Susan Ward, author at About.com suggests some useful approaches for downscaling your business:

You could start turning down some clients and referring them to others.  If you are in the service business, look at the hours you work in a typical week and evaluate your client list.  The easiest way to free up more time is to let the difficult clients go.  Let them off graciously by delivering on your obligations to them and passing them on to someone else.

You should hire employees to man the store.  If have a retail business and you are always there to oversee everything, hiring people would be worth the trouble and expense.

You could outsource some functions or aspects of your business.  There are businesses, like Virtual Assistants and bookkeepers who could do your administrative and office-related tasks.  You could also subcontract the design and maintenance of your website, if your business has one.

You might want to cut back your hours.  If you run a store, you could shorten your business hours or decrease your business days.

It won’t hurt to close your business for a week or two so you could take a well-deserved vacation.  Take time to let your clients and customers know in advance that you will not be out during those days.

If you have a willing family member, you may bring her into the business to split the work load.  Eventually, you may be able to teach her to ultimately handle the business on her own.

Lastly, you may lessen the number of products or services you offer.  You could focus on the most saleable products or services and specialize on them.  This would simplify your business and make things easier for you.

If you are not sure, whether you should downsize your business, Ms. Ward recommends taking this quick self test “Is It Time To Downsize Your Business”.

Possibly Related Topics to Read

• How to Make Profits
• Motivate Yourself Working from Home
• How to Guarantee Sales Increase
• Gather yourself up
• Trucks accessories
• Getting the hassles out of your travels
• The Call Center business solution
• Crash Course on Management
• Recession Calls for Alternative Marketing Strategies
• From Ideas to Reality

To be able to start a business, money is definitely needed! And, it is not easy to produce the money to finance a business startup especially in times of economic recession. It would be like finding a needle amidst a farm. Other people find it an opportunity to start a business if the stock market is down because it would be the best time to find talented employees. In addition, during an economic downturn, renting an office space will be cheaper. All of these statements are facts, but in reality, it is not that easy to start a business in times of economic downturn because it will take an extensive effort and creativity to get money from investors to finance your business.

Here are some guidelines if ever you will decide to start a business amidst the recessionary environment and if a need to raise money comes.

1. Borrow from ones’ self- Most of the time, the money that an entrepreneur saved is used to fund a start up business. Almost about 30 percent of initial fund comes from the savings. Instead of just taking the money and putting it into the business, it is better to lend the money and pay yourself back at a later date. Proceeds from future revenues or future investor are the reasonable sources of the money that you can use to pay yourself back.

2. Borrow from relatives and friends- The time honored way to produce money to be used to start a business is borrowing from relatives and friends. With banks high interest rates to loans and low interest rate to depositors, borrowing from relatives and friend is a win-win situation. You can benefit because loans from someone you know usually have a lower interest rate that range from 2-3 percent compare to a market rate. It will also benefit them because the interest that they can get is 1-2 percent higher than high yield savings rate.

3. Borrow from people who are tolerant- For startup business, it is difficult to estimate revenue so think a lot before taking on short term loans. Debt that needs to be repaid in a short span of time is riskier so it would be better to find supporters within your network that gives a grace period on repayment.

4. Borrow online- There are now numbers of financing alternatives on the web that finances small businesses like the On Deck Capital. You can also borrow from strangers through person to person loan website. Through Google, you can find companies that will match you with an individual lender based on your posted request for funds. Entrepreneurs can find these sites to be helpful especially in times of crisis, though the interest rates are a little bit high.

Possibly Related Topics to Read

• Personal Loans for additional capital
• High risk game did it for Banco Filipino -- BSP
• Sources of capital
• Additional capital from credit cards
• PSE adjust rule on daily trading limit fluctuation
• BSP said Banco Filipino ran a ‘Ponzi’ scheme
• PDIC to process payments to Banco Filipino depositors
• Why time deposit is still a viable investment option
• Wise investing
• Reverse and other mortgages

“Ubod” can only be gathered from the upper most part of the coconut trunk, that is usually the part right under the leaves of the coconut tree. It is commonly divided into three different parts with different quality level, the softest, the finest and the most desirable part coming about 2/3rd from the top of the ubod.

