PhilSME Business Conference/Expo 2014

I went to the PhilSME Business Expo at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on November 21, 2014. This is a 3-day event but I was only able to go there on the first day which was on Friday because I had other commitments on the weekend.

The Philippine Small and Medium Enterprise Expo 2014, now on its 2nd year, is dedicated to “Boost Your Business” and to serve as a gateway for the ASEAN small and medium enterprises to build new relationships, network and do business amongst SMEs and its supporters. With over 200 exhibiting companies from 18 business sectors, and 20,000 expected visitors, PhilSME 2014 is the largest gathering of small and medium-sized businesses in the Philippines. (Source)

I was very interested to attend the Business Conference that’s why I made sure that I was available especially on the first day of this event and thankfully I was.

I went there with my mom for the afternoon talks that was supposed to start at 1:00PM but it was delayed for almost an hour and thus the program was also finished late at around 8PM. I regret though that I missed the talk of the keynote speaker, Senator Loren Legarda, which happened in the morning. 

Here are the speakers with their topics and some of the things I learned from their talks…

ASEAN Integration: ARE YOU READY?
Learn what every entrepreneur should know in the upcoming economic integration and discover various strategies on how to be an entrepreneur champion. 
Speaker: Paulo Tibig, Motivational Speaker, Best-Selling Author, President and CEO of VCargo Worldwide

THE POWER OF ONLINE RETAILING: HOW TO TURN CLICKS INTO CUSTOMERS?
Explore The benefits of online retailing, uncovering methods to deliver seamless shopping experience to your customers. 
Speaker: Arianne Kader, Marketplace Director of Zalora Philippines 

DOING BUSINESS WITH A BIG HEART: HOW TO BUILD A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE?  
Learn inspiring stories of people who made it big while having a heart for the community. 
Speakers: Brian Tenorio, Founder of KKK Coffe 
                Terri Jayme-Mora, Country Manager of Ashoka Philippines

START-UP TALK: TURNING IDEAS INTO A MULTI-MILLION BUSINESS
Learn the latest in innovation and technology that will definitely transform what’s inside your mind into a venture worth millions. 
Speakers: Shawn Sy, from SEO Hacker

    Christian Besler, VP and Head of Community Engagement Kickstart Ventures 
    Earl Valencia, Founder of IdeaSpace Foundation 
    Ria Lu, President/CEO of Komikasi Games and Entertainment 

HOW TO MARKET YOUR SMALL BUSINESS TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE? 
Discover the hottest and effective marketing and sales methods that will make your business go global. 
Speakers: Yayu Javier President and COO of Avanza Inc. 
    Arlene Padua, CPM President and Managing Director of Post 10 Worldwide Firm 
    Justin Gatmaitan, Blue Diamond Executive of NUSkin Philippines 

    Robert Tan, PTV Channel (the only channel run by the government)

    Lars Wittig, Regus Philippines

TASTE OF SUCCESS: HOW TO BUILD AND RUN A FOOD BUSINESS? 
Discover success stories of food enthusiasts, sharing their gastronomical experiences and tips on how to run your own food business. 
Speakers: Rudolf Kotik, CEO and Founder of RK Franchise Consultancy 
               Kian Kazemi, Restaurant Owner of Persia Grille 

FINANCIAL PLANNING FOR START-UP BUSINESSES 
Learn the financial do’s and don’ts when starting your own business.  
Speaker: Navin Uttamchandani, Chief Operating Officer of Esquire Financing Inc. 

ADDITIONAL TALKS:

Quality Matters: Enhancing Philippine SMEs Competitiveness in the Global Arena
Speaker: Edgardo S. Juan, President of PhilMSTQ Inc. 

Solutions to go Global
Speaker: from FedEx

 

The Master of Ceremonies/Host was the journalist/reporter, Ms. Michelle Orosa-Ople.

My KEY TAKEAWAYS from this conference:

1. Innovate and not Evaporate (Paulo Tibig)

• Because competitions innovate, you must innovate!
• Market Research
• New technologies in production

2. Co-lab, Co-op not compete (Paulo Tibig)

• Collaborate
• Cooperate
• Not compete

3. Change your mindset (TAKOT) (Paulo Tibig)

• Explore, Grown, & Get BIG
• Status Quo – Change
• Think Small – to BIG

4. Business entrepreneurs solve business problems. Social entrepreneurs solve social problems. (Terri Jayme-Mora)
5. Business is all about “branding the experience”. (Brian Tenorio)
6. Even the greatest fool can make money, but only the smarter ones can make it more. (Navin Uttamchandani)

The speakers of this conference were really well-prepared and they certainly know what they’re talking about. All of them shared their topics based on their experiences, their failures and successes in their businesses, and how they’re going to make it big or even bigger in their respective sectors. But one thing is common, they all have the passion to what they’re doing and they have that willingness to inspire others to do better and attain success on whatever venture/endeavor they may take.

The 2^nd and 3^rd day of the PhilSME Business Expo also had a great set of speakers and panelists. One of them was Ms. Ginger Palma-Arboleda of Manila Workshops, who talked about “Start-Up Tips and Tricks for Young Entrepreneurs.” I personally met her in some of the events that I’ve attended before and I could say that her business ideas are really inspiring and I really admire her wit and humility.

I hadn’t much time to go over the exhibitors during the event because I was more interested with the conference talks but I was able to check some of them. Most of them were offering Franchise businesses. I also want to have my own business and that’s one of the reasons why I attended the event, but my focus right now is to come up with a good business idea and make it a reality eventually.

Thank you PhilSME for another great learning experience!