What do you remember most about 2012? What lessons did you learn? This first Sunday of 2013 is a good time to look back and count our blessings including our lessons and challenges. Acceptance and gratitude should be the order of the day.

1. I learned that community work is not like clockwork. We received a substantial order from a corporate client but soon learned we had to spread it over six or seven different communities. We gave them samples of the baskets needed and we received more than six kinds of variants.

2. Companies will not make excuses or exceptions for social enterprises. If you are delayed, you are delayed. If your quality is not up to par, you have to reject bad products and just swallow some costs.

3. Community organizers posing as the “community.” I got a call from Mrs. Villar of the Villar Foundation because she had not gotten an order from ECHOstore for the longest time. I countered that I had ordered so much already from her foundation. Then I realized a community organizer who had left her wings had gone into commercial production. Oh well . . .

4. Natural has natural challenges. We avoided putting sealers or lacquers on our baskets. Client says its too “raw” or “wet.” So much for natural finishes.

5. Our coffee is wet. Yes, “wet” coffee is actually freshly-roasted coffee. The wetness comes from the oils that bead on each coffee bean after a good roast. If you coffee is not wet, it may be old beans. So, oil is good. Wet is good.

6. Suppliers will treat social enterprises no differently.You order 100, you pay in 30 days. You order 1,000, you have to pay a downpayment. What the? Still, you have to treat suppliers like they are special because you have to encourage small manufacturers get scale. Oh well . . .

Those are the things I have had to accept about this business.
What are we grateful for?

1. People who believe in our mission. We recently met and awarded our first licensee, a young mother who believed in our cause. We explained we are not a franchise but a license and she understood. She can use our name but she has to be living the lifestyle.

2. Companies and nongovernment organization (NGO) who believe in our vision.We established our ECHOsiFoundation last 2010 and in 2011 we partnered with international NGOs and even Government agencies to bring products of small women groups to mainstream markets.

3. Our partners and suppliers. It did take a whole year to make them believe the ECHOmarket can be a 24/7 all-week fresh produce market. After challenges we faced with organic vendors and organizers, we survived the trying times and now welcome direct farmers and producers to our stores.

4. Our staff and their families. We worked long hours to finish corporate orders and our staff and their families held on and helped all throughout until we finished early morning of the day, working 24 hours to finish targets.

5. Our buying public. Because they continue to patronize our products, we are able to continue developing better products from small producers. Because they believe in a Filipino brand, we are able to develop new producers and take them to levels of production they never used to reach.

6. The social media and traditional media people. Because they continue to talk about us, write about our cause and promote our social enterprise, we are able to weather challenges about communicating the dream and objectives of our small company which will soon turn 5 years old.
These are the people and companies we are most grateful to.

As a social enterprise, we do things a little differently. We fuse traditional corporate ways like planning and strategic thinking with entrepreneurial ways like innovation and iteration. Then we ensure some profit-making for sustainability reasons. And this is why we cannot be seen as an ordinary enterprise. But we are seen as such. So while there are challenges, there also are big rewards. Our small enterprise went to an international expo in Yeosu, Korea for three months. And proudly we represented the country in many international conferences too.

That was what happened in the last 366 days. Now, here is 2013. And we can only hope for better things that may come our way. To everyone and all who may have been instrumental in our sustainability as a business, Thank you to you and yours.

Chit Juan is a founder and owner of ECHOStore sustainable lifestyle, ECHOmarket sustainable farms and ECHOcafe in Serendra and Podium malls. She also heads the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines and the Philippine Coffee Board Inc., two non-profits close to her heart. She often speaks to corporates, youth and NGOs on social entrepreneurship, women empowerment, and coffee. You can follow her on twitter.com/chitjuan or find her on facebook:Pacita “Chit” Juan. Email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .