“National Heroes Day is a national public holiday in the Philippines to honor the country’s heroes (unspecified) and is held on the last Monday of August[3] to mark the anniversary of the Cry of Pugad Lawin, the beginning of the Philippine Revolution by the Katipunan and its Supremo Andrés Bonifacio in 1896.”*wikipedia
We have been reading a few books as a team and reviewing and presenting them to each other. Think book report from school, but with learnings applied immediately in the real world.
What are we reading? Here are the 4 that we are working on.
Want to follow along? Check out our GoodReads pages to see what next and feel free to drop a comment as to what books we should check out.
I had the honour to speak at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce event the other day at Suntec City in the heart of Singapore. This annual event organized by the chamber is the largest conference for SMEs with over 5000 registered attendees.
The theme for the conference was “The new SME. Think Creatively. Act Innovatively”. The concept was all about helping Singapore’s small and medium enterprises think outside the box when it comes to their challenges. Singapore’s SME sector has challenges around finding and retaining talent, growing outside the country and using technology to take businesses to the next level.
The session I was a part of was broken down with four speakers and then a panel session with a question and answer period moderated by Mr. Stephen Lim the CEO of SQL View and involving questions from the audience.
The first speaker up was Dr. Christopher Holmes, the Managing Director of IDC Insights Asia Pacific. Christopher opened the day with his talk titled “Digitization: Disruptor and Transformer” that included stats about where SMEs are going and how technology is changing the face of business.
Next up was Jenny Jang, the Manager of International Business Development for Jiransoft. Jenny’s talk, “Internet of Things, Jiransoft’s Perspective” was all about the internet of things and how devices are getting smarter and smarter. Interestingly, her slides predicted that we are all on our way to carrying around 7 connected smart devices. (think Apple Watch, iPhone, Kindle, Laptop, etc)
I was up next with the simple task of telling my story. Myself and my business partner Michael Stephenson has been in business together since 2000 and our journey has seen us start four businesses, selling two of them and brought us to the Philippines, Singapore and into the payroll space. The point of my story was to showcase how thinking outside the box can push you on unexpected journeys and I included a bit about my wife’s accidental business and how she has embraced change.
Wrapping up the speaking section of the day was Mr. Law Chee Keong, Director for Apigee. Chee Keong’s talk, titled “Unlocking value through an Innovation Ecosystem” wrapped up the 3 previous talks with more stats about the future, how the internet of things would continue to change our lives and how SMEs can and need to think about what their businesses will look like in the future.
To wrap up, Stephen Lim, myself and the three other speakers sat down on the stage to take some questions and chat about SMEs.
The day finished off with a VIP dinner at the Singapore flyer hosted by the owner of the flyer, Mr. Wu Hsioh Kwang and the President of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commence Mr. Thomas Chua Kee Seng. As part of the dinner, we were treated to a showing of 47 Hill Street, “a show that brings SCCCI history to life, a true reflection on Singapore’s history”. It is worth checking out and gives some great background on the founding of Singapore and the chamber.
“Ninoy Aquino Day is a national non-working holiday in the Philippines observed annually on August 21, commemorating the assassination of former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. He was the husband of Corazon Aquino, who was later to become Philippine President; they are treated as two of the heroes of democracy in the country. His assassination led to the downfall of Ferdinand Marcos on February 25, 1986, through the People Power Revolution. In 2004, the commemoration ceremony for the holiday was held and events were attended by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Fidel V. Ramos.” *wikipedia
Introducing Joey Qua, CEO, Collezione-c2.com with 25 branches nationwide and a growing restaurant business.
1. Can you tell us more about your background in retail?
We started Collezione C2 15 years ago with one branch in Festival Mall Alabang. Collezione C2 is a second generation brand that I started back in 2000 after coming back from my studies and work in the U.S.
The original Collezione (C1) was established by my father 43 years ago (est. 1972) when he saw the need to develop a local label (of polo shirts) in order fulfil the needs of the Philippine market that had a severe shortage in supply of quality clothing during that time due to heightened import and travel restrictions because of Martial Law.
Today, Collezione C2 has grown to 25 branches nationwide. It exists side by side with the mother brand Collezione (C1) which is the more classic and conservative label, designed to cater to a more mature set of customers and sold in department stores only – while on the other hand, Collezione C2 which is the more hip and modern label, caters to the younger segment of the market and is sold only in free standing stores in the different malls around the country.
2. Your clothes are pretty famous, even the President wears them, how did that come about?
Collezione C2’s design DNA is based on three tenets: Fashion, Arts and Nationalism….. and because we were able to create a very unique and iconic polo shirt with the Philippine map design back in 2008, a lot of Filipinos embraced the design concept and felt a deep sense of patriotism and love of country along with it. Being the President of the Philippines, President Noynoy shares the same deep love and patriotism for our nation just like our brand, and he decided to start wearing our shirts during less formal occasions. And of course, we are very happy, honored and grateful to him for doing so – he shares the same passion for love of country as we do.
