Businesses That Last - Planters Development Bank

FEATURE

Davao Rock

RFT Enterprises

SME FOCUS

What kind of leader are you?

How to organize your sales force

The art of outsmarting

LIFESTYLE

Be the best that you can be with

life-enriching seminars

A PLANTERSBANK PUBLICATION FOR ENTREPRENEURS VOL. 11 • ISSUE 01 • JANUARY 2013

Businesses That Last

Surviving adversities, building timeless enterprises

The Jarinas of INTECO

Philippines and ARK Diversified

and Auto Motors Group

SME | 2

Are you patient enough to make your

business grow?

While some start-up ventures can go from zero to 60 in

no time flat, most businesses still have to be cultivated the

old-fashioned way: with time, effort, and lots of hands-on

learning along the way. So if you are not the patient kind, you

may not last. Particularly when adversities strike. And strike

they will.

Fortunately, patience has its rewards, and it can be in the

form of a rock-stable business that can stand the test of time.

This is something that we see in our featured companies

for this issue. The subject of our cover story, INTECO, has

grown through the years and defied naysayers to become the

country’s leading distributor of a popular Japanese automotive

brand. Our story on RFT Enterprises, meanwhile, tells the tale

about a man who was eager to have his own business for

the longest time, and finally got to build it—better late than

never. And speaking of rock-stable businesses, Davao Rock is

the success story of a husband and wife team who took on

sacrifices to build a solid foundation for their firm.

As always, we are committed to also sharing tips and insights

that we hope can help make your business run even better.

You’ll find out what kind of a leader you are, and what

the advantages and disadvantages of your leadership style

might be. You’ll learn why you may actually have the right to

check on your employees’ e-mails. And we’ll show you some

creative ways to set up your corporate entities.

Plantersbank has always been committed to helping build

strong SMEs. We hope that this issue helps you in your quest

to make your business grow.

Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting

Chairman and CEO

Planters Development Bank

SME | 1

SME

Staff Box | Contents

PUBLISHER

Planters Development Bank

EDITORIAL ADVISER

Victoria Tambunting-Alfonso

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Bobby F. Banaag

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Olive B. Ramirez

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Joy C. Ursua

contributor

Therese Gutierrez

03 Around the World

04 Newsline

06 Bizbeat

18 Cover Story INTECO Philippines

22 Feature Davao Rock

25 Feature RFT Enterprises

28 Save Mother Earth Gift ideas that love the Earth back

29 Lifestyle Live the right life!

30 Worth Reading Of startups and survivals

31 Tax Calendar

32 Billboard

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT

Art Ilano

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Lurisa Villanueva

MANAGING EDITOR

Maita de Jesus

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Pam Brooke Casin

JR. ART DIRECTOR

Kimberly Claire Bernardo

SR. GRAPHIC ARTIST

Reggie Goloy

GRAPHIC ARTIST

Maud Villanueva

Illustrations by Darlanne Sue Ong

08 SME Focus:

Leadership

Advertising

Sales

Organization

Write to us!

Send us a line or two at info@

plantersbank.com.ph and be the

lucky feedback sender to WIN

this exclusive “I love SMEs”mug.

Case Study

Technology

Strategy

Taxation

SME | 2

SME

Around the

World

New Ideas from

Everywhere

By Pam Brooke A. Casin

New research shows

top three priorities for

small businesses

Google Inc. has recently revealed key

priorities for small businesses in 2013.

In its research, Google found that small

business workers plan to work more

efficiently, increase communication with

colleagues and customers, and leave

work on time more often this year as

part of their New Year’s Resolutions.

Gathering opinions from over 3,500

small business employees in the UK,

France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the

Netherlands, Google said that over three

quarters or 80% made work-related New

Year’s Resolutions.

Said resolutions, are in fact, a reflection

of the frustrations voiced by small

businesses about working practices in

2012, where 71% of small business

employees saw life at work “tough,”

lacking teamwork, and with long

working hours. The study further showed

that a third or 38% of workers said

that their workload was heavier in 2012

compared to 2011.

Communication and administrative

struggles also proved cumbersome for

the employees, with unnecessary tasks

holding them back from maximizing their

potential. Over 71% of employees also

aired their frustrations over gathering the

whole team together to discuss projects.

But while some businesses still believe in

the power of traditional communication

methods like e-mail, phone, and

meetings, tech-savvy businesses are now

employing online organizational tools for

better interaction among employees—

proving that they now have a better

understanding of how “collaborative

technology” can benefit the workplace.

Ireland: NPRF unveils

new funds for SME sector

The National Pensions Reserve Fund

(NPRF) promised to provide up to

€500m to three new funds to invest

in Irish businesses and to loan and

help restructure troubled SMEs.

The first fund, the SME Equity Fund,

will have a total size of €300-350m

and will aid “healthy” businesses

who still want to grow. It is managed

by Carlyle Cardinal Ireland in Dublin.

The second fund, the SME

Turnaround Fund, will have €100M,

with €50m coming from the NPRF,

and will invest in “under-perfoming

companies which are near the point

of insolvency, but have the potential

for financial and operational

restructuring.” It is managed by

Better Capital, which will set up a

Dublin office.

The third fund, the SME Credit

Fund, will have a fund size of

€450m, with NPRF committing

€175-325m depending on the

amount coming from third-party

investments. Managed by BlueBay

Asset Management, it is seen to lend

money to larger SMEs and mid-sized

companies.

UK: Worcester Local

Enterprise Partnership

urges SMEs to apply for

grant aid

SMEs in the United Kingdom have

been urged by the Worcestershire

Local Enterprise Partnership (WLEP) to

apply for innovation voucher funding.

A project by the Technology Strategy

Board Initiative, the Innovation Vouchers

program offers SMEs grants of up to

£5,000 “to explore new ideas with a

specialist knowledge provider.”

WLEP chair Peter Pawsey said,

“Innovation is the lifeblood of SMEs

and this is a great opportunity for

Worcestershire entrepreneurs to take a

leap forward.”

Said grants will provide funding for

businesses “to work for an external

expert for the first time,” who will

help them gain new knowledge for

innovation, development, and growth.

Businesses that will be awarded

with grants will have the chance to

collaborate with expert suppliers—

universities, further education colleges,

research and technology organizations,

technical consultancies and Catapult

centres, design advisers and intellectual

property advisers.

SME | 3

SME

Newsline

Fil-Cebuano Business Club meets with Plantersbank chair

Officials of the Filipino-

Cebuano Business Club

Inc. (FCBI) during their

recent visit to Manila

paid a courtesy call to

Plantersbank chairman and

CEO Ambassador Jesus P.

Tambunting. The officials,

headed by FCBI president

Rey Calooy, also took the

opportunity to discuss

initiatives of the FCBI

and seek the support of

Plantersbank via technical

and financial assistance

as they expect further

growth of the SME

sector in Cebu. One

of the projects of

Plantersbank in Cebu is

the SME Business Park, a

45-hectare land located

in Naga City, Cebu that

entitles locators to have

their own industrial lot

while enjoying special

economic zone incentives

like tax and duty-free

privileges. “Plantersbank

has always remained

focused in serving the

needs of our Filipino

SMEs that is why part

of our thrust is to

offer beyond banking

programs that will

help the SMEs better

manage their business

and become globally

competitive,” says

Ambassador Tambunting.

A custom home made possible by a custom housing loan

Owning a dream home can

now be an affordable reality

with Plantersbank Home Loan.

Seeing the rising number

of Filipinos wanting to have

a house they can call their

own, Plantersbank designed

its home loan to offer flexible

payment terms and rate fixing

periods to give their clients

the peace of mind to continue

living comfortably in the house

they worked hard for.

Plantersbank Home Loan may be used for the following:

• Acquisition of vacant lot, house and lot, townhouse or

condominium unit

• Construction, expansion or renovation of residence

• Refinancing of existing housing loan with other

banks

• Reimbursement for recent acquisition of residential

property or construction of residence

Those interested to avail or have inquiries may call Plantersbank

Direct at (02) 812-5325, email info@plantersbank.com.ph or

visit www.plantersbank.com.ph.

Plantersbank joins OFW Summit

The Villar Foundation, in partnership with Go Negosyo

recently staged the 2nd OFW & Family Summit at the World

Trade Center with Plantersbank supporting the activity as one

of the exhibitors.

The event provided various business and investment

opportunities for the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and

their families to help them manage and further grow their

hard-earned resources. The summit also provided a venue to

help them network with business owners, franchise holders,

and other groups that can help them start their own business.

SME | 4

Plantersbank appoints Carlos

Borromeo as its new president

Planters Development Bank (Plantersbank) announced the

appointment of Carlos M. Borromeo as President and COO

of the bank effective January 1, 2013.

“We believe in Carlos Borromeo’s leadership capabilities,

which are consistent with our mission and vision to develop

and enable entrepreneurs in the country,” said Plantersbank

chairman and CEO Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting.

The appointment of Borromeo, a business professional

who now has over 22 years of banking experience in

both front-line and support functions, is also seen to

augur well for small and medium scale enterprises as it

signals a renewed commitment from the bank to continue

offering services tailor-fitted for budding entrepreneurs.

Borromeo, 46, first joined the bank in January 2012 as

executive vice president and chief financial officer. An

alumnus of Ateneo De Manila University with a Bachelor

of Arts degree in Economics, Borromeo also holds a

Masters in Business Management from the Asian Institute

of Management, graduating with High Distinction. A

Student Achievement Awardee from the Asian Wall Street

Journal, Borromeo has since coached and mentored

bank management trainees from a number of financial

institutions. He has also conducted trainings in Asset Liability

Management for both the Money Market Association and

BAIPHIL.

In accepting his appointment, Borromeo said, “I am honored

and delighted to be able to lead Plantersbank, the country’s

lead bank for SMEs, to greater heights this year even as I

look forward to working with the company’s dedicated

employees to bring innovative products and personalized

services to our clients all over the country.”

Plantersbank is currently the largest privately-owned and

managed development bank in the Philippines with total

assets of over P50 billion and a nationwide network of 74

branches. Its prestigious international shareholders include

the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC),

the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Netherlands

Development Finance Company (FMO).

Academy for entrepreneurs launched

Plantersbank continues to strengthen its advocacy to enable entrepreneurs with the

launch of the SME Academy, a nationwide roadshow which aims to teach SME owners

the necessary “hard skills” to better manage and grow their business.

The academy did a pilot run in Cagayan de Oro and Baguio with life and personal

finance advocate, Randell Tiongson, teaching SMEs the basics of financial management.

Tiongson spoke in great length about how personal finance directly affects an enterprise’s

cash flow. “The key to creating a positive roadmap to financial wealth is knowing where

the business is financially, deciding where the enterprise wants to go, formulating a

suitable budget that meets the needs of the company and keeping tab of progress,”

according to Tiongson. “While these things are simple and rudimentary, it is easy to

forget these basic steps. While the business is at its early stages, it is best to look at the

financials already,” added Tiongson.

Randell Tiongson

The SME Academy is a spin-off of the highly successful SME Speaker Series which

focuses on motivational talks for entrepreneurs. The Plantersbank SME Academy, on the

other hand, is more about teaching the entrepreneurs the necessary skills in Marketing,

Accounting and Finance, Taxation, Human Relations, and the like. The academy is set

to tour more key cities this year.

SME | 5

Bizbeat

Business opportunities

for SMEs

By Herbie M. Sancianco

2013 will definitely be a great year (by

my reckoning) as there are strong signs

that the Philippine economy remains

bullish in the near term. This bodes well

for the small business entrepreneur.

Here are some business opportunities

that I expect to do well this year.

