From DH to super entrepreneur

“WE MUST overcome the notion that we must be regular…it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre.” Uta Hagen EVERYONE has the right to decide who they want to be and how they want to be. If your life is working the way you want, congratulations, you are doing a lot of things right. But if its not, consider asking yourself this: Am I aiming too low? Am I willing to be satisfied with what is happening in my life? Whichever way you’re feeling, you do know what to do.

Fraud in family businesses

“We learned about honesty and integrity - that the truth matters... that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules... and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square.” -- Michelle Obama

TRUST is inherent in business. But that trust which is so necessary to the operation of a business is also the impetus for thieves to profit.

Sto. Niño Festivals: A cultural showcase?

I HAVE always been fascinated with festivals all over the world that highlight culture and religion so I have decided to write a column today that traces the history and origins of the country's Sto. Niño festivals and absolute reverence of devotees to the Holy Child Jesus.

Soriano: Barangay Micro Business Enterprises Act of 2002

"LET us work in partnerships between rich and poor to improve the opportunities of all human beings to build better lives." -- Kofi Annan

Soriano: Aligning values or firing a successor

IN SOME ways, consulting can sound like one of the easiest businesses to start. You presumably already have the expertise and the industry contacts… all you have to do is line up some gigs, right?

There’s some truth to that but, of course, it’s never that easy.

Overcoming the dilemma over business succession

MANAGING a family business eventually leads to a point where succession will become an issue.

Seeing a company built from scratch to something that is of great stature is any businessperson's dream come true. However, reality comes when change is needed and leadership has to be placed to the rightful and deserving individual/s. To be at the top requires a protégé. The question is... when a dilemma over which to select as the company's successor/s is present, how does the big boss come across?

The appeal of family brands

“THE family company is an inheritance to be protected and handed in the outcome of the last generation and each generation’s commitment to the next.” Gianni Agnelli, late President of Fiat (founded 1899) Can family business brands survive? Yes, but their founders cannot! Customers frequently perceive family-owned brands as emblems of success and prestige, but this is also because these brands lend themselves to trust. The family name, when used as a brand, serves to reassure the customer. Toyota and Peugeot, for example, have strong brand identities that consumers believe in.

Male or female head: Does it really matter in family business?

FOR many, perhaps most families operating a household business, gender issues are hardly discussed or even noticed at all. Admittedly, such a claim is awkward, but it points to the reality of how family business owners, couples in particular, tend to accommodate equilibrium maintenance attempts between family business operations and their family life.

Family business owners may have considerable monetary advantage than families in which only the husband or wife has a job. Ideally, a family business can mean two or more multiple earners. The difference between these two families could mean being able or unable to send children to school, own or rent a house, pay grocery and utility bills, provide adequate health care and realize dreams of more material comfort. But the issue of who does what at home in terms of household chores and business jobs in a family business oriented household has to be raised.

Reduce global warming now or we perish

THE future is not somewhere we are going. It is something we are creating. Every day we do things that make some futures more probable and others less likely.

The Julie’s Bakeshop Touch: Good, old fashioned family values

JULIE’S Bakeshop scorecard: thirty-one years in the bakeshop industry with some 130 franchisees throughout the country and soon, all over Asia and probably the world. But the “other” credentials are not based on profit and expansion alone. They include old fashioned values and their application.

Julie Gandionco’s success (I fondly call her Ma’am Julie) is a testimony to the proper application of ageless wisdom. She is a spokesperson for the values of service, discipline, forgiveness, and “hands on” knowhow.