Imagine having someone whose entire job is to make your life easier.

Not a chatbot. A real person.

Ideally that’s someone knows your name, knows you prefer Pale Pilsen instead of Red Horse, knows you’re allergic to nuts, and prefer to pizzas without pineapples.

Those are few of the many things a butler does. That kind of service feels like something only royalty or billionaires get to experience.

Until a hotel in an island decided to change that.

Lind Hotels in Boracay just decided to give that feeling to all their guests and they’re calling it the “One-Person Promise”. It’s a service model where one dedicated contact handles everything you need from check-in to check-out. No more being transferred between the front desk, the concierge, and three different departments just to arrange a sunset dinner.

One person does all those things for you; like a Butler!

But here’s the real question: Is this the new standard for hotels in the Philippines or is it just another marketing gimmick dressed up in a fancy name?

MORE ON THAT “ONE-PERSON PROMISE”

Here’s how it works.

When you check in at The Lind Boracay, you get assigned one Guest Experience host. That person becomes your go-to for everything.

Literally!

Transportation, restaurant reservations, birthday surprises, local trip recommendations, and even your departure arrangements.

Talk to one person, and that one person gets it done, and on top of that:

The Lind doesn’t wait for you to arrive before they start learning about you. Their team does pre-arrival planning, meaning they already know your preferences, any special occasions you might be celebrating, and what kind of stay you’re looking for before you even set foot on the island.

And if you’re staying near the beach or pool, they’ve also expanded their Beach & Pool Butler program where staff are trained to anticipate what you need without waiting for you to ask.

The Lind’s COO Pierre Henrichs put it straight: “Hospitality has traditionally been organised around departments, but guests do not experience a hotel in departments.”

That’s the gap the One-Person Promise is trying to close.

NEW NORMALS FOR HOTELS?

Is this the future of hospitality in the Philippines?

It’s too early to say.

But it is a clear signal that one of Boracay’s bigger names is willing to challenge the way things have always been done. And that’s not nothing. Most hotels won’t touch their operations unless something is broken. The Lind didn’t wait for something to break.

Whether this becomes an industry standard or stays as The Lind’s own thing, that’s not really the point. The point is that someone tried. And guests are already responding to it (positively).

Before, having a butler —or something close to it— is an experience most people will never have in their lifetime.

The kind of service where someone already knows what you want before you ask.

Where you don’t have to explain yourself twice.

Where your stay feels like it was built around you.

That experience is what The Lind is offering.

Try it! And just maybe you’ll find yourself hiring a Butler once you get back home.

Claudine Co. Lifestyle vlogger. Private planes. House tours. Clothes as Expensive as your yearly income.

In 2025, people were furious watching her flex a lavish life while her family’s construction companies were sitting on billions worth of flood control projects that either failed or never existed.

Her dad, former Congressman Christopher Co, and her uncle, Elizaldy Co of Sunwest, were among the top contractors flagged in President Marcos’ own list.

The internet was not having it.

She laid low. She went dark.

People moved on.

Or so she thought.

Because Claudine (and her sister) are back. This time, not with vlogs. With matcha. They quietly opened Almighty Matcha, a matcha cafe, and started putting it out on social media.

And people JUST WON’T LEAVE HER ALONE! Here’s what they’re saying:

The “Money Laundering” Accusations:

“Bagong labahan ng pera.” That was the dominant read.

People weren’t seeing a cafe. They were seeing a way to make dirty money look like it came from selling drinks. One commenter put it bluntly: “Business business-an para kunwari hard earned money ang mga luho.” Playing business so the luxury lifestyle looks legitimate.

Another went further: “Huy binuksan na pala yung business natin? May ambag kami dyan, ah.” aka Taxpayer money, sitting inside a cup of matcha.

Right or wrong, that’s the story people told themselves. And in business, the story people tell about you matters more than the story you tell about yourself.

The Branding Roast

The cafe is called Almighty Matcha. But the internet wasn’t impressed.

One commenter called the social media bio “ChatGPT-written” because apparently, with all that money, they still couldn’t come up with an original thought.

Others just laughed. Someone slapped them with the ultimate out-of-touch label: “Matcha, pilates, and pickleball. Out of touch rich kids starter pack.”

The branding that was supposed to make them look like serious entrepreneurs ended up making them look like rich kids playing business with money they didn’t earn.

Short, sharp, no fluff. Perfect.

Green Flavored

Almighty Matcha had a tagline in their promotional materials. Something aesthetic. Something meant to sound premium. The internet took it, flipped it, and turned it into a punchline about corruption.

Comments started rolling in: “A sip of green, a taste of nakaw.” Then: “A sip of green, a taste of greed.”

That’s the thing about launching a brand when people already hate you. Every word you put out becomes material.

Your tagline, your bio, your aesthetic. All of it gets rewritten by the public.

Calls for Boycott and Review Bombing

People didn’t stop at jokes. The calls to boycott came quick.

But for a chunk of the thread, boycotting wasn’t enough. One commenter said it directly: “Not enough to boycott. Destroy them with bad reviews.” Others echoed it: “It’s review bombing time.”

Some even pointed out that this isn’t their first business attempt, and that a previous restaurant venture allegedly failed too.

“Malulugi din ‘yan. Hindi naman nila pinaghirapan ang pera.”

It wasn’t just online noise. It was organized hostility. A coordinated effort to make sure the business doesn’t survive.

The Accounts Went Dark Again

Then, just like in 2025, the accounts disappeared.

Try to look up Almighty Matcha’s Instagram. Locked. Gone. “Bakit wala na sa IG... Ang bilis.”

Someone summed up the pattern: “Eto yung nadepress diba when she was called out, so they went abroad to unwind... They’re back without an ounce of guilt in their bones.”

Same move. Different year. Different product.

Claudine Co cycle is: show up, get called out, go dark, wait for it to blow over.

The Business Lesson

Here’s what every business owner should take from this.

First of all: Branding exist no matter what. You have a brand.

Second: Branding goes both ways. Good and bad.

Third: If your brand is bad, don’t link it with your business.

Here’s the reddit thread where you’ll find all the tea!

Subscribe now

Something big is happening in the Philippine stock market right now and you should be aware of it.

SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) just launched the largest buyback program in Philippine corporate history.

They just bought ₱60 billion worth of their own shares.

Their CEO Frederic DyBuncio said they are trading “well below” what their company is actually worth!

Ayala Land is doing the same thing. The Zobel family-led property giant completed a multi-year ₱28 billion buyback program Q1 of this year. Then on the next quarter, they approved a new ₱10 billion buyback program.

Jollibee, flush with cash from record profits, repurchasing ₱3 billion worth of preferred shares as part of a capital management strategy.

Three of the biggest, most powerful companies in the Philippines. All making deliberate moves to buy back their own paper.

All at the same time.

That is not a coincidence. That is a signal.

And why should you care?

First of all, these corporations have entire floors of analysts, economists, and financial experts whose only job is to read where things are going. They are not guessing. They are calculating. And when companies of this size start spending billions to buy their own stock, they are essentially placing a massive bet on themselves and in a way..they’re also placing a bet on the country and it’s capacity to bounce back from our economical slump.

You may not be a stockholder. You may not even care about the PSE. But if you run a business; the smartest thing you can do right now is stop listening to what these corporations are saying and start watching what they are doing.

That will tell you more about where the Philippine economy is headed than any press release ever will.

What Is a Stock Buyback?

Before we go deeper, let’s make sure we’re on the same page.