SHORT COURSE EDUCATION

As small businesses

grow, there will be a

clear need for good,

qualified talent to man

the various positions in

many companies.

Should new talent be

in short supply due

to their qualifications,

many companies may

tend to add more

responsibilities to their

staff pool or shift some

of the star performers

to other departments.

These reassignments are

usually a preparation

for the employee

concerned to move up

the corporate ladder.

security services, foreign-language and

automotive repair, among many subjects,

will see a lot of strong interest.

STAFF RECRUITMENT SERVICES

Staff recruitment is a long and arduous

process, particularly if a company needs

a lot of fresh talent for new positions,

or even replacements for resigned or

promoted employees.

magnet for bulk talent recruitment. Call

centers, labor-intensive manufacturing,

and fastfood companies are often the

In some cases, the small

business owner may

realize that there will be a great need

to have the person’s skills updated so

that he or she can be adept to handle

the growth – be a better ship captain,

so to speak.

Hence, business and technical service

schools that offer short courses for

key functions such as marketing, sales,

accounting, human resources, culinary,

But while there are many college

graduates out there, there are also

many companies that are experiencing

a shortage in the supply of qualified

talent due to the mismatch between

job qualification requirements and

applicants’ credentials.

Job fairs that are sponsored by local

governments or industries can be a

SME | 6

key participants. Many however say that

going to these job fairs is like digging

exhaustively for gold, in that there’s a need

to carefully screen so many applicants

before you get the very few that will

eventually qualify.

Thus, staff recruitment services will be

a flourishing small business for many

veteran, and perhaps retired, human

resource experts.

Online recruitment companies are also

doing extremely well since, for the price of

their prescribed fees, corporate recruiters

can receive pre-screened applicants that

will fit their hiring requirements. Payment

is rather easy if the head of corporate

recruiting has a credit card.

GERIATRIC CARE SERVICES

The Philippine population is now seeing

more people reaching their senior citizen

age, particularly those who were born

after the Second World War. The latest

NSO statistics suggest that the birth rate

is slowing down while the senior citizen

segment is slowly rising.

Hence, a company that’s devoted to this

health care sector will see good business

up ahead. This in a way will slowly

resolve the glut of jobless nurses as far

as this business model is concerned. This

business idea can also be tied up with

an HMO company that in turn may have

this as a new and added service.

Such a company is a multiplier force that

augments what hospitals cannot provide for

this market segment. Home care services will

also be growing in demand as it provides

the convenience of primary care right at a

patient’s home.

AUTOMOTIVE I.T. CARE

SERVICES

The mechanical performance of cars today

(and in the future) are basically controlled

by computer boxes which activate every

time drivers turn on the ignition key.

Typhoon Ondoy paved the way for a new

business opportunity, where technical

experts who are particularly honed in

automotive computer engineering were

sought out as an alternative to buying

a new computer box that costs a lot of

money. So desperate were some of these

motorists who could not afford a new box

that they would even beg laptop computer

repair shops to have a look at their cars’

computer boxes!

Car tune-ups of tomorrow will include

computer box diagnostics service apart

from changing the oil and spark plugs.

While the major auto dealers have this

as an in-house service, this service is not

yet widely available as an independent

business enterprise.

Automotive repair shops can have

computer box diagnostics as an added

service to their portfolio, or it can

become a standalone service. Location

will be a key business recipe for success,

however. This business idea sounds like a

niche market for now, but not for long.

HOME REPAIR SERVICES

Getting a good carpenter, mason or

even a plumber to undertake general

home repair work is proving to be

more difficult to do nowadays. It’s like

finding a good, honest and hardworking

household help.

There are many blue-collared workers like

these that are now overseas as OFWs,

hence the short supply of talent locally.

A company that has a pool of these talents

is a good business idea particularly where

their services are in great demand during

summer and after every imaginable storm

that hits this country every year.

TAILORING AND ALTERATION

SERVICE

This small enterprise business seems to be in

short supply nowadays.

While there is a dearth of mass-produced

clothes available for sale in many

department stores, there is still a niche

market that is looking for good tailoring

shops. There is still a growing demand for

custom-made men’s pants or long-sleeved

monogrammed shirts, and alteration or

repair services for off-the-shelf clothes

bought from the department stores.

The demand for alteration services includes

short-sizing pants’ waistlines or repairing

the overall fit of dresses, repairing zippers

and re-donning new buttons.

Tailoring shops are visibly found in the malls

and specializes in men’s formal business

attires or barongs with the promise of

24-hour turnaround times. They are, of

course, expensive due to the space that

they rent from the malls. Others are found

in obscure places as these are home-based

single proprietor small enterprises that

thrive on customer endorsements and their

immediate community.

So there you have it. Just remember

the saying, “Necessity is the mother of

invention, and the opportunity to make

money has just begun!”

Think about it.

Mabuhay ang negosyante!

The author has over 20 years of experience in

advertising, marketing, and sales operations.

He owns and manages Market Bridges, Phils.

Inc., a full marketing services company. He can

be reached at mbpidmbc@i-manila.com.ph or at

tel. nos. (+632) 886-4122 to 23.

SME | 7

SME Focus

Leadership

What kind of

leader are

you?

Leaders are made, not born. Find out

which one you turned out to be.

By Portia Marie Silva

There are many types of leaders

that exist within work environments

and these are usually dependent

upon the goals and orientations of

the organization. The culture that

work leaders harbor depends upon

the management skills they exhibit

and the demands they have for

their peers and subordinates. Most

companies train a variety of leaders

to put in command under their several

departments, which have different

objectives as well.

Despite the different approaches

in handling conflicts, decisionmaking

strategies and regrouping,

each leadership style can contribute

to the overall development of the

company if understood and honed

appropriately. Listed below are the

eight most common leadership types

found in companies.

Autocratic Leadership

The most extreme and independent

type, autocratic leaders feel privileged

to exert tremendous power over their

team members. Managers under this

type of leadership usually impose

on those who are not of equal

designation and often discourage

input and feedback from others.

While autocratic leaders are very

difficult to work with, they take

full responsibility of their decisions

and actions.

Team members are generally put

down by autocratic leadership.

Since they are not treated as part

of the team, they feel like outsiders

whose creativity and experiences

do not matter to the company. This

style of leadership benefits routine

work the most.

Participative Leadership

Participative leadership is also known

as democratic leadership, where all

team members are highly encouraged

(if not required) to participate in team

efforts such as brainstorming sessions,

evaluation activities and training

programs. Leaders of this type are openminded

and accommodating because

they feel that they inspire the growth of

the company.

Those who are lucky enough to be

put under participative leaders express

genuine respect and loyalty. They enjoy

working not only in the company, but

under their democratic leader. Work that

values quality more than productivity

need participative leaders.

Laissez-Faire Leadership

Passive leaders are defined under the

style laissez-faire, a French phrase that

translates to “let them do.” This is the

type of leader who believes that his/her

members will be most efficient when

left alone to accomplish the task and

make decisions on behalf of everyone.

In many ways, laissez-faire leaders allow

their members to identify their own

goals, move on their own pace and

figure out their responsibilities when

they can.

Only veterans and highly-skilled

employees will be effective under

this type of leader. Otherwise, the

organization will fail to meet its

collective quota and work performance.

SME | 8

Bureaucratic Leadership

Leaders who abide by the rules

and regulations and who never

fail to work by the book are called

bureaucratic leaders. This kind of

leadership does not welcome new

ideas and only believes in the matters

stipulated by the organization. They

do not tolerate rejection and want

their subordinates to always follow

their lead.

Members do not favor this kind of

leadership and often feel irrelevant

towards the job that they are doing.

The inability of the leader to show

flexibility and consideration for

others tend to favor very technical/

machinery work and work that

involves cash handling.

Relations-Oriented Leadership

Boosting the morale and the

credibility of the team members is

one of the most apparent qualities

of relations-oriented leaders.

Managers like this have the best

interests for their subordinates

and often think of his or her team

members first before himself or

herself. Relations-oriented leaders

put so much faith in the people

who make up the organization

because they believe that someday,

these people will be the ones to

carry on the company later on.

Relations-oriented leaders are

usually effective in most agency and

creative companies, where team

effort and unity are a must.

Charismatic Leadership

There are leaders who are wellloved

by their peers and mentors

because of the positive energy and

enthusiasm they bring to the table.

These people are called charismatic

leaders for they are a joy and

pleasant to work with. Charismatic

leaders, however, sometimes appear

to have more faith in himself or

herself more than they do in their

respective teams. They believe that

a happy team stems from having a

happy leader.

Work that requires long-term service

and loyalty to the company need

charismatic leaders. Otherwise, its

people will suffer and feel lost once

the head abandons ship.

Transactional Leadership

When you do something good,

you get a reward. When you

fail or make a mistake at your

task, something will be deducted

from your package. This is how

transactional leaders operate. They

have an understanding that people

will act if you motivate them with

concrete returns.

This is evident in most short-term

or contractual employer-employee

relations since the timelines are

tight, perfection and productivity

are often most needed.

Transformational Leadership

Considered as the most inspiring

and genuine leadership style of

all, transformational leadership is

where the leader communicates

well with the team. The leaders

who fall under this type extend

the responsibilities and challenges

to members and make sure

communication within the team

is always transparent. He or she

expresses a collective sense of

vision with his or her members

to make sure the tasks exceed

expectations. Transformational

leaders do not feel the need to

impose and often allow each

member to shine by rotating areas

of responsibility.

Transformational leaders are trained

by most huge corporations for

success. Organizations have proven

that having these kinds of people

rake in great members, productive

results and positive character that

attract good business.

SME | 9

SME SME Focus

Focus

Advertising

Make your flyers count

Get your business out there through the help of a piece of paper

By Portia Silva

Sure you’ve already spread the word

about your business to a couple of

family members and close friends. But

just imagine the challenge of promoting

your business to the huge market that’s

just waiting to be tapped.

While most marketing gurus will

recommend start-up entrepreneurs to

invest in online marketing (i.e. Facebook

advertisements, blog banners, etc.),

research shows that a lot of clients

still appreciate it when they encounter

traditional advertising. And this can

come in the form of flyers. This is very

tricky though, because unattractive and

seemingly unnecessary flyers tend to end

up in the trash. So here are a few tips on

how you can make your flyers stand out

from the rest.

Use colorful graphics with a

witty headline

Nobody likes clutter. It’s confusing,

unfocused and messy. To really catch

people’s attention, pick a central

creative image that will go hand in

hand with your product or service

headline. You can add details and other

minor information in your flyer, but

be careful not to use up all the white

spaces in your advertisement. White

space is important too. It lets the eyes

rest and actually helps to highlight your

message.

Make it big, bold and bright

If you want your flyer to be seen,

invest in size and shade. Choose a flyer

material that is huge, thick and, at the

same time, handy. It also very important

to make a statement through the color

of your chosen material. Yellow and red

are the top attention-grabbing colors;

black is often viewed as a daring color

for flyers. When it comes to the text, be

sure to have all the information printed

in bold font like it’s screaming, “Come

and get me.”

Give a compelling offer

Consumers are drawn to sales,

discounts and free gifts, especially

if you’re offering something pricey.

People’s attraction towards a product

or service comes when there is

value in the things that they are

patronizing. This most definitely

applies to the information placed on

your flyer. If you’re a restaurateur,

why not offer a free dessert buffet

pass for two for the first 50 diners,

for instance? And if it’s a spa home

service you’re offering, add one hour

to the massage when they avail of the

service from 2pm-4pm.

Let them reach you

Many, if not all, consumers are online

now. People are spending half of their

days in social media networks, online

journals and other web portals. It

will be helpful then to include your

business’ Facebook account, Twitter

handle and website. Being visible

online will not only give your clients

an assurance that they are dealing

with a legit entrepreneur; being visible

online will also provide you with

opportunities to interact with your

clients.