In order to process the coconut palm heart or the “ubod ng niyog,” the following materials will be needed:
• Coconut heart palm (ubod ng niyog)
• Salt
• Ascorbic acid (to be used as preservative.)

Prepare the following equipment:
• Saucepan
• Knife
• Weighing scale
• Chopping board
• Canister
• Preserving jar
• Stove

Then follow the following procedure:
• Ensure that the coconut ubod you will use is free from fibrous materials and comes from the tender but crisp trunk part.
• Dapper and cleanse it thoroughly, then slice into 2 inches long and 1-inch thick
• Immediately submerge it into water
• Up to ¼ inch of the container, load it with hot 1.5% brine having 0.1% ascorbic acid
• Letting it heat up to 180ºF (82º) then have it sealed fully
• Let it process
• Allow time to cool down then dry it and put label

Possibly Related Topics to Read

• Processing Nata de Coco
• The expansion of Bibingkinitan
• Jollibee Foods Corporation tops Asian Wall Street Journal survey
• The 10 Most Common Mistakes when Obtaining a Franchise in the Philippines
• Bangus Polvoron
• New Jollibee Stores in Los Angeles
• Food Business Branding
• Website for foodies
• Maggi noodles tested positive for salmonella
• Philippine tuna company acquires US salmon company

Some of the liquid soaps that we prefer to use are difficult to find. Usually they are imported. Or if ever it is available locally, stores which sell this are very few. But actually, we can make liquid soaps on our own by using a different recipe but will provide us nice liquid soap that we can use under shower. Procedures in doing this are the same. We only change the recipes that are easily available.

The use of bar soap and liquid soap almost has the same effect. The difference is that in making a liquid soap, 0% of lye discount is used. Using 0% lye discount makes the soap not too mild to the skin. Lye which is known as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is usually used to make soap. Oils used such as linseed oil also contributes on how the outcome of the soap would be. When making a liquid soap, kalium hydroxide (KOH) is used in place of lye so we use either of the two methods; the use of alcohol and the use of borax. These two methods are known to neutralize any excess lye.

Generally, In order to make a liquid soap, the following ingredients will be needed:

• Oils
• Potassium hydroxide
• Water for dilution which is 2-3 times the amount of oil
• 1 part borax for every 48 parts of resulting total soap weight to be used as neutralization fluid. Using the 1:3 ratio, borax is dissolved in boiling water
• Coloring (depending on what color would you like the soap to look)
• Scent/aroma
Note: make sure that materials used are at 0% lye discount based on lye calculator

In this specific example, you may use these recipes with the same procedures:

Recipe 1
Coconut oil-35%olive oil-35%
Castor oil-25% sweet almond or any “soft” oil-5%

Recipe 2
23 oz coconut oil25 oz soft oils
12 oz KOH33 oz distilled water
2 oz borax dissolved in 6oz distilled water
2-3 tablespoon sulfonated castor oil
122 o distilled water
3-4 oz fragrance

