Though at first I was pessimistic about 2012 because of what’s happening in Europe, I’m beginning to change my view and don’t think things will be as bad. America seems to be recovering, which is important, and I can see that Asia will still do fine. The Philippines will definitely do very well and we should see this upward momentum continue. What’s important is we not only see big businesses grow, but also see the micro and small enterprises move up to become medium and large. We want to encourage more Filipinos to start a negosyo, and this is why Go Negosyo will be more aggressive this year.

To be able to inspire and change more lives, we are modifying some of our existing programs while also introducing new ones. As a start, we are holding the most number of summits this year, primarily because we are bringing the summit to different provinces in the country. Just like our provincial caravans, where we bring our Negosyo Seminars (Negosems) to the countryside, we are organizing this year’s youth summit in four areas around the country, i.e., North and South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. And of course, you can also expect once more our annual Women Entrepreneurship Summit, happening this March 2 at the World Trade Center as we recognize the active role of women in the world of entrepreneurship. With the success of last year’s joint project with the Villar Foundation, we are also planning to do a second run of the OFW and Family Summit towards the fourth quarter of the year. (more…)

All good things come to an end as we return to our regular lives from our Christmas vacation. Fil-Ams who come home do so to spend time with their family. Filipinos are really family-oriented, very community-oriented. I guess that is what makes us unique. This is what makes it fun to be in the Philippines, as the new slogan of the Department of Tourism would say. This slogan adopted by the government speaks of what embodies the Filipino spirit.

Our own family bonding in San Francisco comes to an end and this season gave us special memories with my father who has just turned 80. It is indeed a memorable event: 50 people housed under one roof, the others having to use sleeping bags; and a stomach virus hitting half of the family, wherein poor Doctor Celdran, our family doctor for ages, had to be bothered with all the calls as we consulted with him what medicine to take. But it all ended well. (more…)

While I’ve been quite bearish with America since 2008, this time, I’m sensing that, even though things are still not going to be the same as when credit was just being given out left and right, the situation now is not as bad. I was personally amazed to see how the Americans shopped during the Christmas season, and I will not be surprised to see the economic numbers fare out much better than originally predicted.

However, Europe is experiencing huge problems and this may have some impact on the rest of the world, especially if they allow a big bank to end up the same way as the Lehman Brothers. But this should be unlikely, as most leaders know that the way the Lehman Brothers case was handled was a huge mistake. (more…)

My father Joecon and Tito Raul where born on December 29, 1931. They turn 80 years old today. My father is older by 10 minutes. Both are blessed to have reached 80 and are in fairly good health, but age has still caught up with them, especially when it comes to their memory. My dad is having difficulty remembering all his grandchildren and in-laws. He would call my wife a different name each time.

Both my father and Tito Raul have had their respective achievements in life. Tito Raul would help my grandfather Jose Concepcion, Sr. build Concepcion Industries, Inc., which today is the only local appliance company that offers the leading air conditioners and refrigerators. My dad Joecon’s legacy will always be as the founder of Namfrel, and that he stood up against then President Marcos and risked his life, family, and business at that time. But to him it was beyond personal wealth; he wanted to help bring about real democracy which in the end will create wealth for the nation and its people. (more…)

Let me greet all of you, readers of the Ask Go Negosyo column for the past three years, a very merry Christmas, as we celebrate once more this well-loved holiday on Sunday. For the past month, my daughter Bella keeps asking daily how many more sleeps to Christmas. She is four years old today and the most excited among all our kids in anticipating the arrival of Santa Claus.

We are now celebrating Christmas in San Francisco, and later in the month we will be celebrating my father’s birthday as he turns 80. Close to 45 of the Concepcions children, spouses, and grandchildren  will be celebrating with him. What a riot.
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It has been over six years since Go Negosyo began its mission to empower people and inspire them to look at the country’s situation in a positive view; to let them see that poverty can be beaten and that the Philippines is not destined to be a poor nation. We continue to engage all sectors of society to have this view through our summits, caravans, Negosems, TV shows, books and any other form of media that allows us to feature successful entrepreneurs as a way to inspire and educate others.

We have been able to reach out even to the youth in school, whether private or public. But we found that there is one sector that we have not tapped – the out of school youth (OSY). I believe that we should turn our attention to this sector because the statistics of OSY has become alarming. To demonstrate, out of the 100 kids that should be going to school, only 90 will enter grade 1; out of the 90, only 40 will finish high school; and out of the 40, only 21 will enter college, where only 12 would finish, and, sadly, only one would get employed. (more…)