Put premium on quality

Always put yourself in the shoes of

your target consumers when making

final decisions on the different

elements of your flyer. Imagine how

you would like a flyer to look and

feel like. Remember to evaluate the

quality of your paper, printing and

proofreading. Go through your final

flyer thrice to make sure the overall

look is the one that you’re most

satisfied with.

And make sure that if you did receive

one of your own flyers, you’d actually

want to read it.

SME | 10

SME Focus

Sales

How to organize your sales force

By Art Ilano

You’re building your business and

you soon realize that you need to put

together a sales team. The question

now is, how do you organize them in a

logical manner?

Here are the three generalized ways for

organizing your sales force.

1. By territory

Commonly used when your objective

is to cover as much geographic area as

possible, territorial sales organizations

involves giving a fixed and definite

territory per sales person. For instance,

the simplest way to organize a

nationwide sales force is to have

regional sales managers for Luzon,

Visayas and Mindanao. And then they

take care of handling their respective

territories.

The most important thing to keep in

mind when using this structure is that

the territorial boundaries should be

very clear to everyone. Avoid being

vague about where the boundaries lie

as this would inevitably lead to turf

wars between your sales people as

they argue over who services these

questionable areas. And you wouldn’t

want that.

2. By client

This is a popular sales structure

especially for service organizations,

such as ad agencies and software

developers. Each sales person is

given a list of clients that he or she

will take care of, no more, no less.

Depending on how much time it takes

to provide attention and care to a

client, this could be a pretty short list

per sales person.

If your objective is to provide as much

pampering to your clients as possible,

then it is to your interest to keep each

sales person’s list as sparse as possible.

Also, remember that this structure only

makes sense if your clients require a

lot of personal contact, coordination or

servicing.

3. By product

Finally, you could structure your sales

group through product specializations.

Here, each sales person becomes an

expert in a particular product or service

that you are offering.

This structure makes sense only if

your products happen to be complex,

requires lots of training to understand,

or require special selling skills. If so,

you’d rather that your sales people

specialize so that they become experts

on specific products. Otherwise, they

will not be as convincing when pushing

products to your clients.

Q: “How many sales people do I need?”

A: Simple math can help you answer this.

Ingredients

• Target length of time for the average sales

call (T)

• Total number of clients that you want serviced

(C)

• Target number of sales calls per client per

month (Q)

• Number of monthly work hours per sales

person (H)

Procedure

Multiply Q, the total number of sales calls per

client per month, by the total number of clients

(C) that you have, and by the length of time per

sales call (T) in hours, including travel time.

This gives you N, the total number of manhours

required to service all your clients per

month.

Divide N by the total number of work hours per

month per sales person (H). Round up the result

and you get your ideal number of sales people

to hire!

SME | 11

SME Focus

Organization

Setting up “designer” corporate entities

By Art Ilano

Anybody can start a corporation. That

is, anybody with four friends to spare

because you need five people to start

a corporation. But what few people

bother to do is get creative with their

organizational structures and entities.

Now why would you want to do that?

Well, mostly because there are certain

advantages that you could avail of,

depending on what you want to

achieve.

Here are some examples.

Selective ownership

You promise co-ownership to a

potential industrial partner for an

enterprise with high capitalization.

However, you don’t trust him that

much. So how can you offer coownership

without risking everything

that you have at stake?

This will normally be a tricky situation.

Imagine fueling the business with

millions of pesos in capital assets,

where the potential partner demands,

say, a 20-percent ownership. Imagine

the nightmare that would happen if

the business will have to be liquidated

(especially if it was the partner’s

fault), and the partner still gets a fifth

of everything.

So here’s a possible solution. Instead

of setting up just one entity, set up

two companies. One company will be

owned only by you and the people

you really trust. Let’s call it Company

A. The other one, Company B, will

include your industrial partner.

Now comes the interesting part.

Make Company A own all the capital

assets of the planned enterprise. And

then give it a lease relationship with

Company B, wherein Company B

will be paying monthly expenses to

Company A for the use of the assets.

Result: Your partner still gets 20

percent of Company B’s earnings

(after lease payments), without

having to be the instant part-owner

of millions in capital assets. Problem

solved!

New profit centers

Let’s say your corporate enterprise,

Company C, is now successful

SME | 12

selling widgets to stores nationwide.

Along the way there, the company

managed to put up a killer sales

force. The problem is that your sales

force is idle half the time.

You realize that you can make a

little extra income by hiring out your

sales force to those in need of a

crack sales team. This means a whole

new set of books, however, as your

sales force will now start giving you

income rather than just being an

expense.

Pulling them out into a new corporate

entity, Company D, is one way to keep

things clean and orderly. Whether or

not Company D’s management is the

same as that of Company C (assuming

compensation won’t be an issue),

what’s important is that Company D

now is its own entity on paper, with

its expenses cleanly separated, and

can be a wholly owned business of

Company C.

Holding company

Imagine that you’re a serial

entrepreneur and you’ve now

managed to find yourself with

quite a number of businesses that

you yourself are running. Good

luck letting go. History shows that

oftentimes, these kinds of setups

lead to businesses that don’t last

once the owner retires.

What you need to do is to let go of

the reins so that someone else can

run it for you. But maybe you don’t

want to let go completely. Maybe

you want to let go of only a couple

of businesses or so. However you

want to do it, it helps if you slowly

transform your business into the

structure of a holding company.

A holding company is essentially

an investment company, where

each individual business is now

considered as an “investment”

that is being run by someone

else. The simple way to set up a

holding company: First, create

your parent corporation. Next,

spin off each business (when

you’re ready) into its own

corporate entity, owned by the

parent corporation and run by a

seasoned professional.

The good thing about this setup:

you can run the spinoff company

from a distance, simply giving

your seasoned professional a

target for the year that the pro

has to achieve or else. Then

you can sit back and relax (or

at least have a less stressful

existence).

The other bonus of this structure:

it is easier to sell off a specific

business unit because, if it is

its own separate entity and it’s

organized well enough, it becomes

a modular business that can easily

be let go of.

SME | 13

SME Focus

Case Study

“Are we still a cabinet

business?”

By Art Ilano

Wellspar Corporation* has come a long

way. What began as a refurbisher of military

surplus metal beds has evolved into a fullscale

metal fabricator. And where it once

focused on making filing cabinets and

shelf racks, today Wellspar has become

a recognized supplier of data cabinets

for telecommunication firms and for I.T.

use. These data cabinets are used to stack

sophisticated equipment such as servers

and network storage devices. Smaller firms

may buy one or two of these, but larger

firms can buy in bulk, often procuring

roomfuls of data cabinets when setting up

their systems.

What’s more, the boom in the call center

industry has proven to be a windfall

for Wellspar. Beginning with the large

multinational installations, the company has

seen the market expand further to smaller

“mom and pop” call center operations with

just 30 seats or so. They may not buy in

bulk, but the number of aspiring startups

made up for it.

But now Gaspar Tinio*, the proprietor, is

faced with a problem. While sales of data

cabinets had seen phenomenal growth

in the late 1990s and most of the 2000s,

his sales people are now complaining

that it is becoming more and more

difficult to push for volume orders.

The reason: rather than sourcing

their I.T. needs in-house, more

and more enterprises are

now “going into the cloud,”

or relying on online data

storage and services.

Gaspar stared wistfully at

his cavernous factory floor,

with its scores of metal

benders, punchers and

cutting machines, all of which represented a

significant capital investment.

“If the cloud is where people are going,

then shouldn’t we be going there too?”

asked his eldest son one day while having

dinner. This got Gaspar thinking: should he

fight it out in his current market, or should

he now consider branching out to new

business directions?

ANALYSIS

Generally, the decision point for the

company will involve figuring out what

the company mission is to begin with. Is

it in serving the information needs of the

market? If so, then perhaps Gaspar’s son is

right and perhaps they should find a way

to assist in bringing the “cloud” to the

market. But it isn’t as simple as that.

Companies can have either a resourcecentric

or a market-centric approach to its

mission. A market-centric mission means

figuring out what the market wants and

finding a way to bring this to them. For

instance, a company with a mission of

providing “leisure” to its market has a

pretty wide leeway as to what products

and services it will engage in, mainly

because “leisure” is such a broad term.

Such a company may end up providing

everything from sports equipment to

hotels to travel tours.

On the other hand, a resource-centric

mission involves focusing on one’s

resources and maximizing their use and

potential. For instance, a business whose

key resource is the owner who happens

to be a superlative chef is likely going

to focus on all things food. It has no

business branching out to automobiles,

technology products, or stationery. Its core

competence lies in food preparation so the

business will circle around this. Possible

growth opportunities? Perhaps ready-toeat

frozen meals, catering, and signature

canned foods.

In the case of Wellspar, the core

competence seems to lie in its metal

fabrication capabilities and skills. If the

pattern of history is to be followed, where

it once was making filing cabinets

and the like before branching into

data cabinets, then perhaps the

future lies in identifying other

possible opportunities that

involve metal fab. And not

venturing into the cloud,

as Gaspar’s precocious

maid has suggested.

*All names have been

disguised to protect

the subjects’ identities.

SME | 14

SME Focus

Technology

Your employees’ e-mails

could be your property

By Karmina de Ungria

How far can a company go in saying “that’s

mine?” In the age of easy transaction of

information, companies have taken the

initiative in laying down the law when it

comes to company e-mails. It is essential

to protect company information in an

increasingly competitive market,

especially when employees are

unaware of the possible risks of

outbound e-mails that might

contain potentially sensitive

information. A company

does have legal rights over

employees’ e-mails, the

key would be how to go

about it. In the event

that management

decides to take action,

here’s what a company

should remember:

1. DO remind

employees that any

transactions done

during company

time, resources, and

equipment, which includes

the company servers,

equates to company property.

This might not sit well with

them, particularly because, in

reality, personal communications do

and will occur during company hours. But

you’re just laying down the facts.

A 2007 survey by Forrester’s consulting revealed that 20

percent of outbound e-mails contained information that posed

legal, financial, or regulatory risk. Now that’s worth your

attention.

2. DO disclose what you can and can’t do. Should you decide

to use software to track company e-mails, make sure to

specify this in the employees’ handbook. In the legal case

of Stengart v. Loving Care Agency, Inc. (www.pisaurolaw.

com), the court ruled in favor of the agency, declaring that

employees’ e-mails were company property and could

therefore be used as evidence.

The curious thing about the case was that the e-mails in

question were sent out using Ms. Stengart’s private Yahoo

e-mail account, but using the company server. The company

was able to get a hold of the e-mails by using software that

saved copies of the e-mails. This time, the NJ

Supreme Court ruled in favor of Stengart,

since it was not declared in the

company’s policies that it was saving

images of her personal e-mails.

Do make sure that employees

are informed of the specific

tracking activities made

regarding their internet

usage.

3. DO consider the

nature of work that

the company is in.

It will not help to

be paranoid with

every e-mail that the

employee sends out,

and it would affect

the level of trust that

an employee would

have with its employer

if every move made

is monitored. Consult

with an IT professional

about what monitoring

software is available that

would best serve the nature

of the company. There

might be software that can

automatically filter keywords

in e-mails that may carry potential sensitive

information. This would be helpful as opposed

to manually going through each employee’s e-mails.

4. DO have employees sign a waiver. This would be a

good start in order to raise employee awareness of the

seriousness of not abusing company property. Waivers can

be signed before employees go onboard.

Being upfront with policies will help dictate employee

attitudes in the use of company e-mails. And it may

minimize the need for you to be paranoid about their

e-mail use.

