I might as well write my experiences down before I totally forget them… But then again, how can a newbie entrepreneur really forget her first time encounter with the dreaded Bureau?
I’ve heard them all before..the awful under-the-table stories, accounting books and ledgers, meetings with BIR personnel, negotiations, bribes…ugh… I was wondering how can I possibly enter this unknown world of taxes? How will we somehow make earnings considering it’s just our first year without fearing that the BIR will get everything from us? We have talked to many businessmen… according to them, whether you are honest or not, the BIR will still be there to get you… so their suggestion? Hide and Bribe… Ugh, again… How can I find it in me… in us.. to do a dishonest thing? (more…)

Getting a mayor’s permit a.k.a business permit is also an easy process. However, what made the whole thing stressing for me was that I needed to travel something around 10 to 15 km from our place to the mayor’s office in Bacolor. And the sad part is, the whole processing procedure required me to take 5 trips to and fro… Seriously, I was on the verge of saying no already. I blame myself for not knowing that the place we rented was not within Angeles City. But, I do not want to chicken out at this time… I realized that this is just the first of many more hardships that any wannabe businessman will encounter. Giving up now is out of the question… not after everything we have been through. (more…)