This Is Me Talking About Business & Economy

Well, that would be the day. I actually don’t know much about all the financial terms save for what I’ve read, heard and seen on TV. And this is my disclaimer that everything I will write, wrote or writing is simply based on my uninformed opinion.

So, the past 1 month or so, we’ve all heard about the great financial crash. Lehman going bankrupt, AIG almost succumbing to it as well if not for the timely save by the US government and yet we see AIG executives blowing money on retreats and massages, how swell. Even locally, we have seen a couple of big giants affected. Ayala Corp. apparently has lost quite a sum on the financial markets, all stocks are down as such in all other internatonal markets. Even 2007 1st time billionaire Andrew Tan of Megaworld fame, fell down the ranks of billionaire and joined the multi-million ranks once again. People are scared and panicky, understandably so, because it’s about money. You know how it is, Man and his relationship with money. It goes a long, long way.

Well, relationships aside. The reason why I’m ‘blogging’ about this is because how I think it can affect the local economy. For the past few years or decade, the Philippines has slowly becoming synonymous for outsourcing. Ah yes, the great outsourcing race, where every bank or big western company has been forwarding all the calls to their service hotline into other countries that have the ’skill’ to speak like an American or British, really depends on where you are calling from. Aside from outsourcing, some of the more major industries we have that are very dependent on the international market (read: US of A), is export. More specifically, the export of two things, electronics and manpower. Though not really consider a commodity, overseas foreign workers send a lot of money home and really helps in boosting the economy as  the money they send is used to spend and spending means more money going around, which I heard is generally a good thing. The export of electronics is another big market, 60% of total exports big. This includes electronics used in hospital, cars, radio, computers and among other things, while the next biggest is garments which has been experiencing quite a downturn for the past few years due to the emergence of cheaper manufacturing options in China & Vietnam.

So now that we got that intro out of the way, what’s next? Well simply put, when banks start going bankrupt and their stocks go crashing, there’s gonna be some belt tightening involved. Of course I think the 1st batch of people they would cut or retrench would be the executives. Things that they can do without and in the current business focus on service, the outsourcing scene in call centers and BPOs would probably one of the last groups to experience any major cuts in jobs. Again, it’s still gonna happen, I’ve already heard of some multi-national banks retrenching a certain percentage of their staff. Same thing for all those people who went to Singapore or Hong Kong to work in these big financial firms, some of them are gonna get cut. And once they do, that cuts into the remittances which in turn affects the local economy. It’s the same principle for people in other industries working overseas. The nurses, maids, engineers, doctors.. when people start cutting down their costs, the 1st thing off that list are luxury items, and personal nurses and maids are considered luxury in foreign soil.

Now the export of electronics is very connected to the root of all evil, money! You know we love it, money! Recently there has been news about GM and Chrysler talking about a merger, car sales have been dropping for quite some time now with the big gas hike a few months back and now this financial crash going on. Lots of job cuts that happened and by the end of 2008, GM will cut even more jobs, like 5,000. So more unemployed folks, less spending on consumer electronics, less car buying. Which means less demands from factories locally and we all know what happens if supply is > than demand. Basically less spending will decrease the need to manufacture some of the things such as microchips, ABS brakes or power supply adapters, and it will definitely affect the local electronic manufacturers and it’s workers. Garments is on the same boat. Not only is it a declining export commodity, clothes are also one of the things removed from the list of ‘what do I really need’ and ‘what are the things I can afford to buy’.

I admit I’m worried, I run an integrated marketing firm. Advertising costs are the first things that get cut out from annual budgets. And considering we are only about to enter into our 3rd month of operations, it’s going to be a tough ride and we’re going to have to grind it out. I just hope that our flexibility will allow us to move through the upcoming tough times ahead and I feel that if we can survive this, we can come out bigger and stronger.

On business related things, I think I’ve mentioned it before, I’m still quite interested in opening up my own gallery space/bar/event space and I’m considering in going to Singapore to open one. I think the market there is more ready, it’s art scene is growing and vibrant and it has lots of international exposure. Rent will probably kill me, though I hope with the financial crisis going on maybe i can get a better value. Spending might be down so that might kill me, but I don’t really need it to make a lot of money at the start. I just want something that people can come down, listen to some music or see some art. I gotta find some investors in this but I think it’s definitely worth doing. I hope there’s news to share about this once 2009 kicks in.

