TRADE Assistant Secretary for Regional Operations Group (ROG) Demphna Du-Naga has tips for entrepreneurs, she being an entrepreneur herself.
Naga on Friday assured the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that the government will remain the sector’s allies, cheerleaders and mentors to help them ride the country’s rapid economic growth.
“A business is like a child. It needs a lot of nurturing,” said Naga during the opening of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Sinulog Trade Fair in SM City Cebu.
“We, in the government, will help you grow your business,” she said.
Naga, who is a successful entrepreneur, recounted the struggles she went through and the successes her family celebrated in their entrepreneurial journey.
Growing up in a typical Chinese family, she quickly learned about running a business. When she got rejected after marrying a non-Chinese, Naga said she worked her way up with the help of her husband.
“We failed three times in business but we never gave up. We lost a lot but we also learned a lot,” she said.
Prior to joining DTI and becoming a mayor in Dimasalang, Masbate, she and her husband were able to grow their little sari-sari store with a startup capital of P5,000 into a distributor of big-time consumer brands in their town.
While there is no perfect guide to entrepreneurship, Naga shared seven tips that led her and her husband to their success in business.
“If DTI had outlined the 7Ms framework, which we will advocate and promote, there were seven ways that helped me become big and successful in business,” said Naga.
“These were prayer, belief in self, (following your) passion, hard work, strategy, building personal relationships and confidence.” DTI’s 7Ms include mastery, mentoring, money, machine, market, and (business) models.
Naga also advised the MSMEs to see competition as an opportunity to grow and innovate.
“Instead of picking a fight with your competitors, improve your business. Innovate, introduce new products. Strive to become better entrepreneurs,” she said.
This year’s Sinulog Trade Fair is participated in by 60 MSMEs from Cebu, Bohol, Negros, Palawan, Davao, Baguio, Zamboanga and Caraga.
Meanwhile, the DTI-ROG vowed to step up efforts in 2018 for the betterment of local entrepreneurs.
DTI-ROG Supervising Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya, in a statement, said the agency will continue to elevate its performance from the previous years to encourage more Filipinos to venture into business, resulting in more jobs.
The DTI reported that it has assisted 20,425 micro entrepreneurs, with a total of P812.12 million in loans released under the government’s Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag- asenso (P3), a program that aims to topple the five-six lending scheme.
Likewise, the agency has established more Negosyo Centers, with a total of 718 centers throughout the country, which assisted 614,417 entrepreneurs.