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
By Pam Brooke A. Casin
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!
By Pam Brooke A. Casin
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.
By Pam Brooke A. Casin
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
• eSales report by taxpayers using CRM/POS and other sales machine with
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
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,
EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group E)
12 Tuesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,
EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group D )
13 Wednesday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,
EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group C )
14 Thursday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,
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
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,
EWT and FWT for February 2013 (Group A) e-PAYMENT
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,
EWT and FWT for February 2013 (all eFPS groups)
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT
• 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
identification numbers ending in 3 or 4
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
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters
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)
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT
• 2551Q - PT for TQ ended February 2013
DISTRIBUTION
• 2307 - Certificate of EWT for TQ ended February 2013
REMITTANCE
• SSS - R-5 contributions for February 2013 of employers with SSS
identification numbers ending in 5 or 6
21 Thursday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (Group E)
22 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 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
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters
M to Q for February 2013
25 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for February 2013 (Group A)
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT
• 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
• SSS - R-5 contributions for February 2013 of employers with SSS
identification numbers ending in 7 or 8
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
• SSS - R-5 contributions for February 2013 of employers with SSS
identification numbers ending in 9 or 0
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters
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
• eSales report by taxpayers using CRM/POS and other sales machine with
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
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,
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
• eSales report by taxpayers using CRM/POS and other sales machine with
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
identification numbers ending in 1 or 2
11 Thursday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,
EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group E)
12 Friday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,
EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group D)
13 Saturday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,
EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group C)
14 Sunday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,
EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group B)
REMITTANCE
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters
A to D for March 2013
15 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,
EWT and FWT for March 2013 (Group A)
e-PAYMENT
• 1601C, 1601E, 1601F and 1602 - Withholding return on compensation,
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)
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT
• 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
• SSS - R-5 contributions for March 2013 of employers with SSS
identification numbers ending in 3 or 4
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
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters
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)
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT
• 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
• SSS - R-5 contributions for March 2013 of employers with SSS
identification numbers ending in 5 or 6
21 Sunday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 2550M and 2551M - VAT and PT for March 2013 (Group E)
22 Monday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 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
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters
M to Q for March 2013
25 Thursday – LAST DAY OF e-FILING
• 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)
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT
• 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
• SSS - R-5 contributions for March 2013 of employers with SSS
identification numbers ending in 7 or 8
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
e-FILING/FILING and e-PAYMENT/PAYMENT
• 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
• SSS - R-5 contributions for March 2013 of employers with SSS
identification numbers ending in 9 or 0
• HDMF - M1-1 contributions by employers whose names start with letters
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