2015) and women are underrepresented in business sector (Zamfir & Hjálmarsdóttir,
2017).To this end, it is emphasized that the process of how businessmen learn from their
past and how these entrepreneurial lessons shaped their skills and abilities is remarkably
essential in pursuing their ventures (Cope, 2011; Jenkins, Wiklund, & Brundin, 2014).
Scholarly articles showed some major reasons that break or make the small-scale
enterprises, the most common is how the business acquires its capitalization. It appears
that loaned capital is more likely to be successful than those that come from aid which
usually disappears within a short period of time (Judama, 2013).
About 99.6 percent of registered businesses in the Philippines are MSME’s which employ
62.3 percent of the nation’s workforce and large corporations only account for 0.4
percent. As a close alternative to unemployment, large portion of the marginalized has
turned to entrepreneurship (Lafond, 2014). For women, their way to be self-sufficient is
through venturing into a small-scale business and women entrepreneurship is now in
focus. Establishing your own venture and being a manager of your own time and resources
is such a wish of many especially those who wanted full independence. The moment you
have initiated your entrepreneurial activity, growth and satisfactory performance is your
next priority. Yet, chances of setbacks and consequences are always possible (Gillis, 2015).
The mushrooming of micro enterprises has significantly afforded livelihood opportunities
especially for struggling Filipino households. Retail stores, widely known as “sari-sari”
stores have flourished in the Philippines. These retail enterprises are typically small,
home-based, and usually run by “Nanays” or mothers who do not take part in the realities
of the formal sector and are plainly doing domestic responsibilities (Munoz, Raven, &
Welsh 2005). “Sari-sari” stores offer cheap prices, flexible credit terms, selling wide range
of basic consumer goods and are commonly located in the streets and even corners.
The enactment of RA 9178, otherwise known as the “Barangay Micro Business Enterprises
(BMBE) Act of 2002” was carefully designed to speed up the economic development of
the Philippines through boosting the development of Barangay Micro Business
Enterprises. The BMBE’s are intended to act as seedbeds of Filipino entrepreneurs and it
inspired the informal sector to participate in the mainstream economy by streamlining
government restrictions, the involvement of local government units and the expedited
awarding of benefits and incentives (Figueroa, 2018). Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME’s) can be considered as key drivers of sustainable progress in the
Philippines through generation of jobs, guaranteeing a more just distribution of profit,
developing products that meet the consumer requirements of the fast-growing number
of Filipino consumers.
Starting an enterprise and running it requires lot of skills. It calls for sacrifice in terms of
money and time. This concept is in contrast in the Philippine context, mothers who are
running their small business are mostly uneducated and do not undergo any formal
training to carry out business. Some are compelled to engaged in this activity without
considering the technical and business skills required in running a small enterprise.
Although there are studies regarding the critical success factors of small and medium
HOLISTICA Vol 11, Issue 2, 2020, pp. 25-51
27
enterprises (Yusof
Answer:
the past decades, the unprecedented number of women in entrepreneurship has been overwhelmingly
increasing. This was fueled by their motivation to earn independently and to uplift their economic condition.
This paper magnified the stories of success and failures of women micro entrepreneurs in managing their ‘sarisari’
stores. Informants of this multiple case study were five women micro-entrepreneurs who had been in
business for at least five years. An in-depth interview was done and cross case analysis was employed. Results
revealed that new investments, enhanced family income, productivity, and resourcefulness were the stories
that they highlighted as success. On the stories of failures, they emphasized that business breakdowns and
personal crisis once confronted their operation. They also revealed that failures framed them to be determined,
faithful, diligent, and optimistic. Lastly, they shared significant insights that women entrepreneurs must be
business oriented, develop people skills, and employ a strong will power. These women entrepreneurs have
their own way of defining moments relative to success and failures in micro entrepreneurship. What is worth
noting is the fact that the innumerable failures which confronted them shaped the entrepreneurial traits they
now possessed and achieved the optimum success in their entrepreneurial journey
Explanation:
