Status and Prospects of Rural Women Entrepreneurs in Candon City, Ilocos Sur

Abstract

Etrepreneurs in Candon City, Ilocos Sur for fiscal year 2006. Likewise, it sought to describe the personal and entrepreneurial profile of the respondents, the impediments to the growth and development of their business activity, the benefits and negative consequences experienced, the support services/assistance acquired from government agencies, the extent of attitudes toward business, the business management style and behavior, the degree of satisfaction, the business prospects, and the degree of problems encountered. The study utilized the descriptive-survey method of research wherein a questionnaire was the data gathering tool. There were 693 women entrepreneurs in Candon City duly registered with the Candon City Business and Licensing Office as of2005 of which 253 were taken as samples. Frequency count, percentages, andmean were used for treatment of data. Almost all the respondents are adults and married; few ofthem are college graduates; majority have smallfamily size; most have a monthly family income of belowP5,000.00; and majority stay in permanent houses. Majority of the women entrepreneurs have been engaged in their business for less than five years; almost all venture in commercial type (buy and sell) because it provides daily income and there is availability of financial capital; generate their financial capital through personal savings; most of them started from a small amount; almost all gained less than P9,999.99 monthly; majority did not employ or hire workers althoughfew of them hired unskilled workers wherein wage is based on time spent in work and received during 15 and 30" of the month; few received a Christmas bonus; almost all the respondents did not use any advertisement to promote their business. Most of the respondents experienced competition as barriers to the growth and development oftheir business activity while few claimed insufficient income and physical incapacity or health problems; most were benefited by an increase in their family saving or income; experienced insufficient time for family, home and leisure; most received assistance from the city government through the provision of convenient procedures in acquiring business permit or license while few acquired an extended capitalization at low interestrate. The respondents are undecided with business and management related issues and disagree with businessrisk-taking. Majority are democratic in managing their
businesses while very few seem to be autocratic-laissez-faire. Almost half are resourceful type ofentrepreneurs. Majority are satisfied with their business and they plan to continue with their business ventures in the next five years while almost half claimed to develop or expand their business. In general, the problems they encountered which are considered fairly serious are payment collection and marketing process while personnel management and production process are not problems.