Entrepreneur and Globe Business Ambassador
Rose Ann Bautista, being in business for 20 years , has taught about the need to simplify her business, while at the same
time sustaining its growth. Rose Ann, FINO Leatherware’s Vice-President for
Marketing and Retail Operations, shares some of the things she learned about
how to make business simpler, more efficient, and cost-effective.
“FINO
Leatherware is into manufacturing and retail. We do the whole nine yards, from
finding materials to ordering them, to the actual manufacture at our factory,
and then making deliveries to clients and to our retail outlets. We deal with
so many suppliers and partners throughout the whole process.”
“We
have about a hundred or more employees—80 at our factory and and 20 to 30 at
our stores. As you can imagine, we have to deal with so many challenges in our
operations. Complications are part of the game. That’s why we had to find a way
to operate that helps us prevent, reduce, or cope with these complications,”
said Rose Ann.
Being informed, hands-on
According
to Rose Ann, she’s “hands-on” not in the sense that she’s physically present at
her factory. Rather, she always
keeps herself informed about business operations even on-the-go, thanks to
telecoms technology from Globe Business.
“What I do is I always make
sure that I know everything about what’s happening in the business, while also
having time for myself. This is only possible through the use of my cellphone,
the Internet, and my laptop. It’s
only when I’m informed that I can make the right decisions and quickly respond
to any problems,” she said.
Communication is vital
Rose
Ann says that she would not be able to run the business without a reliable,
quick, and convenient means to communicate with clients, suppliers, partners,
and employees.
“I’ve
been using Globe solutions for a long time. When I started using Globe, they
were still offering plans at 100, 200 pesos. So that’s how long I’ve stayed
with their services. I wouldn’t be able to run the business effectively without
them.
“Since
we practically do the entire process, from finding materials to making the
products, to distribution and retail, it’s very important to communicate with
everyone involved. Otherwise, we’d encounter delays, make errors, be much
slower to react,” she said.
Rose
Ann says that she depends on her cellphone and mobile Internet connection to
ensure smooth operations. “We also use Globe Business TxtConnect to keep in
touch with our customers. It’s a very effective means to touch base and connect
with them,” she said.
Globe
Business TxtConnect is the most effective solution for sending high-volume text
messages and SMS blasts to groups of people. It’s be used to make SMS broadcasts to customers, employees,
and a group of business associates.
One can send announcements, advertising, greetings, reminders, and
urgent alerts easily, fast, and conveniently because it is Internet based. All
it takes is a few keystrokes on the computer to reach a pre-determined group of
people. Globe Business TxtConnect also charges much lower rates for text
messages, compared to using a cellular phone.
“With
so many telecoms products available today, and with the advantages they bring
to our business, we really can’t run business without them. I send emails
through my cellphone. I receive reports. I can call the factory to give
instructions. I can even write letters using the cellphone and mobile
Internet,” she said.
Establish culture
According
to Rose Ann, many complications can be prevented by establishing a reliable
system that everyone can follow.
“In
our business operations, we’ve developed and established a system that already
runs itself most of the time. Actually, we started out with a system of
operations but we’ve already gone beyond that—we’ve leveled up to the point
where we can say that we already have a company culture,” she said.
Rose
Ann explained that establishing a company culture creates more confidence on
the part of the entrepreneur and the employees that everyone is doing things properly.
The culture integrates and cements
proven and effective operational procedures, so that they become second
nature to everyone.
“When
this culture is established, there’s a reduced need for the entrepreneur to be
physically present at the office or factory premises. We already know that our
people are doing things properly—we need to still monitor them, of course, but
no longer in such a tedious, micro fashion,” she said.
Trust
and respect, she said, are vital to company culture. “We need to develop mutual
trust and respect between employees and owners. As owners, we also need to show
them that we are professional, that we are team players, and be good examples
to our employees,” she added.
Research
In
order to sustain and grow their business, Rosa Ann never stops doing research
and getting creative inspiration. She said that her Globe-powered cellular
phone is very effective at this.
“I
remember years ago when, when I saw a design in a magazine, a design that
inspired new ideas, I had to tear off the magazine page. Nowadays, all I need
to do is take a photo of the design on my phone. Then I can send the photo to
my partners or to the factory.
“This
technology helps me do research even when I’m on vacation. I see things that
inspire me and I can take photos or type notes in my cellphone. It’s a fun way
to do research and doesn’t feel like work at all,” she explained.
Intuition and planning
Rose
Ann also notes that there’s really a cycle in business. There are good times
and bad and the best way to cope with this cycle is to plan ahead and create
back-up, contingency measures.
“I
notice that the business changes every ten years. The market also changes. For
example, in year 2000, our market shifted. Then in 2011, it shifted again.
Today, the fashion and the taste that prevail in the market is younger and
funkier. That’s why we have to identify trends and anticipate what the market
wants and what it will need.
“To
do this, we have to do analysis then forward planning. We also have to have
back-up plans that we can quickly implement if things do go exactly as we
anticipated at first. When we plan ahead and have back-up measures, we can
respond to challenges and changes quickly,” she said.
She
also added that long experience in the business sharpens her intuition. “I’ve
developed a feel for how things are going. Even when I still don’t have all the
facts, I can sense that something’s wrong. This is what I mean when I say that
we need to have a feel for the business,” she said.
For
Rose Ann, all of these steps are founded on information and communication. “We
can only implement these steps if we are informed enough and if we are able to
communicate quickly and effectively with our people,” she said.
She
also said that new technologies are a big help to sustaining and growing a
business. “Right now, for example, we keep track of deliveries using our
cellphones. We call each other to know where the deliveries are and what time
we can expect them to arrive. But I’ve heard that there’s now a Globe Business
service that keeps track of company vehicles and employees using GPS. If our
operations grow to the point where this service is needed, then it’s good that
we have this option,” she said.
Rose
Ann was referring to the Globe Business Fleet Management System. This service
uses the GPS technology and the Globe network to keep track of the location of
company vehicles. With this service, business owners can regularly keep track
of where their vehicles are headed, determine the best routes as well as alternative
routes, and also know what time the vehicles arrived at the delivery point.
For
more information on how to cope with complications in your business, and make
it simpler, more efficient, and more cost effective, consult your Globe
Business Account Manager; visit
any Globe Store; call the Globe
Business Hotline at +632 730-1010 or log on to http://www.globe.com.ph/business.
Globe Business is the corporate arm of Globe Telecom,
the leading mobile telecommunications company in the Philippines. Globe
Business provides wireless and wireline solutions for a diverse set of
industries, businesses, and commercial enterprises. It assures SMEs of
affordable, reliable, and dependable services for all communication needs, both
wireless and wireline solutions, to generate the highest possible profit at the
lowest possible cost.
