For owners of century-old businesses, shutting down brings a special pain

Harrell’s Department Store has stood sentry over Wright Street in Burgaw, North Carolina, for the past 117 years. It has served the town’s 4,000 residents with everything they’ve needed, like baby shoes and horse collars in the original wooden building, or church hats and appliances in the two-story red brick building constructed in 1924.

Harrell’s has been the backdrop to several famous late-1990s and early-2000s movies, including “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.” It has survived changing fashions — it once sold long johns — world wars, the Great Depression and the 2008 financial crisis, and floods.

But it couldn’t survive the coronavirus. Vernon Harrell, the company’s fourth-generation owner, recently announced he was closing the business his great-grandfather started.

“It’s been very difficult,” said Harrell, 65, who started working in the store when he was 13. “I did not want to be the one who brought it to an end.”

The pandemic has devastated many of the country’s small-business owners; nearly a quarter of companies closed either temporarily or permanently in March and April, according to a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. But for firms that have been part of their communities for 100 years or more, there’s more at stake than livelihood — there’s legacy and, in some cases, generations of family ties.

Since March, the pandemic has claimed at least a half-dozen businesses in or near the century club. For example, the Boston Hotel Buckminster, which opened in 1897, closed its doors; Ritz Barbecue, which opened in a small shed in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1927, served its last ribs and ice cream last month; Hickory Grove Greenhouses, just north of Allentown, decided to close after 103 years; and Michigan Maple Block Co., a wood products company in northern Michigan, is shuttering its manufacturing plant and laying off 56 workers after 139 years.

“These firms can die a good death or a bad death; nothing lasts forever,” said Dennis Jaffe, a sociologist who works with family companies and recently published the book “Borrowed From Your Grandchildren: The Evolution of 100-Year Family Enterprises.” “It’s sad and there is grieving, but there is also a legacy.”

Harrell was struggling to keep the department store going even before the coronavirus hit. Changing consumer tastes and competition from big-box stores such as Home Depot were cutting into his revenue. He had already given up selling flooring materials and floor coverings — something Harrell’s had sold from the beginning — because he couldn’t be competitive. But he was also trying to modernize: Harrell started a website and put the store on social media, and he considered adding a bar to the store to give customers another reason to shop.

“If COVID hadn’t hit, I would have kept going even though I would have struggled,” Harrell said. “It was the loss of the income for the two months that really just crippled me.”

One challenge facing family businesses is that there often isn’t anyone who wants to take over — especially during an economic downturn. Harrell’s adult sons live six hours away in Asheville, North Carolina, and aren’t interested in re-imagining retail for a post-COVID world. Neither are his nieces and nephews.

“There isn’t the next generation with the passion to take the business through a crisis,” said Jennifer Pendergast, executive director of the Center for Family Enterprises at Northwestern University. “This is going to be hard for a while. Is there someone who wants to take that on?”

For business owners trying to chart the future — whether they’re the fifth generation or the second — Pendergast recommends that they find someone who can be their “truth teller,” who will look at the numbers and the emotions of continuing. If the math doesn’t work and the business isn’t viable, there’s no point in keeping it alive. But if it is, then she encourages owners to ask themselves if the work is still meaningful to the family.

“Obligation cannot be the reason to continue,” she said. “Long term, that is not sustainable.”

Amy Hyman feels that obligation daily as she tries to guide Lake Steam Baths in Denver into its 94th year in business.

Like Harrell, she never expected to find herself at the helm of a legacy business. She was happy with her job tending the bar where she met her husband, Hannon. The Russian and Turkish bathhouse was the domain of her mother-in-law, Gertie.

“She was 5-foot-nothing,” Hyman said. “This little Jewish lady running around telling everyone what to do. That’s my fondest memory of this place — not ever knowing that I would be her someday, in a sense.”

When Gertie died in 2006, Hannon took over — with some input from Hyman. Women had never been allowed in the baths. But Hyman persuaded Hannon to let her test a ladies’ night one Sunday a month so that women could enjoy the hot saunas and whirlpools, and get a massage.

She continued bartending and raising her daughter and son while Hannon ran the business. But when he died in 2015, at age 59, Hyman found herself in charge because no other family members were available.

“Never did I ever believe that I would be running the business by myself,” Hyman said. “My two kids were 14 and 10 when Hannon passed, and every year I kept saying, ‘I’m going to sell this place and live life.’ But I can’t. The community is amazing.”

She doubled down on the business that Hannon’s grandparents opened in 1927. She paid off the $400,000 mortgage on the 11,000-square-foot building and parking lot, and began upgrading, spending more than $40,000 on a new boiler, sauna oven and steam machine. She also added more ladies’ nights and expanded the food menu.

The results started showing last year: Hyman said she turned a profit and was on track for 2020 to be her best year. She was preparing to invest in another sauna oven and thinking about how to grow. She employed nine people and had expanded to 36 massage therapists to meet demand.

But the investments also taxed her cash reserves and left her vulnerable when Colorado’s governor, Jared Polis, closed businesses in late March to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Her revenue went to zero, and she had to lay off her staff.

“I just keep teetering constantly and just fighting myself: Keep the business, don’t keep the business,” Hyman said. “If I need to let it go, I know the Lake Steam community will forgive me and understand.”

-Amy Haimerl, The New York Times-

A tidal wave of bankruptcies is coming

Already, companies large and small are succumbing to the effects of the coronavirus. They include household names like Hertz and J. Crew and comparatively anonymous energy companies like Diamond Offshore Drilling and Whiting Petroleum.

And the wave of bankruptcies is going to get bigger.

Edward Altman, creator of the Z score, a widely used method of predicting business failures, estimated that this year will easily set a record for so-called megabankruptcies — filings by companies with $1 billion or more in debt. And he expects the number of merely large bankruptcies — at least $100 million — to challenge the record set the year after the 2008 economic crisis.

Even a meaningful rebound in economic activity over the coming months won’t stop it, said Altman, the Max L. Heine professor of finance, emeritus, at New York University’s Stern School of Business. “The really hurting companies are too far gone to be saved,” he said.

Many are teetering on the edge. Chesapeake Energy, once the second-largest natural gas company in the country, is wrestling with about $9 billion in debt. Tailored Brands — the parent of Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank and K&G — recently disclosed that it, too, might have to file for bankruptcy protection. So did Weatherford International, an oil field services company that emerged from bankruptcy only in December.

More than 6,800 companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, and this year will almost certainly have more. The flood of petitions from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression could swamp the system, making it harder to save the companies that can be rescued, bankruptcy experts said.

Most good-size companies that go into bankruptcy try to restructure themselves, working out payment agreements for their debts so they can stay open. But if a plan can’t be worked out — or isn’t successful — they can be liquidated instead. Equipment and property are sold off to pay debts, and the company disappears.

Without reform in the system, “we anticipate that a significant fraction of viable small businesses will be forced to liquidate, causing high and irreversible economic losses,” a group of academics said in a letter to Congress in May. “Workers will lose jobs even in otherwise viable businesses.”

Among their suggestions: increasing budgets to recall retired judges and hire more clerks and giving companies more time to come up with workable plans to prevent them from being sold off for parts.

“Tight deadlines may lead to overly optimistic restructuring plans and subsequent refilings that will congest courts and delay future recoveries,” they wrote.

The pandemic — with its lockdowns, which have just started to ease — was enough on its own to put some businesses under. The gym chain 24 Hour Fitness, for example, declared bankruptcy this week, saying it would close 100 locations because of financial problems that its chief executive attributed entirely to the coronavirus.


But in many cases, the coronavirus crisis exposed deeper problems, like staggering debts run up by companies whose business models were already struggling to deal with changes in consumer behavior.

Hertz has been weighed down by debt created in a leveraged buyout more than a decade ago and added to it with the acquisition of Dollar Thrifty in 2012. As it was battling direct competitors, the ascent of Uber and Lyft further upended the rental car industry.

J. Crew and Neiman Marcus were carrying heavy debt loads from leveraged buyouts by private equity firms while struggling to deal with the changing preferences of shoppers who increasingly buy online.

Oil and gas companies like Diamond and Whiting borrowed heavily to expand when commodities prices were much higher. Those prices started to fall as production increased and plunged further still when Russia and Saudi Arabia got into a price war shortly before the economic shutdowns began.

