My Hopes and Prayers for the New Year

Let me say that 2009 is not exactly a bad one for me and my family. Despite me leaving a nice job over at an agency, I was still able to survive more than a year of financial threats. Through my solid base of friends, I was able to find some work, was able to sustain the needs of my growing family and able to enjoy some semblance of stability.

Yet, I now face an uncertain year, full of challenges in the first few months of the new year. I put my entire savings to an enterprise called rotisserie chicken. Sometimes I feel that I made a wrong decision. But when I talk with those young men I employed, I felt somewhat vindicated. I tossed good money and for me, its a leap of faith, faith that at least there is still hope in the economy and faith that, in the future, things will turn around.

Yesterday, I sold 9.5 pieces of Manok Kings. Right now, I sold more than 70% of my initial stocks. Some say, that is better than others, but, until I sell 30 chickens per day for a month, this business remains unprofitable for me. Others say, like Andok's, they sell 100 chickens or more every single day. And people say we are juicier, more delicious than Andok's. Nothing to prevent us from dreaming big, like selling at least 30 or 40 chickens a day and maybe, someday, sell at least 60 or even a 100 chickens a day.

I am now at a better location--MCI shoppers mall infront of Cash and Carry in Makati. If you have time, come visit my small nook and buy at least one (1) Manok King roast chicken. My place is easy to find. There's a big sign which says Manok King. If you see this sign

you're in the right place. I am now living off the small profits that I take home every single day.

One lesson---I am good at closing and making money out of big contracts and doing big things. In such endeavours as this rotisserie chicken business, this is not easy as others think.

My hope is, I'll be able to pay my amortizations and some loans, be able to save up and able to employ more jobless people. I pray that God the Father give me more money for my barely two year old kid and finance the education of my other two kids who are all elementary level students.

I pray also for more friends this year. Friends are someone's wealth. Better to have more friends than more money.

Let me use this space also to appeal to government----support us, small entrepreneurs. We put our monies in some business, a sign that we still have faith in our economy. Don't let us down. Don't make our lives difficult.

Make business processes easier for those who build businesses. Support us more by offering us training sessions, make a one-stop shop where we can do business or transact with suppliers so that we don't have to deal with unscrupulous grocery owners and please, offer us tax incentives, since we employ people. Probably, at the first year of our operations, government offers a 75% off our taxes? That way, we'll survive.

My prayers are:

1. That God anoints as his servants my friends who are running for national elective posts. May God grant them the victory. Just to name a few, here are, I think, a list of names to be considered as senators for the new 15th Senate session:

a. Susan "Toots" Ople (Nacionalista)

b. Joey de Venecia III (PMP-UNO)

c. Alex Lacson (Liberal Party)

d. Teofisto Guingona III (Liberal)

e. Ariel Querubin (Nacionalista)

f. Danny Lim (Independent; Liberal)

g. Ruffy Biazon (Liberal)

h. Yasmin Lao (Liberal)

i. Satur Ocampo (Nacionalista; Makabayan)

j. Liza Masa (Nacionalista; Makabayan)

k. Atty. JV Bautista (Liberal?)

l. Riza Hontiveros-Baraquel (Liberal)

2. That I pay off some of financial obligations and that God always give us food in our table and some blankets to cover us during cold nights.

3. That my kids grow healthy and strong and intelligent.

4. That I sell 30 chickens today. :-)