SME | 15

SME SME Focus

Focus

Strategy

The art of outsmarting

By Karmina de Ungria

Competition is healthy. It forces

businesses to be continuously

innovative and on their toes. But it

sure would help if you can predict

your competitor’s reactions to your

actions. The question now is, can you

really predict what your competition

will do next?

As Kevin P. Coyne and John Horne’s

article “Predicting your competitor’s

reaction” says, “to understand how

competitors will respond to your next

move, evaluate the situation in their

terms— not yours.” The two authors

boiled down the best way to predict

a competitor’s reaction by answering

these three questions:

1. Will the competitor react at

all?

According to Coyne and Horne, a

competitor is likely to apply only

the most rudimentary or basic game

theory in interpreting your next move.

Or they might not even react at all.

If this is the case, then you need not

fear much. Recognize opportunities

for growth for your company and do

not be satisfied in making only small

changes when you can afford to take

bigger steps to secure your lead in the

market. Assess your competitor’s likely

rudimentary reaction and already take

that into consideration as you put

your strategy together.

2. What options will the

competitor actively consider?

What may look irrational to you might

make sense to your competitor, so

first learn the habits and decision

making of your competitor’s CEOs

and key personnel, along with the

results of their decisions in past

ventures. Companies are still run by

people, and people tend to move

in habitual patterns. Uncovering

patterns in your competition’s

behavior can help you predict their

likely countermoves. And once you

have these countermoves in mind,

you can then counter them too!

3. Which option will the

competitor most likely choose?

In most cases, a decision will be based

on the option that will turn in the

most profits. This will be the most

obvious decision for companies, which

may also cause them to overlook other

market shares and other potential

areas for growth. A majority of firms

would only sample a small portion

of the market share and base their

decisions from there. Think outside the

box and look for opportunities that

your competitor might have taken for

granted.

“The key is to focus on understanding

how a competitor actually behaves

rather than on the theory of how

everyone should behave,” say the

authors, who then go on to remind

us that “a competitor that you can

predict, is a competitor you can learn

to outsmart.”

Source: http://hbr.org/hbr-main/resources/

pdfs/comm/fmglobal/predicting-yourcompetitors-reaction.pdf

SME | 16

SME SME Focus

Focus

Taxation

VAT audit checklist for

non-large taxpayers

By Joanna Grace P. Manuel

After the end of a taxable year, especially

after filing the annual income tax return,

taxpayers are usually anxious to check

their compliance based on the filed tax

returns. This year, because of the mandatory

disclosure of the details of paid taxes

in audited financial statements, it has

become easier for taxpayers to check their

compliance with tax regulations. One can

easily check if a company will receive a

Letter of Authority (LA) from the Bureau

of Internal Revenue (BIR) by comparing its

records of sales/expenses to its filed tax

returns. This is precisely how the BIR will

determine the list of taxpayers that shall

undergo value-added tax (VAT) audit for

2012.

The BIR has recently issued Revenue

Memorandum Order No. (RMO) 20-2012

for the VAT audit program which would be

piloted for taxpayers under revenue regions

of Caloocan, Manila, Quezon City and

Makati for the pilot roll-out. The program

aims to:

• increase collection and enhance

voluntary compliance by focusing on

quality audit of VAT returns;

• broaden the tax base by identifying

buyers and sellers of goods and services

subject to VAT and

• provide audit trail for transactions of

VAT taxpayers.

The taxpayers will be selected based on the

following criteria:

• VAT compliance is below the

established 2010 or 2011 industry

benchmarks;

• VAT returns for the succeeding

quarters show a substantial decrease in

tax payment;

• VAT returns reflect substantial input

taxes from importations and local

purchases, such as when the total

purchases claimed exceed 75% of the

total sales;

• no VAT return filed in any quarter or all

of the quarters in 2011;

• VAT returns reported as “No

operations” wherein ocular inspection

will be conducted to verify whether the

business exists;

• taxpayers with a history of declaring

excess input tax carry over for all

quarters of 2011;

• Non-submission of summary list of

sales and purchases for any of the

quarters in 2011;

• substantial sales but showing net loss;

• significant under declaration of

sales uncovered as a result of the Tax

Compliance Verification Drive and/or

other programs;

• those with declared exempt sales due

to the availment of tax incentives or tax

exemptions and

• other taxpayers selected by the

head of the VAT audit team subject to

approval by the regional director.

The selection will be performed by a VAT

audit team (one team per revenue region),

which is composed of at least 25 Revenue

Officers -- Assessment including Group

Supervisors who is headed by the Chief

of the Assessment Division. Authorization

to conduct the audit will be given only to

the VAT audit team. The team will submit

a list of taxpayers to be audited for the

first two quarters to the regional director

for approval with markings on which

selection criteria each taxpayer is qualified

in. For qualified taxpayers, the LA will be

issued for each taxable quarter or for two

quarters through the recommendation of

the VAT audit head.

If the selected taxpayer has been

previously selected in the Revenue

District Office (RDO) for regular audit

of all internal revenue taxes in 2011 or

any prior year, significant findings on the

audit of VAT is to be communicated to

the Chief -- Assessment Division for risk

identification. On the other hand, if the

LA for the VAT audit and subsequently the

taxpayers becomes a candidate for regular

audit in the RDO based on the selection

criteria under the annual audit program,

the request for LA for regular audit should

not include the VAT liability. In this case,

the VAT audit team should transmit a

copy of the VAT audit findings to the RDO

conducting the regular audit to determine

their relevance and effect to other tax

liabilities.

All the basic audit procedures for VAT

audit prescribed in different Revenue Audit

Memorandum Orders are to be strictly

observed by the revenue officers involved

in the audit. Regular audit procedures, such

as understanding the nature of the business

through observation and interviews, are

also to be undertaken by the BIR. Included

in the procedures is the sampling and cross

checking of the details of sales/output

tax and purchases/input tax against the

books and records of the buyer and seller/

supplier. This is the normal audit procedure

conducted by the BIR in coming up with

computation of tax deficiencies wherein a

comparison is made between the amounts

declared per tax returns and the amounts

recorded in the taxpayer’s books of

accounts.

Although one of the criteria for being

included in the list of taxpayers to be

audited is the non-submission of summary

list, taxpayers who failed to submit

summary lists will still be required by the

Revenue District Office to submit diskettes

or hard copies containing the information

on their suppliers and buyers for the 1st

and 2nd quarter of 2012.

The same with the regular audit, the VAT

audit cases may also be referred to Legal

Division for the issuance of Subpoena

Duces Tecum for failure to submit

documents, issuance of legal opinion for

difficult legal issues, or for filing or criminal

action.

With the release of the VAT audit

program, the BIR underscores the key

role of tax compliance in avoiding tax

assessments. Accordingly, taxpayers

should check their VAT compliance

by reviewing the returns filed so they

could determine the necessary course

of action.

Source: Punongbayan & Araullo (P&A).

P&A is an audit, tax and advisory services

firm and is the Philippine member of Grant

Thornton International Ltd. Website:

www.punongbayan-araullo.com

SME | 17

SME

Cover Story

Generation Dealership –

“Be a part of the family that cares”

By Reynard Ong

business foretelling the bright future it had

before it. Industrial & Transport Equipment,

Inc. or simply INTECO was born in 1965.

INTECO was established at a time when things

had seemingly gone awry. The memory of

that gory episode when the Japanese took

over the country was still fresh. Many were

apprehensive about patronizing Japanese

products. The key players then were Ford,

Mercedes, and International Harvester. The

chances of penetrating the industry with a

lesser known brand were pretty slim.

L-R: Ryan, Tony, and Ray Jarina. A family that cares, the Jarinas make sure that they service their

customers the best and most efficient way possible.

Mission Statement

It is not a question of how many vehicles

an automotive dealership sells as much

as the number of accomplished missions.

Most, if not all successful businesses, owe

their triumphs to their faithfulness toward

their mission statements. Prof. Luis Cruz III,

a former instructor at the Asian Institute of

Management, said that it may be likened

to a road map giving directions, as well as

instructions as to how one should steer

the wheel. As for Industrial and Transport

Equipment Inc. (INTECO Group of Isuzu

Dealerships) and ARK Diversified and Auto

Motors Inc. T/A Chevrolet Commonwealth, the

mission is clear:

“It is our mission to professionally, effectively,

and continuously respond and satisfy our

customers, adequately develop and train our

people, change and grow with opportunities,

adhere to the needs of our society, and

operate in an ethical manner, which results

in maximizing our profits and return on

investment.”

Test of Time

Far East Motor Corp (FEMCOR), the

forerunner of INTECO, was organized

by a group of businessmen engaged in

transportation, construction, logging, feeds

milling, and trading—HR Lopez Company,

Villa Rey Transit, Victory Liner, De Dios

Transit, Cotabato Bus Company, Vita Rich

Manufacturing Co. and Vic Lumber—became

the first users of Isuzu buses and cargo dump

trucks. With terrible road conditions, poor

handling, and harsh economic conditions, the

operations of FEMCOR were badly damaged

and discontinued operations. Tony Jarina

gambled his stakes nevertheless and turned

adversity into an opportunity. He revived the

While it is true that there was indeed difficulty

in earning the trust of the consumers, certain

situations would compel truck users to try a

new product if the need arose. INTECO entered

the scene at the time when a shortage of

supply for commercial vehicles was greatly

felt and the prices of American and European

brands continued to go up, causing a good

number of haulers to try the Isuzu brand.

Business began to pick up and Isuzu was slowly

considered and recognized by the market.

Isuzu, after all, is known for engine reliability,

fuel efficiency and high resale value. INTECO

would soon after pioneer the distribution and

servicing of Isuzu vehicles in the Philippines.

The departure of General Motors Philippines

in 1986 was marked by economic turmoil as

many companies withdrew from the country

because of political instability as well as the

growing distrust and uneasiness of the Filipinos

to the Martial Law regime. Tony Jarina never

lost heart and persisted amid trying times. He

continued to provide parts and other services

to keep Isuzu customers loyal to the brand.

And the company survived. By 1989, when

the market finally improved, Isuzu Motors

Japan and INTECO brought in a new batch of

vehicles, and the Isuzu pickups in particular

became very popular even to retail customers.

With the resurgent local demand, Isuzu

Philippines Corporation was established in

1996. With this came an influx of legendary

vehicles such as the Hilander, Fuego, the

Trooper, and the N-series four to six wheeler

trucks. From 1997 to 2012, the Crosswind,

DMAX, Alterra, and F-series trucks were added

SME | 18

Mr. Tony Jarina founded INTECO despite many difficulties, back when the country was

apprehensive of patronizing Japanese products such as Isuzu vehicles.

to Isuzu’s wide range of commercial vehicles

line-up to compete with the strong and deeply

rooted Toyota and Mitsubishi.

It was during this period that Ray Jarina

returned to the Philippines. He graduated from

the General Motors Institute in Flint, Michigan

in 1985 and worked at Grand Chevrolet in

Glendora California until 1987. From 1987 to

1998, he was with Nissan Motor Acceptance

Corporation and the Infiniti Division of Nissan

Motors USA in Carson, California. Ray has a

BA Economics degree from Ateneo and a MBA

from the Peter Drucker Graduate School of

Business in Claremont, California.

Using his US education and automotive

experience, Ray initiated computerization

of accounting, sales, and service systems,

implemented financial audits and control,

strengthened sales and service human assets,

and instituted new marketing programs into

INTECO’s veins. Consequently, INTECO was

selling over 2,700 units per year. And with

the very active and priceless participation of

Mrs. Ada Jarina, Tony’s wife who is fondly

called by the employees as “MAM”, INTECO

upgraded its Isuzu INTECO EDSA and Isuzu

INTECOQuezon Avenue sales showroom

and service facilities, expanded coverage

and operations to the cities of Dagupan,

Pampanga, Urdaneta in Pangasinan, and

Baguio Mountain Province.