Procedure

1. Measure the amount of oil to be used depending on the quantity of soap to be made. Mix and melt them.
2. While wearing the safety equipment like gloves and goggles, and by using cold water, dissolve the measured KOH by stirring. This procedure is better done in the sink to ensure safety if ever lye is spilled.
3. Add the KOH solutions to the mixed oils and blend. Blending this may take to at least 25 mins. So, in order to avoid overheat of the motor, you can use stick blender at gap.
Trace or how the liquid soap will look like is different from soap made from NaOH. It will undergo several stages before it reaches trace. If ever the liquid would try to come out of the pot, cool the outside of the pot and stir it.
4. Continue to blend until the mixture looks grainy then eventually it will resemble a thick trace.
5. When the mixture is like a very thick HP, put a cover and cook the soap in the double broiler for approximately 3 hours. During the first hour, stir it occasionally and ensure that the boiler has sufficient water.
6. You will know if you already have soap when the mixture starts looking a little translucent. This will occur after about 2 hours, but you will still have to boil it for another hour.
7. When you already have the soap, dilute it by breaking it into chunks if necessary, and then add the boiling dilution water. Let it rest overnight.
8. In case not all the soap are dissolved, put it back on fire with cover. Wait the for the soap paste to completely dissolve.
9. Using the proportion of 1 part of borax per 48 parts of resulting total soap weight in it, boil the calculated volume of water to be used as the neutralization fluid.
10. The neutralization fluid must be added to the diluted soap before it cools down to prevent the precipitation of the borax again.
11. Allow the soap to cool down.
12. After cooling down, finally, you can now add the coloring and the scent that you prefer.

Note: If the transparency of the soap is not important for you, you may use any oil. Just add polysorbate 20 to make the oil water soluble. You can only use sulfated castor oil if you want your liquid soap to be clear.

Related Video:

Possibly Related Topics to Read

• Success from natural handmade soap
• Opportunities in macapuno production
• Coco sugar, other organic products, tops national trade fair sales
• Direct TV
• The DirecTV buzz
• Technology developed to make toothpaste from halaan shells
• Soap-making seminar on September 5, 2009
• 8th Coco Festival at the Mega Trade Hall
• How to make Glutathione Soap
• Processing Nata de Coco

Nowadays, the Bureau of Plant Industry through its Vegetable and Legume Section is producing mushroom offspring in abundance. Basic yet essential method in the culture of Volvariolla volvacoa, a banana or rice straw type of mushroom is shown in this article.

Materials:
Banana leaves and dry rice straw (common types of bedding materials)
Alternatives: jute sacks, water hyacinth, abaca waste, cotton waste, corn stalks and sugar bagasse.
Water
Containers to be used as soaking tanks
Empty cement bags, sacks, or gauge no.6 plastic sheet (any of the following)-to be used as covering of the bed.
Steps

1. From the rice straws or banana leaves in the field, chose those that are long and those which are not contaminated and old. Materials for bedding are better if clean.
2. If using rice straws, look for the thicker end (butt) and join it together. Collect and bundle bedding materials up to 6-8 inches in diameter.
3. Maintain the bundle materials to 1.5-2 ft. long only.
4. For at least 3 hours, dip the bundle materials in water. Wait for the materials to absorb enough moisture. But make it sure that it will not be in water for more than 10 hrs.
5. Make sure that the bed will have a support.
6. Coming from water, closely compressed it with even distribution and set.
7. Using 1-2 tbsp. per gallon of water of urea or ammonium sulfate, water the bed well. To further improve the quantity of mushrooms, add 33 grams of sugar per gallon of water.
8. Put a pressure to level the surface layer while watering. Stop when the water starts to drip.
9. Measuring four (4) inches or (10.2cm) from all the side, insert a spawn about the size of a thumb, around the bed. Make sure that it has the same distance of four (4) inches or (10.2cm) from each spawn. Avoid starting planting at the middle of the bed to ensure the even distribution of the spawns.
10. Put the second layer of straws atop the first layer, join the thicker part (butt) in two opposite directions then water and put pressure down to level the surface. Continue doing the same procedure up to the sixth layer.
11. After doing the procedure, cover it, with the covering materials you have provided, for seven days.

Gathering the Mushrooms

About 13 -15 days from the day of seeding, the first growth of mushrooms can be seen in flushes if proper care and maintenance is done. Watering is put on hold during occurrences of flushes and is only resumed when the flush has stopped. In order to gather the mushrooms, follow the following procedures:

1. Make sure that when the mushroom is gathered, you include the stump because it may cause rotting which may affect the other mushrooms.
2. The small buttons must not be disturbed so extra care must be taken when gathering mushrooms.
3. Mushrooms which are more moist and juicy are more preferred.
4. Usually, trays or kaings are used to place the gathered mushrooms.

