Updated , Published PHT,
by
Dennis Cabrera
How to Reopen & Reactivate on Holy Saturday to Easter Monday
Roadmap to reopening
Quality MSME action-takers begin early
Phase 1: Awareness - Recognition of fuel supply and hikes (Red/Orange).
Phase 2: Action - Reopening after holidays and for compliance (Green/Blue/Navy Blue).
Strategically designed for Philippine MSME resilience during the Energy Crisis.
Holy Week (Before and Now)
Back in the 1990s, our religious community was being founded in the PH. To our surprise, during one Holy Week, our Dutch master of scholastics, who was pressed with other work & Masses to celebrate, delegated a retreat obligation to me and my co-seminarian. He told us: "Give the talks and the prayer sessions, and I will just arrive to celebrate the Eucharist."
My companion and I knew how difficult Holy Week was since it involved a lot of work. The difficulty was this: we had to work with a few "personnel" in the community, and there was little time to prepare! And we knew this well because our Italian novice master grounded us in the realities of work during the Holy Week.
But the hard work and the mission our superior gave us was worth it. We only had to explain the situation to our retreatants.
We did our best. My co-seminarian had a very good and strong tenor voice, and I seconded with my non-pro pluck-pick-strum guitar technique. We shared the teachings and books of our French founder through talks, handouts, audio-visuals, and songs to inspire them with.
When we reported back to our Dutch formator and gave him the envelope of the cash we worked for, he was surprised and smiled.
What we learned from that retreat work was this: if you give your very best, introduce creativity and innovation, without thinking of the money you can earn, God will surprise you!
This is a wise lesson for MSMEs who have a sense of mission in their business operations. These times of crisis really call for that. Applying human talent plus AI apps can give you the creative and innovative edge to harness that profitable energy before and after any Holy Week obligations.
Back in the 1990s, our religious community was being founded in the PH. To our surprise, during one Holy Week, our Dutch master of scholastics, who was pressed with other work & Masses to celebrate, delegated a retreat obligation to me and my co-seminarian. He told us: "Give the talks and the prayer sessions, and I will just arrive to celebrate the Eucharist."
My companion and I knew how difficult Holy Week was since it involved a lot of work. The difficulty was this: we had to work with a few "personnel" in the community, and there was little time to prepare! And we knew this well because our Italian novice master grounded us in the realities of work during the Holy Week.
But the hard work and the mission our superior gave us was worth it. We only had to explain the situation to our retreatants.
We did our best. My co-seminarian had a very good and strong tenor voice, and I seconded with my non-pro pluck-pick-strum guitar technique. We shared the teachings and books of our French founder through talks, handouts, audio-visuals, and songs to inspire them with.
When we reported back to our Dutch formator and gave him the envelope of the cash we worked for, he was surprised and smiled.
What we learned from that retreat work was this: if you give your very best, introduce creativity and innovation, without thinking of the money you can earn, God will surprise you!
This is a wise lesson for MSMEs who have a sense of mission in their business operations. These times of crisis really call for that. Applying human talent plus AI apps can give you the creative and innovative edge to harness that profitable energy before and after any Holy Week obligations.
Giving your best in any enterprise
Making a rough analogy, this giving of your best for others is like practicing Google's people-first SEO principle in your content strategy. It can also be translated to adopting a wise "customer is always right" attitude in your business strategy (with respect to your profit intent).
Now that the non-working holiday season has passed, you can reflect on what has just passed. What did you do with the time given to you? Did you also think of any people-first content ideas to work on? How about your "suki"? Have you thought of any creative or innovative non-expense ideas to retain them? If you did, then you are in for a post-holiday re-opening sprint!
MSME Reopening, Compliance, and Planning Roadmap
How to reactivate cash cycles immediately
For some MSMEs opening early, it is important to work early morning to withdraw additional replenishment cash from your nearest bank branch by 8:00 AM. News reports online that major banks like BPI, BDO, and Metrobank are closed from April 2 to April 4. This makes early cash withdrawals vital for a planned Saturday reset for MSMEs opening early.
It is vital not to waste small bills and coins if there is already cash-on-hand during pre-Holy Week business operations. Pre-count denominations and let your cashier organize them well for seamless transactions with customers. Have them recharge all your handheld and mobile POS machines that are all-in-one, ready for any e-wallet, debit, or credit card transactions. If it also accepts contactless payments, this is an efficient means to speed up a line of customers.