Road Rage

I was stopped by the traffic police today for a traffic violation. I was making a right turn while the stoplight was red. Granted that there was no sign at all saying ‘no right turn on red signal’ and that for the hundreds and thousands of times I’ve turned right in that area, today I broke a law.

Before I was caught, I was listening to this spot on the radio about how drivers should respect the rights of those who ride on motorcycles. This spot was sponsored by a show about riders riding through the country and basically promoting the industry of motorcycling, if there’s such a word. I understand the appeal of motorcycles, especially in this country where proper public transport is barely visible. I know that they are cheap to get, gas consumption is low, it’s relatively fast and it saves people the hassle of taking the crappy service that we call public transportation here. My only beef with motorcycle riders is the way they weave in and out of traffic, suddenly cutting cars in the middle of the road and lots of times, without signals. I mean, DUDE, I’m here driving along the proper lane and out of nowhere you cut into my space! And if I hit you, it’s my fault? People should know that riding motorcycles has already higher risks than cars due to its ‘open’ nature but it seems the other way as they are the ones driving more dangerously in an already dangerous driving environment which is the city of Manila.

Would a bicycle/motorcycle lane help? Yes! i’ve been wanting to have a bike lane forever. I really want to use a bike to get to places and I can’ t do it. Why? I’m afraid for my life, that’s why. I’m afraid that when I bring my bike to go to the nearby mall to buy stuff, I might get mugged or I might get run over by jeepneys or buses whose drivers seem to learn driving through video games. This post probably won’t change shit though. Traffic rules are broken on a regular basis. Traffic regulations get changed on a regular like baby diapers and nobody really knows what when it comes to all these new ‘laws’.

Anyway, back to getting caught. I pulled aside and the “officer” smiled and greeting me a ‘good afternoon’. He was explaining to me that the light was red and due to the street being part of a ‘major’ intersection, I should not turn right when the light is red. OKay, fine, my bad. So I showed him my license and he went on to continue explaining to me that once he writes on the paper and takes my license away, I have to pay a certain fine and attend a 3-day course. And the whole point of his long speech was that, “Oh no sir, we don’t want you to be bothered by all these seminars, wouldn’ t we?”. And with that hint, I pulled out 300 pesos and gave it to the officer, a hundred for each officer hanging in that spot (I really should’ve given him a hundred).  The funny part is that while explaining the whole fine and seminar thing to me, he subtlely mentioned that they are only ‘voluteers’ and in fact, receive no cut whatsoever from these fees the City Hall imposes. He even tried to wash his hands off by telling my sister (who was with me in the car, I forgot to mention) that he didn’t ask for anything and that I was the one who was giving it to him. Wow. Just wow.

Anyway(again), that’s basically my day today. Awesome road stories and spent like 70% of the day doing a 30Rock marathon. We really should try and develop better transportation infrastructure and road rules. I can only hope that I can see the change before I die, though I doubt it will happen.

End Of Another Week

Another week has ended and once again we have entered into another weekend to rest and revitalize ourselves. Since my folks are currently on their holiday, I have been left with the responsibility of handling various tasks in our office, while still running my own marketing firm. It’s not really as hectic as my Dad has a solid team of people who pretty much can run things temporarily while he’s out. All I do is just do some basic checking and see if there’s anything needed to be signed or cleared.

While I was having dinner earlier, I suddenly felt alone (my sister came home late, so I went and ate without her). The alone I felt wasn’t sad at all, but rather calm and peaceful. And I thought if my daily life would be like this, it would be kinda boring after awhile. A home really needs a family and people to make it feel alive, else it would be just another house.