A stock buyback is when a company goes to the stock market and buys back the shares it previously sold to the public. Using its own cash.

Think of it this way:

Imagine you own a small bakery. Years ago, you sold 10 slices of your bread to 10 different customers. Each slice represents a piece of ownership. Now, you saw some of those customer selling the slices they bought for cheaper than you sold it for. If you think they’re under selling those slices, you buy some of those back.

You now own a bigger piece of your that bread. And the people who still hold slices? Their piece just became more valuable because there are fewer slices in circulation.

That is exactly what SM, Ayala Land, and Jollibee are doing at a scale of billions of pesos.

Why Do Companies Do Buybacks?

One: They think their stock is underpriced.

This is the most common reason. When a company’s leadership looks at the market and says “that price does not reflect what we are actually worth”.

Two: They have excess cash and no better place to put it.

Companies only do buybacks when they can afford to. This means their core business is healthy enough to generate more cash than they currently need for operations and expansion.

This could also mean that they’re not confident with where the economy is at right now. Instead of using their money for expansion, growth, or acquisitions they’d rather get a bigger slice of the bread.

In short, it’s a safe bet.

Three: It’s a PR move.

When the biggest conglomerates in the country start spending at this scale, every investor, analyst, and economist needs to answer the 2 questions: Is their stock really undervalued right now? Or are they playing mind games with me, persuading me to buy their stock right now, even though it could still dive deeper to historic lows?

What This Says About the Philippine Economy Right Now

The Philippine Stock Exchange index has been underperforming.

Foreign investors have been pulling money out of emerging markets like the Philippines and moving it to safer, more stable economies. The peso is at its weakest in history. And consumer confidence, is at an all time low.

In other words, the market is not exactly in party mode right now.

So is the market crash coming? Probably not.

The same corporations that operate inside this economy are spending billions of their own cash to double down on themselves. That means if the market crash tomorrow they’d be left with slices of bread that’s not worth consuming anymore.

Saying that the market crash is coming is like saying “Jollibee, SM, and Ayala are going bankrupt tomorrow”.

Bit of an exaggeration but you get the point.

Analysts noted that SM’s buyback signals strong conviction that its shares are trading at a significant discount to fair value because market sentiment has been weak.

There is a difference between a bad business and a good business in a bad mood market.

In 2023, the local coffee market was valued at around $1.8 billion, and projections had it growing past $2.4 billion by 2028.

New coffee shops were opening everywhere, and for a good reason: the barrier to entry is low. You buy an espresso machine, find a cheap space, slap a minimalist logo on the wall, and voila welcome to the business world!

But the boom is done. The hype has settled.

What’s left behind is a graveyard of coffee shops that looked great on Instagram but couldn’t survive past their first year.

If you’re reading this, you either already have a coffee shop that isn’t making the money you expected OR you have one that’s doing okay but you know it can do better.

There are a lot of things that make a coffee shop profitable. There are also a lot of things that make it lose money.

If you the profit part, proceed.

TASTE TRAP

Here is the first mistake most coffee shop owners fall into: they spend too much time obsessing over their coffee.

You keep tweaking your roast profile. You source a more expensive single-origin bean. You dial in your espresso extraction to the last second. Most of the time going from 90% to 99% on coffee quality does not move the needle on your profit.

This is a friendly reminder that most of your customers are casual coffee drinkers. They cannot tell the difference between an espresso shot extracted for 24 seconds and one extracted for 22 seconds.

They just want something that tastes good, doesn’t taste like soil, and maybe a cup that looks good on their feed.

Now, there is one exception.

If your coffee shop niche is built specifically for high-brow coffee purists. The kind of crowd that talks about notes, origins, and brew ratio practices then yes, that last percentage might matter.

(I highly doubt that)

Anyways, speaking of niche…

GENERIC IS FOR PHARMACIES NOT FOR CAFES

If people want a generic coffee shop experience, they will go to Starbucks.

Starbucks is safe, consistent, and everywhere. You know exactly what you are getting every single time (maybe most of the time).

Sorry but you are not Starbucks.

You do not have their budget.

Your supply chain is laughable.

Most of all, you don’t have 30 years of brand equity.

If you are trying to compete by being another “chill place with good coffee and a nice vibe,” you are already losing.

The coffee shops that are winning right now are the ones that planted a flag in a smaller moon.

A K-pop cafe that turns into a fan meeting venue.

A cycling cafe where riders stop after a morning ride.

A cat cafe for cat lovers (and stray cats).

In short: pick a lane.

Pick one that you actually care about because it will show if you do not. The niche does not have to be weird or complicated. It just has to mean something to a specific group of people.

Sometimes the best way to stand out is by standing alone.

LOOK AT THOSE PSPs.

Let me drop this real quick: Your coffee is probably not your most profitable item.

Coffee margins are decent at best. The moment you start sourcing high quality beans, your COGS go to the moon! And unless you are charging premium prices that your market is willing to pay, your margins go bye-bye.

Don’t sleep on the PSPs! (pastries, sandwiches, pasta)

A simple ham and cheese croissant that costs you ₱40 to make can sell for ₱150. A slice of cake you sourced from a home baker for ₱60 moves at ₱180 on your counter. Studies on the food service industry consistently show that food items in cafes can carry margins between 60% to 75%!!

If your food menu right now is just a sad rack of 3-day old cookies, and a soggy sandwich, then you’re literally leaving money on the table.

Bonus: Build a food menu that fits your niche.

A cycling cafe sells energy bowls and sandwiches.

A K-pop cafe sells Korean street food and themed rice meals.

You get the idea. Your niche and your food menu should be telling the same story.

MAYBE ITS NOT THE MOUTH, IT’S THE EYES!

This one is for the coffee shop owners who already have their act together. Good coffee. Clear niche. Solid food menu. BUT STILL WANT MORE!

You are probably too focused on your product and not focused enough on getting more people to see it.

Every time you hit a slow month, you react like this:

Let’s launch a limited edition ube latte. WRONG.

Let’s do a seasonal Christmas blend. WRONG

Maybe a new pasta dish. WRONG AGAIN!

You might have one of the most deadly entrepreneur virus..

The virus of fixing things until it breaks.

MAYBE your customers are already happy. At some point, improving your product stops being the growth lever. Getting your product in front of more people becomes the job.

More foot traffic.

More online orders.

More people posting your cafe on their feed.

More reviews.

If your coffee is already good and your regulars love it, the next question is not “what do I add to the menu?” The question is “how do I get 50 more people through the door this month?”.

Aka MARKETING!!!

PRODUCT OR MARKETING TEST (DO THIS TODAY!)

Most business owners either have a product problem or a marketing problem.

Very few can tell which one it is. Don’t worry I made a test just for you!

So here is a simple test.

Step 1: Make a basic 10-stamp loyalty card. On the 10th purchase, the customer gets a free drink.

Step 2: Print 100 stamps.

Step 3: Hand them out to each and every customer.

Step 4: Give yourself 30 days.

After 30 days, count how many cards made it to stamp number 10.

If less than 70 cards completed: you have a product problem. Your customers are not coming back. Something about the experience is not good enough to pull them in again. Fix that first before spending a single peso on marketing.

If 70 or more cards completed: Congratulations.

Your product is doing its job. Your customers like what you are serving. Your problem is not the coffee, the food, or the vibe. Your problem is that not enough people know about you yet. That is a marketing problem.

“How do I market effectively” you ask?

That’s another article for me to answer.

After almost 20 years in arguably the best spot in BGC, the doors of ROX Philippines will close for the last time this coming June 16, 2026.