(And then there are cases that have nothing to do with the pandemic but nonetheless take up time and energy in the courts. Borden Dairy, a Dallas company with a history that goes back to 1857, declared bankruptcy in January, a victim of declining prices, rising costs and changing tastes.)

A run of defaults looks almost inevitable. At the end of the first quarter of this year, US companies had amassed nearly $10.5 trillion in debt — by far the most since the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis began tracking the figure at the end of World War II.

“An explosion in corporate debt,” Altman said.

Having a lot more debt to deal with is likely to make the coming bankruptcies a bruising experience for unsecured creditors, who may include retirees with pensions or health benefits, vendors waiting to be paid, tort plaintiffs whose lawsuits are cut short and sometimes even current workers. If a company goes into bankruptcy with more secured debts than the value of its assets, the secured creditors — including vulture investors who bought up the debt for a song — can walk away with virtually everything.

The sums at play in some of these cases will be enormous. Altman expects at least 66 cases with more than $1 billion in debt this year, eclipsing 2009’s mark of 49. He also predicted 192 bankruptcies involving at least $100 million in debt, which would trail only 2009’s record of 242.

Robert Keach, a director of the American College of Bankruptcy, said many companies had so far managed to put off bankruptcy by amassing cash and conserving it as best they can: drawing down existing credit lines, furloughing workers, delaying projects and taking advantage of federal and state pandemic-relief programs.

But when those programs expire, the companies will start burning through their cash. That’s when bankruptcy filings are likely to soar and stay elevated, Keach said.

Expect “a COVID-19 cliff” in the next 30 to 60 days, he said.

Companies that received loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Program may be waiting to file, said Keach, who practices bankruptcy law with the firm of Bernstein Shur in Portland, Maine. The loans can be converted to grants if the companies meet certain requirements, and if the borrowers can put off bankruptcy until they’re sure they won’t have to pay the money back, they will have more cash when they file.

That’s an important consideration, because Chapter 11 is expensive. A bankrupt company must pay the fees of the lawyers and other professionals that help it reorganize as well as the fees of those who advise the official creditors’ committees.

The experts’ recommendations to Congress walk a fine line. They suggest allowing companies more time to come up with reorganization plans, even though Chapter 11 cases are supposed to move quickly so bankrupt companies don’t burn through their cash before they reorganize.

Generally, the longer a company stays in bankruptcy, the greater the chances of a liquidation. And that increases the likelihood that the company’s troubles will spread: Suppliers of raw materials could fold if a manufacturer languishes in bankruptcy, and smaller stores in entirely differently lines of business can suffer if a shopping mall anchor can’t stay open.

These risks are real, said Robert Gerber, who retired in 2016 as a bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of New York. One of his cases was the 2009 bankruptcy of General Motors, which moved at lightning speed to keep the automaker from going under for good.

“If GM had failed, God knows how many companies in the supply chain would have failed, and this would have snowballed terribly,” said Gerber, who is now of counsel with the Joseph Hage Aaronson firm. The cascade would have wiped out paychecks to workers throughout the supply chain, threatening other businesses and even the finances of the local governments that count on them for tax revenue.

That, Gerber said, makes it imperative that the bankruptcy system have the resources to deal with the coming rush of cases.

“Bankruptcy can’t print money for those companies,” he said, “but it can give a good number of them a chance of survival.”

2020 The New York Times Company

UK posts slowest growth in six years as Brexit looms

LONDON - The British economy grew at its slowest pace in 6 years in 2018, data showed Monday, as Brexit uncertainty grips the country and fears grow that Britain could crash out of the EU without a deal.

The bleak official figures came as the British government seeks to win more time to secure EU concessions on Brexit that could pass the UK parliament and avert a chaotic split from the bloc on March 29.

Businesses are on edge with Britain just weeks away from its scheduled departure from the European project after 46 years and still with no firm arrangements in place.

The parliament in London last month roundly rejected a Brexit deal Prime Minister Theresa May had sealed with the remaining 27 EU leaders.

Monday's figures followed data last week that showed Britain's dominant service sector almost ground to a halt in January.

"The economy is clearly struggling in the first quarter of 2019 amid serious business and consumer caution resulting from heightened Brexit uncertainties while weaker global growth is also impacting" the figures, noted Howard Archer, chief economic adviser at the EY ITEM Club. 