3. How many retail stores do you have?
Collezione C2 currently has 25 free standing stores in the different malls nationwide.
4. How do you decide on a location? (mall, street level, etc)
As many retail experts would say: Location, Location, Location is the key to the success of a store….. Which I strongly believe in – unfortunately, there is so much competition in today’s retail landscape that a retailer will just have to make do with what is available and make certain compromises and adjustments in order to make the store location work – even if it is far from being in a prime location. We have a team in our organization that scouts the area of the given space at different times of the day and of the week, and we also study the different retail brands beside and across from the location being offered to us, we make our own internal calculations if the foot traffic and retail sales from the different stores around the site reconciles. And if the numbers look good and promising, then we sign on the dotted line with our retail partners, which are the mall operators. At the end of the day, we want to establish a ‘win-win’ formula between us retailers and the mall operators because at the end of the day, our success is their success as well, and vice versa.
5. At what point did the number of locations change how the business is run?
For us, after 12 to 15 branches, we had to seriously consider re-organizing the company and adding more departments to address the growth of the business. For one, we had to switch our POS system at the frontend and the software systems at the backend to accommodate a bigger volume of sales and inventory. Moreover, we also had to upgrade our people in terms of job experience, skill-set quality, and manpower requirements. We simply outgrew the system at our 12thto 15th branch.
6. What was the tipping point for you?
When you reach a certain sales volume, and your backend is not equipped to handle it, then disorganization and inefficiency will surface in your day-to-day operations and chaos will likely ensue – so before that even happens, you should have the foresight to have your backend ready to address the rise in demand of the business.
7. What does the ASEAN integration mean for your business?
2 things, opportunity and competition – you just have to step up to the plate and take your business to the next level or you will end up irrelevant if you do not innovate fast enough to meet the demands of a more intense competitive environment.
8. What are the benefits of operating in the Philippines? downsides?
For one, we are experiencing a growth in the economy and population…. there is a growing middle-class which means disposable income is on the rise, which gives retailers the opportunity to serve deeper pockets. The downside is that the barriers to entry for the retail sector is being lifted at an accelerated pace right now – there are just so many retail brands out there, whether global or regional, that have been aggressively coming here and expanding in our shores which make the local brands like us have to deal with a plethora of competition for both market share and retail space.
9. You are involved in restaurants now, how did that come about?
It’s always good to spread your investments or business interests in different sectors or industries, especially now that the competition is getting stiffer and stiffer in retail…… diversifying and spreading the risk is more like it.
9. What is different from the restaurant business to the retail business in the Philippines?
I believe it’s somewhat the same….. both businesses involve people management, products and services. But of course the differences will be in the creative concept and business model.
10. Do you think about locations differently for restaurants?
We go about it the same way, it’s just that the criteria that we set is different for clothing retail than for the restaurant business. If it meets certain criteria then we proceed with the build.
11. What is next for you in your retail/restaurant businesses?
For clothing retail, we are more discerning and selective with our expansion plans since we are at 25 stores already, for the restaurant business, we are much more aggressive because we have a few stores open and a couple in the pipeline and we feel that there is more room for growth in this sector.
“The National Day of Singapore is celebrated every year on August 9th, in commemoration of the Singapore’s independence fromMalaysia in the year 1965. This holiday features a National Day Parade, an address by the Prime Minister of Singapore, andfireworks celebrations.” *wikipedia
As you may have heard, Android phones have a new vulnerability – and it’s pretty bad. It has been covered on most major tech blogs and media outlets.
From NPR:
Android is the most popular mobile operating system on Earth: About 80 percent of smartphones run on it. And, according to mobile security experts at the firm Zimperium, there’s a gaping hole in the software — one that would let hackers break into someone’s phone and take over, just by knowing the phone’s number.
In this attack, the target would not need to goof up — open an attachment or download a file that’s corrupt. The malicious code would take over instantly, the moment you receive a text message…
Here’s how the attack would work: The bad guy creates a short video, hides the malware inside it and texts it to your number. As soon as it’s received by the phone, Drake says, “it does its initial processing, which triggers the vulnerability.”
Google has already issued a patch for this vulnerability.
BUT, most Android patches don’t make it to existing smartphone owners. They first have to be dealt with by the manufacturers of the phones (of which there are many) and then by telco themselves. Both of which don’t happen super fast – which results in million’s of Android devices being vulnerable to this issue.
At PayrollHero, we push Apple as our prefer platform for clients to use for clocking in and out. We support Android, but most of our new features come out for iOS first. Plus, there are so many added benefits that Apple brings, security being one of them, but other built in features like Guided Access.