ROX was the Philippines’ largest outdoor and adventure superstore selling premium gear.

ROX isn’t alone.

No Brand, the Korean grocery chain brought in by Robinsons Retail, is also closing all 11 of its Philippine stores by end of June 2026. That’s a multi-branch operation with the full backing of one of the biggest retail conglomerates in the country.

You can’t blame the retail market because currently it’s valued at $44.51 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach nearly $65 billion by 2031.

The money is still there. Consumers are still spending.

The ones surviving today are doing 3 things that most stores aren’t.

You can’t just pick 1, or 2.

You need to do 3 to survive.

True Branding (Not the ones gurus in tiktok talk about)

The first thing surviving brands have that dying ones don’t is a brand that stands for something beyond the products on the shelf.

Not just a logo.

Not just a color palette.

A cause. An identity. A tribe.

Take Hiraya Pilipina. Founder Cleo Loque built the brand from the ground up by fostering a deep connection with a growing community of 200,000 customers.

From statement tees to innerwear, your brand and products needs to adapt!

The important part is the vision”

Loque says “The core of the brand from the very start is about female empowerment.”

Hiraya Pilipina doesn’t just sell nipple pasties and silicone bras. It sells female confidence and being proud of your identity, and to top it all off ‘sisterhood’.

That’s why people come back.

That’s why they share it.

That’s why 60% of their sales come from TikTok Shop alone.

The community does the selling for them.

Then look at Skechers. When pickleball started taking off in the Philippines, Skechers didn’t just put pickleball shoes on a rack and hope for the best. They became the official footwear sponsor of the Philippine Pickleball Federation and co-presented the first-ever Philippine Pickleball National Championship 2025. They signed professional pickleball champions Sarah Jane Lim-Narvasa and Leander Lazaro as official Skechers athletes and showed up at every major event. Skechers didn’t just sell, became part of the community the helped build.

I’m not saying ROX didn’t have a brand. They had a brand. Outdoor. Adventure. Premium.

It’s just that the gear they sold was from other brands. Brands that are far more stronger than their own.

Brands like Columbia.

The North Face.

Salomon.

The loyalty customers felt wasn’t toward those brands not ROX.

If they had doubled down on owning the outdoor community instead of just selling to them, things could’ve changed.

Selling isn’t just enough. Brands need a message.

And the best way for a brand’s message to reach as many possible. Social Media.

Social Media THE RIGHT WAY

If branding is your message, social media is your megaphone.

And right now, that megaphone reaches more Filipinos than any billboard and TV commercial COMBINED!

Are these brands familiar to you? Love Bonito and SKIMS.

These brands flood your feed. Instagram. Facebook. TikTok.

Love Bonito built an entire Southeast Asian following by speaking directly to the modern Asian woman. Her lifestyle, her body, her confidence.

SKIMS turned Kim Kardashian’s personal brand into a billion-dollar shapewear empire by making every product drop feel like a cultural moment.

Both brands understood one thing early: social media isn’t just for awareness. It’s for conversion.

And the numbers back it up. Remember Hiraya Pilipina? Sixty percent of their sales from TikTok Shop alone. Not from a physical store. Not from a mall booth. From a phone screen.

But it’s not that easy! (especially now)

AI-generated content is everywhere. Every brand, big or small, can produce a hundred posts a week without breaking a sweat. Your feed is more saturated than ever. Attention is harder to earn.

The brands that are winning are ones creating content so good, so specific to their niche, that their audience stops scrolling.

STILL! Being active on social media is the bare minimum.

The brands that are actually growing are using social media to get people from online to offline.

The best way to do that is via EVENTS!

Events. Events. Event!

This is where the gap between surviving brands and dying ones becomes impossible to ignore.

ASICS Philippines runs a free weekly running club out of their Bonifacio High Street store. Nike does the same. On any given week in BGC, you’ll find runners gathering because that’s where their people are.

People are naturally social creatures. Use that!

That’s not an accident. ASICS’ entire brand strategy is built around the idea that movement transforms how the world feels. Their running clubs aren’t a marketing add-on. They are the marketing. Every runner who joins becomes a walking billboard. Every group photo posted on Instagram is free content. Every stranger who sees the group and asks “where do I sign up?” is a new customer who never saw a single paid ad.

Skechers did the same thing with pickleball. They didn’t wait for the sport to get big and then sponsor it. They got in early, helping grow pickleball from a casual weekend rally into a full national movement. Now when a Filipino picks up a paddle for the first time, Skechers is already the brand they associate with the sport.

And then there’s Toby’s Sports. Just like ROX, mostly JUST A RESELLER.

They launched Toby’s EVENTS, organizing fun runs, corporate sports fests, and wellness programs for companies like GCash and PhilamLife.

Loyalty trumps inflation every single time.

A customer who feels like they belong to your brand doesn’t leave when your prices go up. They don’t jump ship when a cheaper option shows up on Shopee. They stay because it’s a their community and their identity.

ROX had almost 20 years to build that.

But they didn’t.

And now? Several MLM companies are suing her for it.

If a company’s first move is to silence the critic instead of disprove the criticism, that should tell you everything.

She notes that the legal process is slow and tests her patience, describing it as "the process is the punishment". However, she mentions that she has developed a strong legal strategy with her lawyer and remains confident that they will win the case.

While she’s busy fighting her cases, we’ve summarized the MLM tactics Ellaine learned that might be worth suing her for.

Shaming Traditional Employment

The first thing an MLM will do is make you feel bad about your job. They call it a “J.O.B.” which they say stands for “Just Over Broke.”. They say ‘Employees’ are underpaid, undervalued, and stuck. And their “opportunity” is the way out.

They’ll tell you that you’ll be your own boss.

That you’ll have financial freedom.

That you’ll never have to answer to anyone again.

But Ellaine debunked all of that. MLM distributors are not real business owners because they can be terminated. You get banned from competing with them. And you still have to follow the orders of your “upline.”

That’s just having a different kind of boss who also takes a cut of your sales.

Fake Community / Love Bombing

MLMs are very good at finding people who want to belong somewhere.

They organize events, build group chats, and create a culture that feels like a tight-knit family. They flash photos of yacht trips, luxury vacations, and team retreats to show you that you’re missing out.

It looks like a community. It feels like a movement. But Ellaine says it’s a trap.

The moment you start asking questions or try to leave that “family” disappears fast.

What you experienced wasn’t genuine connection. It was a recruitment technique called “love bombing”.

In reality, most members never reach the yacht. Out of the million members of the company only the top 1% gets to board the yacht. The rest of the 99% pays for the yacht.

Fake Personal Development

The third tactic is self-improvement — or at least, the illusion of it.

MLMs will tell you that joining them will make you better.

Better at sales.

Better at communication.

Better at life.

But Ellaine points out that what they actually teach is not skill-building. It’s manipulation. The training is mostly motivation, mindset talk, and “fake it till you make it” energy.

Some MLMs even advise their members to buy expensive bags, clothes, or gadgets — things they cannot afford — just to look successful enough to recruit others.

You’re not learning how to run a business. You’re learning how to perform one. And the cost of that performance often ends up on a credit card.

Recruitment Over Actual Sales

In a legitimate business, you make money by selling products. That’s it. But in an MLM, the real product is you —and every person you can bring in after you.

Ellaine highlights that MLM compensation plans are built to reward recruitment, not sales. They call it “fast start commissions”. These are bonuses you earn when you convince someone new to join and buy in.

