Start-Up Business Tips: Registration

Marseilla Cafe kept me busy for quite a long time, that's why I haven't blogged too.  Making your dream into fruition is not an easy task.  It consumes a lot of your time planning, budgeting, and executing, plus, dealing with the requirements for permits.  The whole ordeal will really test your patience...and it will never end especially if you're a hands-on entrepreneur like me!

Here's a guide to all SINGLE/SOLO proprietors out there who are entering the business world for the first time.  I have to remind you that my field is on food and I'm not renting because I'm running a home-based cafe, so there might be slight differences on permits, etc.  You have to check it yourself just to be sure.

--

1.  Get Barangay Clearance. 

Visit the barangay hall where your business will be or is situated.  From the articles I've read online, some barangays asks for a fee.  But from where I live, it's for free.  I guess it's one of the perks living in the suburbs.  The whole transaction will only take you five minutes minimum, not unless your barangay is really busy.


2.  Register Business Name at DTI.

Fill-up online form, follow instructions (they're pretty simple), and print.  Then go straight to DTI nearest you, if you still have time of your day after claiming your barangay clearance.

Business name is different to your 'brand' name, or name of your establishment.  Have you noticed the receipts you have?  The place you dined/purchased on has its brand name different to the business name printed on their official receipt.

You can name your business for DTI registration any way you want it, but you can check if it already exists on DTI's database.  There are rules and guidelines on coming up with a business name.

Requirements (again, this is for single proprietorship):
- must be Filipino citizen, at least 18 years old.
- present birth certificate, or PRC ID, voter's ID, passport.  Original and photocopy.

Processing fee is Php 150 + Documentary Stamp Php 15

Business scope vary.  In my case I chose City/Municipality which amounted to Php 500.  If you're a small business, like sari-sari store, you can choose Barangay, Php 200 (I should have chosen this instead).  The way I understood it, if you're a franchisee or if you want to expand your business into different locations, let's say regional, or nationwide, then tick between the two on your online form. National is Php 2,000, while Regional is Php 1,000.  But then again, always make a fact check.

Print out form and go straight to the nearest DTI with your requirements.  It will only take less than hour for you to process your BNR.


3.  Apply for Mayor's Permit.

You can now visit the municipal hall of the town where you will be running your business.  Look for the Business Registration Office, or equivalent to it, and tell the attendant that you are applying for a new business.  They will be handing you a form to fill up and will be asking questions like what kind of business are you putting up, where is it going to be located, how many staff will you be having (if applicable), etc.

In order to get a permit from the mayor, you have to submit the following as well:

- Sedula.

- Sanitary Permit to Operate
         - Go to the Sanitation Department of the municipal hall.  Hand over your application form,
           and they will be giving you another list of requirements.

         - You and your staff should undergo medical examination on your chosen clinic.
           In my case, my business is a cafe, so we were required to have Hepa B tested aside from
           the usual stool and urine sample, x-ray, blood, and physical examination.

         - Collate all results of you and your staff, then forward it to the Sanitation Department for
           verification.  To lessen the hassle, always make sure the results are good to go.

         - Once approved, the attendant will be handing you health cards for you and your staff to fill
           out, most specifically the signatures and thumb marks.  You could either process SD's
           requirements alone (you need to go back and forth) or with your staff (process goes faster).

         - If you have had the health cards accomplished have it photocopied, then go back to SD and
           hand over those cards for them to check and then they will be giving you the Sanitary Permit
           to Operate.

Go straight to your BRO and hand them your application form with the SPO.  You will then be directed to the Treasurer's Office to pay fees (here's a sample of what I paid on this process):
                               
                              Business Plate/Sticker                    Php 150
                              Environmental Protection Fee               500
                              Garbage Fee                                        1,000
                              Local Business Tax                                200
                              Mayor's Permit Fee                                450
                              Sanitary Permit                                      250
                              TOTAL                                               2,550

If you are not renting like me, head back to your BRO to show the receipt, and they will be asking you to go have your tax declaration of real property tax checked (amilyar).

Next step, head to the MPDC Office of your municipal hall for Zoning Certificate.  Show them the application form you have together with the receipts and they will be asking where is the exact location of your business.  You have to have a blueprint (original and photocopy) of the location since you're not renting.  Then they will be handing you additional documents with the head's signature/approval.  It may take a while, but you can pay for the Zoning Certificate (Php 500 in our town) while waiting.

Now you can head back to the BRO and submit all documents.  They will be processing it for days and will schedule you when to pick it up along with your business plate.  :)

It may seem tedious but it's quite an easy process.  It's just a matter of walking towards one department to another and have all required documents done.