Last year gross domestic product growth stood at 1.4 percent, down from 1.8 percent in 2017, the Office for National Statistics said Monday.

Growth was only 0.2 percent in the last 3 months of 2018, the ONS said in a statement. 

"Construction, production and services output fell in the month (of December), the first time that there has been such a broad-based fall in monthly output since September 2012," the ONS said.

Britain has been in a state of political turmoil for two months since the Brexit deal was agreed in December.

In an incident heavy with symbolism, parts of parliament were cordoned off Monday after a large piece of masonry fell onto a parked vehicle over the weekend.

600,000 JOBS UNDER THREAT 

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has called for "clarity and movement" from Britain.

In an effort to break the impasse, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay hosted Barnier for a working dinner at the British ambassador's residence in Brussels on Monday, with concern growing on both sides of the Channel.

Speaking after the dinner, Barnier said the talks had been "constructive".

"We are clear from our side that we are not going to reopen the withdrawal agreement, but we will continue our discussion in the coming days," he told journalists.

Earlier, Barnier said that British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn's proposal for a permanent customs union with the EU was an "interesting" one.

Researchers at the IWH Institute in Halle, eastern Germany on Monday said a no-deal Brexit could put 600,000 jobs around the world at risk, with Germany the hardest hit.

The institute examined what would happen if UK imports from the remaining EU fell 25 percent after Brexit.

They reckoned some 103,000 jobs would be under threat in Germany, Europe's largest economy, with the car industry the worst affected sector.

GLOBAL GROWTH SLOWDOWN 

Monday's economic data came after the Bank of England last week slashed its forecast for UK growth this year to 1.2 percent from 1.7 percent, blaming the downgrade on a global economic slowdown and "the fog of Brexit".

The Bank of England warned that Britain's economic output was being dragged down with growth dampening in China, the United States and the eurozone.

The point was echoed by analysts reacting to Monday's data.

"Brexit uncertainty is certainly not helping matters on the economic front, but it is probably only a secondary factor in this slowdown, with the primary cause being a drop in overall global activity," said David Cheetham, chief market analyst at XTB trading group.

The pound fell against the euro and dollar in reaction to Monday's growth data.

"We must caution against blaming all on Brexit -- global cooling is having the biggest dampening effect on all major economies at present -- although we must note that (UK) business investment is collapsing," said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 stocks index, which features many multinationals, was however higher on hopes of a breakthrough in US-China trade talks.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

LIST: The giant Chinese companies shaping the world's industries

It was fear of being dominated by a Chinese behemoth that sparked an attempt by large French and German rail companies to join forces to create an European industrial champion.

The merger by Alstom and Siemens was vetoed by the EU on Thursday, but concerns about the overwhelming power of vast, often state-backed Chinese companies is not limited to the rail industry.

Here are some of areas in which Chinese companies control a large piece of the global market.

- Rail -
China's state-backed CRRC is the world's largest train manufacturer, with locomotives and wagons ordered across the globe from Boston to Philadelphia, Cambodia to Colombia, and customers including the iconic London Underground and Germany's Deutsche Bahn.

Its annual revenues of 26 billion euros (29 billion dollars) alone outweigh the three Western heavyweights Bombardier, Siemens and Alstom, each of which brings in around nine billion a year.

- Agrichemicals -
The state-owned ChemChina became one of the world's seeds and pesticide producers when it acquired Swiss pesticide giant Syngenta for $43 billion in 2017, putting it in competition with Monsanto and DowDupont.

It was the biggest overseas acquisition by a Chinese firm yet, ahead of the $15.1 billion purchase of Canada's Nexen Energy by China's state oil firm CNOOC in 2013.

ChemChina also controls Italian tyremaker Pirelli and German machinery firm KraussMaffei.

- Energy -
The state-run China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) launched its locally developed Hualong One nuclear reactor in 2015 to compete with French and US models, selling to Argentina and Pakistan.

Chinese solar panel manufacturers Jinko, Trina and Solar dominate the global market.

And Chinese oil companies -- CNOOC, CNPC and Sinopec -- are investing heavily even as their global rivals cut spending.

- Aviation -
China's state-owned plane-maker Comac expects to deliver its first home-made passenger jet to a customer in 2021, as it seeks to challenge the dominance of Boeing and Airbus.

