It's more than a month away before the 7th Philippine Business and Entrepreneurs' Expo, and we have updates for everyone about this annual event.

First up, we are on Eventbrite, which means that you can check up on our events and even register your visit online to avoid the hassle of staying in the line for a long time. The three PBEX 2016 conferences are live on Eventbrite, and you can also register your visit on this page.

ASEAN MSME Business Summit 2016 (August 26, Friday)

Discuss the latest trends and best practices for the MSMEs in the ASEAN region

The ASEAN MSME Business Summit aims to bring together key resource speakers from various parts of the ASEAN region to give insights to the Filipino MSME community in time for the country's transition to the ASEAN Economic Community.

Among our key resource speakers is from Vietnam, who will talk about the opportunities in Trade and Investment in the said country. Take note, Vietnam is dubbed as an "emerging market standout" by Bloomberg, an that is a great opportunity for those who would like to expand their businesses internationally. We'll be providing more information in the next few weeks.

Business Readiness & Disaster Preparedness Summit 2016 (August 27, Saturday)

Prepare your business for possible incoming financial or natural disasters

The Business Readiness and Disaster Preparedness Summit aims to bring together key resource speakers to provide tips on how Filipino Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) should prepare their business for possible setbacks that could hamper their businesses.

Our industry partner for this summit is the Philippine Marketing Association, composed of experienced marketing professionals, and they'll be sharing insights, ideas and lessons on preparing your business for possible disasters.

MSME Success Forum (August 28, Sunday)

Get insights on the best practices of successful Filipino MSMEs

The MSME Success Forum aims to bring together key resource speakers to share insights and tips on how Filipino Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can improve their businesses. Prior to this, a meetup of MSME entrepreneurs is set to be held before the Forum, so you are free to get ideas from them.


There's a lot of slots now, but these slots might get occupied - if we were you, go register here and mark the calendar. FREE Online registration is up until August 8, 2016.  Program highlights are subject to change without prior notice.

---

There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines and more at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The 2016 Customer LoveFest welcomes retail mentor and adviser Mr. Darrell Wisbey! Mr. Wisbey has experienced the Asian retail market for two decades.

He has held senior executive roles in Merchandising, Store Operations and Marketing in Specialty Stores, Department Stores, Mass Merchants, Hypermarkets and Supermarkets and Convenience Stores in Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, India and the Philippines.

As a "career retailer who is passionate about delivering success," Mr. Wisbey will be bringing his insights on retailing in the 5th Customer Loyalty Conference and Expo at the 2016 customer LoveFest. See him and other international speakers at the New World Makati Hotel this October 20 and 21, 2016.


The Customer Love Fest will feature key resource speakers and the latest concepts in Customer Experience Management, Customer Relationship Management, and Customer Loyalty and Rewards. Join in on the fun and don't be left out.


This event is produced and organized by Ex-Link Management and Marketing Services Corporation, a business organizer in the Philippines. 

To be part of the Customer Love Fest, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-38-87, mobile number 0920-981-4376 or send an email at info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The twin activity of the 23rd National Retail Conference, Stores Asia Expo 2016, is set to bring another milestone in the Philippine retail industry!

As the only exhibit dedicated to retail suppliers in the Philippines, the Stores Asia Expo expects 3,000 visitors in the country's only focused and dedicated event for retail suppliers, which includes top executives from retail businesses. Retail Solutions, E-Commerce & Mobile Commerce, Shopfit & Stores Design, Digital Marketing and Retail Marketing are the segments that this event tackles every year.


With the overall theme of "Shifting Gears in Retail: Consumption in the Digital Age," the National Retail Conference will be bringing in the innovations that has set the trends in retail. Aside from marketing professionals and retail business owners, everyone is also welcome to see the activities, which include talks from various companies.

Coming to this event is FREE, and if you want to avoid going in the queue at door, you can register below!


Stores Asia Expo 2016 will be held at the SMX Convention Center - Manila inside the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City this August 10 to 11. Updates on the Expo and the 23rd National Retail Conference are posted on the official Facebook page of the Philippine Retailers Association.

This event is managed by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

When we talk about Social Media, it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, so on and so forth. Most of us just want to share the best moments of their life online, but only a few of us know the value of social media. Just how valuable is your social media profile?

• It is your gateway to fame - 15 seconds is all it takes for someone to notice others, so what if those 15 minutes were spent on doing brilliantly crazy things, or saying things that hit the guts and make sense? 
• It is your resume - Even if you're not in the world's largest professional social networking site, your social media profile is your resume. Nowadays, recruiters add this into the things they need to see before getting hired (or fired).
• Companies use it; heck, even the government uses it - You can connect directly to different agencies or companies which has their own Facebook or Twitter accounts.
• The government may even ask for your social media handles - In the United States, the Department of Homeland Security wants to add a social media field for those who are coming in their country, though this has yet to be discussed; and it is optional, according to the US DHS.
• You can check its value online - There are services online that checks the worth of your social media handles, and most of them are free (though be wary of some of them, and focus closely at what their systems do).

There's just a lot of reasons why social media is valuable, and if these don't convince you, what will?

---

Get to know the latest updates and insights on Customer Love at the Customer LoveFest, which will happen at the New World Makati Hotel this October 20 and 21, 2016.

The Customer Love Fest will feature key resource speakers and the latest concepts in Customer Experience Management, Customer Relationship Management, and Customer Loyalty and Rewards. Join in on the fun and don't be left out.


This event is produced and organized by Ex-Link Management and Marketing Services Corporation, a business organizer in the Philippines. 

To be part of the Customer Love Fest, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-38-87, mobile number 0920-981-4376 or send an email at info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The last two weeks showed us that the new government is results-oriented, and what more good example of this is the recent developments in the Agriculture Department (DA):

• Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol urged everyone to ensure implementation of programs to ensure rice sufficiency in the country,
• The National Irrigation Administration, the National Food Authority and the Philippine Coconut Authority are under the DA again,
• The secretary himself vows to focus on food production, which is the raison d'etre (reason of existence) of the department.
• Piñol also said that he plans to adopt the best practices of farmers in rice self-sufficient regions, and asks for updated soil data which has been used for four decades.

It is reported that the Philippines has the second-highest in Asia when it comes to electricity rates, just next to Japan. The high cost of electricity is a problem that is to be tackled by the Department of Energy under the new administration. Meanwhile, a 2014 ADB report puts the country next to Indonesia in the places with high water tariffs.

What does this mean for us, especially those in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise industry? High cost of utilities caused by high demand and low supply means that we have to build more sources of energy or basins of water to supply the needs of the public.

Building more sources of water and energy will require money, land and human resources. There are other sources that are active, such as water treatment facilities and wind power plants, but these won't be enough as there will be more people in the future. There's a reason why some people are more happy to invest in companies related to utilities, as it is expected that these companies will build more sources of utilities.

Of course, these things will not just be the government's responsibility alone - we have a part on this. If we know the value of these utilities, we will then take care of it, especially in a country where it is a bit pricey. If the MSMEs have their own measures to conserve water and energy, the better.

Utilities are so valuable - just a blackout or a water or phone interruption will hamper sales and the delivery of services, and if you know the value of something, you will use it wisely.

There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines and more at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The 2016 Customer LoveFest welcomes the Founder and President of AllFamous Digital Ms. Pauline Pangan as one of its speakers.

Ms. Pauline Pangan's Allfamous Digital has served big clients such as local companies TV5 Network, Inc., Meralco, BPI, Cebu Pacific and international companies Malaysia Airlines, Qantas and Changi Airport Group. The company she founded is among those that are accredited by CRM provider SalesForce to provide technical support for their Marketing Cloud products.

See her and other international speakers at the Customer Love Fest happening at the New World Makati Hotel this October 20 and 21, 2016.



The Customer Love Fest will feature key resource speakers and the latest concepts in Customer Experience Management, Customer Relationship Management, and Customer Loyalty and Rewards. Join in on the fun and don't be left out.


This event is produced and organized by Ex-Link Management and Marketing Services Corporation, a business organizer in the Philippines. 

To be part of the Customer Love Fest, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-38-87, mobile number 0920-981-4376 or send an email at info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Today is a public holiday, as declared by the Philippine government, in observance of the Feast of Ramadan or Eid'l Fitr. Eid'l Fitr is celebrated by the Islamic faith three days after the end of the month of their fasting (Ramadan).

Speaking of the Islamic faith, they are the second largest population in the country, with 94% of them living in the southern part of the Philippines, especially in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) region, according to the data of the Philippine Statistics Authority (then called the National Statistics Office).

Imagine that you are in the food service industry and you want to cater to people of various cultures, including the Islamic faith. You will then research about their dietary laws, and why they do what they do. This is what you've found:

• They don't eat swine (pork) meat
• They don't eat meat of animals that has felt pain before being slaughtered, or has died of themselves
• They don't eat blood (thus they have a method of slaughtering that is based on their Quran called Dhabīḥah)
• They don't eat meat dedicated to other than Allah (God in Arabic)
• They don't drink alcoholic beverages
• They have a certification called "Halal," where the produce has been processed with the Islamic demographic in mind making it safe to eat by their standards.

After knowing this, you start to ask your friends who are Muslims what to do next so that you can cater to them. If your business caters to a wide variety of cultures, not just Islam, you will take consideration of the processes they do and the rules that they follow. Having a product or service that caters to, and respect different cultures is appreciated by your target market, so better think about the possibilities.

---

There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

It's the year 2016. Condominiums are booming around the metro and nearby areas, and one of the challenges that marketers are having is how to actually sell the units. The tried-and-tested method of setting up booths in high-traffic locations are still applicable but yet ignored, and so they thought of other ideas to make sealing deals easier.

There are major condominium developers that are including the "Experience" vibe in their methods, wherein they invite potential buyers to dinners, and even concerts - a major developer has done a concert with a notable singer-songwriter, in fact.

By applying the "Experience," these developers are making the buyers more enticed to buy a condominium unit from them. There is no public information on how effective this method is, but this innovation aims to expand the target market by providing something that is unique and bundling it with the elevator pitch of selling a condo unit.

Notable, there are two developers that are doing this out front, and we are expecting other developers to follow suit.

Get to know the latest updates and insights on Customer Love at the Customer LoveFest, which will happen at the New World Makati Hotel this October 20 and 21, 2016.

The Customer Love Fest will feature key resource speakers and the latest concepts in Customer Experience Management, Customer Relationship Management, and Customer Loyalty and Rewards. Join in on the fun and don't be left out.


This event is produced and organized by Ex-Link Management and Marketing Services Corporation, a business organizer in the Philippines. 

To be part of the Customer Love Fest, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-38-87, mobile number 0920-981-4376 or send an email at info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We've referred to earlier reports from the Philippine Statistics Authority on the tourism industry's contribution to the country's gross domestic product, which we can consider as well as the income generated by the country through its manpower.

This video gets in the details of Tourism Industry's "Big Chunk" that it has contributed to the growth of the country's income last year, and this is a must-see for those who want to take a step in the business of tourism.


There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.