Filipino Entrepreneurs And Business Success

For business minded people, reading the life stories of successful entrepreneurs from around the globe will almost always have an element of charm, inspiration and adventure. Building something out of obscurity, understanding where they got their initial success from, working through the problems they encountered along the way and seeing the person triumph in the end because they stuck to their guns and fought to overcome the hurdles, (sometimes almost at the point of giving up entirely) until an unknown force appeared seemingly from nowhere and pushed the entrepreneur up towards success slowly and steadily, can make for quite a compelling story.

For some, the price of success comes from failing in a business or two and then finding the right opportunity that eventually they can succeed at.

For those who succeeded, however modest, there is also always that factor of a relentless and continuous pushing forward. It is the ability to maintain focus even when faced with hard work and discouragement.

I too found these tales a little mushy at times, too romanticized and often over stretched until I failed in four businesses big time and found out that the same principles work for me.

Whatever your views may be, there is an undeniable overriding characteristic in most entrepreneurs, and that is enthusiasm, a crystal clear picture of where they want to get to, and the desire to keep moving towards the realization of their vision. I don’t believe in the Midas touch either, that is bull, a showing off if you will. Aptitude yes, acumen yes, but just the same, every success has a history of hard work behind it, A kind of preparation. As some people say, success, is where preparedness meets opportunity.

This is almost the same everywhere. Even in third world countries where the economy is sometimes so tangled up, that you wonder how anyone can rise above the confusion and the chaos.

Let's look at the Philippines, for example. Successful Filipino entrepreneurs generally are required to put forth a much greater effort to achieve business success than many of their entrepreneurial counterparts in other parts of the world. You may disagree with this observation, and that is fine. But you see, many business people thrive when their environment offers them a predictability, a stability and a structure that can help lead them profitable results. On the other hand, fluctuating economies generally give you a very different result. Couple this with a colonial mentality that still exists today in many parts of Filipino culture and that has not yet been totally forgotten, and you are in for an inside ride, especially when trying to compete with a European or American brand. Some would say no way could this work.

But it did. Take for example Tony Tan, a Filipino entrepreneur who started his way, washing dishes and waiting on tables in his fathers’ small restaurant. In 1975, with the help of his family, this Filipino acquired an ice cream franchise. Ice cream parlors were popular then and it was supposed to be a decent and proven formula. But like most popular businesses that are copied to death, the Ice cream parlor eventually had to be given up. After a good start, the Ice cream business failed. Tony Tan had to start all over again. This time, it was not ice cream but selling hamburgers. He gave the hamburgers his own twist, and with the help of family members, tweaked on other fast food items and that was supposed to be the story of it. Obscure beginnings in a country that was supposed to flock to McDonald's for hamburgers. No one could, in a sane mind, hope to compete with McDonald’s right?

Correct. But this successful Filipino entrepreneur is selling today double what McDonald’s sells in the Philippines. The company has, in 25 years, expanded to more than 400 branches in the Philippines alone with branches in many other parts of the hamburger-loving world.

And then there is Antonina Cesario of Mila’s Lechon.

Lechon for those who may be wondering is a whole suckling pig roasted over an open pit.

A fresh graduate of Pharmacy from the University of Santo Tomes, one of the more prestigious schools in the Philippines, one would wonder what Antonina Cesario was thinking selling lechon at a time (1968) when a college diploma was a decent way to start a more prestigious career. But I am jumping ahead too quickly here. Antonina started out not even with a lechon but hawking boiled corn in the streets. After a while, she opened what is termed in the Islands, a Sari-Sari Store which are actually holes in the wall stores that are popular in any typical Filipino neighborhood. It was not enough. In the Philippines, there is about one sari-sari store for every 600 people. Just imagine the competition that one is about to go through.

And so with a few pesos saved, and with a leap of faith, she bought a pig, made a lechon and sold it. No dice. The lechon did not sell at all. The lechon though is a very popular fare in the Philippines. A feast is never complete without it. So the idea persisted. She did a twist to it, selling it by the kilo. From then on, Filipinos did not have to wait for fiestas and other affairs to have lechon on their tables. They can have it any day they want it. Mila’s lechon turned out to be very popular. So popular in fact that the district where Mila’s lechon originated is now termed as the lechon capital of the Philippines. The family then started venturing out to other businesses like restaurants and the selling and distribution of sauces that could be found in any supermarket in the Philippines.

Many more Filipino entrepreneurs have made it. One thing that makes the triumph of these entrepreneurs so much more amazing though, is that they found a way to thrive and prosper even in very difficult circumstances, even when their nations economies were in the doldrums. Hard work, preparation, persistence ... you name it! Whatever the traits and characteristics of successful entrepreneurs may be, it varies in different people. Sustained enthusiasm, unswerving faith and boundless passion, however, is probably what counts the most in the journey these remarkable entrepreneurs have taken towards achieving business success.

Next article: Free Trade Zone Deficits

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