Go Women! Go Negosyo!

MANILA, Philippines - “Behind every successful man is a woman,” or so the saying goes. But on the part of women entrepreneurs, behind their success is a story — of hard work, guts and perseverance.

Joey Concepcion formally launched the 55 Inspiring Stories of Women Entrepreneurs, the third installment of the Go Negosyo book series, at the National Bookstore, Power Plant Mall in Rockwell Center, Makati City. It shares the inspiring entrepreneurship journeys of 55 women entrepreneurs — from their humble beginnings to their current success in life, and in their negosyos.

“This is our third book after two years,” said Go Negosyo founding trustee Joey Concepcion, who happily thanked President Arroyo for attending the launch. “It’s a book about 55 women who are not here for the wealth but they’re here for their stories and how they can inspire more Filipinos.”

According to Concepcion, the 55 leading women entrepreneurs — who were carefully chosen by him, with the help of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE) and Joanne Rae Ramirez, who is also the editor of the book — represent various fields and industries, such as fashion, tourism, health, beauty, among others; various backgrounds and social classes; various sizes of negosyos and regions in the country.

Of the book, Ramirez said: “In this year of recession, I think ‘Go Negosyo!’ should be the battlecry of every Filipino and Filipina.”

 “Hopefully, their stories will inspire many more Filipinos not only to believe in this country but to finally start doing something for it,” added Concepcion. 

“And I guess all of us and all of those who participated in the book only want one thing for this country,” said Concepcion. “We really want to fight poverty and the best way for us to fight poverty is not to complain but to start a business.”

Women Power

In celebration of National Women’s Month, more successful women entrepreneurs will be sharing their business expertise on March 2 at the World Trade Center through a women summit dubbed as Go Negosyo: Babae, Yaman Ka Ng Bayan!, an effort of the PCE together with the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women.

The summit will be the biggest women entrepreneurial event, said Concepcion.

 “We are very surprised to see the tremendous response over the past few days of a lot of women who want to attend the Summit.”

With the Go Negosyo banner, the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship — a non-stock and non-profit organization — aims to make the Philippines a thriving entrepreneurial nation by instilling among Filipinos a mindset of optimism and a culture of entrepreneurship, turning them into competitive entre- and intra-preneurs.