As a small business owner, the first thing you need to do is draw and describe the person that buys your product or service. Creating a generic description of your market that you guess will purchase it is not the best way, even if you’ve read 1,500-page text books about guerilla marketing and the like. You have to describe a very specific person, not a community of people. The moment you’ve consumed everything from your brain (and that of others) to describe this person, immerse this person into your business vision, mission, values and goals, and see if it fits. If not, you’ve got to rehash things with your sales, marketing, service, support and overall customer strategies to fit this person into everything that you do for your product, service and company.

I am what I am today, thanks to my seven years in-depth and hands-on experience in the three direct selling companies I worked for, the longest and best of which belongs to Avon. From a geek who often replied in single words, I can now express and describe a single term in multiple paragraphs and has no qualms speaking to large groups of people; besides the awesome people and sales management skills I learned. For someone who intends to be general manager one day, you’ve got to make “sales” part of your career itinerary because it simply goes a long way in molding you to the right future head of a company, large or otherwise. Direct selling is here to stay; you can’t discount the fact that it offers the lowly poor an invitation to succeed if he or she puts their heart and mind into it.

How can the small business owner compete with large, multinational enterprises in the same market without having to spend so much money in setting up and maintaining a “customer conversation” infrastructure? People say “Talk is Cheap!” but simply said, it’s either complex, expensive or both. Beyond social media activities, the small business has to talk more to its customers in the most direct manner possible - verbally. The cost-effective way for the small business owner is to look for web-based solutions and rent it cheap. This article attempts to explain that “way” in simple, non-technical terms the small business owner himself (or herself) can plan, implement and succeed.

With the proclamation of the next President of the Republic of the Philippines still a month or less away, it’s time to take a look at the campaign pronouncements of Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino III as it affects the industry that has continued to provide a constant stream of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and immediate jobs to our young employees – the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), specifically the Call Center segment.

The CEO and COO of KUNNECT recently visited the Philippines to launch its call center technology solutions to the Philippine BPO market. Fred Cote, co-founder and CEO, spoke at the October 12 meeting of the members of the Call Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) in Shangri-La Hotel Makati.

A long time ago not too far away, everything had a price tag because there were not much options available. If something was given away for free, it was more of a privilege than the norm. “Buy One Get One Free” and other big sales promotions were never much of a big deal as life was good, simple and easy.

It’s been weeks since I attended Randell Tiongson’s “No Nonsense Seminar on Financial Planning,” more often referred to as a personal finance seminar. I met Randell after having e-mailed him a few times and asked if we could meet – I had a web project then that needed writers of his stature for enticing the North American market to come to the Philippines besides vacationing. This involved not only retiring in the country but more towards investing and hiring (or outsourcing), to name a few. The only thing we had in common was our high school alma mater.

Are call center training schools really producing candidates for the various small or large call center companies around the country with inadequate skills for promotion? Is the Philippines creating a population akin to factory workers of decades ago hype? Is the call center industry in the verge of imploding because of the increasing cost of training only entry level people, driving the cost of outsourcing in the Philippines higher?

Blenz Canadian Coffee Shop opened in June or July of this year at the Solaris One building along dela Rosa Street in Makati City. The barista at this cafe said they also have a branch in SM Megamall and another one in the Mall of Asia (or “MOA” as many here call it). I also walked passed by the Megamall branch one Sunday when I had a dinner engagement with my godfather and co-birthday celebrant Jun Bernardo; it’s on the second floor in the middle of buildings A and B.

Online social networks are about conversations, besides being free, fast and (always available) forever. There are opportunities to use online social networks to market yourself, your organization, products and services. However, each one is distinct from one another and “overkill” will also drive your results downwards. This essay is based solely on my experience.