Apple does not have this same problem as Android as Apple has controlled the relationship with the telcos and has the ability to push updates to iOS phones themselves. No need for the telco to get involved and Apple makes the hardware, so no manufacturers to deal with.
Introducing Carlo Buenaflor, the CEO of Bigg’s, Inc. Carlo operates 15 restaurants in the Bicol area of the Philippines and is the honorary consul of Spain in the Bicol Region of the Philippines.
We took a moment to chat with Carlo about operating his restaurants in a province of the Philippines and where he sees his brand going next.
1. You are the CEO of Bigg’s and ¿Que Pasa? – can you tell me a bit more about each brand?
Yes, we have 14 Bigg’s Diner in different locations throughout Southern Luzon and a new brand called ¿Que Pasa? with 1 outlet located in Naga City. Bigg’s Diner is a 31 year old brand that serves fried chicken, burgers and several dishes of Filipino and American comfort food. ¿Que Pasa? serves Bicolano Colonial Cuisine which is a mix of Bicolano and Spanish flavors. Although it’s only a few months old, it is already creating waves in social media because of its fresh take on barbecue.
2. ¿Que Pasa? – sounds exciting, can you tell us a bit more about how the brand came about, what you did to understand your communities needs, etc?
We realized that the millennial market is constantly looking for something new where they have control over their dining experience. At ¿Que Pasa?, they can choose their meat, sidings and rice options and be in a dining environment that celebrates colonial art and history. The location of ¿Que Pasa? is in a historical district of Naga where a well preserved century old archway is part of the restaurant architecture. ¿Que Pasa? has made Spanish cuisine accessible to the millennial market and has made it cool.
3. You operate your restaurants in a province of the Philippines (not a large city), what challenges come with that?
The challenges with operating multiple stores in the province are logistical and operations support. Our furthest store from our commissary is 10 hours away. There are a lot opportunities in the province because big brands normally neglect it which leaves a vacuum. Visiting and monitoring store operations in this kind of set up is tough.
4. What technology do you use in your businesses?
We have POS systems installed in all our stores but unfortunately they are not linked to our head office yet. We don’t have any loyalty system in place yet but it is a big consideration as we move forward.
5. How do you decide on a location? (mall? street level? stand alone business?)
There is no rule of thumb for locations. This process remains to be the most challenging as we decide to grow. Malls don’t assure the business success they once gave. The market is constantly shifting and we have to be ahead of that. The cost to build a store is very expensive so we can’t afford poorly chosen sites. The best indicator for successful locations is the presence of our industry peers.
6. At what point did the number of locations change how the business is run? I have been told, 1 or 2 locations is ok, but 3+ requires a different management approach, systems, procedures, etc. What was the tipping point for you?
Absolutely, I think anyone can run a successful 1 restaurant operation. 2 may be stretching it without a solid system and support groups in place. 3 would definitely be the tipping point. A different structure, mindset and management approach is certainly needed for a multiple outlet set up. Product, service quality and consistency become very challenging at this point. Only a few restaurant chains succeed beyond this critical point.
7. What is next for Biggs and Que Pasa?
Growth. We would like to see ¿Que Pasa? in every city in the Philippines.
8. anything else to add?
As a brand grows, the common mistake of an entrepreneur is that they get too engrossed with fixing the system and playing catch up with the growing demands of a growing business that they lose sight of the future of the business which should be their primary responsibility. Entrepreneurs should invest in good systems ahead of the growth curve of their business. A smart investment in a good inventory, distribution, accounting and payroll system will go a long way and save you a lot of money and time.
The PayrollHero Interns in our Singapore office put together a Restaurant News Cast for Singapore. What do you think of their first attempt? Would you like to see more videos like this? Let us know by dropping us an email and posting a comment below.
Want to learn more about the restaurant scene in Singapore? Philippines? Download our Knowledge Kits now (free) for a boat load of helpful information for opening a restaurant.
‘Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.’
– Harry S. Truman
Jack Daly has been on a tour of Southeast Asia the last few weeks. EO Philippines brought Jack in to speak to the chapter a couple weeks ago, then Jack dropped into Singapore to speak to the EO Singapore chapter follow by Jack being on of the keynotes for EO Brisbane’s Rob Nixon for his wildly popular accountant conference in Bali, Indonesia.
I was given a copy of Jack’s new book Hyper Sales Growth and it is a great read. It covers lots of great tips for building and running a sales organization. Some of the learning I took away from reading the book;
The book is packed with solid, actionable tactics to growing your business. It is worth the read and it is even better to hit one of Jack’s events/webinars/seminars.
Last time he was in Vancouver, we arranged to get some one on one personal time with Jack. You can to… check out how we did it.
What book should I read next? Any suggestions, drop them in the comments. I’m always interested in sales development books.
On that note, here is what some of the team was reading a few months ago. I will get an updated list for a new post.
We even suggest books that applicants looking to work with us should read. Check out the list over on our jobs page.