Although, I still have one certificate to accomplish to this day -- the Fire Safety Certificate.  Our fire department is really pain in the a**.  They have done their initial check a couple of months back and they told us they'll be coming back the day after but they're MIA!  Ugh.  I tried calling them a couple of times and they told me they'll be coming back that afternoon, but never did. Will try again tomorrow.



4.  BIR Business Registration.

You can apply for BIR permit while your Mayor's permit is being processed.

Make sure you have your RDO transferred to the RDO that covers your location.  I used to work in Taguig, so I had mine transferred first before heading to RDO 54B (Bacoor) by filling-up 1905 form.

Here's a list of requirements to have your business registered:

         - DTI Certificate (single proprietor), original and photocopy
         - Tax Identification Number (if you still don't have it, this should be your step 1 before
            applying for Mayor's Permit, etc.).
         - Contract of Lease if you are renting, or land title/tax declaration if you own the place.
         - Mayor's Permit.
         - Accomplish 3 forms (copies) and have it assessed:
                   - BIR Form 1901 (application form)
                   - BIR Form 0605 (payment form)
                   - BIR Form 2000 (documentary stamp tax on lease, if, obviously, you're renting)
                   - Contract of Lease (if you're renting)

After they assessed your documents, you need to go to the nearest accredited banks for payment.  Ask the officer at the RDO you're at about it.  Remember to have 3 photocopies of each forms before going to the bank.

Then go back to the RDO after payment has been done and go straight to the officer that assessed your application (no need to get a queue number).  You need to purchase Books of Accounts either at the RDO or outside.  You better study this link to understand the difference between VAT and NON-VAT.

     Kind of Books for Non-VAT                              Kind of Books for VAT
     - Journal                                                                - Journal
     - Ledger                                                                - Ledger
     - Cash Receipt                                                       - Cash Receipt
     - Cash Disbursement                                             - Cash Disbursement
                                                                                   - Subsidiary Sales Journal
                                                                                   - Subsidiary Purchase Journal

You have to fill it up with your name and other details and have it registered/signed by the officer.  He/she will be scheduling the release date of your Certificate of Registration (COR).  Some RDOs may request you to attend a seminar about filing your taxes on the same day your CORs are going to be released.

And, don't forget to get a hold of your "Ask for Receipt" sign.  I still don't have mine to this day because they ran out of it a month ago.

By the way, you should also have your official receipts printed and approved by BIR!  I had mine printed c/o the officer who attended me that day.  I still don't have it, though.  She said it will be printed after two weeks, and it's been a month!  Sigh.

UPDATED:
For freelancers who are still confused when it comes to registering at BIR as self-employed or not, here's a link to answer your queries.  It's really helpful!  :)

--

So that would be it for now.  I'm going to edit this when I get to process my SSS and other administrative requirements for the business.

I would absolutely appreciate it if you could check out my cafe's Facebook page by clicking on this link, or maybe drop by and try our homemade food and drinks (because I like to make everything from scratch).

You can also like my blog's page here.

What I Really Do

Since I'm pissed off on how most people think what I do recently, I got on the latest trend and made this collage.  Haha.  Now, I'm even more happier.  ^^

Okay.  Back to work.

Learning Stage

Entrepreneurship is fairly new to me.  I don't have too much of an idea on how to put up a business.  That's why I was looking for a business partner so that we could learn the art of entrepreneurship at the same time.  You know, it's more fun learning with a friend, right?  So that's the reason I began studying this field a year ago by reading books.  I know I should have gone to a graduate school and get MBA, but that's not feasible right now.

Last year, I bought this book "Start and Run a Restaurant" by Carol Godsmark.  It's very expensive, about a thousand pesos.  Geesh.  Well, that's a start, I thought then.  But, pfft, it's in UK setting so it's kind of not helpful, though it gave me an idea on how things should be done.  I wasn't able to finish reading this book.  :p

Then my sister lend me her "Entrepreneurship for Dummies."  Again, it's not in the Philippine setting.  Though it's a good book too, but I find it too boring to read.  Wasn't able to finish reading this book as well.  Two down.

Then just this Sunday, as I was waiting for my prospective business partner, I went inside this bookstore and my feet led me to the business section and unconsciously grabbed Go Negosyo's "21 Steps on How to Start Your Own Business".  I bought it for Php 250, but on their website it's being sold for only Php 198.  Oh well.  At first, I was a bit hesitant on whether to buy this book or not.  But then again, I thought, it's now written in a Philippine setting and its description is pretty promising.  After reading a couple of pages after purchasing, I thought I should have read this book before diving into the world of business.

