The Pinoy Entrepreneur

In the 1950s, Bette Naismith was a single mom who worked as a bank secretary. Although she was not a great typist, she was a very good artist. Every year, the bank asked her to paint the Christmas scene on the bank's window.

One Christmas, she made a mistake while painting on the window. Instead of erasing, she simply painted right over the mistake, like how artists normally do. She thought to herself, "I wish I could do that when I was typing." Her big idea came when she realized that she could.

She snuck some tempera paint into work and began to paint over her typos. She soon realized that this was a great product that she could sell to other secretaries. Working out of her house at night after she got home from work, Ms. Naismith began to experiment with different permutations of paint. By setting up her business at home, Bette Naismith was able to start the Liquid Paper Corporation, and revolutionized the office supply industry in the process.

     Among the few successful businesses that started out home-based are the following:

     The owners of these companies understood that in the early, critical, start up phase of their business, money is vital and starting from home affords them the luxury of spending their capital on needs other than rent, which is smart thinking. 

     Starting your business at home could be one of the smartest decisions you'll make.  Setting up your business at home reduces your overhead cost and consequently increases your chances of success.  Just remember to treat your home business as you would any other business.  If you respond professionally, no matter where your business is located, you will be treated as one.  Besides, with the advent of new technology in this information age, it is practically impossible for people to tell where someone works. 

"Millions have found their productivity actually increase when they work nearer the people they are really working for - their families."

                                           -President George Herbert Walker Bush-

According to the Go Negosyo site, the Youth Entrepreneuship Summit is a one-day forum/expo which hopes to spark that entrepreneurial spirit among the youth. There’ll be forums with experienced Go Negosyo entrepreneurs and mentors who will be sharing tips and advice on opportunity-seeking, marketing, financing, product development, and all the basics of going into business. Government leaders will also be sharing their views on the need for entrepreneurship development in the country. Plus, we’ll be featuring possible businesses that the youth could go into.

Admission is free!   See you at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia, on September 11, 2009.