The company says it has received a thousand orders for its 168-seater C919 plane.

- Food -
The state-owned food giant COFCO is playing an increasing role in world grain trading after purchasing the agricultural arm of Singaporean commodities trader Noble as well as Dutch Nidera.

China's WH Group became the world's largest pork producer in 2013, when it purchased major US pork and hot dog producer Smithfield Foods Inc.

- Drones -
Founded by a Chinese university student in 2006, DJI has become the world's top civilian drone maker with 70 percent of the market, outpacing its French rival Parrot.

- Smartphones -
Chinese smartphone makers are taking a larger slice of the global market, with Huawei at 15 percent, Xiaomi 8.7 percent and Oppo 8.1 percent.

Phone sales by Huawei and Oppo surged by 30 percent last year, defying a downward trend that hit rivals Apple and Samsung.

- Home appliances -
China's Haier Group is the world's leading manufacturer of home appliances with around 10 percent of the market, ahead of rivals Whirlpool and Electrolux.

Haier even purchased the appliances arm of US giant General Electric in 2016.

- Batteries -
Chinese firm CATL, which supplies batteries for car titans Volkswagen, Ford and Daimler, is battling with Japan's Panasonic for the world's lithium electric car battery top spot.

Its production capacity will increase fivefold by 2020 due to a mammoth new factory in China, and the firm has announced a huge factory in Germany to supply European customers.

- Freight -
The state-owned Cosco Group is the world's third biggest shipping company with 50 container ports across the globe, including Greece's Piraeus and Spain's Bilbao.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

From lobsters to teapots: How small businesses can grow with Google

SINGAPORE - Businesses, regardless of size, should build their mobile-optimized websites to lure millions of potential customers who shop with their smartphones, Google executives said Thursday. 

Ad opportunities on Google have exploded since the first one nearly two decades ago for Lively Lobsters in the US. Now, businessmen can show off their products and services on Google My Business or bet on an video to go viral on YouTube.

"Every business is an online business. Every business needs to be online and be digital," said Kevin O Kane managing director for small and medium businesses at Google Asia Pacific.

"It really levels the playing field. It allows any business, in any town, in any community to be global," he said.

Going digital is "very high tech, with a low tech ambition" of "being there when people want you," said Mel Silva, Google's managing director for go-to strategy and operations for the region. 

Small businesses were Google's first customers in 5 Asia Pacific countries, including a teapot maker in Hong Kong, a men's tailor in Thailand, a building renovation contractor in Japan, a student information portal in Singapore and an auto mechanic in Indonesia.

"All the big companies today are at one point, a small business," O Kane told the Growing with Google business forum here.

Business websites should load no longer than 3 seconds and take advantage of the audience shift to video content, he said. 

Google Test My Site also offers businessmen a tool to check of their website is fast enough and if the design is good, he said.

"It's free to get started. It's intimidating but it's not that hard," he said. 

O Kane said "there's a long way to go" as only 5 percent of small business are online even if they comprise roughly 98 percent of all businesses in the region, contributing half of the regional gross domestic product.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Global stocks tumble as Wall Street, Tokyo hit reverse

NEW YORK - Global stocks tumbled Thursday as disappointing earnings, profit taking and fears a US corporate tax cut will be delayed combined to drive major indices down.

US stocks closed lower after declines in Japan, London, Frankfurt and Paris. Major tech stocks saw heavy losses: Google-parent Alphabet fell a full percentage point, Microsoft gave up 0.6 percent and Apple lost 0.4 percent.

"A combination of profit taking and perhaps the prospect that maybe some key parts of the (tax reform) bill may be delayed is what is causing this," Peter Cardillo of First Standard Financial, said of the down day on Wall Street.

Japanese stocks also finished lower, suffering a sharp reverse after earlier hitting fresh 26-year highs, while most other Asian indices also fell.

"Markets took their cue from a volatile session in Japan, where the Nikkei performed an impressive handbrake turn after hitting fresh multi-year highs," said IG analyst Chris Beauchamp in London.

"This sudden drop after the relentless gains over the past two months caught investors on the hop."