As I was flipping through the pages, I'm rest assured I'm on the right path.  A very motivating read to us newbies in the entrepreneurial world.  Here are some statements that really gave me this positive drive after weeks of depression:

Dream, believe, achieve!

Your decisions, not your conditions, determine your destiny!

Stages of change (and I'm on the acceptance part now, which is oh so good)

Dream big, start small (which by the way, I can really relate to)

On why most Filipinos are employees, because Filipinos have been programmed to be employees! (the book has overwhelming examples that I just now realized after reading) 

Fear of Failure

All those stated above were the first few parts of the book and I'll spend time reading the rest in between baking queued orders for this week.  This book is worth it.

Oh, did I mention that Enterpreneur magazine is worth buying too?  Yeah.  Very helpful, specially this month's issue on business starter guide.  Their website is very informative as well!

Then a friend of mine who happens to own a business, helps me out on looking for seminars and other reading materials found on the web.  I need time to read through all those.  Apparently, I signed up on this baking and bread making seminar that she recommended (that she saw online) conducted by Golden Treasure Skills & Development Program  at SMX that was held last January 29.  The experience wasn't good.  It's more on panaderya baking and the recipes did not level up to my taste.  It was awful.  I was there just to learn do the costing, and I spent Php 1,900 on that so-called seminar.  Geesh.  But at least I get to have a certificate (but I don't know what's it for).

She also told me about DTI's free briefing sessions on some topics like business licensing, how to register in BIR and the likes.  I went to two sessions yesterday, February 7th, and the sessions were almost canceled because I was the only one who showed up around 1:30 PM.  As the facilitator from DTI was very accommodating and asked if I could stay at least 15 more minutes just to be sure that there were more participants who'll come in late, I patiently waited and read through some pages of my new favorite book by Go Negosyo.  Gladly, there were five people who showed up and the session started right after.

The speakers were very helpful and we all really got some good pointers and information about processing licenses and other requirements.  Odd questions and clarifications were answered.  I'm very impressed with these sessions, that's why I'm coming back for other topics that would benefit my business.

You can find the updated schedule and topics here.

We also got certificates from these sessions, handouts (which, unfortunately, were given right after the last sessions instead of in the beginning), and a book guide on putting up a business.  Plus, you'd get to meet fellow entrepreneurs who you could create network with.  I met these two young ladies who are going to put up a wedding planning business and they were interested to try my baked goods for future reference.  Good avenue for networking, too, huh? :)

It's technically free, but come to think of it, we paid for it (aka. tax).  So go and spread the word.  I'm assuring you, it's worth it.

Humbling Start

Leaving the four corners of an office is pretty risky, yet fulfilling.  I may not be earning the way I used to--well, I'm not earning a single cent right now--but I'm happy with what I'm able to accomplish every day.

As most people know, I'm a very strong and positive person.  Loud and sometimes bubbly.  I am, but half of me is living in fear, in doubts, in worries.  I have this dark, sad, side of me that as much as possible I don't let anyone know that I'm in that state.  Yet, I always try to put up a smile and be positive.  I'm kind of faking it but at the same time "meaning" it.  But this whole new phase that I'm in brought me into a deep shit.  Fear overwhelmed me.  As I'm used to having someone to bump heads with, to come up with an idea or make a decision, and now I'm alone on putting up my venture, that gave me a hell lot of scare.  I can't find anyone who share the same passion, the oomph, the drive.

My plans prior to leaving my previous company is to focus on planning and developing my online food business into a shop or cafe.  And while doing that, I planned on working online for part-time, and do other side jobs to satisfy my craving on the arts and not be bored.  I tend to be bored easily, by the way.

The entire plan was working on the first few weeks.  And when I got the online job that I was aiming for, I knew something was wrong, so I asked for another week to think about whether or not to accept the job.  It still feels like working in an office.  I have to be working 9am-6pm with them.  I suddenly felt like throwing up, figuratively speaking, because I know that I no longer want to be a regular employee--that I no longer like the feeling of being tied in that kind of setting.  You know, the moment I wake up, I turn on the computer then continuously working till 6pm, yet you can't function like a person at home!  I accepted the job as the people around me encouraged me to give it a try, but the funny thing is, I only worked on that online job for three days.  Haha!  That's a great example of following your heart.

