We have 45 days to make our bet for the elections. I don’t mean betting money on who will be the next president. I mean betting on a successful election. There has been so much talk about the failure of election from the same people who have been so negative about this country.

We have our own choices, whether orange, yellow, or green or others. Whoever wins, Philippines Inc. will be winning big, PROVIDED that the next President will be someone who will unite this nation, who will not be vindictive, who will continue to focus on developing the economy and providing entrepreneurs that right climate to grow their business. Whoever comes out victorious, he must think of how the Philippines have struggled through so many crises and yet continues to progress. Despite the challenges in the world economy, we still see progress in our country.

Arrogance and greed for power should not take over the victorious. This will just lead to a bigger problem and will make a new opposition come together. We cannot have a gridlock wherein the opposition will not work with whoever becomes the president. If this happens, the country will not move forward and we will again fall into the cycle of misery, which we Filipinos face from time to time. If all of these things happen, then the euphoria of a good election would have been wasted. The opportunity to be upgraded by Moody’s and other rating agencies would also be wasted. The worst part is that our cycle of misery might start all over again. But, I remain optimistic. I AM WILLING TO PLACE MY BET NOW THAT THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN.

As for Mar Roxas, he knows how important it is to have unity in seeing reforms take place. He was with the Department of Trade and Industry for some time. He understands negosyantes and it is clear to him what the road map should be.

So, place your bet now on the Philippines. Some have already made it by buying land, a condo, stocks and even not converting their peso to dollars yet. Others even converted their dollars to peso to buy Philippine assets. Those who have done so have been rewarded with real estate prices moving up.

With the peso now at 44.70 per dollar, from 48 months back, I see the peso moving down to 42 levels. If the victorious president works together with all sectors even with past leaderships, the peso will break 40 and head towards the 38 levels moving closer to the Thai baht, if our Central Bank will not intervene. The Central Bank, on the other hand, may bring interest rates a bit higher to temper the peso from appreciating too much. We cannot destroy the earnings of overseas workers and BPOs here. We need to make them competitive. Definitely, inflation will remain low, unless we see commodities shoot up when the world turns overly optimistic again.

Let’s not waste this chance. Those who have been optimistic over the past years have seen their values in the Philippine assets increase. Stocks went up, and real estate prices are hitting the high range. Condo prices in the Fort are hitting heights and leasing rates are up. Yes, it will be a great time to expand or even start a business. So, make your bet now on the Philippines winning it big. Philippines Inc. will be the next Pacman in terms of victory.

Part of the continuing efforts of Go Negosyo to empower the micro and small entrepreneurs through a holistic entrepreneurship education, inspiring and teaching them how to grow and scale-up their businesses; Go Negosyo shall be heading to Cebu on April 15, Zamboanga on April 19, Bacolod on April 22, Rizal on April 27 and Tacloban on April 30. Then we proceed to each of the regions in Mindanao and NCR on May. In partnership with DTI, National Livelihood and Development Corp. and Landbank, Go Negosyo is running 20 Negosems in four months, targeting over 10,000 scholars, as the Negosems are given for free to the attendees. We have so far conducted eight Negosems in the different regions in Luzon and Mindanao, reaching out to over 5,000 participants. More to come.

With this momentum, we have also tied up with the Alumni Association of AIM to conduct a Negosem sa AIM on April 16, just right after our Cebu Negosem. This will be held in AIM. This is intended to be a level-up version of the current Negosems, as this will cover an intro to the Entrepreneurship Framework, with focus on Mastering Self, Mastering Opportunities and Marketing. A value-added to this seminar is the opportunity to review the current business opportunity projects of the AIM MBA students. Thanks to the effort of AAAIM Chair Ofel Bisnar and Dean Pax Lapid and their Board for organizing this with Go Negosyo. This is one good way to encourage the aspiring and existing entrepreneurs and their staff to think like entrepreneurs, harness their creativities that will hopefully lead to more innovations and value-adding in their negosyos. Please check our gonegosyo.net website for details.

Email me at gonegosyo@yahoo.com, or thru my Joey Concepcion Facebook account, or thru SMS at 09189656333. Visit www.gonegosyo.net. Watch the GO NEGOSYO: Kaya Mo! Show in QTV, every Saturday and Sunday 8 to 8:30 a.m., with replays in NBN every Sunday 9:15 to 10 p.m.