Being in the contemplative mood, I also wondered if I will ever get married in this lifetime. I’m not being dramatic and I’ve said it all along, that if possible I want to get married early like before I reach 28-29. I am currently closing in at 26 and the chances look bleak. Anyway, I’m not really the type who dwells on such things much, it’s just that of late there’s been so many wedding proposals. I’m getting quite sick of them really, I think due to so many proposals happening around me, I feel that it’s becoming a bit of an overkill. At least I can count on getting a couple of nice, free meals from all the wedding receptions I’ll be attending from now till 2010. Currently, most weddings are scheduled only up till 2010, maybe next year I’ll get more invites for post-2010 weddings.

On other news, the weather today is hot and humid. I do find it quite odd, usually once October comes in the weather usually cools down. Global warming and environemental changes must be really starting to kick in. Also, because of the current weather, it seems like Christmas season hasn’t kicked it yet. I mean, this is the Philippines and we treat Christmas like a long await event. Usually once the ‘ber months kick in, people quickly associate it as the start of Christmas. It is now nearing the end of October and I have yet to feel the ’spirit’.  Maybe it’s not just the weather, the economy has been pretty steady but definitely been affected by the number of local and international crisis we have experienced the past decade or more. People might be spending less (though I doubt it), they probably have just less to spend so many being all Christmas-y isn’t the best way to go.

I don’t know, maybe it’s because I am older now or maybe it’s different times we live in now, but Christmas doesn’t seem to be the same as before. It felt so vibrant and alive back then. I couldn’t wait for Christmas when I was a kid and even though we weren’t doing as well, we were happy living within our means. I didn’t need expensive gifts or extravagant decorations, all I needed was that Christmas was a time where we could spend time together as a family and with our immediate families. This is funny coming from a guy who doesn’t believe in Christianity and yet is a baptized and confirmed member of the Catholic church. I don’t need those complications to enjoy Christmas, because for me Christmas always meant about bringing our families together.

I wanted to discuss some current issues which might affect certain industries in the Philippines which are giving so much to our local economy, but perhaps I shall do it in another post.

On Reading

I’ve started a new habit ever since we opened up our workspace more than a month ago. During weekdays, I would leave my laptop at the office and I would only bring it home during weekends.

What was my purpose of doing so? Well, initially because it was troublesome to carry it around. It, being a laptop that weighs a ton because it quite thick and even the battery pack is thick. The laptop which I fondly call ‘war machine’ nowadays has been with me for more than 3 years and probably holds quite a sentimental value with all the memories and experiences that we have shared, but I digress.

Aside from it being heavy, my other reasons include that I felt that I was on the computer and more specifically on the internet for way too much time, sometimes for 12 of the 15-18 hours that I was awake. While it felt that I was more connected than I have ever been because I was constantly bombarded by information and news, at the same time, I was feeling a disconnection with my real life. It was not a real disconnection in a way that I have totally cut off contact with people in life but disconnection on a mental level. I’m often distracted, forgetful or have difficulty remaining in focus because I feel that there’s so much things to be processed and my mind is constantly thinking forward.

My other reason and the true purpose of this post, was to do more reading. Not simply reading text on the computer but actually touching real paper, flipping through pages of text and exercising our human imagination which makes reading truely a wonderful experience. I’ll be frank, I’m not exactly the most well-read person and I hardly know what a good book is. I would usually base my reading on recommendations of people that I know or people that I admire.

Currently, I am reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, which I found through this zine I read written by a Japanese streetwear designer. So far, other books that I’m looking to read is ‘Good To Great’, which was a recommendation from my uncle and maybe Noah Chomsky books, which was recommended by the same zine that pimped The Fountainhead.

It’s time for me to go back to reading and before I end this post. I just realized how much I enjoy writing. My writing might have a slew of faults and errors, my grammar or sentence construction might be bad  but I like it. It makes me feel…free.

Busy Week

Wow! We went from taking it easy to being mad busy in a snap. Just like that.

We came in this Monday to start the week without anything scheduled. Our first project was about done and we were in the process of looking for new clients and new projects. We have a few stuff in process but nothing concrete yet but this new project totally came up from nowhere. Well, not totally nowhere but not expected.

