This article will help inform readers how developing a family business from an Asian Catholic cultural perspective can prosper the family and help the industries in which they operate their small business.

What does family business development from an Asian Catholic cultural perspective involve? Before we list down some point as regards this, let us examine in more detail what being Asian and Catholic really mean. For purposes of our study, we consider Asian to mean Chinese-Filipino - meaning the merging of Chinese business influence on Filipino entrepreneural families. And also for the purpose of our study, let us consider Catholic to mean the use of the Roman Catholic religion, especially popular devotions, as a means of obtaining financial favors from God.

The economic context of this article takes into reality the phenomenon of Chinese-Filipino tycoons and taipans who came from mainland China and migrated to the Philippines in order to find opportunities for livelihood. Many of these Chinese-Filipino business tycoons and taipans started their big corporations from virtually very little capital. It was their style of integrating business, the Catholic religion, and what is popularly known as the ancient Chinese science of feng shui, that help develop their business enterprises into the well-known corporations, that serve a big part of the Philippine economy.

Many Filipinos became employees of these Chinese-Filipino entrepreneurs. Those who became loyal in their service, learned well the business practices of their employers and eventually applied what they learned when they went on their own in doing business. And following the pattern of their Chinese-Filipino employers, they built their businesses on the foundation of the Catholic Filipino family.

Although each particular Chinese-Filipino corporation have their own specific styles of doing business and operating in Catholic Philippines, there are common traits which the Catholic Filipinos have learned to assimilate in their own styles of doing business. Listed below are some of these styles which have been applied in many different ways by Catholic Filipinos who have embarked on their own family business development.

• One very traditional way of proceeding in family business development is to operate the small business enterprise through conservative and traditional financial strategies: targetting to obtain income through small investments. The ideal in this financial strategy is to obtain for big financial returns on small investments.



• In line with the traditional and conservative method of investing cited above, capitalization is therefore low, capital expenditures is not big, and working fund requirements are thus kept to a minimum. The head of the family can thus start with a car, a computer system, a fax machine, landline and mobile phones. As regards utilities expense of both office and store, they are integrated into the household's and family's expenses.



• As starters, in founding the family business, part of the house is converted into office space and store space, in order to save on rental fees.



• The prospecting of clients and customers, and the use of banks, are focused within the area of the house/office to save on gasoline expense. Also, if the family lives near the Catholic parish, the family business can also have business contacts and customers from among the Catholic population of the parish.



• Employees and working personnel are members of the family. This saves a lot on salaries and wages. Also, the clannish and extended family setting of Asians, most especially the Chinese and Filipinos, can be used to obtain more help from relatives. In this set-up, any member of this extended family business system can have his or her own small business and share the benefits of the connections of the extended family system. The Chinese call this network, guanx hi.



• For starters, in order to gain income and reduce income tax expense, the family business can be initially known as part of the informal business sector in order to gain the benefits of tax exemptions from the government.



• This family business will be developed and built well, and have an increase in initial growth when the working hours are made flexible. The extra added services gain more loyal customers, the stabilization of a client base, and lots of repeat sales and business.



• As the family business develops more its technological knowhow and constantly upgrades its communication systems and computers, operating costs in running the business are lessened in the long run. A good communication and computer system can lessen the need to make trips and thus lessen gasoline expenses.