TRUMP AND TRADE WITH CHINA

China and the United States meanwhile signed more than $250 billion in business deals, including $37 billion worth of Boeing planes, as US President Donald Trump held talks with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Trump criticized Beijing's "one-sided and unfair" trade surplus but said he did not blame China for the situation, instead hitting out at prior presidents "for allowing this out-of-control trade deficit to take place and to grow."

On the upside in Asia, Shanghai and Hong Kong closed higher, with traders cheering forecast-beating inflation figures from China that provided fresh hopes the huge economy is stabilizing.

In London, shares in British luxury fashion giant Burberry slumped on disappointing earnings and a costly strategy overhaul. The group's share price tumbled 9.32 percent to £18, topping London's fallers board.

In Denmark, shares in Vestas, the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer, tumbled nearly 20 percent after the Danish firm tweaked its annual outlook and its quarterly net profit slid. By late afternoon, its shares were down 19.1 percent to 426.60 kroner (57.33 euros, $66.72), in a market down 2.8 percent overall.

KEY FIGURES AROUND 2200 GMT (6 a.m. Friday in Manila)

New York - DOW: DOWN 0.4 percent at 23,461.94 points (close)

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 2,584.62 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.6 percent at 6,750.05 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,484.10 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 1.5 percent at 13,182.56 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.2 percent at 5,407.75 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,612.50 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 23,868.71 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.8 percent at 29,136.57 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 at 3,427.79 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1642 from $1.1619 at 2200 GMT

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3145 from $1.3105

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 113.42 yen from 113.46 yen

Oil - Brent North Sea: UP 44 cents at $63.93 per barrel

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP 36 cents at $57.17

source: news.abs-cbn.com

11 tips for a better conference call

Whether you’re hosting a conference call or taking part, these tips will help you make the most of your virtual meeting.

1. Dial in on time or a few minutes early, if you are the organiser. A lot of conference calls waste the first 5 minutes with constant beeps and interruptions from latecomers. Try InstantMeeting from Plantronics.
2. Think about your background noise. If you can’t take the call from a quiet place, use a noise-cancelling headset for when you are speaking and put it on mute when you are not.
3. The power of your voice. Stand up for important discussions, this will help to project your voice.
4. Don’t ever put your phone on hold. You will probably subject the rest of the call to your hold music or beeping.
5. Remember to un-mute your headset when you want to talk!
6. Send a pre-call email to all participants outlining the agenda, dial in details and any material they need to read.
7. Keep to the agenda and on time as much as possible
8. Participants should keep contributions as concise as possible. No one appreciates a rambling monologue!
9. If you want everyone to follow the same presentation – try screen sharing.
10. Focus on the conference call. It is easy to be distracted with emails/Facebook/online shopping, etc.
11. Close the call with a clear summing up of next steps and follow up with an email with action items for participants.

Photo credit: wildxplorer

Now it's time to make it the most productive and comfortable space you've ever worked in: 

source: worksnug.com

The benefits of mobile apps for business

MANILA - Among the greatest gifts that technology gave to millennials are laptops, desktops, smartphones, and tablets. Nowadays, you will probably not find anyone without a mobile gadget.

What has made Filipinos crazy about mobile phones?

Well, mobile phones allow Filipinos to connect with their families and friends. Whether they are busy people or not, they still find time to send their loved ones a message or give them a call even for just a couple of minutes.

The emergence of mobile apps has made a huge difference, especially to businesses who want to be connected more with their customers. Mobile apps used to be popularly associated with games. But now, app developers have created different ways on how apps can best help a company generate more profit with just a click.

THE FILIPINO INGENUITY

Filipinos have been known all over the world for our exemplary contributions in the fields of art, music, science, etc. The new generation of Filipinos is being molded in such a way that they can be competent vis-a-vis their foreign counterparts. We aim to be not only the best, but also to uplift everyone’s spirits, especially during trying times.

Filipino mobile app developers are now becoming competitive with other app developers from different countries.

One Filipino-owned company, Imergex, has developed Enddo, a
job-matching app that can be beneficial to both companies and employees.

Imergex is also known for Panic Button, an app the company developed to save people who might be in danger.

HOW ENDDO WORKS

Typically, an applicant goes to a company to apply for a job and submit the requirements needed. But there is no assurance that the applicant will be accepted, and there is a need to apply in other companies, which means spending more for food and transportation.