You’re also pressured to keep purchasing products whether you’ve sold the last batch or not which is called “inventory loading”. This is where you end up with a stockroom full of products a bank account that keeps shrinking.

False Health Claims and Influencer Endorsements

Most MLMs in the Philippines sell health products. And most of those health products come with claims that would make a doctor’s jaw drop.

Ellaine found that some MLMs tell their members that their supplements can cure cancer, clear skin conditions, and treat chronic diseases. None of these claims have scientific backing.

What makes it worse is that they use celebrities, influencers, and even religious and political figures to make these products look credible. When a well-known face endorses something, people trust it.

But when people complain because the health promises don’t hold up, the company hides behind the fine print “results not typical”.

Recruits not only take the financial hit, they also take the reputation damage along with it.

High-Pressure Tactics and Income Lies

I’m offering you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And I need your answer now. Not tomorrow. Now.

That urgency is not accidental.

Ellaine points out that MLMs deliberately discourage you from doing your research because due diligence is the enemy of recruitment. The more time you have to think, the more likely you are to walk away. And walk away you should.

Over 99% of MLM participants either lose money or never reach the ranks they were promised. The “millionaire” stories they show you are the exception, not the rule. In fact, the business model requires most people to fail so that a tiny few at the top can profit.

Before you sign anything or hand over a single peso, ask for their income disclosure statement. That one document will tell you more than any recruitment presentation ever will.

OPEN MINDED KA PA BA?

Ellaine did the research, named the tactics, and warned thousands of Filipinos before these companies decided she was too dangerous to ignore.

The lawsuit isn’t a sign that she was wrong. It’s a sign that she was right.

Here are three questions you should ask before joining any “business opportunity”: One, can you make money just by selling the product, without recruiting anyone?

Two, does their income disclosure statement show that the majority of members are actually earning?

Three, what happens to your money and your inventory if you decide to quit?

If they cannot answer. Look back and run, fast.

To support Ellaine watch her videos and share her work via her youtube channel.

For consumers: It’s affordable coffee, convenient, and tastes better than your typical nescafe 3-in-1 (argueably).

For Investors: Low franchise fee, high demand, and easy to set up.

The value proposition was perfect. A lot of Filipinos hopped in the bandwagon. Kiosks spawned everywhere.

For reasons to be discussed the kiosks just started disappearing.

Weeks later former franchisees began posting their stories..

HIDDEN FEES

On paper, the franchise fee was ₱30,000. That’s what was written in the contract. Easy to say yes, especially, for a first-time business owner who’s in a budget.

But that’s not what they paid.

Multiple franchisees confirmed they handed over ₱300,000 in checks to Big Brew management. Ten times what the contract stated. When asked why the contract only showed ₱30,000, they were told it was to avoid paying large taxes. No official receipt was issued. No paper trail that could hold up anywhere. Instead, everything ran through an “internal agreement”.

THE LOCATION TRAP

Finding a good location is 90% of the battle in any local food and beverage business. Franchisees knew this. So they did their homework, scouted their areas, and submitted their chosen spots for approval.

Then they got rejected.

Not because the location was bad. Because it was too good.

Former franchisees report that management would block prime locations from being approved. Then, shortly after, Big Brew itself would set up shop in that exact same spot.

One franchisee put it bluntly: the moment you find a great location, that’s the moment you lose it.

This wasn’t a one-time complaint. It showed up across multiple accounts, from multiple former owners, in different parts of the country.

A pattern that’s hard to call a coincidence.

Got it. Moving to the account management problem.

UNPROFESSIONALISM

When you sign a franchise deal, you expect support. Someone who knows the business, answers your calls, and helps you when things go sideways. That’s part of what you’re paying for.

What Big Brew franchisees got was different.

Multiple former owners described their account managers as undertrained, unresponsive, and frankly, unqualified. One franchisee used the word “OJT” — meaning the people handling their accounts felt like they were still learning on the job. At the expense of the franchisee.

And the consequences were not small.

One account was hit with a ₱250,000 penalty — almost the same as the original franchise fee — over an allegation that they were buying supplies outside of Big Brew’s approved channels. The franchisee had proof of purchase from Big Brew’s own suppliers. Didn’t matter. The account manager pushed through the charge anyway.

For a first-time business owner who already stretched their budget to get in, a surprise ₱250,000 bill isn’t just frustrating. It’s devastating.

BAD BUSINESS ECONOMICS

Allegedly, every peso that comes into your Big Brew kiosk, 60% of it goes straight to the cost of goods (COGS). That’s your coffee, your cups, your supplies (all sourced from Big Brew’s approved channels at their set prices). You don’t negotiate that number. It’s fixed.

That leaves you with 40%.

From that 40%:

You pay your rent.

You pay your electricity.

You pay your staff

Some franchisees even reported that even at decent sales volumes, meeting minimum wage was a struggle. There’s also the 2% royalty fee charged on your gross sales.

Not your profit. Your gross.

One former owner described the cashflow as “maganda ang ikot” — it looks like money is moving. But looking busy and actually making money are two different things.

The business was not designed for the franchisee to win. It was designed for money to pass through the franchisee and into Big Brew.

TOO MANY TOGETHER

The franchise contract had a distance rule. There should be enough space between each Big Brew location so that one branch doesn’t eat into another’s sales. That protection was in writing.

It just wasn’t followed.

Franchisees reported Big Brew kiosks being set up right beside each other — sometimes on the same street.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SPEAK UP

In a healthy franchise system, a franchisee who raises a concern gets a response. A fix. At minimum, an acknowledgment.

In Big Brew, franchisees say they got something else.

One former owner of six branches described what happened after a group of franchisees banded together to file complaints. Management didn’t address the issues. Instead, multiple stores were shut down simultaneously. The message was clear: complain, and you lose your business.

Franchisees reported that some owners would sabotage fellow franchisees — spreading rumors and sowing distrust — just to get closer to the CEO and secure favors.

Instead of a community of business owners supporting each other, it became a competition for survival.

THE EXIT TRAP

If you survived your contract and thought of leaving they won’t let you.

Franchisees who reached the end of their contract reported being hit with penalties and renewal fees on the way out.

Former owners say that management’s end game was the location itself. The good spots that franchisees built up over two years — the ones with the foot traffic, the loyal customers, the proven sales — those were the real prize. Once the franchisee was out, Big Brew would move in.

It reframes everything. The blocked location approvals. The complaints that got stores shut down. The penalties at the end of the contract. All roads led to the same destination: get the franchisee out, keep the location.

SO WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS?

Always ask for an official receipt. If a franchisor cannot give you one, that is your first red flag. No receipt means no paper trail. No paper trail means no protection.

Read the contract with a lawyer. If the amount written on the contract does not match what you actually paid, you have already lost before you even opened.

Check if the distance rules are being enforced. Visit existing franchisees in the area. Talk to them. Not the ones the franchisor introduces you to. Find the ones they don’t want you to talk to.

Do the math. If 60% goes to COGS before you even pay rent and wages, the numbers need to work on paper first — not just in your hopes.

Remember: A long line of customers means nothing if the system behind the kiosk is built to drain you.

YOU CAN FIND THE FEEDBACKS AND STORIES FROM THIS REDDIT POST.

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the world right now. In the United States alone, there are over 13 million players.

Resorts, malls, and subdivisions across the Philippines are already setting up courts. Big names (like Manny Pacquiao) are spending money on it.

Love it or hate it pickleball is here to stay. Don’t miss out on this golden opportunity, just choose your cash cow below!

