They work hard for the money

We have heard the usual rant, "It’s so hard to earn money these days," (was there ever a time when it was easy?) and wish we had fat bank accounts like Paris Hilton’s.

Being engaged in retailing, I don’t belong to the larger group of "who buys" but to "who sells". I’m not one of those in the corporate setting where you get regular pay, though I bet a lot of people are dissatisfied with the pay they are getting, but still there’s a sure source of income. For us who own businesses, small businesses to be exact, we get our share of money qualms. Sure you are your own boss, and your schedule can be a bit lax from time to time. But the downside is, there’s no definite amount you’re gonna earn in a month.

This is the time when I remember the stuff I learn in my management course regarding the business cycle and stuff. It’s a no-brainer to see that the economy is in a slump. And people aren’t really willing to spend and just keep a tight budget. I for one am testing my will power to not splurge that much. And who are more capable of feeling this sorry state but us business owners?

It is when you are a retailer that you really feel the whiplash of inflation since you experience firsthand that people are in Scrooge mode. You become more observant of the things around you since you need to be keen to watch the flow of consumer traffic. And there are times, even on weekends, you notice that the corridors are eerily not crowded. And there would be days when I would pass by the tiangges in Greenhills, and hear the new catch phrase of the salesladies, "Sige na sir, bili na kayo, wala pa kami benta." And that was around two in the afternoon already.

This is the angle that a lot of consumers fail to see, especially when they try to bargain for a more than usual cheaper price; they don’t see the bigger picture that the store owners won’t earn anything if they put the price too low. These small storeowners, trying to make ends meet, must worry how to pay the rent that the big malls usually charge. Next time, I would probably write a piece entitled, "How to deal with cheapskate customers."

I could only imagine what these store owners have to go through since their monthly rent is way higher than mine and the degree of competition is extremely high where they are located. How do you choose between three identical Jelly Kelly bags in three different stores standing side by side?

Though I might be considered one of the lucky ones, I’m not really spared from all of this. I might join the workforce if I get fed up with it, but not just yet, for I bet when I join the corporate world I’ll be complaining next about the low salary I’ll be getting.

So what to do now? You got to hand it to us Pinoys, thinking of every racket they would think to get an extra buck. Like, say, entering the already overcrowded world of showbiz? It’s an interesting fact that my store is quite near a plastic surgeon’s clinic so you can imagine the wonder of being able to see noses of all shapes and sizes (as I type this, today I’ve encountered a patient who’s a recent "convert" – does the phrase "babae ka na ngayon" ring a bell?). And there are times I get to chat some of the patients. There was this interesting individual waiting her turn to get her nose altered; she said she wanted to increase her "market value" and to get lucky in showbiz. Of course, these are just one of the stories, we hear so many more. If Lady Luck is behind you you earn tons and tons of cash, that’s why people are easily drawn to the glamour industry – easy money as they say. Even I had this outrageous dream of wanting to try modeling, to earn a quick buck, but it has remained just that – an outrageous dream (any takers? Hehehe). But lucky me I don’t have anything that needs "altering" in my body.

Another trend I’ve been hearing about if you want to earn a quick buck is this networking business where you just invite people and you get cash even if you’re just sitting doing nothing. And I’ve encountered some friends wanting me to join this but it turned me off. For it sounded more like they are introducing you to join this new "religion" or something, and you know those "cults" can just freak you out. Though they have this way of making it to be so ripe for the picking, but to you it meant like, "you’re stupid if you don’t fall for this." Sorry but I’d rather stick to my outrageous modeling fantasy. It won’t seem as loony.

So I’ll just stick to the old-fashioned way of earning, like the rest of the masses out there. For is there such a thing as earning a quick buck? Come to think of it, would you really be satisfied if you have the same lifestyle as Paris Hilton’s or some rich heir to a fortune we could only drool over? All they do is party, party and party? Sooner or later, they’ll get so bored with it and we might see them in the gossip papers some day complaining how f*cked up they are.

So it would be better to just start at the bottom and climb your way up, since that’s the thing that would give your life some spice. I remember somebody telling me this, "Young people nowadays are in a hurry to reach the top, prematurely getting there, not being emotionally ready once they’re up there. The only direction you can go now is down, and how hard the fall is." So I’m sort of glad (for now) that I’m in the slump, since it’s where you’re supposed to be to remind you to know how to get the heck out of there.

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E-mail/Friendster the author at ketsupluis@hotmail.com.