Entrepreneurs urged to train, research for business dev’t

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- With more research and relevant information at hand, small entrepreneurs and workers in the informal sector can become bigger players in the local business sector.

Officials from the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) Pampanga office shared with the audience these cardinal rules for a sustainable business endeavor. It also includes honesty in dealings and keeping communication lines among those involved in the business; good quality of product or service; high productivity; good return on investment; proper financing; and continuing research and development.

This was the advice given by Dole officials to more than 200 local workers in the informal sector who attended a recent forum of various agencies whose services are essential to the sector.

These workers were beneficiaries of the P1-million grant given by Dole and implemented by the Provincial Government, through the Provincial Cooperative and Entrepreneurial Development Office (PCEDO), according to its head Mamerto Gatus.

Rima Hernandez, provincial director of Dole-Pampanga, explained to the beneficiaries the difference between a grant and a loan, saying “ang grant ay libre at ang loan ay binabayaran (a grant is free while a loan is amortized).”

She also said that before any of them could avail of a loan program, “one should have established a good track record of payment of previous loan.”

She also cited some successful entrepreneurs who earn more daily than salaried employees.

Aurita Limpin, also of Dole Pampanga, presented various tips that have been proven helpful to entrepreneurs who started small and have become giants in their respective industries. The best example of these entrepreneurs, she said, is Jollibee which “started as a small ice cream store and now has 400 stores worldwide.”

Most of those in the audience have small enterprises in their backyards, without any formal system or modern approach to its management, which nevertheless are the sources of their families’ livelihood.

Bigger enterprises, Limpin stated, are borne of more thorough study – research, observation, training – and use a more modern approach to its operations. These are businesses that earn more, create job opportunities, and more sustainable.

Gatus urged the beneficiaries to heed the advice given by the resource persons from Dole as these have helped many entrepreneurs in their journey to success even as he assured them of the continuing support of Governor Lilia Pineda and the Provincial Government for their sector’s development.