Executive Director Ada Jarina is a CPA who

sees to it that no assets of the company are

wasted. Under her watch, all receivables are

collected and the purchases of parts and other

materials are properly canvassed and obtained

at reasonable prices. She ensures that company

premises, workshops, and other facilities are

in good working condition and in presentable

order. “MAM” is very strict but very generous.

She is all praises for employees who do their

work well.

Industry

The automotive industry is one of the key

factors of any country’s economic and financial

growth. Due to positive 2013 economic

indicators, the Chamber of Automotive

Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI)

forecasts 184,248 in new vehicle sales for

2013, an 11.6% increase from 2012. The

selling of brand new cars and trucks is the

most competitive industry in the country.

The fact that INTECO proved its resilience,

reliability, and steadfastness even in the wake

of adversity, the name has spoken for itself.

The reputation they’ve earned and worked

so hard for turned out to be more effective

than all marketing strategies combined. It is a

tradition that transcended time and lived on

from each generation. Having established, that

only change is constant, to stay in the game, it

is necessary to be abreast with what is current.

One cannot simply lag behind and embrace the

“bahala na, pwede na yan” fatalism, especially

at a time where the trend shifts so rapidly that a

fad can be obsolete in a millisecond.

With this philosophy, Isuzu Philippines

continues to hold at least 10% market share of

the total brand new commercial vehicles sold

nationwide. And INTECO today, with its five

sales showrooms and service and parts facilities

located in Quezon Avenue, EDSA, Pampanga,

Dagupan, and Urdaneta in Pangasinan,

account for 19% of all brand new Isuzu models

and 32% of all brand new Isuzu Trucks sold in

the country.

Generation Marketing

As the industry becomes more and more

competitive, it is inevitable to have more players

at the table especially as the demand increases.

Moreover, technological innovation surface one

after the other and it is important to meet your

competitors head on.

It is Tony Jarina’s belief that “You are your

brand.” People must see how passionate and

satisfied you are with whatever you are selling.

As for INTECO, they marketed their products and

services by way of building lasting relationships

with their customers. When you build

relationships, you also build confidence, and

along with that, you build trust. With trust you

get repeat customers, from where you get loyalty.

SME | 19

SME

Cover Story

wheeler trucks, buses, and tractor heads,” said

Ryan who was exposed to and researched on

the globally more competitive US automotive

industry.

Ryan’s engine specifications and pricing

research, product field work testing, and

countless customer interviews bore much fruit

paving the way for ARK Diversified and Auto

Motors Group T/A Chevrolet Commonwealth.

Sales showroom, service, parts facilities

are currently under construction along

Commonwealth Avenue in Barangay San

Antonio, and completion is scheduled this first

quarter of 2013.

Tony’s first grandson, Ryan Anthony Jarina,

an alumnus of La Salle Greenhills Batch HS’06

and a BA Political Science degree holder from

the University of Las Vegas Nevada (UNLV),

recognizes that the Filipino youth of today is

becoming more enterprising. Ryan observed

that his customers are engaged in business with

much aggressiveness that even in their 20s,

they manage to become giants themselves.

This is driven perhaps by the access they have

to a plethora of information coupled with their

daring, progressive minds, moving them to

think out of the box to provide solutions to the

simplest problem.

Though initial customer contact and interface

have significantly changed from grandfather

Tony Jarina’s days to grandson Ryan’s generation

of high computer literacy and real-time Internetnetworking,

both Tony and Ryan strongly

believe that face-to-face personal attention

is key to relationship building. Despite the

evolution in the laws of supply and demand, as

well as developments in product, pricing and

services, the Jarinas believe that customers are

forever first priority.

Customers, who were satisfied with the vehicle’s

performance and the kind of pampering they

have received, share their experiences and word

about INTECO spreads like wildfire. Feedback

and testimonials would attest to the fact that

INTECO lives up to their promise that to this day,

after 50 years, they have not only withstood

the test of time, but they keep getting better

and better at what they do. This made them the

company that “knows Isuzu best.”

Customer-first Philosophy

Ryan’s conceived philosophy of “Being Part of

the Family that Cares” goes beyond the buyersupplier

relationship. It evolves simply in the

value “caring for our customers.” This ideology

can be seen in every license plate frame of every

satisfied customer.

It has been Ryan’s aim to personalize the

customers’ experience and make them part of

the family. He created an environment where

customers simply feel at home and would

always like to come back. Products and services

are customer focused, and personal attention

is individually given. It is not surprising that

this dealership group won the loyalty of their

customers who have patronized a wide range

of services being offered. The goal is to reach

the level of trust and confidence that when

a product comes from them, customers are

assured of its quality, durability, and service

support. Knowing what the customer wants

makes it possible to tailor everything it does to

please customers.

Dedicated to provide extreme satisfaction,

Ryan saw the need to broaden horizons to

accommodate a fast-changing customer

requirement: “It becomes necessary to offer

our customers the wider product line choices

from passenger cars, pick-up trucks, AUVs, small

SUVs, big SUVs, commercial four wheeler to ten

Thus, from gas powered small cars like

the Spark, Sonic, Aveo, Orlando, Cruze, to

the sporty V6 or V8 Camaro, to small SUV

Captiva, to the legendary AUV 2.5 Diesel

Direct Engine Crosswind, to pick-up trucks

3.0 CRDI DMAX and 2.8 Duramax Colorado,

to midsize SUV Trailblazer to big SUVs 3.0

CRDI Alterra, 5.3 5.2 4x2 Traverse Tahoe and

Suburban, to 3.5ton- 15ton GVW N-series to

F-series commercial vehicle trucks, the dealer

group can now offer it all.

Although INTECO and ARK hold the only Isuzu

and Chevrolet banners in the country, they are

operating independently and each company has

its own sphere of responsibilities.

Challenges to a Family Business

The Jarinas feel blessed to have members of

their family interested not only with the business

per se, but the passion for automotive as well,

so much so that INTECO lived on for three

generations and counting.

There are those family businesses that die a

natural death as the younger generations move

to different fields of profession, or simply lacked

the desire to keep the sails up with the blowing

wind. However, this dealer group has survived

and successfully managed from one generation

to the next. How and why? The Jarinas shared

their secret.

Communication plays a vital role not only

in business but within the family as well.

Sometimes, even parents know very little

about their children. If there is something you

can contribute and you’re confident about it,

it is necessary to step up and share what you

have. Whether or not family members have

reservations on any sort of proposition, it is

something that should be gambled on after

research and discussion. Failure to communicate

SME | 20

the accomplishment of both short- and longterm

objectives.

Core Values

If money is considered the bloodline of the

business, core value is the meat. It makes them

who they are. It sets them apart from the rest.

Their core values drive them to achieve their

goal, and it gives them a sense of purpose.

Businesses especially SMEs require the full

attention and commitment of its owners. The

owner must man it himself. He is expected

to surmount every challenge to keep the

business alive.

INTECO Philippines’ Quezon Avenue headquarters. To date, INTECO has branches in Balintawak,

Pampanga, Dagupan-Pangasinan, and Urdaneta-Pangasinan.

can sometimes lead to petty factions and

disaster that could affect the business as whole.

Though each one has a specific function, it

is expected of them to move beyond their

quarters and lend a hand wherever it is needed.

Much as a family moves together to achieve

a harmonious relationship inside their home,

the same principle follows in business. A family

business is a team, and each one should be

actively involved and know every aspect of it.

In a family business, similar to family life, there

must always be a leeway should anything

go wrong. These mistakes are charged to

experience and added to one’s learning.

Tolerance is stretched to its limit so as to

accommodate these misgivings. In short, admit,

learn, and move on.

A person doing what he does best is expected

to perform at optimum levels simply because

he knows what he is doing. The job must fit

his expertise. Not only will labor be distributed

equally among children, but it eradicates envy

and any form of rivalry. It creates a harmonious

and peaceful relationship amongst kin, and each

one will have an area that he can call his very

own. It’s also a form of damage control as it

prevents human errors and “honest mistakes.”

Last and most importantly, disagreements

do happen, sometimes more often than not.

Nevertheless, the success of a family business

requires family members to have strong degree

of individual respect for and from each other.

This can only be achieved if there is a sincere

and deep appreciation of every family member’s

contribution, hard work, and sacrifice towards

The core values of any business drive

it to its success. Handed down from

Tony to Ray to Ryan is having the deep

sense of purpose and the strong level of

commitment in adhering and fulfilling

responsibilities. Those values earn respect

and loyalty of the employees. Much as

the company introduced the idea of a

“family” in the business, central to it is a

strong regard for all members of the team.

They are the inspiration in preparing the

business to take the competition headon.

Inteco Group of Isuzu Dealerships

and ARK Diversified and Auto Motors

Inc. T/A Chevrolet Commonwealth thrive

on its employee family base. Identifying

the employees’ strengths and weakness

as well as capitalizing on the former, tips

the scale towards the achievement of

goals. The dealer group invests more on

people because these people know how

to reciprocate the love and care they’ve

received. It has been the Jarinas’ practice to

be sympathetic to the needs of all employee

family members. Yes, deficiencies do

happen, and in certain instances cut deep.

But wounds heal in time and the job has to

be done. Again, more than anything else, it

is the loyalty not only of the customers, but

more importantly the employees’ that made

the dealer group where it is at today.

Inteco Group of Isuzu Dealerships

Isuzu Quezon Avenue (02)926-7481, (02)920-3115

Isuzu EDSA (02)363-3180, (02)364-8762

Isuzu Pampanga (045)961-7880, (045) 860-1210

Isuzu Dagupan (045)522-0358, (045)515-4299

Isuzu Urdaneta (075)656-2891, (045)568-4861

Chevrolet Commonwealth

(02)709-7340, (02)925-4211

Visit us at our websites:

www.intecophil.com

www.chevroletcommonwealth.com

PHOTOS BY DAKILA ANGELES | GROOMING BY Chuchie Ledesma

SME | 21

SME

Feature

A story built on strong grounds:

Davao Rock

By Therese Gutierrez

Development site of Playa Azalea, a high-end residential resort subdivision located at IGACOS

(Island Garden City of Samal), Davao del Norte.

Rock (n). a stone of any size.

For Alejandro Adaptar however, it

meant something much more. It meant

something solid, unwavering, unmoving.

When he was younger, this Civil

Engineering graduate from the

University of Mindanao dreamed of

owning a company of his own. As he

dealt with suppliers in his line of work as

project engineer of various construction

companies, a business name with the

word “rock” caught his attention. “It

just struck me,” he said. “A rock is

something hard and solid. It symbolizes

a strong foundation.” That, he said, was

the philosophy he intended to start his

business with—to build the company on

rock-solid ground.

With the strong desire to strike out

on his own, he put up Davao Rock in

1988. “I knew that the training and

exposure from the various projects

that I handled would prove to be

valuable.” And it was. The Davao

Rock office—an imposing threestorey

building in Obrero, Davao

started in a rented six-by-six meter

area with one table and two chairs

and one telephone line. Mr. Adaptar

smiles as he recalls his humble

beginnings. “My wife and I built

the business through dedication,

determination and hard work.”

The journey he said, was not a walk in

SME | 22

Davao Rock headquarters located at No. 27 Lacson Street, Bo. Obrero, Davao City less than 1 kilometer from Abreeza-Ayala Mall at JP Laurel

Avenue, Davao City.

the park. “I woke up each day with a

goal, and throughout the day, it was

non-stop work,” he shares. It became

a routine for Mr. Adaptar to plan

for the next day’s activities. His wife,

Grace, a graduate of BS in Commerce

from the Ateneo de Davao, also had

her share of sacrifice to bear. “From

the very small capital we invested, we

had to make ways for the money to

roll,” she recalls. The husband and wife

team momentarily forgot their wants

and denied themselves of material

happiness. They were in it for the long

haul. “We aimed for lifetime success,”

they promised.