It is vital not to waste small bills and coins if there is already cash-on-hand during pre-Holy Week business operations. Pre-count denominations and let your cashier organize them well for seamless transactions with customers. Have them recharge all your handheld and mobile POS machines that are all-in-one, ready for any e-wallet, debit, or credit card transactions. If it also accepts contactless payments, this is an efficient means to speed up a line of customers.
How to prioritize high-turnover inventory
You can front-load your display with your top
20% highest-margin, fastest-moving products (such as bread and chicken eggs for food MSMEs). Some hard-working and diligent Filipino employees employed by Catholic Filipino-Chinese business owners return from the provinces to the NCR and begin to work as early as Holy Saturday. In a article from Contactpigeon.com, food and beverages have the highest spending potential, more than $5 billion every Easter Sunday.
If your MSME is into retailing food, prioritize bread and chicken eggs. Remind your staff not to open the store if your supply of eggs is still in cartons and tied up in a bundle. Prepare them early because early customers prioritize this high-value and saleable food product.
Remember, many Filipinos buy chicken eggs fast. If your MSME sells this food item and it is not ready, customers will go to the next MSME who is already ready with their fresh stock of chicken eggs.
If your MSME is into retailing food, prioritize bread and chicken eggs. Remind your staff not to open the store if your supply of eggs is still in cartons and tied up in a bundle. Prepare them early because early customers prioritize this high-value and saleable food product.
Remember, many Filipinos buy chicken eggs fast. If your MSME sells this food item and it is not ready, customers will go to the next MSME who is already ready with their fresh stock of chicken eggs.
How to settle urgent payables, including BIR compliance
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has already sent notices in its many communication channels to remind taxpayers of the April 15 annual income tax compliance. The April 15 annual income tax filing deadline leaves only 11 days (or approximately 7 working days) from , Holy Saturday reopening.
File the BIR Form via eBIRForms as early as your MSME can. Remember, , Araw ng Kagitingan is a holiday. That holiday will further compress the compliance period. Delegate a member of staff to work on it.
For supplies, settle supplier payables in batches if possible. Settle it digitally with GCash or Maya.
File the BIR Form via eBIRForms as early as your MSME can. Remember, , Araw ng Kagitingan is a holiday. That holiday will further compress the compliance period. Delegate a member of staff to work on it.
For supplies, settle supplier payables in batches if possible. Settle it digitally with GCash or Maya.
How to handle early customer influx gracefully
Remind your loyal staff to smile, move fast, and keep lines short. Don't forget to reward them with their holiday pay, as the Department of Labor & Employment (DOLE) guidelines for Holy Week advise.
For MSMEs with convenience stores, don't open when you have only one cashier available. Wait for the other cashier-employee to show up. Otherwise, diligent and industrious working Filipinos who go out early to buy the food they need for work on Holy Saturday will again move on to the next MSME with fewer lines. Lines can already form on Holy Saturday, especially for MSMEs retailing basic food items.
Remember, every seamless transaction on reopening day rebuilds suki trust. It can convert new walk-ins into repeat customers before competitors fully reopen on Monday.
Don't waste opportunities to reopen strong, reset cashflow, & rebuild suki relations post-Holy Week.
Don't forget, smiles matter. Business is also about people and kindness. And all people appreciate good service; it gives them "new life".
And in these times of crisis, good service still matter even though they may not appear relaxed, perfect, or sincere ("dahil mahirap ang buhay at panahon ngayon").
We hope all understand, that we are called not to judge the present, without faith in a profitable outcome.
For MSMEs with convenience stores, don't open when you have only one cashier available. Wait for the other cashier-employee to show up. Otherwise, diligent and industrious working Filipinos who go out early to buy the food they need for work on Holy Saturday will again move on to the next MSME with fewer lines. Lines can already form on Holy Saturday, especially for MSMEs retailing basic food items.
Remember, every seamless transaction on reopening day rebuilds suki trust. It can convert new walk-ins into repeat customers before competitors fully reopen on Monday.
Don't waste opportunities to reopen strong, reset cashflow, & rebuild suki relations post-Holy Week.
Don't forget, smiles matter. Business is also about people and kindness. And all people appreciate good service; it gives them "new life".
And in these times of crisis, good service still matter even though they may not appear relaxed, perfect, or sincere ("dahil mahirap ang buhay at panahon ngayon").
We hope all understand, that we are called not to judge the present, without faith in a profitable outcome.
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