So around 9.30AM if I recall correctly, I receive this call about this project and we had to rush off from Makati to Greenhills for an 11.00AM meeting. The meeting was to discuss the details of the project and to collect some collaterals as well to develop the concept for the event. The catch was that we had to submit and present the thing by Wednesday! Imagine, we had 2 days for a full-fledged event, which required us to provide a detailed costing of the project.

The day and the day after was pretty crazy and meant a lot of overtime for the crew. I have to admit that while it was pretty tiring, it was exciting at the same time. We were pretty confident for the presentation on Wednesday afternoon. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as well and we had to re-do most of the concepts we developed.

I’m pretty frustrated because partly it failed because of miscommunication(or lack of detailed information) by the company’s marketing people. Expectations and budget were set and now they are telling us that the budget allocated isn’t that high and what the boss wants is entirely different from what we discussed in the preliminary meeting. Sigh, anyway, the next presentation will be held on Monday and we have tempered our expectations for this event.

In other news, there hasn’t been much that has gone on this week aside from work. I’m not sure if it’s the work but lately I’ve been feeling very fatigued, I think something might be wrong, maybe I’ll go for blood tests soon and see if there’s anything I should be concerned about. Hopefully everything will be alright.

Anyhoo, next week seems to be promising. It’s going to be another busy week, partly due to some potential projects coming in, but it’s also because most of my family will be going to China so I’ll have to cover for my folks in the office during mornings.

Next week Friday also marks the launch of Up Dharma Down’s new album, Bipolar. I’ve always been a fan of their sound and their music, so I hope I can attend the launch. Should be quite fun. Then on Saturday, there’s actually quite a number of things to attend to: The rowing team is holding a reunion of sorts and then the fiance of my friend is holding a Halloween party with her friends, and I think another friend is thinking of holding a dinner treat. Nothing’s set yet though, so I’ll probably decide when the day comes. I’m generally a very lazy fellow and would prefer to sleep at home, but life and society requires me to be socially active.

Welcome Back!

Before anything, I’d like to give myself a warm and cuddly ‘welcome back’ hug.

So the past 1 month or so, I have been quite inactive. I would say that it has been a busy month, but in reality that’s not the reason. The real reason is simple, I was lazy.. perhaps even a little uninspired. Which is why I have decided to make this comeback different.

I started this blog to be write about stuff that was happening in my life, stuff that interested me, stuff that inspired me. Somewhere along the way, it went wayward, it became a showcase of products and culture. It was still the stuff that I found cool but it became impersonal. It simply became a presentation, a race for hits. I was forcing some of the stuff I wrote just because I was enamored by the number of visits certain topics illicited.

For the new direction, I have decided to go back to personal stories. Less product/culture posts unless it’s something that really has an impact in my personal life. I hope to be more honest and less of a try hard.

While I was lazy in updating the blog, I actually was doing something. I opened an integrated marketing company with my friends last September 11. It hasn’t been an easy start, getting clients are quite difficult and being an upstart company,  we need to build everything from scratch, from admin to finance to HR. It’s pretty exciting though. Everyday there’s a new challenge, something unexpected, something learned. We are hoping for the best and just try to get ourselves out there. It does get difficult at times because it’s my wish that we retain our identity as a creative thinktank, however whenever you are in a business of dealing with clients, it is our job to make sure that we do by what’s right for the client and sometimes being fun, playful or quirky doesn’t always work well in achieving that goal. I hope we can find some sort of balance between two sides though, but I can see that it’s always going to be work-in-progress.

I haven’t mentioned the company name yet, I couldn’t find the right timing in the paragraph above. So allow me to say it outright now. We are Fantastik! Manila. Why Fantastik! Manila? Well, in the process of developing names, I wanted to definitely include the exclamation mark, it just felt right, something with zest and vigor! The other factor was to include the word Manila in it as a representation of our city. My main reason for this is because I noticed that the major cosmopolitan cities were always properly represented in company names such as clothing company aNYthing/a New York thing or design guild Project Tokyo. I hope that by continually representing our own metropolitan city, we can eventually have the similar impact whenever people mention Manila.

Well, that’s it for me now. Please visit our site www.fantastikmanila.com. It is currently at version 0.5, while the 1.0 version is still under development.