Alejandro’s “training” in his mother’s

sari-sari store helped, serving as

his grounding for doing business.

But success, he says, was built on

hard work and the providence of

God. Admittedly a risk taker, this

entrepreneur manages about one

hundred workers and a handful of

project employees and lives by the

management philosophy of “teaching

people how to catch fish.”

Riding his off-road vehicle and making

his way through uneven terrain to

check on his various project sites is all

part of a day’s work. With thick mud

on his shoes, Mr. Adaptar surveys the

landscape and smiles. His latest project

is the upscale La Luz off the coast of

Davao, in pristine Samal Island. The

project, he said, will be ready sometime

next year, with most of the lots already

bought.

With almost childlike wonder, he

stands atop a hill overlooking the bay

and shakes his head. He still could

not believe that he actually got this

far. “When we started Davao Rock,

I recalled my connections in various

government agencies. I started with

“The journey, he said, was not

a walk in the park. “I woke

up each day with a goal, and

throughout the day, it was nonstop

work,” he shares.”

supplying concrete hollow blocks,

sand, gravel and labor contracts.” He

tried to build a name for Davao Rock.

“I wanted people to know that they

can trust our company.” He and his

wife would often go over newspapers

looking for announcement bids from

government agencies. With the bidding

procedure, he said, everyone gets a

fair chance. Soon, private companies

started to call Davao Rock for various

projects. “Over the years, the company

SME | 23

SME

Feature

Mr. Adaptar with the Davao Rock team

Mr. Adaptar and wife Grace with their children (from right) Annaleen, Angeleen, Aileen

and husband Ernesto

acquired and continues to acquire

equipment to improve our capabilities,”

he shares.

Of course, behind his success is his

“rock.” “Ever since Davao Rock

started, it has always been the two of

us who manage the business,” says

Mr. Adaptar of his wife, Grace, who

handles the Accounting while Mr.

Adaptar does Marketing and Project

Management. “We started the business

together with our meager savings—

with everything that we both have.”

Alejandro is proud that his wife is very

supportive in every financial decision he

makes for the business.

Mr. and Mrs. Adaptar have also found

a good partner with Plantersbank.

“Plantersbank is very supportive of

all the projects we joined. The bank

provides them and their company with

valuable financial assistance, especially

when they have big contracts.

“Plantersbank is my business partner all

throughout the years.”

At the end of each day, this “family

man,” as he is fondly called by

colleagues in the industry, knows how

to bond with his family. “I never miss

a family birthday!” he quips. Sundays,

he adds, are allotted for his family.

“No matter how busy I am, I make

sure I have a day for my wife and three

daughters.” The proud daddy says his

daughters call him their “idol.” He

adds, “Maybe they are inspired by my

life—from what I have been through

and who I am now.”

Ten years from now, he foresees

Davao Rock as a thriving family

company, with him as the

consultant. “We will be a big

time contractor and a real estate

developer.” With his determination,

faith and focus, his company is on

his way to more success.

“We started the business

together with our meager

savings—with everything that

we both have.” Alejandro

is proud that his wife is very

supportive in every financial

decision he makes for

the business.”

“We have each other,” he says,

smiling as he looks over to his wife.

Their “rock” is more than a business

philosophy—it is the partnership

that they have, the family they have

nurtured and the business they started

to together. They are each other’s

cornerstone and anchor – their rock

that keeps each other grounded. Solid,

unwavering, unmoving.

Davao Rock is located at No. 27 Lacson

Street, Bo. Obrero, Davao City. They can

be reached through (+6382) 227-5187 or

through davaorock@yahoo.com.

SME | 24

SME

Feature

Ruben Tena: Living His Dream

By Reynard Ong

Ruben Tena of RFT Enterprises proves that one can never be too old to attain one’s ultimate dream.

Many aspiring business owners can be caught

up in thoughts of their “what could be’s”

and “what could have beens”. The trouble is,

more often than not, dreams remain figments

of imagination unless, of course, they do

something about it. Case in point: Ruben

Tena of RFT Enterprises.

Ruben actually grew up in an environment

far different from any business setting. He

came from a family that embraced a life of

simplicity. His father served at the provincial

capitol of Camarines Sur as a cashier while

his mother was a regular housewife. Even

then, he dreamed of only two things:

pursuing law or venturing into business.

Seeing that the idea of him becoming a

lawyer is far-fetched, he resolved to take

the other path.

After earning his undergraduate degree in

1966, Ruben applied in San Miguel but was

refused the position. He taught English and

Physical Education subjects for a while at

the Ateneo de Naga University, until he met

his lady luck under the guise of Becky, his

future wife.

It so happened that Becky’s father held a

position at the San Miguel Corporation,

and he did the roster of witnesses in their

wedding. Thus, a year after, in 1977, he

reapplied in San Miguel, whereupon he

qualified for the position he was aiming

for. He started his career in Naga but was

reassigned thereafter in Masbate Bislig,

Surigao then in Camiguin. Two years later,

he was promoted to supervisor and was

transferred to Northern Mindanao, Cagayan

de Oro where he served for next 23 years.

Business ventures

Ruben was earning handsomely in San Miguel

but he definitely wanted more. He tested the

waters and engaged in several businesses.

He tried going into food and beverage - the

Tabing Dagat Restaurant, which he later gave

up as he had trouble wearing different hats at

the same time and the stress wrought by the

restaurant business was unbearable. Together

with a partner, he also tried to put up a

SME | 25

SME

Feature

Monterey Piggery somewhere in Bukidnon

which, likewise, did not flourish because

of water problems. His wife couldn’t help

but ask him why he kept on investing in

businesses that were not even an inch

close to his expertise. To that he answered,

“kasi gusto kong kumita agad.”

In spite of his failed attempts, he never ran

low on cash. Before he went into battle, he

made sure that he had sufficient rounds of

ammunition. When Ruben and Becky were

still starting out in life, they agreed to set

goals for themselves. “I told Becky that in

five years’ time, we should have a house. I

was able to obtain a loan from San Miguel,

so natapos. Nakapagawa kami ng bahay.

In the next five years, we should complete

the house, we should have a car, and

everything... Now comes ten years. Ngayon,

meron ka nang bahay, meron ka nang

sasakyan, kumpleto ka na, sabi ko ano pa’ng

kulang? WE SHOULD SAVE.”

Mr. Tena was hands-on with the dealership and knew the ins and outs of his business until he

underwent a heart bypass operation in 2006.

He gave his wife a target monthly budget to

hit a certain amount by the end of every year.

This they did and they had a good start. They

may not have reached the target amount but,

as Ruben recounts, “At least meron siyang

na-save at ang mahalaga she learned the art

of saving, because if she wasn’t determined

enough, she would not have been able to

save what she had. Kaya nung mga sumunod

na taon meron ng irony. Dahil marunong na

siya, ayaw naman niya ako bigyan!”

Because they were efficient in managing their

household cash flow, they had enough capital

to put up their businesses. They were very

liquid that they did not even feel the need to

borrow.

“I was very ambitious then but was noticed

late in my career. I was 55 when I decided

to retire... ayoko na... pagod na ako...”

His manager suggested that if he wishes

to retire, he should consider an alternate

source of income. He was offered the

remaining area for dealership at the very

heart of Cagayan de Oro (CDO). This he

saw fit since he was adept in this field and

his family was based in CDO as well. He

knew deep down that the grand dream he

so longed for was not very far from reach.

With sufficient resources, ample knowledge

and unwavering enthusiasm, he gave it

another try.

It helped that Ruben knew the nitty-gritty,

nooks, cracks and crannies of the business

by heart. “Ako ang sales supervisor ng mga

dealer noon so alam na alam ko kung anong

klaseng negosyo ito. Alam na alam ko dahil

ikaw ang may control sa business,” says

Ruben. “When I was still in San Miguel, ako

ang nag-aadvice sa mga dealer... I am learning

from their mistakes.”

He used his retirement benefit as collateral

to close his first deal. “In San Miguel, when

you enter this business, you are supposed to

be collateralized and then they will hand you

the stocks on credit... as of now, we have

real estate, dollar accounts, and the Letter

of Credit we obtained from Plantersbank,

all on collateral,” explains Ruben. Even as a

cash dealer, he is still required to collateralize

an asset, but this time, since he pays in cash,

the value was tremendously reduced to more

than half the original amount. Ruben explains,

“Bilang cash dealer, hindi na ako umuutang

sa kanila. Binibigay ko na ang cash sa kanila.”

It was also a big help that the people in

Plantersbank Cagayan de Oro were so

efficient in assisting us and ensured the fast

processing of our LCs. In fact, even the

Finance Group of Northern Mindanao were

impressed at the speed by which our LCs

were processed,” adds Ruben.

Increases in collateral is defined by the

inflation of spirits and alcohol. So as the price

of beer shoots up so does the value to be

collateralized. The trend of price increases has

SME | 26

delegated the tasks to a select few whom

he trusted. His wife Becky was in charge of

matters involving cash flow and accounting,

his brother-in-law was in charge of sales,

while the overall of operations was manned

by a colleague from San Miguel. But the

general manager and all the other people

involved can only do so much as ultimately,

the decision and final say is still his. “They

cannot go about with any decision without

my knowledge.”

When RFT Enterprises was first established, they manage to deliver around 15,000 cases of

San Miguel productsper month.

been seen to happen every two years. Price

inflation has become even more troubling

for the business, especially with the recently

passed sin tax law in tow. Though it has not

yet been implemented, companies like San

Miguel have already anticipated the additional

taxes and had made the necessary price

adjustments.

Getting started

The role of a dealer is to ascertain that the

goods are distributed to the outlets in an

efficient and systematic fashion. It is his

responsibility to meet the sales quota as

dictated by San Miguel. As to how it will be

achieved is at the dealer’s discretion. He is

expected to make customer satisfaction his

top priority as measured by promptness in

delivery, proper penetration, sufficient supply

of goods and the leeway given to earn.

He started with three routes. Each route

comprises of a salesman, a driver, and a

helper. Each month, he manages to dispose

an average of 15,000 cases which swelled to

50,000 cases per month, consequently adding

more routes in a matter of 10 years. They had

no trouble with their inventory even if beer

was perishable as his stocks last for only two

months at the most. Meeting the quota has

never been a problem to them. In fact they

are very determined to achieve this since they

get bonuses and commissions for hitting or

exceeding the target. In excess of the quota,

they get get an additional cash incentive on

top of the operational expense allowance for

every case. He catered to almost everyone,

from wholesalers down to the smallest retailer,

but he opted to concentrate on the small

players instead. He explains that while channels

like wholesalers buy in bulk, they generate

less profit from them since they are entitled to

larger discount privileges, especially when they

pay in cash. The sari-sari stores on the other

hand, since they buy in small volumes, have

little or no access to these special discounts.

Ruben was really hands-on with the business

up until 2006 when he underwent a triple

heart bypass operation. Since the business

is stressful, the doctor advised him to forget

the business but it is not easy to do it.

Heading the doctor’s advice, he had other

people to manage the business for him. He

Asked if he had any plans of expanding or

growing the business in the coming years, he

said that there is none. In fact he does not

have control over it since dealership areas

are determined by no less than the company

itself, San Miguel. Secondly, he feels that

his health is already failing him and adding

more stress might not exactly be helpful. The

closest option would be to establish another

business, but he thinks this to be unnecessary

since his business is doing rather well. In fact,

the business was doing so well that other

employees of San Miguel followed suit.