Enddo eliminates the need to spend going to different companies to apply. By downloading the app, a job hunter can instantly apply with any company that he or she wants and just wait for the company to respond.

Both company and employee may sign up using the Enddo mobile app. The company will post their requirements in hiring for new available positions. When an employee signs up, he or she will be able to see the list of companies that are currently hiring. The applicant can switch from the list of companies by swiping.

A swipe to the left means that the applicant is not interested in that company. Swiping to the right marks it as an opportunity for the applicant to be hired if the applicant meets the requirements of the company.

If an applicant passes the initial screening through chat, a job match occurs. The applicant will then be asked to report to the office and submit other requirements prior to hiring. It is as easy as “swipe, match, and chat.”

This vision of the app developers is to be able to increase employment without the hassle of falling in line at job fairs.

Enddo, the first job matching app in the Philippines, is on beta mode and available for download at Google Playstore. It will soon be available on iOS.

MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT

Studies have shown that people now spend more time using their mobile phones or tablets more than desktops and laptops to access the internet. According to Zenith’s Media Consumption Forecasts, the trend has jumped to 28 percent compared to last year's figure, and it is predicted to rise each year.

One of the reasons why mobile users accessing the internet increased is because of how businesses have taken advantage of making their online visibility through the creation of their websites.

Business owners have taken a big leap towards making their online visibility a lot wider with the creation of their own mobile platforms. And why not? If it is something that can help increase their profit, then it is something that they need to have.

Here are the benefits of using mobile apps for a business:

• It increases the chances of people coming across your app. Because of the increase in usage of mobile phones, there is always a chance that your mobile app will be noticed.

• Mobile apps are developed differently. They can provide various functions like booking forms, search for features, general information, prices, sends messages and many more.

• You may also use your mobile app as your means of giving loyalty or privileges to your customers. Example, through your mobile app, you have assigned a specific code for every customer that downloads the app. Every time they shop, all they need to do is to provide the code and a specific number of points will be given to them. Accumulated points can be exchanged with an equivalent amount, i.e, the customer gets $1 for every 10 points.

• Designing a mobile app is crucial because with it comes your identity or your brand which will be your ticket to your success in business. The mobile app should be made in a way that customers can be fully enticed to avail your products or services frequently.

• Using the mobile app can increase customer engagement. For example, if you have a restaurant business, instead of calling to order, you can directly order through the app and be able to pay for what you have ordered online via credit or debit card.

• Not all small businesses may have the idea of developing an app. Imagine how much advantage you can have if you are able to serve your customers 24/7 and depending on the kind of product and service that you may offer, you can reach out to more people from different corners of the globe.

You build your customer’s loyalty by coming up with an app that is able to provide what they need with just a single click.

BRIDGING THE SKILLS GAP

Each year, the number of college graduates increases. Unfortunately, not all college graduates match their skills with the skills that are needed by companies. So now comes the question among parents today: should the choice of college course be based on what their child is truly interested in or should they base it on what is in demand?

By the time these children graduate, the trend may have become different. Would they just try pushing their luck in applying for the kind of job that is related to the course they studied or should they take necessary actions in order to become employed so as not to be among the unemployed citizens?

In order to grow as an individual, learning should not stop after graduation. He or she should always have the drive to learn new things. Sometimes, we become more successful in a profession we have never dreamed of. Acquiring additional education through workshops and seminars can help reduce the unemployment rate in our country.

Not all applicants may have the means to spend on travel to submit job applications and requirements. To lessen the trouble of going from one company to another, Enddo is one good mobile app that can help individuals seek employment by just using their mobile phones anytime, anywhere.

Through this mobile app, applicants may be able to secure a job with less effort and can instantly have a means to directly communicate with the employer. Not all applicants may have the required skills asked by the listed companies, but they will be able to know which skills are currently needed so that they can improve themselves and hopefully be able to find the right match to their skills.

App developers must find ways on how to continuously enhance their applications to improve performance and increase customer engagement. Mobile apps will soon be the primary choice for marketing of all businesses because of its capabilities of being able to reach more than online advertising can do.

The use of mobile phones has become an integral part in any individual’s life. While this can benefit consumers, mobile apps developers are able to monetize and can help them generate more profits.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Should You Use a Loan to Settle Bills After Christmas?