illustration from ofrainandsunshine.blogspot.com

Then came another problem.  I mentioned earlier that I was having a hard time looking for a business partner.  I was looking for someone who is passionate, creative, positive and risk-taker.  There are quite a number of people who approached me and willing to invest but I always tell them that I don't need an investor.  I already have one.  I need a person to brainstorm with and to passionately work with on this business.  Unfortunately, those people that I trust and I thought of having the same drive, passion and spirit weren't interested.  They chose fear over courage.  But I do understand some who are really busy in their lives and have other priorities other than this.

photo from personal-marketing.co.uk

I felt depressed.  I felt more lonelier than ever.  Well, due to the fact that I'm almost like living by myself since I was young, I thought the people around me these days would be my strength, who I can depend on in situations like this.  I broke down for several days.  It's the only time that I knew what I want to do, but I felt like no one's there to support.

Then I prayed deeply so I could meet that person I'm looking for on this business.  I bumped into a preschool friend, then met a stranger who strangely enough offered me a partnership on the business without me asking (it's a different story on the next post), which I, of course, no plans of taking; and at the same day when I met that stranger, a colleague of mine called me and asked if my previous offer of having her as my partner on this business is still available.  My prayers had been answered.

We set a meeting in Galleria, on a Sunday, and talked things over.  I laid my cards, told her the facts, and gladly we were on the same track.  I reiterated that we won't be earning cash in the meantime.  It's more like break-even.

Let's see what the future might bring.  I'm crossing fingers.  And I do hope that you do too, for me at least.

Behind Esmis

Back in 2009, after taking up Culinary Arts at MIHCA and had my internship at Basilio's, I opened an online business named Cafe Julita (my grandma's name) where I used to sell leche flan.  It sold like pancakes but I had to put an end to it due to having a similar name to an existing restaurant which I don't know of at that time, and making the decision on whether to choose kitchen or desk job.  Obviously I chose the corporate world and stayed there for almost two years.  Why?  Well, the main reason was because in the kitchen you'd only get to earn 8k to 10k as a beginner.  If I was a fresh grad back then, I would've accepted those numerous job offers on fine dining restaurants, but I was being practical then, I was 25.  I thought of my parents' medical benefits.  And I've been getting sick every now and then when I was working at Basilio's.

The past two years had been a rough road for me.  I had the difficulty on deciding which career path to choose, the pressure on the job that I'm really not interested in, the death of my father, the depression, my experience on getting mugged right outside our house, and the deterioration of my physical and mental health.

To overcome some of my emotional issues, I went online, got interested on Joseph Gordon-Levitt's organization HitRecord.org, and got involved on some of the collaborative work like the short story that everyone's working on at that time entitled StitchTown.  Moonbug, the coordinator, got inspired on my apple crumble photo that I put up on the website and asked me to come up with a refreshing dessert that would definitely fit the world of StitchTown.  He said that I can go crazy on the ingredients.  That's when I created Heaven's Pie.  A custard pie filled with mango-banana-apple slices, dusted with cinnamon powder and topped with cornflakes.

Why naming it Heaven's Pie?  Well, my dad was the inspiration behind this.  I do believe he's in heaven.  

I had extensive research of making sure that this kind of pie or recipe doesn't exist, and fortunately, it's an original.  That's when my sister gave me this idea that I should sell this pie.  And I then decided to go back on my online made-to-order business and now naming it Esmis, derived from my father's nickname Esmi.  

I sold these pies and the cinnamon rolls I made at work.  Everyone loved it.  I had difficulty on the pricing since I'm really not good at it and have a very little background on it as well.  Prices varied from time to time.

Since I was working at Taguig and goes home to Cavite every day by commute, I had the difficulty on bringing my baked products to work.  So I decided to not sell then.

But when I realized late last year that I no longer see myself working in a corporate world and visualize myself being an entrepreneur, I then handed my resignation and pursued my dream.

I felt freedom.  Then early this January, I opened Esmis once again.  Colleagues began ordering cinnamon rolls, pretzels and my signature Heaven's pie.  I saw a potential.  Now I want this to grow badly.