Though many chose to follow his footsteps

and became dealers themselves, there

was really no competition since everyone

is assigned their own area to handle and

they cannot, in any way, go beyond their

boundaries and encroach on other areas.

A word of advice

Ruben says that if there is one lesson

he could impart, it is the importance of

saving. He regaled us with the story of his

first encounter when he asked his father

for a birthday treat. “Sabi ko, birthday ko

po pwede po ba ako makahingi ng pang

birthday? Sabi ng tatay ko, diba binibigyan

kita ng weekly budget? Bakit hindi ka

nag-ipon kung alam mong meron kang

pagkakagastusan... Nanghina ako pero

hindi ako nagalit.” He saw the wisdom

behind it and took it to heart. From then

on, he began saving and preaches the same

lesson to this very day. After all, he wouldn’t

have made it this far if he had not first few

seeds he gathered and planted.

RFT Enterprises is located at Hayes

Street, Pinikitan, Barangay 36, Cagayan

De Oro City, Misamis Oriental. They can

be reached through (+6388) 858-3466.

PHOTOS BY MIKE SIA

SME | 27

SME

Save Mother

Earth

Love Thy Earth


If you’re the type to give gifts to your

loved ones even when there’s no special

occasion, it’s best if your gifts speak of

something that you’re truly passionate

about, something that the receiver will not

only remember you by but is representative

of your advocacy, too.

Of course you won’t want to appear like

you’re imposing and pushy, right? No

worries. These days, there are a lot of stores

offering functional (not to mention pretty)

items that will surely please even your most

discerning family members and friends. But

the best places to look nowadays are those

that sell eco-friendly products. Let’s face it:

Leading the “green” lifestyle is probably the

easiest yet most pressing lifestyle change that

one can undoubtedly adhere to.

Here are two local eco-friendly stores that sell

items that love you and the Earth back, too.

Human Nature

One of the most popular and wellreceived

earth-friendly shops in the

country, Human Nature is the brainchild

of Gawad Kalinga volunteers Anna

Meloto-Wilk, Dylan Wilk, and Camille

Meloto.

Anna’s penchant for using “green”

products started with her first child when

she and British husband Dylan decided

to use cloth diapers upon learning that

disposable ones contain toxic chemicals

and take around 500 years to decompose.

The Wilks then observed a need for

“natural” and “ethically-acquired”

products in the market and decided to

collaborate with a “natural formulator” in

creating Human Nature’s first product line.

Camille, meanwhile, a freelance make-up

artist then felt the desire to contribute to

the country and teamed up with her sister.

She joined Anna in the US and researched

throughly on organic products and how

to bring them to the Philippines. They

launched their flagship store in the country

three years ago and is now making lots of

Filipinos here and abroad happy.

Human Nature is foremost known for

their range of organic hair and skin

products, but they also a range of home

care items such as bottles of dishwashing

liquid as well as a line of protective care

products like sanitizers, bug sprays, and

bug shields in sweet-smelling scents.

They also showcase proudly Filipino-made

crafts and items such as notebooks, pens,

herbal pillows, and ground Sulu coffee to

name a few.

http://www.echostore.ph/index.php/products/

http://humanheartnature.com/buy/index.php/body-care.html

ECHOstore

A concept shop in Bonifacio Global

City, Taguig City, ECHOstore also sells

fair trade and green products “to help

drive livelihood to the marginalized”

while helping the planet out. This, the

shop does by embracing their so-called

four P’s: people, planet, profit, and

pneuma (spirit that gives passion to

continue a mission-led business). ECHO

stands for environment, community,

hope, and organization. Just like

Human Nature, ECHOstore sells

various body care, home care, and

goodies all produced organically. The

shop also serves as avenue for Filipino

entrepreneurs, designers, and artisans

to sell their items.

SME | 28

SME

Lifestyle

Live the right life!


Most of the time, we forget that the key

to success and fulfilment lies within us,

that the power to reach our ultimate

dreams and life goals lie not on the

people who surround us—our bosses,

colleagues, friends—but on us. It’s quite

difficult to grasp that, though. A majority

of Filipinos are just naturally keen on still

attributing their triumphs by either sheer

luck or quick and impulsive decisions

gone right.

However, with the right kind of attitude

and mindset, we can forego that accepted

wisdom and start realizing happiness and

excellence are a direct result of our hard

work, commitment, and passion to be

the best. Thankfully, there are tools to do

just that. One example is to attend lifeenriching

seminars and training programs.

These sessions promise to harness the

inner and highest potential of attendees

toward achievement and self-importance.

One such organization that enables

Filipinos to live the lives they most deserve

is Unleash International. Established in

1994, Unleash International (formerly

Shepherd Philippines Corporation),

has been conducting and facilitating

licensed programs for various industries

in the country. Their programs tackle

“leadership, productivity, customer

services, team excellence, higher work

standards, work values, strategic

directions” and hope to properly

motivate Filipinos to excel not just in their

respective careers and in their personal

endeavours as well.

For those dedicated on becoming

successful entrepreneurs, on the other

hand, BusinessCoach, Inc. is duly

organized corporation that can provide

Filipinos the right skills to be enterprising

and achieve entrepreneurial success.

Founded in 2008, BusinessCoach,

Inc. gathers a reputable selection of

experts and speakers from all fields,

trades, and professions. Its vision is to

provide valuable business and strategic

programs that are “applicable, timely,

and significant” for the betterment of

managers’ and entrepreneurs’ lives.

Here is a roundup of some programs you

may want to attend:

• Unleash the Highest Potential of

Your Life – A three- to four-day licensed

seminar and workshop that will help you

to be the best that you can be with the

right amount of passion, dedication, and

energy.

• Unleash the Highest Potential

of Your Money – A one- to two-day

licensed seminar and workshop that will

help you manage your money, cut down

unnecessary expenses, and learn different

factors affecting your financial situation.

• Unleash the Highest Potential of Your

Team – A three-day licensed seminar and

workshop that will help managers and

supervisors to understand what it means

to be an effective leader, to tap the highest

potential of team members, and to be able

to accomplish tasks efficiently.

(Source: http://www.unleashinternational.

com/services.php)

SME | 29

SME

Worth Reading

Of startups and survivals

Keep your businesses afloat with these fine reads.


Lean Startup (Hardcover)

Eric Ries

Php 1,040.00

Most new businesses just don’t

have what it takes to survive the

fierce competition in the market.

Most of the time, they fail to adapt

to changes and to the needs of

their clientele so they inevitably

close shop. Change your business’

fate by grabbing Eric Ries’ The

Lean Startup. A book which triumphs the “lean startup”

approach, it teaches entrepreneurs to start and sustain their

own businesses amidst “conditions of extreme uncertainty”.

It’s now a method that is being adopted across the globe,

transforming the way companies are built and new products

are launched.

The book also dishes out insights from lean manufacturing,

which is heavily dependent on “validated learning”, “rapid

scientific experimentation”, and “counter-intuitive practices

that shorten product development cycles.” Said methods,

according to Ries, are effective in learning what customers

really want. The “lean startup,” when adopted by a company,

enables it to shift directions, alter business plans, and innovate

visions with agility.

Trump Never Give Up:

How I Turned My Biggest

Challenges Into Success

(Hardcover)

Donald Trump

Php 898.00

In this book, Donald Trump, one of

the most successful and influential

entrepreneurs of our time, tells the

most dramatic stories of his biggest

challenges, lowest moments, and

worst mistakes and how he changed

his fate’s course by turning defeat into victory. Each chapter

captures an inspirational and aspirational story from Trump’s

career and ends with expert opinion and coaching from adversity

researcher and author Paul Stoltz. A thought-provoking read,

Never Give Up is the perfect book to help you manage and

overcome life’s challenges and personal weaknesses.

Onward: How Starbucks

Fought For Its Life Without

Losing Its Soul (Paperback)

Howard Schultz

Php 765.00

A New York Times bestseller, Onward

relates the story and leadership

lessons behind the comeback

of global coffee phenomenon

Starbucks. Written by Starbucks CEO

Howard Schultz, the book is an insightful read about how

Starbucks survived one of the most tumultuous economic

periods in American history, achieving profitability and

sustainability without sacrificing humanity.

Bounce: The Art of Turning

Tough Times Into Triumph

(Hardcover)

Keith McFarland

Php 882.00

Bouncing back from a failure

seems hard enough as it is. If that’s

the case, what about companies

that use difficulty to bounce

back stronger than before? Keith

McFarland’s Bounce offers fresh

and unconventional ways to use

adversities to make yourself and your company better and

tougher. It rejects traditional, heard-it-before pieces of

advice and draws in inspiration from the work of M.I.T. social

scientist Ed Schein, the film Saving Private Ryan, as well as his

own experiences as a CEO in leading companies as a clever

and practical approach in resolving conflicts and defeating

obstacles. What’s good about it is that each key idea

presented in the book can also be applied to your personal

life as well.

ALL BOOKS AVAILABLE AT FULLYBOOKED.

SME | 30

SME

Tax Calendar

MARCH DEADLINES

1 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING

• 1604E - Annual information return of creditable income taxes withheld/

income payments exempt from withholding tax for CY 2012

e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT

• 1702Q - Quarterly ITR for CQ ended December 2012

SUBMISSION

• Engagement letters and renewals or subsequent agreements for financial

audit by independent CPAs for FY beginning May 1, 2013

2 Saturday – LAST DAY OF e-SUBMISSION

• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT-registered taxpayers (all eFPS

groups) for TQ ended January 2013

SUBMISSION

• Inventory list for FY ended January 2013

• PEZA - ITR filed with the BIR on February 15, 2013 by PEZA-registered

enterprises for FY ended October 2012

REGISTRATION

• Computerized books of accounts and other accounting records in CD-R,

DVD-R or other optical media, and affidavit on the post-reporting

requirements for CAS for FY ended January 2013

5 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT

• 2000 - DST for February 2013

SUBMISSION

• Summary report of certifications issued by the

President of NHMFC (RA 7279) for February 2013

8 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-SUBMISSION

• eSales report by taxpayers using CRM/POS and other sales machine with

TIN ending in an even number for February 2013

SUBMISSION

• Transcript sheets of ORB for distilled spirits, wines, fermented liquor,

tobacco products, oil, automobiles, and cigarette paper for February

2013

10 Sunday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT/

REMITTANCE

• 1600 - Withholding VAT/PT for February 2013

• 1606 - Withholding on transfer of real property other than capital assets

for February 2013

FILING and REMITTANCE

• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,

EWT and FWT for February 2013 (non-eFPS taxpayers)

e-SUBMISSION


TIN ending in an odd number for February 2013

SUBMISSION

• Transcript sheets of ORB for mineral products for February 2013

• A sugar cooperative’s list of buyers of sugar for February 2013, together

with a copy of certificate of advance payment of VAT made by each

buyer appearing on the list

• Information return on releases of refined sugar by the proprietor or

operator of a sugar refinery or mill for February 2013

DISTRIBUTION

• 2306 - Certificate of VAT/PT withheld for February 2013

• 2307 - Certificate of creditable PT withheld for February 2013

REMITTANCE

• PhilHealth - ME-5 contributions for February 2013

• SSS - R-5 contributions for February 2013 of employees with SSS

identification numbers ending in 1 or 2

11 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING


EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group E)

12 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING


EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group D )

13 Wednesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING


EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group C )

14 Thursday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING


EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group B)

REMITTANCE

• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters

A to D for February 2013

15 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING


EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group A) e-PAYMENT


EWT and FWT for February 2013 (all eFPS groups)


