OCCUPATION: Actress; SIDELINE: Businesswoman

The Philippines today needs to ignite an entrepreneurial revolution, subverting negative cultural norms from our dark colonial past, ignoring the inane battles of politicians, liberating the people’s talents with many new small and medium enterprises similar to those which have made possible the Taiwan and Hong Kong "economic miracles."

A Hollywood song claims "there’s no business like show business," but several stars in Philippine entertainment have recently ventured into non-showbiz businesses.

Unlike the past trend of entertainers jumping into politics, these beautiful stars idolized by the public can become positive role models for entrepreneurship.

Sharon Cuneta Pangilinan on July 21 opened her own franchise of the Sari-Sari Store in Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Vina Morales operates her Ystilo beauty salons in different parts of Metro Manila, Judy Ann Santos often cooks in her Café Kilimanjaro along Timog Avenue, Quezon City and Jean Garcia recently opened her Eros Bar Grill & Restaurant on Scout Gandia Street, Quezon City.

Most of these women started out as precocious child stars who were not able to complete their college education, two had become young single parents for some time and all of them plan to secure their futures with businesses outside showbiz.