Establishing businesses outside of Metro Manila is becoming more frequent, as investors are placing their bets in provinces where they can start operations away from the congested and competitive urban market. With regard to the F&B industry, province-based businesses seem to have the upper hand when it comes to dictating the price of commodities they sell in the city.
But for Rob Crisostomo, president of Seed Core Enterprises in Mindanao, operating a business outside Metro Manila is as challenging as in the city. His company exports large quantities of Philippine cacao and one of their clients is Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest supplier of high-quality chocolate and cacao products. The company is also a social enterprise, thus Crisostomo immerses himself and works with the cacao farmers to understand the current condition of the Philippine cacao industry.
“Working outside of Manila is more like a process wherein you have to adapt to the cultures and see where your culture fits with theirs, so it’s a lot of adjustment. It’s a lot of reaction and just forgetting everything you’ve known and taught and relearning everything.”
He further adds that operating a business in the province means that you can’t just dictate your own terms with the people you work with and not everything will be in your control. “Whatever you’ve learned in the city doesn’t really apply to anywhere else. Especially in the field, you have to deal everything and start from scratch.”
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Your very right. The mindset of the people in the city verse those in the provinces are so shocking. The city, like most cities in the world, is forward thinking, diverse and other things. While in the provinces it's as if you stepped backwards into time. Here in the Philippines though, its such a big gap between advancements and, lets say tradition. I am also doing business here in the province. I started a music school here in Luzon's smaller province this year and I have to say, its really different... even from working in a big provincial city too. The change is so astonishing. People have less disposable income, getting by on only pay check to paycheck, not having any savings and most people have the feeling of hopelessness when it comes to money. At the end of the day any extra money the provincial people have they know wont be enough for any savings that would even last a day if an emergency happened. So many people spend their extra savings mostly on drinking and having a good time with friends. Albeit, too many nights than people in poverty should be spending. That's the main attitude in the province (by and by). My father is a farmer too here in the Philippines, he's Canadian, and he's been here for almost 25 years to see and know how to do business with provincial and barrio people. Its hard for a country to move forward when its people don't want to move forward too. With new technology and western products like McDonalds… modernization came to soon and too fast for the Philippines. Now all we can do is go backwards or work hard to catch up with the future that is never slowing down.