Another Tool for Success

For some of us, there are only six months more to go and we are on our way to an achievement that we have all been waiting for – getting our diploma and graduating from college. Since graduation is very near, we have all been thinking about our career after we graduate, planning of searching for the best companies, looking for job offerings, and eventually applying wherever the road leads us. On the other hand, we may argue that having a stable job for months is still not enough.

I have a cousin whose name is Rondelle, he graduated from college last year. One day, he sent me a picture with a caption reading: “Share mo naman ito sa friends mo baka may gustong bumili”. The picture he sent to me was about his first online business. I asked him why he started doing an online business, even though he already had a stable job. He answered “Kailangan lang sumideline at extra income na rin”. This made me realize that not all people are satisfied with their otherwise stable jobs, thus some are still trying to do sideline jobs and make extra income by starting up a small business.

Since my parents are business minded people, they always try to convince me to start my own firm. I came to a point where I thought that maybe I should first understand the deeper meaning of what a business is, and thankfully, I then found the articles of Susan Ward. I got inspired by her because she has been in the business of businesses since the late 1990s, and won as a small business award from 2011-2014. When I read her article, she defined business as a person who does something to make money. The monetary results of these things are what we call profit. In the Philippines, what is common here are small business owners with their famous sari-sari stores, online shops, ukay-ukays and so on. In fact, according to Ruane’s study, data shows that Filipino small-medium enterprises comprise more than 99% of all businesses in the Philippines. These small business owners are also described as self-employed or as an entrepreneur. Allan and Afuah say that people who take risks in trying to start up an own business are called Entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship is viewed important by its qualities of becoming a strong source of help for the poor, increasing the production by helping other people especially those who do not have work, and a way to innovate and invent new products that can benefit the society. In the 1987 Philippine Constitution, entrepreneurship is recognized as a tool to economic growth. Moreover, entrepreneurship provides a solution by having gain prosperity and an idea and inspiration to people who want to start up a small business. Hays, in a study conducted in 2015, says that the Philippines was previously a model of advancement and second just to Japan among East Asian economies. This is what businesses can do that have an impact to our economy – An impact that can continuously give benefits to mankind.

The process of starting up a business involves not just the owner, but also the manpower the owner handles, as well as the consumer. In cases where being an employee may not be enough, every one of us can start up their own business or be an entrepreneur. Here are some advantages on why owning your own business is better that being someone else’s employee:

According to Susan Ward, when you own your own business:

1. You are the one in control

• In my perspective, being the boss is a great thing. When you say “I am the boss” it means you have the capabilities and ideas in your hands. You are the one who decides what to do and not the one who follows what “your boss” wants to do. You have your choice to sustain and grow your own business in the best way.

1. You get to build something

• When you own your own business, you get to think of business ideas that interest you. There are so many things that can start up with a business. Things like selling clothes that do not fit you, editing videos, part time photography, anything that you have a potential or skills - you can make out of business to it.

1. You get to help people

• Having a small business also helps other people by giving them job opportunities in a community, especially those who are jobless that want to earn money.

1. You might change the world

• By starting up your own business, your ideas can be a step towards change. The business that you have might create an impact not just to your consumers but in the world. Yes, changing the world is somewhat impossible but as what Susan Ward said in her article, “The Advantage of Owning Your Own Business”, “changing just a piece of it for the better is still a worthwhile effort that can be deeply satisfying”.

1. You might make more money

• It is simple as this, if you own a business, you can earn a lot of money from it or even much more if your business will succeed and grow. Thus what you earn from your business can be more than what you earn from being an employee.

Now that you know the advantages of having your own business, you may now be wondering on how to start your own business. Some Filipinos are hesitant to start up their own business simply because they are worried of a failure. Let me tell you the story of a businessman who was also an employee, and how he started as well as made a success in his small business.

Francisco M. Giniblazo works as a production crew in Greenwich where he on the other hand, owns a small sari-sari store for almost a year already. He said that he established this small business for some reasons like “Yun una is pandagdag sa gastusin sa bahay since madami kaseng binabayaran sa pagpundar ng bahay. Pangalawa is for savings din may part naman sa kita ng tindahan na naiitabi pero may time na nauuwi din sa pangpuhunan or pangbili ng mga paninda para sa tindahan”. He and her wife did not really planned this well because for them “kapag nalugi, lugi kapag lumago mas masaya.” but he said that at this time he is still thankful that his small business is still stable and is a big help for him and his family’s need.

Because of his sari-sari store, Mr. Giniblazo is now planning to established another business. He said that “gusto ko magtayo ng bakery since andun yung field ko more on tinapay pero plano palang para kapag nagretire ako may business pa na nakaalalay”. He said that business is really challenging but also fun. It really takes a lot of effort and understanding.

Mr. Giniblazo gave us some advice if we are planning to start up our own business. He said “sa mga gusto mag-start ng business kung gusto niyo ung business na itatayo nyo, go lang and take the risk. ‘Di naman lahat ng business ay perfect and ang importante yung pagtatayo ng business para din sa may source of income ka sa mga oras na kailangan mo ng pera”. One tip that I got from him “magtiwala sa sarili at sa itatayong business”.

Business is really important because this is a tool for the exchange of goods and services. Hence, it grew into a large scale by way of Filipinos trying to start up a small business. As what I have mentioned earlier, everyone of us can be a businessman/businesswoman. We just need to have the confidence and have a trust within ourselves to achieve this. Who knows? Maybe by starting up a small business, we can be the next Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs in the future.