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We give you 10 lessons that veteran entrepreneurs have learned in doing their business. Read on and learn from their experience:

1. Safe and secure

It has always been my dream to have a building we can call our own. We recently invested in constructing our very own building, the Soliman Corporate Center in Makati City. It was a major decision since it involved borrowing P46 million. For 50 years, we were just renting an office on Roxas Boulevard in Manila. Now, we have a home.

Teresita L. Soliman
President and GM, Soliman Security Services Inc.
Date established: 1957; Security force: 1,000+ guards

 

2. Tune of Success

I don’t sing, but I have to jam with the passengers of our “videoke jeepneys.” It’s amazing how foreigners can take pleasure in the heavy traffic of Manila by singing and dancing inside our videoke jeepneys with fellow visitors. People in the other vehicles on the road would look at us, confused, asking, “What was that? A roving videoke lounge?”

 

Clang M. Garcia
Managing director, Daily City Tour
Date established: 2006; Current business value: P9 million

3. Weathering the Storm

When typhoon Milenyo hit the country in 2006, San Pablo (Laguna) was a direct hit. The super typhoon did terrible damage to our property. Almost all the trees were felled, and those that were left standing had no leaves anymore. Instead of wallowing in depression, I decided to turn things around – I expanded the property while the repair was going on.

 

Boots Alcantara
Owner, Casa San Pablo
Inn’s capacity: 17 rooms, 100-140 people

4. The shoe must go on

My business was experiencing a major slump, and I had to decide whether to continue operations or close shop. I decided to continue even when I was incurring losses for the sake of my employees . I realized then that an entrepreneur is not only responsible for oneself, but for the people working for him as well.

 

Aurelio Dagdag
Business owner, J.A.C. Footwear
Business started: 1993, Number of workers: 25

5. Learn from the experts

After retirement from the corporate world, I went into business. My first business venture failed. I then realized that I needed guidance on how to run a business successfully, so I turned to experts. I chose a Candy Corner franchise, and we have been in operations for almost five years now.

 

Joel and Minda Rayos
Franchisees, Candy Corner
The Rayos Couple operates two Candy Corner stores in Lipa City, Batangas.
Monthly average sales: P140,000

 

Charisse Tinio
Business owner, NicePrint Photo
NicePrint is among the top 5 bookers in the Philippine bridal fairs today.

7. Enjoy!

Look for your passion in life and see if you can make a business and profit from it. Since I am passionate about sabong (cockfighting), I turned it into a business. I love what I do and I don’t consider it as work since I enjoy every minute of it.

Ralph F. Vallente
President/CEO, The Cockhouse Corp.
The Cockhouse provides high-quality cockfighting products and services.

8. Non-performing asset

A lot of entrepreneurs run out of money midstream. And every mistake can cost you.  So be mindful of your capital requirements. For instance, we bought a display chiller we would use for our catering business. That cost us 20 percent of our initial capital and it’s been in storage for eight months now.

Hershey Ang
Business owner, Kawaii Bento Corp.
Kawaii Bento specializes in Japanese bento (rice meals)  dishes.

9. Hire the right people

Part of being entrepreneur is dealing with people from all walks of life, especially in sales, because they are the lifeblood of your income. I make sure that the people I hire are honest, sincere and responsible. I have had to let go of people who were dishonest in dealing with customers or did not possess the right attitude and energy.

Vincent Edward U. Tintoc
President, I-Act Real Estate and Development Corp.

10. Overconfidence

I used to have a small buy-and-sell business. I was able to grow it in a short period of time, and my clients were very happy with my products and service. I was so confident that I overlooked one thing: my supplier . The supplier had some internal issues and eventually closed shop. As a result, we couldn’t provide our clients with the products they wanted.

Ryan Ang
Owner, ALCapone Inc.
ALCapone is engaged in wholesale trading of consumer items from different parts of Asia, and management consultancy for SMEs