The thing is, I'm making all these goods here in Cavite, informed my clients on the pick-up points in the metro, didn't charge a fee on the delivery/pick-up, and my pricing is way cheap.  I did not foresee those people who tend to abuse me.  We set a schedule for pick-up, then later texting me they won't able to pick it up on the scheduled time and asking if it's possible to meet up in the evening instead.  First of all, I'm from Cavite.  I worked my a** off double time within the week to buy materials, ingredients and, of course, bake which will take a huge amount of my time.  Then I gave my weekend for client meet-ups to hand over their orders and now I have to adjust my time for these set of people?  Very inconsiderate people indeed.  Due to this, I strictly implemented my rules:  there's 50% downpayment on the total bill of the order/s a person has made, I'm now charging delivery/pick-up fee, and pick-up/meet-up schedule is on Saturdays only from 10am-4pm.  So, even if I need to adjust on their availability, it would still be worth it as I charge them for my efforts.  :)

But that gave me this push to look for a store location.  I don't want it to be in the metro since I'm sick of the city itself, but the problem is, most of my clients are from the metro!  I'm thinking of putting up a shop in Tagaytay or Nuvali instead, but I know it will cost me money to put up one on those locations.  Sigh.

Since I don't have the budget, I have this another idea, sell my pies on banchettos or night/weekend markets.  But the problem is I need people to work with!  I have this difficulty on trusting people these days because of the things I've been through.  Sigh.

I'm thinking of having business partners.  There were a couple of people who were interested, but then again, I thought, I need people who are willing to work on this business full-time, who are going to focus on the marketing, administrative stuff, and scouting for materials while I focus on the kitchen.

SIGH.

Food is where my heart is

An old post... transferring all posts from my previous blog here.  Enjoy!

Two years had gone by and I still haven't practiced my culinary skills professionally. If you're going to ask me whether I love culinary/pastry arts, yes I do. I'm lusting over it. Though I have to choose between competitive compensation and benefits in an office or a job that I will sure love despite of the stress and hard work it will bring but pays way low that it will go to my bills, fare and food.  A choice between working for a fine dining restaurant owned by a known French chef here in the metro, or in a known international company that caters almost everything around the globe.  With last year's current economic state that is still ongoing, I had to choose the practical side of things.  That's why I'm now working for this international company that is in no way related to culinary because of the health card that covers my dependents--which are my parents.

My dad passed away September last year, and I think I made the right choice slaving myself in the corporate world--at least.  At least I was able to support dad financially on hospital bills, which I think is the only positive thing among the tragic phase I've been through.

And now I want to move on.  Working in this company reminds me of the choice I made back in January 2010.    I recently told my manager that before this year ends, I'll be handing my resignation.  He's not in favor of it, but there's nothing else he could do.  My stats at work are pretty much above average.  He's been telling me on our series of one-on-one meetings that he sees a leader in me, and there came to a point that I'm training the part without me knowing (at first).  It's flattering but I don't want to work in the administration side of this business even it means that my salary will triple up.  That's when I really realized that I should go back to what I really love doing--cooking and baking.  And I've been dreaming since I was kid that I want to have my own business.  I've worked on different fields but I always say to myself or to my close friends that I want to own and run a business that has something to do with food.

But I'm on the edge of having to focus on cooking or baking.  I'm more interested in baking even if I only had a two-week introduction to it when I was studying Culinary Arts at MIHCA.  Frankly, I'm not that good in baking.  All I learned were the basics but I usually catch myself baking whenever I get the chance.  I do think that it's more challenging than cooking because it's a very detailed task, plus the fact that I love bread, pastries and desserts.  Thus, I'm thinking of supplying baked goods (that became in demand on my seasonal sales for the past couple of years) this coming January to this coffee shop that I'm eying if ever they were going to get supplies from me.  I'm in an experimental mode.  The major problem for me now is where to bake and where to buy a good condition three-layered oven.  But as I've noticed I think too much ahead, I should first make a sample and have the coffee shop's manager/owner taste my product/s.  Then from there, I'll make a plan.  Sigh.  Thinking of these things are stressing me out right now.

Whatever happens, I will really resign from my day job.  Office is not where my heart is even if this is the best place to work so far because of the people that I work with, the friends I've made here, and the environment.  Baking and cooking is my life.  I feel so much rewarded when positive feedback were thrown right at me after tasting/eating what I served.  It feels so good.  It's something that I can be proud of.  Putting up a business is risky.  But after reading this entrepreneurship book that my sister lent me, I was enlightened and it boosted my confidence way more since I fit in the shoes of an entrepreneur based on its characteristics that the book points out.  Kulang na lang pangalan ko na lang ilagay dun (My name should've been printed on it instead)!  Even if most of the people around me are not that supportive on my plans, I'm still going to push through it.  I might fail, yes, but life's full of failure.  I won't be able to learn from the business if I won't fail.  Now I'm thinking maybe I have wrong set of friends.  They won't get discounts anyway.. hehe.

So, from today on, this part of my blog is focused more on my struggles towards putting up my business.  At least we will learn from things at the same time.  And, of course, I'd appreciate it if you're going to help me along the way.