The Filipino Entrepreneur

Hope you don’t mind the cutesy title. I just wanted to share with you about a small entrepreneur who made it big in shoe business. I mean small because he is literally “small” as in midget ( no pun intended ). His name is Aurelio Dagdag and he is the general manager (I think he is also one of the owner because based on the story I read it was a family business) of J.A.C. footwear located in Marikina City. He was also featured by Mel and Joey show in GMA network but you will know more about him if you read the Entrepreneur magazine. Despite of his limitations he made it big in this industry with many challenges. To tell more about him, I’ll just make a summary of his life based on what I read.

When he was still in his school years, his father was selling sweepstakes ticket in Pasay City along Libertad. I remember that place because I used to buy shoes in Cartimar. Maybe I saw his father’s sweepstakes store then but didn’t bother much because I don’t buy sweepstakes tickets. It’s a good thing that his father have saved some money because when lotto was introduced here in the Philippines, the business of selling sweepstakes ticket came to an end. It looks like an I’ll luck but it was more of a blessing in disguise because they decided to became a supplier of slippers because the place where they formerly sell tickets are surrounded by stalls that sells slippers which paved the way for the shoe manufacturing business for his family. They started with 100,000 pesos capital which her mother diligently saved over the years.

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Being employed for many is a secured way of living because of the mere fact of having a job. You have money to spend for all your needs because somebody is paying you for your time. But still, being employed is in a “rat race”. What is a rat race? well it is defined in Wikipedia as:

The rat race is a term often used to describe work, particularly excessive work; in general terms, if one works too much, one is in the rat race. This terminology contains implications that many people see work as a seemingly endless pursuit with little reward or purpose. Not all workers feel like this. It is the perceived Conventional Wisdom, for example, that those who work for themselves are generally happier at work.

I’m not saying that it is easy to leave the rat race. How to get out of the rat race? There are many ways to get out  like being self-employed, having a business, working from home, etc  but again, it’s not easy because having a mindset of an employee will really be a burden. Add to it are the regular salary given by employers and other fringe benefits which is hard to resist . If you already read the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” or have some insights or idea of what it contains by reading it in Wikipedia, the book is very inspiring but also warns readers of some misleading advice given by the author Robert Kiyosaki. But I think there are many truths about the comparison of having a entrepreneurial mind versus having an employee mindset. I read some quotations from the book but the one that catch my attention is this:

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A Trade Fair is an organized exposition of products and services of a particular industry; an event where innovative people and ideas convene. Entrepreneurs would do well to join one.

A trade fair can be an entrepreneur’s dream or nightmare: there are a myriad of business opportunities as well as dozens of competitors, all under one roof. While joining a trade fair may be costly, there are several advantages. What benefits do I get from joining trade fairs? Trade fairs are venues to put your products and services on view for would- be customers. These are professionally planned events and are well-advertised not only through the tri-media, but also through the internet, thereby reaching a wider audience. Because the fairs are specialized, you are ensured of interested attendees. Allowing them to sample or try out your goods will give you instant feedback. You can further assess your market position and gather information on business refinements that have to be done. Finally, joining will allow you to connect with possible investors.

How will this help my business? Exhibitors and attendees alike have one thing in mind, and that is to do business. With your wares showcased in a hall full of business people, you have a great chance to promote your products and increase your network. Attendees in trade fairs are more likely to listen to your business pitch because knowing more about your business is exactly why they came to visit. Use this to your advantage.

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This Season of Lent, I’m reflecting on what happened to me in the past. How I endured those past miseries from the time I finished my college up to my last employment. I prayed that as much as possible, I can continue being self-employed for the rest of my life because I know that being employed, no matter how long you stay in the company, you will still leave it. Yes it’s true you can get another job but for the reason that the business that you were employed with is not yours, you will still have to leave it either by retrenchment, retirement or termination.

After I finished college, I was helping my mother’s business being a delivery driver and a store keeper and sometimes I’m a cook when no one is around to help. My father has his own business, a foundry, which he doesn’t want us to mess around so my mother decided to make her own. Although my father is still the bread winner, my mother started her own business because she wants to sustain her expenses. She started a hollow block machine fabrication shop, The Atlantic Machinery Hollow Block Machine fabrication in our front yard. Aside from that, a small hardware and general merchandise store. We were living in Valenzuela City that time. I’m the only one who was really helping my mother run her business even though I have a younger brother still living with us. I was a delivery driver of hollow block machine and if there were no orders a store keeper in our hardware store. I also help buy the materials for the machine fabrication and assisting and attending the workers needs.

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Do you know the saying “Find something you love and you’ll never have to work another day in you life?”? it’s all about discovering your passion and make a living with it. Because if you love what you are doing, you feel that you are not working at all and everything, in your perspective will be a pleasure. Although this is one of the requirements to make you successful on what you do, it is easier said than done. Sometimes your passion isn’t really profitable or you can’t make a living on something what you like most so we end up doing on what we don’t really like.

Below are some tips I got from a newsletter which I find interesting although this is nothing new, reading this might refresh your memory in case you already forgotten.

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