Tournaments

This is the option Pacquiao chose, just like what he did with basketball he’ll do the same with Pickleball.

Don’t be intimidated! Let Pacquiao get the cream of the crop players. There’s still a lot of opportunities from smaller tournaments.

From amateur tournaments to community based tournaments the opportunity is still endless. Here’s an example (I won’t name drop the organizers).

Organizer A charge ₱500 entry fee per head, get 40 participants for (a small tournament), that's already ₱20,000 in your pocket before the event even starts. Plus there's no cap on how many players can join.

On top of that, most Philippine pickleball tournaments don't even give out cash prizes — medals, paddles, and shirts are the standard. The best part? You don't have to pay for those yourself. Sponsors cover them. That means your entry fees are almost pure revenue.

Layer in sponsor deals, food concessions, and merchandise and you've got multiple income streams from a single weekend event.

But move fast — the community is starting to notice cash-grab tournaments and players are getting pickier about where they spend their money. Right now people are still happy to pay for bragging rights. This window won't stay open forever unlike the next one.

Court Rental

Right now there are not enough courts to meet the demand. Just check the Reclub App (most used app to find games), most of the open plays are packed 7 days a week!

Rates in the Philippines currently range from ₱400 per hour on the low end to ₱1,000 per hour on the high end —the quality plus location will be your biggest pricing factor.

A well-maintained court in a good area can easily command the higher rate. Charge per hour, per session, or offer monthly memberships to regulars. The income is predictable and the overhead after setup is low.

This is also a perfect play for landlords and sub-lessors sitting on extra real estate. If you have an idle space turn that liability to an asset by converting it to a pickleball court.

Want to squeeze more out of every square meter? Add a small F&B setup on the side. A simple list of Pocari Sweats, Gatorades, and Sandwiches might even exceed your court rental earnings.

The average open play last for 3 hours.

They get thirsty, they get hungry.

The best advantage a business can get is a starving crowd.

Court Construction

Every new court rental business needs someone to build the court first. That's the opportunity here.

As demand for courts explodes across the country, the need for contractors who actually know how to build a proper pickleball court is growing just as fast. We're not just talking about painting lines on a basketball court.

A proper setup includes the right flooring, the correct court dimensions and spacing, proper net installation, good lighting for evening play, and an effective roof to make sure that the rainy season won’t get in your way.

Court construction in the Philippines currently ranges from ₱150,000 on the low end (which we don't recommend) all the way up to ₱800,000 for a full premium build. The sweet spot sits somewhere in the middle where you get the right mix of quality and price without cutting corners that will cost you later.

If you're already in construction, renovation, or any related trade, this is a natural extension of what you already do. If you're not, partnering with someone who is and specializing in court builds is a legitimate niche.

The clients are already there. The courts just haven't been built yet.

Open Play Organizer

Not everyone wants to join a tournament. Most pickleball players just want to show up, play a few games, meet new people, and go home happy.

As an open play organizer, you book the court, set the schedule, collect the fees, and manage the flow of players in and out.

It sounds simple because it is. But simple doesn't mean small.

A well-run open play session with 20 players at ₱200 per head is ₱4,000 for a few hours of work. Run it three times a week and you're looking at ₱48,000 a month from one court. The real value you're building here isn't just the income; it's the community.

A loyal group of regular players is an audience you can eventually sell tournaments, merchandise, and the next one.

Coaching

Every new player who picks up a paddle have no idea what they're doing. That's your market.

Pickleball coaching in the Philippines is still wide open. There are not enough coaches to meet the number of beginners flooding the courts every week. If you can play at a decent level and explain the game well, you can charge for it.

Private one-on-one sessions, group clinics, and beginner bootcamps are all formats that work.

Want to go bigger? Add kids and youth clinics to your roster.

Build a reputation as the go-to coach in your area and the referrals will do the selling for you.

How much? That’s the beauty of coaching, you decide.

Paddle Retail

Every single pickleball player needs a paddle. There is no playing without one.

The challenge right now is that good paddles are hard to find locally. Most players are either ordering online from international sellers or buying overpriced ones from resellers with no after-sales support.

That’s the gap you fill.

Paddles range from budget-friendly options like the Vatic Pro at around ₱2,000–₱3,500 all the way up to premium brands like Selkirk’s Boomstick which can go for ₱12,000–₱21,000 a piece. Buy at wholesale, sell at retail, and the margin takes care of itself.

A player upgrading from a beginner paddle to a mid-range one is a sale you can make over and over again as the community grows.

You can also source blank paddles from manufacturers, slap your own branding on them, and sell them as your own product line. It sounds simple but this route takes more capital, more logistics, and more quality control. It’s not for everyone but if you pull it off, you own a brand — not just a reseller account.

You don’t need a physical store to start. An online shop or even a Facebook page can get you your first sales.

Shoes & Clothes Retail

Paddles get all the attention but the real repeat purchase in any sport is apparel.

Players buy one paddle and upgrade every year or two. But shoes wear out, shirts get sweaty and old, and people always want to look good on the court. Pickleball-specific court shoes are a real thing.

Brands like K-Swiss, Asics, and New Balance all have dedicated court shoe lines that pickleball players swear by.

On the apparel side, moisture-wicking shirts, shorts, and skirts designed for court movement are your bread and butter. The barrier to entry here is low. You can start with a small curated collection, sell online, and test what moves before going bigger.

And just like paddles, if you have the appetite for it, you can eventually private label your own pickleball apparel line and build a brand around the community you're already part of.

Content Creation

Every business on this list needs content.

Tournament organizers need hype videos.

Court rental owners need social media posts.

Coaches need reels that show off their skills.

Paddle and apparel sellers need product shots and reviews.

If you know how to make content, you are sitting on a skill that the entire pickleball industry in the Philippines needs right now.

Start a pickleball-focused page, grow an audience of players and enthusiasts, and suddenly you become the media arm of the community. Brands will pay to reach your audience. Courts will pay you to shoot their facilities. Coaches will pay you to document their sessions.

You don't need a big following to start getting paid; you just need to be the most consistent creator in a space that barely has any yet.

Next to him is, Ramon Ang, with an estimated net worth of $3.6 billion. He owns San Miguel Corporation and Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

There’s one thing these two richest Filipinos have in common: They don’t teach you how to become rich!

But, for whatever reason, there’s always a random guy in facebook who’s a multi-millionaire and is going to teach you how to become one.

You just have to follow his lead, don’t be depressed, attend his seminars, and buy his courses.

Lucky for you to come across this article, because, instead of being a customer my offer is better. You become the guru yourself.

PHASE I: PERSONAL BRAND AND PRODUCT SELECTION

Who you are in reality, is not who you are in public.

The first thing you do is make your “personal social media accounts” private. Even better delete them all.

Besides your Mom and the 3 other friends who knows you personally, no one needs to know your history.

The best part about this business is you can start fresh. You can rewrite history. You decide what happened during your childhood, and all the trials and tribulations you had to overcome.

For beginners, I suggest a difficult childhood. Along the lines of living in the streets, eating soil for dinner, your single mom getting sick forcing you to fend for your 9 siblings at the age of 10.

As for your product, we need to be able to connect it with your rewritten history.

Let’s use “Toasted Soil Chips” for this example.

Don’t worry, the product you choose here is irrelevant. You’re not going to sell it anyway. This product is only a symbol of your hardship and prop to make you look “Entrepreneurial”.

Even if the product is bad as long as it can be created by hand and doesn’t kill buyers it should be good enough.

Now that we got your story written and your product manufactured, it’s time we have others to hear it.

