Thursday, December 28, 2006 Toral: Happy merchants this holiday season By Janette Toral Digital Filipino
FOR Jay Frank De Jesus and Joan Piñon, the holiday season gave their e-commerce sites good business.
Jay of TitikPilipino.com said his site sold 33 percent more music CDs this December despite the lack of promotion. Majority of the CDs ordered are Christmas titles.
Joan of MyLittleBaker.com, who started her business last November, had a great first online Christmas. Her profits tripled compared to last year when she was selling the products the traditional way, without the website. She is now seriously considering shipping her products to the provinces to accommodate inquiries she received.
I also got good news from Jovel Cipriano of PinoyDelikasi.com and Reggie Bundang of RegaloService.com.
I think what made these four entrepreneurs do well is their active networking. They made sure that everyone is aware of what they are selling this holiday season. Their efforts generated orders and active referrals from friends.
In the end, networking and good relationships initiated early in the business, pay off in the process.
FRAUD. CyberSource reported that global fraud has decreased slightly this year. The main target of “fraudsters” these days are small merchants who lack experience and tend to get excited whenever they receive a good volume of orders. This is why aspiring e-commerce entrepreneurs should always consider fraud risks whenever they receive an order. These risks exist especially with items that can easily be marketed or sold.
CELEBRATION. Last Friday, I catched up with Michael Gleissner of Bigfoot Communications and Bigfoot Entertainment. He celebrated his Filipino citizenship stature with a big party that night.
I haven’t seen Michael in the past four years, and that night he was glowing with happiness. I’m sure a lot of people are proud of his success in Cebu.
Michael’s attainment of Filipino citizenship is intended to give a strong statement about his belief in the country and will prove the viability of Cebu as an investment destination.
I’m sure Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com will be amazed with Michael’s decision. (The DigitalFilipino.com Podcast Episode 14, the start of season 2, will be online soon and we’re glad to have Michael as our first guest.)
GOOD YEAR. How did your year go? That is a common question among friends these days. On my part, it is actually a good year. Being able to put closure to a lot of pending concerns is a relief.
I still have to put on track some concerns that I’ve started but haven’t been able to nurture or grow further. So no new website projects this year. I have to ensure that the existing ones are implemented properly.
However, I’ve decided to register my name as a domain name. That is JanetteToral.com. It took me awhile to decide to get it. As more of my peers made good use of their names as domain name, and having a website for that matter, I’m giving it a shot.
