So what’s next? I’ve learned a lot and somehow I progressed a lot, but still there are some things missing.
But yes, I am making progress and I’m becoming more careful. Especially more careful with people, more careful with choosing people.
As today I received an e-mail in reply to a request from me to meet a previous employee again. As I thought he might be one of the people who could be part of restarting my business. And please keep in mind the goal of my business has always been and still is to indeed support myself, but also to support Filipinos and the Philippine economy. But especially the last has proven not to be easy as it is virtually impossible to find decent staff. As it has been very easy to find graduates who were all willing to be trained, which they were and which I did. But in the end I found myself without customers, without any money to invest and without any people willing to support me, help me rebuild the business. As most of those people willing to be trained decided to look for greener pastures elsewhere after having been trained.
And yes, I made my share of mistakes and of course I am responsible for my business, not the staff, the people I hired. And yes, I guess my management skills and social skills are not the best in the world. But looking back I am starting to realize more and more that it is not only me that is the cause that my business is not flourishing, was not growing and in the end kind of stopped. And no, it was certainly not the fault of the staff I hired, the graduates who were just looking for a start and of course in the end left my very small company that was kind of surviving and in the end couldn’t really survive anymore.
But looking back, knowing what I know now I think the main reason is the culture, the Philippine culture that makes it virtually impossible to start a company that wants to do a bit more than standard stuff, a company that wants to stand out and wants to deliver advanced quality stuff and services. And you can’t do that with graduates. And you can’t do that in an environment where the good people go abroad to work. And you can’t do that in a culture where it seems people only want to work as an employee, work for money.
And yes, I know more what I want now and I am still determined to build the company that I have in mind. And yes, I know that is virtually impossible, here in Cagayan de Oro City. But yes, I know anything is possible and that persistence in the end normally pays off.
But yes, I was very disappointed with the reply I got today. As for me it was an e-mail to someone who I think might be willing and capable to help me rebuild the company, build the company I have in mind to not only serve customers, but also help Filipinos stay with their family, not going abroad. Build a company that can provide decent jobs to the people of Cagayan de Oro City. Help him earn more, have a nicer job.
And no, apparently he was not the right person to ask. As the first thing he did was demanding for solving issues with his Social Security plan. And yes, of course I know there are and have been problems with the payments to the SSS. But the reason is very simple: the company just never earned enough to fulfill many of its obligations to the government. And looking back I have never really earned anything from this company. On the contrary, I think I invested more than the company ever earned. And yes, my mistake with all my good intentions trying to build a decent company here. And yes, certainly for me, for my own income, for my own money. But also definitely for the staff, for the people in Cagayan de Oro City, in The Philippines. But they didn’t make it easy, just leaving mostly after half a year, after a year, after their being trained.
And yes, I guess this person doesn’t know all this, doesn’t know that I lost most of the money I had when I first came to The Philippines. And doesn’t know I lost a lot more, money I don’t even have a clue how to pay back. And my living in a big house and my supposedly high living standard is only a very small part of that.
And yes, I can imagine he is worried about his SSS. And of course I guess that is my problem, the problem of my company. And of course I am looking for ways to settle all my debts. But is the implicit where is my money really the first thing to mention if you are being invited for coffee or something, being invited to restart or cooperate in a business?