While there is much to be admired about the UK’s recent economic growth, some experts believe that it is far too reliant on debt-fuelled consumer spending. This has led a leading business group to downgrade growth forecasts for the next three years, lowering estimated GDP expansion from 2.6% to 2.4%. While this should not detract completely from economic growth in the UK, it does serve as a warning for businesses to measure their spending. It should also encourage customers to become more responsible borrowers, as they carefully appraise their financial circumstances prior to making a commitment.

Should you take out a personal loan to pay Bills after Christmas?

This is a pressing and topical issue at this time of year, especially as the fiscal demands of Christmas take their toll on households throughout the UK. As a result of this, many may well be considering taking out a personal, short-term loan immediately after the Christmas period has ended, in a bid to cover recurring bills such as utilities, food and beverages.

With this in mind, here are the key considerations before making an informed decision: – 

The Nature of unsecured Lending

Before you make any decision, it is crucial that you consider the unsecured nature of lending. This is arguably the most important thought process, as unsecured lending does not require the borrower to submit any of their existing assets as collateral. To compensate for this, however, many unsecured lenders apply higher rates of interest to their finance, which ultimately means that you will pay far more over the course of the agreement. You must be prepared to repay more than you borrow, while interest rates will also rise as agreements shorten.

Can you quickly repay a short-term loan?

Once you are comfortable with the generic demands of short-term lending, the next step is to consider individual loan offers and determine whether or not they are suitable. More specifically, there is a need to identify the specific interest rate and length applied to each potential agreement, as this enables you to drill down into the detail of your loan and create a payment plan. You can start by identifying market leading service providers such as www.smart-pig.com, as firms of this type offer the most competitive rates and transparent rules regarding repayment.

Is there a viable Alternative to Lending?

It is important to be proactive when considering spending and borrowing, so any period of financial planning should be undertaken well in advance of making an application. This will help you to identify a potential alternative, as it may be possible to reduce spending over Christmas without impacting on the overall experience or forcing you to borrow in January. This will require a detailed and carefully designed budget, and one that can help you to optimise your finances.

source: 20smoney.com

PH can learn from Singapore's SMEs structures, says expert

MANILA - The ease of doing business remains a huge challenge for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to thrive in the Philippines, an expert pointed out on Thursday.

Scott Anthony, managing partner of consulting firm Innosight, said the government's regulatory issues and shortfall in public infrastructure make it difficult for business start-ups to succeed despite economic growth in country.

"There's a huge amount of potential here. What holds you back? Infrastructure very clearly is an issue. Regulatory barriers and red tape are as well," Anthony said in an interview with Karen Davila on ANC's Headstart.

Having worked for a number of companies globally, Anthony said the Philippines can learn from Singapore, where "there are a lot but very transparent rules and world-class infrastructure" which aid SMEs to flourish.

He said the Philippines and Singapore have a very similar context where small businesses serve as the backbone of the economy, yet the latter was able to facilitate it more by providing ample support for entrepreneurs.

"In Singapore, they create a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem which didn't exist ten years ago," he said.

"The easier you make it on business, the easier it is for businesses can grow and expand," he added.

Anthony said the Philippine government should provide continuous training and accessible grants to support SMEs, enabling them to drive creativity and innovation which are in line of the country's hosting of the APEC Summit.

As innovation is another buzzword in empowering small businesses, Anthony said the government should also help entrepreneurs realize their potential through creativity and determination.

"A mistake that people make is they think innovation is magical, it's mysterious, it's a black art. Either you have the gene or you don't have the gene. That's not true," he said.

"Innovation is a discipline that anybody can learn with conscious practice," Anthony added.

He also said aside from the government, people should also take advantage of the abundant information from various sources, educating themselves on how to efficiently deliver their ideas to succeed in their respective lines of business.

Despite the hurdles facing SMEs in the country, Anthony expressed confidence in Filipinos' ability to foster growth among struggling entrepreneurs with the government's drive for reforms.

“The most important thing is to keep doing what you’re doing. I think continuing to push reform, to continue the fight against corruption, to continue to boost infrastructure investment, that to me is the most critical thing that I’ll be watching," he said.

"The Philippines, I’m hopeful that this time it’s gonna be different and we’re gonna continue to see the great progress we’ve seen over the last few years,” Anthony added.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com