PHASE II: LEAN INTO THE HUSTLE CULTURE

If you try and please everyone, you’ll please no one.

The key here is to be polarizing. Polarizing like DDS vs Pink, they’re the complete opposite, you just have to pick sides.

In business the polar opposites are the hustle culture, work until you’re dead vs the chill guy that’s ok if they get rich or not.

Since it’s proven already pick the Hustle Culture side.

Your tagline: “Work until you’re a Billionaire or die trying”

Great examples for these are Rendon Labrador and Josh Mojica, two infamous gurus in the Philippines.

This will get you a lot of hate... but this will get you a lot of love as well from your hustle bros.

Those hustle bros will side with you NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, trust me.

Create a new tiktok account with the name following this template: HustleBro_<Your name>.

Ask AI to summarize the top contents from Philippine gurus, hit record, read the script, post x3 a day.

PHASE III: SELL SOMETHING CHEAP OR FREE

Now that you have an audience, it’s time for us to make use of “lead magnets”.

Lead magnets basically are free or cheap products that might or might not give you any profit rather, they give you something far more important. Trust and contact details.

Just like your Toasted Soil Chips, this product doesn’t need to be good, here’s why.

Let’s say this product is a “Billionaire’s Daily Routine Checklist PDF File”.

Even if you find it stupid, as long as “you say” you follow this checklist and it helped you to get from 0 to 1,000,000,000 then that’s all the proof they need.

The best thing about this lead magnet is that you can have chatGPT generate it for you. No effort what so ever.

What if no one buys? Good question!

Repackage or Pivot until something sticks. What do I mean.

Repackage means: From “Billionaire’s Daily Routine Checklist” to “Millionaire’s Morning Routine Secret”

Pivot means: From selling a checklist to selling a “beginner meta ad cheat sheet”.

Just like the old saying, throw a spaghetti on the wall a thousand times, at least 1 pasta will stick.

PHASE IV: UPSELL UPSELL UPSELL

This is the shortest phase but this is also where you’ll earn the most.

Those who bought you lead magnet will be in what we call the “sunk cost fallacy”.

This means, they’re already committed a stupid amount of effort and watch a stupid amount of content from you already to say you’re fake.

This means you make a more expensive version of your lead magnet (yes, doesn’t need to be better). Make 3 more tiers of that then you’ll have a product that can be bought by any one from any part of the economical standing.

Whenever they bought anything, set a reminder for 30 days to contact them to sell the next tier until you are forced to make new tiers every 30 days.

PHASE V: GASLIGHTING MASTERY

This is the MOST IMPORTANT PART!

There’s this thing in business called Churn. It’s the number of customers you lose at any given time.

You don’t want to lose your hustle bros. It’s inevitable that you’ll lose them all but you need to delay it as much as you can. Get the most out of them before they wake up from the dream you manufactured for them.

People churn because they see that the product isn’t working. Of course, your product won’t work but that does not matter.

You tell them that it worked for you. It worked for 10,000 other people. Why wont it work for them?

If you quit now you won’t see the fruits of you labor. You just need to reach the 24th tier, maybe there you’ll make it.

Best way to be a master gaslighter is check out footages from MLM (multi-level-marketing), they’re the best at this.

WHAT ARE YOUR CHANCES OF BEING A GURU?

Now that I gave you a pretty good outline of how to be a guru, put it into action.

The chances of you being a guru increase from 0% to 100%.

Remember the first step, delete your social media accounts but before doing that.

Share this to a friend of yours. Subscribe to this newsletter.

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If you’re still not a guru after you’ve done everything I just told you then maybe it’s a you problem.

My students have done this 143,434,344, times already. What makes you different?

One of the tightest F&B competition here is the burger scene. From “Fast food Kariton-Patties” to “Ultra-luxury A5 Wagyu Patties”, the burger selection in BGC are endless!

Having 9 burger places in the same block forced business owners to be creative. Easier said than done but there’s not much you can do to a meal that only has 3 components.

First —and most important— is the patty or the meat.

Second —what most amateur restaurants ignore— is the bun.

Third —where amateurs focus most— is anything besides the first and second one.

That’s why when it comes to ‘Burgers’ you’ve probably seen it all.

This burger place in BGC understood that.

Their lightbulb (spoiler alert!) moment: “why not complicate our ordering process?”

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, I’m not paid to do this article but I sure hope I was though.

INTRODUCING: GREENLIGHT BURGERS

I have tried their burger once. I liked it. BUT! We’re not here to talk about the burger.

We’re here to talk about their gimmicky concept that honestly irritated the hell out of me.

I might not like the concept but this place sells burgers like fishballs!

Corporate employees are willing to stand long queues and waste minutes of their precious lunch break to get a taste of their meat.

Are their burgers really that special? NOPE.

WHAT’S THE DEAL THEN??

It’s from that Filipino-American chef Alvin Cailan — the guy behind Eggslut and Umami Burger abroad.

Here in BGC, they do simple smash burgers. Thin patties with crispy edges, decent buns, and three sauce options: red (classic), yellow (mustard thing), and green (their fresh/herby one that people seem to like).

Fries are crispy, menu is super limited, no crazy add-ons or milkshakes. Just straight-up burgers that cost around ₱350-₱650.

People say the patties are juicy and flavorful, buns hold up okay. Solid, but not mind-blowing for the price.

It’s good… but the hype is mostly from the gimmick, not the food itself.

Their weird schedule + scarcity trick

You can only order from them 12-3pm and 6-8pm (or until they sell out, which happens fast).

They even have this green light outside hence greenlight burgers….Green means they’re still open and cooking, red means closed or sold out.

For what ever reason, it works!

Scarcity makes people lose their minds. Office workers line up early, FOMO kicks in, and suddenly everyone wants what they might not be able to get.

That limited-time thing turns a normal burger into something “exclusive.”

Smart, but annoying when you’re the one standing in line in this summer heat.

Should you copy this in your business?

If you’re far from BGC, yeah give it a try.

Limit your hours, cap your daily items, or create some visual signal that shows when you’re available.

It builds hype, creates urgency, and gets people talking without spending tons on ads.

Here’s my opinion though..

No gimmick can keep a business open forever. At the end of the day, only a good product saves a business.

Scarcity might drag people in the door the first few times, but if your burger (or whatever you’re selling) is just meh, they won’t keep coming back. Gimmicks are there to help —free initial attention from this very saturated market. If you’re in the FOOD industry then it means the food has to do the heavy lifting.

Greenlight Burgers gets this balance right for now. The concept irritated the hell out of me, but I still see the lines forming.

If that amounts to anything.

Would I queue again? Probably not. But I respect the game they’re playing.

When electricity bills are through the roof, a rooftop solar panel system feels like a no-brainer; especially for businesses that consume far more electricity than your average residential home.

The solar solution became less of a luxury option and more of a mandatory option now for businesses looking to increase their bottom line.

With 82% of the population expressing interest in solar panel systems, it’s safe to say that this industry is growing fast.

That’s when the government steps in.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) just announced it is preparing rules that would require mandatory government certification for solar panel systems sold in the Philippines. Every panel, every inverter, every battery, every charge controller, every cable.

Everything.

The DTI’s Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) is drafting the order, and it covers both residential and commercial solar installations. The proposal is still in consultation, but the direction is clear.

Everything needs to go through DTI.

The real question is, “why?”

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Why does the DTI suddenly care about your solar panels?

The DTI will tell you that the push for regulation is about protecting consumers. And to be fair, the problem they’re pointing to is real.