Caring for the Mushroom Bed
1. Keep the bed humid by covering it with plastic or any suitable materials for covering.
2. Due to cover, the bed is kept humid so watering is not necessary upon the removal of the cover.
3. Sprinklers may be used in watering. It should be done in enough amounts only to avoid soaking. Also, insufficient water is avoided as it may affect the proper growth of the mushrooms.

Possibly Related Topics to Read

• Taiwanese businessmen plan to relocate to the Philippines
• RP to get investments of Jeddah business groups
• Domestic allocation of sugar increased
• Philrice, IRRI pushed for hyrid palay seeds development
• Banana Production Industry in the Philippines
• Chinatrust applies for unibank license
• Xoom special offer on the Pacquiao-Mosley fight
• Ayala invests in hydro-electric power
• Philippines bans chocolate milk from Japan
• DENR ordered closure of sugar mill in Batangas

Being a workaholic entrepreneur here in the Philippines is sometimes good, well just sometimes because if you overdo it you will lose yourself and create hindrances  to success to make you happy.

Always value your time. Yes, you heard it right, and it doesn’t mean that you should work and work and work. Take a vacation, invest time with your family and friends. In that way, you will able to relax yourself and do not think your work every minute. It will lessen your stress plus the fact that you are bonding with your love ones. It is a superb way to unwind.

One way to lessen your workaholic attitude is to treat yourself well, like how you treat your work. Do not make yourself suffer, like what I said before take a vacation if it really need to. Your body is the temple of your soul, you must nurture it so it will not fight back against you. If you feel tired, pause for awhile. If you are sick, then rest and do not go to your work. Let us say that your job is paying you a lot but in return you also need to work a lot. Then, suddenly you get seriously sick and you were confined in the hospital for weeks. All the money that you have worked for was used to pay for your hospital fees. Now, your hard-earned money was useless. Take care of yourself, remember, it is more expensive when you are sick. Also if you feel well, you do well.

And most of all, ask for the help of someone whom you trust most or hire an expert. They will help you to fix what went wrong and can help you when your business starts taking off.

Have time for yourself, it is very important. Just take one step at a time and enjoy the feeling of getting there than hurrying it and forgetting what matters most, which is the happiness and passion.

Possibly Related Topics to Read

• Predictions for Rat in the Year of the Dragon 2012
• Xoom special offer on the Pacquiao-Mosley fight
• Why time deposit is still a viable investment option
• Ayala Land mulls sale of Homestarter bonds this year
• Learning foreign exchange trading
• Personal Loans for additional capital
• Too much holidays spending
• Wise investing
• Jueteng for good?
• Reverse and other mortgages

AgilaGlobal.net, provides Filipino businesses and foreign entrepreneurs over the globe with the tools needed to effectively and efficiently operate an online business, while expanding their market by breaking down geographical and financial barriers to operations.

There are numerous business-minded Filipinos and most of them have already recognized the opportunities of doing business over the World Wide Web. Unfortunately, majority of our compatriots have a very limited capacity for business using the new technology due to various reasons- credibility and fear are some of the hindrances that a potential entrepreneur may encounter during his early years of doing business over the web.

Chu-Benitez, managing director of Illustrado Marketing & Communications Inc. – the company behind AgilaGlobal said, ”It [AgilaGlobal] was built for the purpose of enabling our fellow Filipinos to operate efficiently without having a headache due to problems that your business is encountering and with low cost investment.”

“We already know that Filipinos are very hardworking. To take them to that next level is what our role is, they can really benefit from the fruits of their labor.”
Members may learn basic management and entrepreneurship for free using e-learning modules and can also have a website with their own URL. AgilaGlobal provides offline reach to clients through listings in the Annual Directory of Filipino Business slated for release in Filipino communities worldwide by the 2nd quarter of 2009.