• 1702 and 1702-AIF – Annual ITR and AIF for corporations and

partnerships for FY ended

November 2012

• 1704 - IAET for FY ended February 2012

FILING and PAYMENT

• 1707A - Consolidated CGT return for shares not traded in the stock

exchange for FY ended November 2012

REGISTRATION

• Bound computer-generated/loose-leaf books of accounts and other

accounting records for FY ended February 2013

e-SUBMISSION

• Summary list of machines (CRM-POS) sold by machine distributors/

dealers/vendors/suppliers for TQ ended February 2013

FILING

• SEC - AFS for FY ended November 2012 by corporations whose securities

are registered under RSA or SRC

SUBMISSION

• PhilHealth - RF-1 remittance report for February 2013REMITTANCE

• SSS - R-5 contributions for February 2013 of employers with SSS


17 Sunday – LAST DAY OF SUBMISSION

• PEZA - AFS filed with the BIR on February 15, 2013 by PEZA-registered

enterprises for FY ended October 2012

19 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF REMITTANCE


E to L for February 2013

20 Wednesday – LAST DAY OF FILING and PAYMENT

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (noneFPS taxpayers)


• 2551Q - PT for TQ ended February 2013

DISTRIBUTION

• 2307 - Certificate of EWT for TQ ended February 2013

REMITTANCE




• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (Group E)


• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (Group D)

23 Saturday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (Group C)

24 Sunday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (Group B)

REMITTANCE


M to Q for February 2013


• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (Group A)


• 2550Q - VAT for TQ ended February 2013

e-PAYMENT

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (all eFPS groups)

SUBMISSION

• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT-registered taxpayers (noneFPS

taxpayers) for TQ ended February 2013

• Sworn statement of manufacturers or importers on the volume of sales

per brand of alcohol and tobacco products for December 2011 to

February 2013

REMITTANCE



29 Friday – LAST DAY OFSUBMISSION

• BOI - Transcript sheets of ORB by qualified jewelry

enterprises for FY ended February 2013

30 Saturday – LAST DAY OF FILING

• SEC - AFS for FY ended November 2012 by corporations whose securities

are not registered under RSA or SRC

SUBMISSION

• Inventory list for FY ended February 2013

• PEZA - ITR filed with the BIR on March 15, 2013 by PEZA-registered

enterprises for FY ended November 2012

e-SUBMISSION

• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT- registered taxpayers (all eFPS

groups) for TQ ended February 2013

REGISTRATION

• Computerized books of accounts and other accounting records in CD-R,

DVD-R or other optical media, and affidavit on the post-reporting

requirements for CAS for the FY ended February 2013

31 Sunday – LAST DAY OFREGISTRATION

• Manual books of accounts and other accounting records if using new

books for FY beginning April 1, 2013

PAYMENT

• LGU - Payment of real property tax in full or first installment for 2013

REMITTANCE




R to Z for February 2013

APRIL DEADLINES

1 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT

• 1702Q - Quarterly ITR for TQ ended January 2013

2 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF SUBMISSION

• Engagement letters and renewals or subsequent agreements for financial

audit by independent CPAs for FY beginning June 1, 2013

5 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT

• 2000 - DST for March 2013

SUBMISSION

• Summary report of certifications issued by the

President of NHMFC (RA 7279) for March 2013

8 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-SUBMISSION


TIN ending in an even number for March 2013

SUBMISSION

• Transcript sheets of ORB for distilled spirits, wines, fermented liquor,

tobacco products, oil, automobiles and cigarette paper for March

2013

10 Wednesday – LAST DAY OFe-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT/

REMITTANCE

• 1600 - Withholding VAT/PT for March 2013

FILING and REMITTANCE


EWT and FWT for March 2013 (non-eFPS taxpayers)

• 1603 - FBT for CQ ended March 2013 (non-eFPS taxpayers)

• 1606 - Withholding on transfer of real property other than capital assets

for March 2013

e-SUBMISSION


TIN ending in an odd number for March 2013

SUBMISSION

• Transcript sheets of ORB for mineral products for March 2013

• A sugar cooperative’s list of buyers of sugar for March 2013, together

with a copy of certificate of advance payment of VAT made by each

buyer appearing on the list

• Information return on releases of refined sugar by the proprietor or

operator of a sugar refinery or mill for March 2013

DISTRIBUTION

• 2306 - Certificate of VAT/PT withheld for March 2013

• 2307 - Certificate of creditable PT withheld for March 2013

REMITTANCE

• PhilHealth - ME-5 contributions for March 2013

• SSS - R-5 contributions for March 2013 of employers with SSS




EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group E)



EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group D)

13 Saturday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING


EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group C)



EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group B)

REMITTANCE


A to D for March 2013



EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group A)

e-PAYMENT


EWT and FWT for March 2013 (all eFPS groups)

e-FILING and e-PAYMENT/REMITTANCE

• 1603 - FBT for CQ ended March 2013 (all eFPS groups)


• 1700 - Annual ITR by individuals not qualified for substituted filing and

marginal income earners for CY 2012

• 1701 and 1701-AIF – Annual ITR and AIF of self-employed individuals,

estates and trusts for CY 2012

• 1701Q - ITR for self-employed individuals, estates and trusts for CQ

March 2013

• 1702 and 1702-AIF – Annual ITR and AIF by corporations and

partnerships for CY 2012

• 1704 - IAET for FY ended March 2012

• 2200M - Excise tax for mineral products for CQ ended March 2013

FILING and PAYMENT

• 1707A - Consolidated CGT return for shares not traded in the stock

exchange for CY 2012

REGISTRATION

• Bound computer-generated/loose-leaf books of accounts and other

accounting records for FY ended March 2013

e-SUBMISSION

• Summary list of machines (CRM-POS) sold by machine distributors/

dealers/vendors/suppliers for TQ ended March 2013

SUBMISSION

• List of medical practitioners of hospitals and clinics for CQ ended March

2013

• List of OFW remittances by local banks and non-bank money transfer

agents for the fourth quarter of 2012

• PhilHealth - RF-1 remittance report for March 2013

• PEZA - AFS filed with the BIR on March 15, 2012 by PEZA-registered

enterprises for FY ended November 2012

REMITTANCE



19 Friday – LAST DAY OF FILING

• SEC - AFS for FY ended December 2012 by corporations whose SEC

registration numbers end in 1 or 2

REMITTANCE


E to L for March 2013

20 Saturday – LAST DAY OF FILING and PAYMENT

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (non-eFPS taxpayers)


• 2551Q - PT for TQ ended March 2013

SUBMISSION

• List of OFW remittances by local banks and non-bank money transfer

agents for the first quarter of 2012

DISTRIBUTION

• 2307 - Certificate of EWT for CQ ended March 2013

PAYMENT

• LGU - LBT second installment for CY 2013

REMITTANCE




• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (Group E)


• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (Group D)

23 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (Group C)

24 Wednesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (Group B)

REMITTANCE


M to Q for March 2013


• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (Group A)

e-PAYMENT

• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (all eFPS groups)


• 2550Q - VAT for TQ ended March 2013

SUBMISSION

• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT-registered taxpayers (non-eFPS

taxpayers) for TQ ended March 2013

• Sworn statement of manufacturers or importers on the volume of sales

per brand of alcohol and tobacco products for January to March 2013

REMITTANCE



26 Friday – LAST DAY OF FILING

• SEC - AFS for FY ended December 2012 by corporations whose SEC

registration numbers end in 3 or 4

29 Monday – LAST DAY OF


• 1702Q - Quarterly ITR for TQ ended February 2013

30 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF REGISTRATION

• Computerized books of accounts and other accounting records

in CD-R, DVD-R or other optical media, and affidavit on the

post-reporting requirements for CAS for FY ended March

2013

• Manual books of accounts and other accounting records if using new

books for FY beginning May 1, 2013

e-SUBMISSION

• Summary lists of sales/purchases by VAT-registered taxpayers (all eFPS

groups) for TQ ended March 2013

SUBMISSION

• Inventory list for FY ended March 2013

• BOI - Transcript sheets of ORB by qualified jewelry enterprises for FY

ended March 2013

• PEZA - ITR filed with the BIR on April 15, 2013 by PEZA-registered

enterprises for FY ended December 2012

REMITTANCE




R to Z for March 2013

SME | 31

SME

Billboard

Anti-Corruption Training Video for SMEs Now Available On-Line

The video consists of lectures and scenarios, interspersed

with multiple-choice quizzes. Among the topics it covers

are: Understanding Corruption, The Business Case Against

Corruption, Implementing an Effective Anti-Corruption

Program, Individual Measures for Avoiding Corruption

Situations, and Collective Action.

An anti-corruption training video for SMEs is now available

online: www.businessesfightingcorruption.org. This

e-learning tool provides SME owners and employees with

a basic understanding of corruption, its causes, and its

consequences. It also offers practical guidance on avoiding

corruption and how to respond in potential corruption

situations.

www.businessesfightingcorruption.org

The running time of the video is 39 minutes. At the end of

the video, there is a final test consisting of 10 multiple-choice

questions. The test will be graded instantaneously upon

completion, with 80 percent as the passing score.

The online training video is free, but registration is required. It

includes a feature that will provide companies that register with

a company-specific administrator page. Through this page, the

company will be able to monitor which of their employees have

taken the training course and their test results. The company

administrator page will display up to the latest five scores of an

employee.

The training video is also available in DVD format. It is being

offered at the subsidized price of 150 pesos, including delivery

charges within the Philippines. To order a DVD, please e-mail

rvrcvstarrcenter@aim.edu or call the Hills Program at (02) 892-

4011, ext. 248 or 2016.

The training video was produced by the Hills Program on

Governance at the Asian Institute of Management, with

sponsorship from the Center for International Private Enterprise

in Washington, D.C.

Design Week Philippines

March 11-17, 2013

SMX Convention Center,

Pasay City

A one-week celebration of creativity and

design, Design Week Philippines aims

to promote the design and aesthetic

capabilities of Filipino entrepreneurs as

well as showcase the country as one

of the leading knowledge centers in

design and tourism destinations in art,

culture, and heritage the world over.

The trade show also aims to tell Filipinos

the importance of design and artistic

innovation in a particular business

or endeavor and how it can actually

generate revenue, too.

This show gathers food

manufacturers, traders, retailers,

agents, distributors, NGOs,

cooperatives, institutional suppliers,

allied businesses, support businesses,

and government agencies.

Worldbex

March 13-17, 2013

World Trade Center,

Pasay City

One of the most anticipated trade shows

in the country, the Worldbex brings

more than 800 exhibiting companies

from the construction sector. It features

different varieties of building materials,

electrical engineering tools, IT and

telecom equipment, interior design

themes, real estate services, and home

renovation systems. It also offers

informative seminar sessions facilitated

by local and foreign industry speakers.

Manila International

Auto Show

April 4-7, 2013

World Trade Center, Pasay City

An annual venue for potential car

buyers and car enthusiasts, the Manila

International Auto Show exhibits the

latest models and significant concepts

from premiere auto makers in the

country. With the theme of “Crossing

Boundaries,” the show aims to forge

industry cooperation and provide

stimulus to create demand in the

automotive industry.

Manila FAME

March 14-17, 2013

SMX Convention Center

An awaited exhibition in the country,

Manila FAME gathers all topnotch

Philippine-made products that have

high aesthetic values and sensibilities—

those who can be celebrated here and

abroad. Partnering with Manila Now,

Cebunext, and Bijoux Cebu, Manila

FAME provides a one-stop shop for

visitors who want to purchase highquality

furniture, home furnishings,

gifts, and fashion items.

SME | 32

SME | 33

Businesses That Last - Planters Development Bank

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