Right now, solar products in the Philippines have zero mandatory certification requirements. Anyone can import a cheap panel from overseas, slap it on your roof, and call it a day. That means the only certification it needs is the one from its country of origin.

This has flooded the market with substandard equipment. Inverters that don’t meet international standards. Batteries that overheat. Installations done by uncertified workers with no formal training.

Meralco has already reported fires caused by faulty solar installations that didn’t follow safety standards.

Their own data shows that one in three rooftop solar units in their franchise area are unregistered “guerrilla installations” — no permits, no inspections, no paper trail.

That is a legitimate problem.

Legitimate enough to put DTI and Meralco on the same page.

Meralco Cares??

Meralco is the one pushing hardest for these stricter regulations. At a recent Senate hearing, Meralco’s VP for Utility Economics Lawrence Fernandez personally urged the DOE and the DTI to adopt stricter standards for solar equipment and formal qualifications for solar installers.

They want uncertified products off the market. They want guerrilla installations regulated. They want the government to step in and clean up the industry.

Safety First yes, but what about conflict of interest?

Here’s why.

Meralco is also building their own solar farm. A big one. The Meralco Terra Solar Project. A 3,500-megawatt solar and battery storage facility in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija worth ₱200 billion. It is one of the largest solar projects in Southeast Asia, and it is currently under construction.

Everything…coincidence.

The country’s largest power distributor, which has been charging Filipino businesses some of the highest electricity rates in the region for decades, is now lobbying the government to regulate the same rooftop solar industry that is threatening to reduce their customers’ dependence on the grid all the while simultaneously building a massive solar farm of their own.

Monopolies need to keep being monopolies, because why not.

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Never Ending Government Corruption means Never Ending Taxes and Red Tapes.

Now let’s talk about the other beneficiary in this story.

Fact: Certification doesn’t come free.

Under the DTI-BPS certification scheme, every solar product that enters the Philippine market will need to go through a process that includes application fees, processing fees, inspection fees, and testing fees. And those fees aren’t small. Public comments on the DTI-BPS consultation have already flagged certification costs reaching ₱10,000 or more per application — and that’s before you factor in testing and inspection costs charged by third-party bodies.

The DTI-BPS already runs mandatory certification schemes for 111 product categories in the Philippines. Solar panels are about to become the newest addition to that list.

Don’t get me wrong.

Product certification isn’t inherently evil. Standards exist for a reason.

It’s just when the same government agency drafting the rules also collects the fees, and the loudest voice asking for those rules happens to be a ₱200 billion corporation with it’s worth asking who this regulation is really designed to protect.

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Those Already Got Their Solar Installed Aren’t Safe..Yet.

The new rules are aimed at products entering the market going forward but that doesn’t mean your existing setup is untouchable.

If your system was installed by an uncertified installer, uses equipment that doesn’t meet international standards, or was put up without the proper permits, you’re sitting on a liability.

Think about it.

No building permit means no legal protection if something goes wrong. The guerrilla install that saved you money upfront could end up costing you far more down the line.

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The Best Time to Do It is NOW.

Once mandatory certification kicks in, expect solar product prices to go up. The cheap, uncertified panels flooding the market today will either disappear or get more expensive once they’re required to meet Philippine standards.

If solar has been on your business plan for a while, now’s the best time to put it on top of your checklist.

Get quotes now.

Talk to certified installers now.

Buy before the market adjusts to the new rules.

The math on solar can only get worse from now.

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WHAT DTI WANTED

Talking point 3: The 30-working-day waiting period

Before you could run any ad or promo, you would need to file an application with the DTI at least 30 working days in advance. That is six weeks of waiting before you could tell the public about your sale, your new product, or your latest offer. For a small business that runs flash sales or reacts to trends online, that kind of delay does not just slow you down — it shuts you out.

The permit fees — ₱975 to ₱9,295 per advertisement

On top of the waiting, you would also have to pay. Each advertisement would come with a permit fee ranging from ₱975 to ₱9,295. Not per campaign. Per ad. If you are a small online seller running multiple promotions a month, those fees add up fast. For a business operating on thin margins, this is not a small inconvenience — it is a real threat to survival.

BAM AQUINO PUSHED BACK!

Senator Bam Aquino was one of the first to push back. He is the author of the Go Negosyo Act, a law built to help small businesses grow by giving them easier access to financing, markets, and training.

He knows this space well. Aquino argued that the proposed DAO did not target bad actors — it punished everyone. His point was simple: consumer protection is a legitimate goal, but this policy was too broad, too slow, and too expensive for the small business owners it would hurt the most.

Here is what made the proposed DAO even harder to defend. The law to stop deceptive ads already exists. The Consumer Act of the Philippines already gives the government the tools to go after businesses that lie or mislead in their advertising. Aquino pointed this out directly. The DTI did not need a new permit system to protect consumers — it just needed to enforce what was already there.

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CARLO OPLE DID NOT HOLD BACK

Carlo Ople, one of the country's most recognized voices in the digital economy, also spoke up. He did not mince words. Ople said the policy would kill small businesses and only protect big players who already had the resources to survive the process.

He also flipped the conversation — instead of asking why the DTI was adding more requirements, he asked why the government was not doing the opposite. Why not create an environment with less red tape and more incentives for Filipinos to start businesses and create jobs?

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DTI BACK PEDAL

The pushback worked. The DTI clarified that the DAO was only an internal draft and would not be finalized or enforced. Secretary Roque confirmed the recall of the draft order. Carlo Ople thanked both the Secretary and Senator Aquino publicly. What started as a quiet internal policy almost became a real burden on every small business owner running ads in the Philippines — until enough people said no.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES?

For now, nothing changes. You can still run your ads, post your promos, and launch your campaigns without asking anyone for permission first. But this story is a reminder that policies like this can appear quietly and move fast. The businesses that caught it early and spoke up made a difference. As a business owner, staying informed is not optional — it is part of running a business in the Philippines today.

There are businesses that require a ton of money to start.

Even worse, there are businesses that need both. Time and money.

These 4 are not one of those businesses.

This is for someone who:

• Has 1 to 2 hours after work to spare,

• Doesn’t have a rich family to ask for capital,

• Can’t risk quitting their full-time work for something that cannot guarantee income yet.

  

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Business 1: AI Automation For Your Neighborhood Business

Chances are, you’ve never heard of this, but it’s already making money for people who spotted it early.

Many small local businesses — think clinics, spas, and salons — know they should be using AI to save time.

The problem is they have no idea how to set it up. That’s where you come in. You act as the bridge.

Using free or low-cost tools like Zapier, Make, and AI, you can build automated workflows for them. These are email auto-responders, customer service chatbots, or inventory dashboards on Notion.

You don’t need to be a computer engineer to start this. There are plenty of resources available on YouTube for this.

Type in your search bar, “How to use _______ for automation, step-by-step guide.”

After watching a few 10-20 minute tutorials, you should be ready.

The best part? You build it once on a weekend, and it runs on its own after that. Your startup cost is near zero. All you need is a laptop and free software trials to get started.

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Business 2: Short-Form Video Editing

The second business costs less than a Starbucks tall coffee to start.

It’s really simple. You look for businesses or influencers that uses long-form videos but have no time to cut it into short clips.

That’s the gap you fill. You take their raw footage and turn it into 30-second Reels, TikToks, or YouTube Shorts.

The FREE Version of CapCut is more than enough for this. CapCut can even generate captions and trim dead air for you.

Your only job is saving the client time.