“ If we discouraged at least 100 Filipinos from leaving the country because we were able to give them a source of livelihood or help their business, our job is done.” says Sonny Silvestre, an IT consultant and entrepreneur in Abu Dhabi.

AgilaGlobal was launched last July in Davao, Cebu and Manila, but the system is already up and running, with over 9,000 Filipino companies all over the world listed in its system.

Random Posts

• Shanghai Airlines flies directly to Cebu
• Critical Thinking
• Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Business in the Philippines
• Eraserhead Reunion Concert – The Final Set
• Filipino War Veterans as US Veterans
• Philippine tourism targets Taiwanese tourists
• Filipino author nominated for award in Sweden
• The Entrep Corner from Robinsons Mall
• Webby Awards’ Top 10 most influential internet moment of the decade
• Filipina entrepreneur produces world class quality coffee

Frank Reyes was lucky to have been exposed to the restaurant business at the young age of 16. He took time off from high school to work at the family owned Aristocrat restaurant. It turned out to be the best decision he has ever made in his life, because he learned about how a restaurant operate in real life.

After being an assistant manager of the said restaurant and operating two franchises, Reyes wanted to open his own business. One thing he learned from his experience is that variety of menu choices does not necessarily mean success in terms of sales. That is why when he opens his own business, he went with Reyes Barbeque, where the menu is limited to six or seven items.

Reyes believed in specializing in items that he is good at instead of having so many offerings. That is why people are going to him because they want something specific. Reyes Barbecue’s menu items are chicken barbeque, pork barbeque, squid barbeque, bangus barbeque, grilled liempo and grilled salmon. Served with Java rice, sauce and atchara.

An engineer by profession, Reyes uses science in his approach of the business. Fabricating his own smokeless grilling machine in his fastfood restaurants which are located inside malls. He also looks at the temperature of the meat rather than its appearance when checking the food for doneness.

Helping Reyes run the business is his wife Inez, who was a vice president for marketing of a big chain of fastfood restaurants, making her more than qualified to take care of the marketing side of Reyes Barbeque. Currently, they already have 40 stores, 10 which are company owned while the rest are franchises.

A franchise of Reyes Barbeque costs P300,000 with initial investment ranging from P1.2 million to P2.5 million.

Possibly Related Topics to Read

• Starting a franchise
• The expansion of Bibingkinitan
• Jollibee bags top award at the 10th Franchise Excellence Awards
• Filipino entrepreneurs to invest in Guam
• Success in “lugaw” business
• Krispy Kreme, history of a successful franchise
• The 10 Most Common Mistakes when Obtaining a Franchise in the Philippines
• Chowking Sales Beats McDonald’s
• Foreign Entrepreneurs Serving the Filipinos
• Website for foodies

Even though as your own boss you are free to work when and if you want to, we urge you to set up a work schedule. A schedule not only will help you organize your work, but will also help your family and friends know when they can and cannot interrupt you. Business contacts will know when they can best reach you. A schedule will even help you to avoid having your work take over your life, because it will tell you not only when it’s time to start working, but also when it’s time to stop.

If you are operating a part-time business, we suggest that you make a commitment to work at least eight hours a week in your business. And don’t plan to squeeze all eight hours in on Saturday. Spread the eight hours throughout the week, so that you’ll be sure to get some work done even when things you want to do come up on the weekends.

Possibly Related Topics to Read

• How to Choose a Business That’s Right for You
• Leadership, Leadership and Leadership
• Developing Your Business Identity
• Setting up Your Financial System
• Dealing with Legalities When Starting up
• The Five Basic Skills Required for All Businesses
• Making a Business Plan
• The Philippine Versus China and Vietnam
• Focus, Focus, Focus
• Determining If There’s a Need of Your Business