You can batch all your editing on a Saturday morning and schedule an entire week’s worth of posts in advance.

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Business 3: Niche Digital Resources.

This third business can make money while you sleep.

Here’s the idea: selling mainstream digital products to everyone is a losing game — that market is too crowded. But selling highly specific resources to overworked professionals? That’s where the gold mine is.

Think ready-made lesson slides for teachers or Canva templates built for real estate agents.

You create it once using free tools like Canva or Google Slides. No shipping. No live customer calls. No need to be online.

The key is understanding one specific problem that one specific type of professional deals with every day. Solve that problem, package it nicely, and you have a product that works for you after 24/7.

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Business 4: Contract Bookkeeping.

The fourth business is best for someone who is comfortable with numbers.

Small businesses don’t need a full-time accountant — but they always need someone to fix their books.

That’s where you come in.

Using tools like spreadsheets and Excel, combined with AI, you can do their monthly accounts in a single evening — or maybe 3 evenings.

Because this business requires real accuracy, fewer people compete for it — and that allows you to charge premium rates.

If you have a background in math, finance, or corporate admin, this might be the easiest starting point for you.

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All four of these businesses share the same advantage:

• It won’t eat too much of your time and,

• It won’t use too much of your salary.

You don’t need to choose between your day job and your future. You just need 1-2 hours after work and the decision to start.

The best time to start was yesterday. The second best time is now.

Pick one business from this list.

Just one.

Start is now.

Nine years later, the Supreme Court ruled that what happened to Aragones was a case of illegal dismissal.

Now, Alltech may owe over ₱15 million in backwages, separation pay, attorney’s fees, and interest.

In this letter, we’ll break down the exact mistakes Alltech made—so you don’t make the same job offer mistake that could cost your business millions.

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Here's What Happened

On April 18, 2016, Paolo Aragones signed a job offer letter from Alltech Biotechnology Corporation for the position of Swine Technical Manager – Pacific. Trusting the deal, he resigned from his stable job at Cargill Philippines. His first day was set for July 1, 2016.

He never made it to Day 1.

In May 2016, Alltech’s head office allegedly implemented a global restructuring. His position was abolished. Alltech sent him a letter, offered him ₱140,000, equivalent to one month’s salary, as a “goodwill gesture,” and told him the deal was off.

Aragones rejected the offer and filed a case. The case moved from the Labor Arbiter, to the NLRC, to the Court of Appeals, and finally, to the Supreme Court.

On April 2, 2025, almost nine years after Aragones signed the job offer, the Supreme Court finally ruled: Alltech illegally dismissed him.

What Alltech Now Owes

Because the Supreme Court ruled this as illegal dismissal, Aragones is entitled to:

• Backwages counted from July 1, 2016 — his original start date — all the way until the decision becomes final.

• Separation pay of one month per year of service, also starting July 1, 2016.

• Attorney’s fees equal to 10% of the total monetary award.

• 6% interest per year from the time the decision becomes final until fully paid.

Since the original salary offer was around ₱140,000 per month, multiplying that across nearly nine years means the backwages and separation pay alone could easily exceed ₱15 million.

This is a very costly mistake for Alltech. But thanks to them — and Aragones — an important legal questions was answered for your benefit.

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The Most Important Legal Question For Your Next Job.

The reason this case was so confusing — even for the courts — is that it touched on a very important question: When does someone become your employee?

Most people assume it’s the employment contract start date, signed and notarized. The NLRC and the Court of Appeals both believed that. They said “no start date, no employment, no case”.

The Supreme Court (SC) disagreed.

Here’s the distinction the SC made: When Aragones signed the offer letter and Alltech received it, the contract was already perfected and the relationship already existed. The July 1 start date only determined when Aragones had to show up and when Alltech had to pay.

Think of it this way: If you agree to rent a space starting next month, you still have a contract today. The landlord can’t just cancel it because you haven’t moved in yet.

The SC also called out Alltech’s redundancy claim. Their only proof was a single, vague affidavit that basically said, “we restructured.”

The Court said that’s not enough. To prove redundancy, you need a lot of documentation — too many to mention here, so it needs another article on its own.

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What This Means for You and Your Business

Your main takeaway: The moment a candidate signs your job offer, they are legally your employee.

If you need to cancel a job offer, you can’t just send a letter and offer goodwill money. You now need to follow proper dismissal procedures, like how you would do for an employee who’s already been working for you for years.

If you still don’t have formal HR systems for your company, this should be a wake-up call.

Do you still make hiring decisions over a text message or a handshake?

Do you still send out offer letters without a lawyer reviewing them?

That informal approach just became a lot more expensive.

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Here’s what you should be doing now:

First, do not send a job offer unless the position and the budget are 100% locked in.

Second, if you ever need to rescind an offer, get a lawyer involved before you send any communication.

Third, if you’re restructuring or claiming redundancy, document everything — org charts, board decisions, staffing studies.

Fourth, treat your offer letter the same way you treat an employment contract.

That’s a huge chunk in favor of Meralco and that’s why they don’t want you to know about the other players in town.

PLAYER 1: Retail electricity suppliers (RES)

Under the EPIRA law (Electric Power Industry Reform Act), consumers using at least 100 kW of power per month are considered "contestable".

Contestable means if you’re a big time consumer, you can shop for a different electricity supplier instead of buying from Meralco.

That’s where Retail Electricity Suppliers (RES) enter, and there are several licensed ones: Clyriel, Aboitiz Power Retail, GNPower Retail, Pacific Light, and others.

They buy power from generators in bulk and resell it to large commercial and industrial customers (sometimes at better rates than Meralco).

If you run a factory, a large office building, or a hotel, this matters to you. If you're a household or a small café, it currently doesn't apply.

PLAYER 2: Solar (The DIY alternative that got Meralco’s attention)

Yes, this player is you.

Installing rooftop solar doesn't mean you "leave" Meralco — but it does mean you generate your own electricity during the day and reduce how much you buy from them.

Under the Net Metering Program, you can even sell excess solar power back to the grid and have it credited on your bill.

A typical residential solar setup (5–10 kW) costs ₱200,000–₱400,000 upfront and pays for itself in 5–8 years depending on usage.

Companies like SolarNRG, Solaric, and CleanTech Solar have made installation more accessible.

PLAYER 3: Electric Cooperatives

Usually a non-stock, non-profit utility managed by the government-linked National Electrification Administration (NEA).

There are over 100 electric cooperatives in the country covering provinces from Batangas to Bukidnon.

Some are well-run; others are notoriously slow and unreliable.

The structure is the same as Meralco — they distribute, not generate — but the quality of service and rates vary wildly.

Coopelectric, BLCI (Batangas), and CENECO (Negros) are among the larger ones.

All of these are outside Metro Manila and it’s designed that way. The reason why is for another article in itself.

That means if you’re on a fan of Meralco and you’re in the metro; and moving to the provinces isn’t an option then you’re out of luck.

Can you actually make the switch?

If you’re a household or small business: Not really. You’re in Meralco’s franchise area and below the 100 kW threshold for retail competition. Your practical alternative is rooftop solar — which doesn’t replace Meralco but meaningfully reduces your dependence on it.

If you’re a medium-to-large business: Yes. If your monthly consumption hits 100 kW, you’re “contestable” and can negotiate with a licensed RES. Some businesses have shaved 10–20% off their electricity costs this way.

If you’re a developer or investor: The real opportunity is upstream — generation, storage, and microgrids. That’s where the policy is loosening and the margins are still being discovered.