Business in the blood

FOR some people, running a business—runs in the blood.

This Cebuano entrepreneur has been around town for seven years now (before then his business was based in Bacolod, Negros). Jacob S. Pimentel has been at the helm of Terre D’ Or realty corporation as the chief operating officer, calling the shots to steer his ship quite perfectly through the risks and rewards of the real estate business.

If mere photos are to be considered as evidence, Metro Cebu has entered an age when more class and modern structures are being built. From residential projects to commercial ones, a simple snapshot of Cebu then and how it is now, should provide some sort of visual proof of some economic bloom, to say the least.

Terre D’ Or realty corporation is the company behind one of Cebu’s newest lifestyle hotspots, Escario Central Mall.

“It is a family corporation basically, run by the Pimentel and Farrarons families,” shared Jacob of the company’s roots. He revealed how his dad worked in a bank and how his grandfather also worked in a bank. But despite what others would label as a calling, Jacob’s father, Alex, encouraged him to follow the path of entrepreneurship instead.

Jacob went to middle school at the Cebu International School and recalled one of his earliest experiences doing business—selling dog tags to his friends. “My mom encouraged me to sell these dog tags; customized ones,” he explains. “I’d ask my friends what kind of design they want printed on the tags and I’d be selling those.”

When he turned 18, the man tried delving more seriously into the market as he opened his own restaurant downtown. “I used to attend a lot of business seminars; took short courses at AIM (Asian Institute of Management),” said Jacob.

But what is more interesting was that after enroling at Ateneo de Manila, he decided to finish his studies in UP Cebu College.

It’s not the change of university that’s surprising; it’s the course he decided to take—Fine Arts.

“I thought at that time that it was the better choice for me; the ‘better rounded’ choice,” explained the entrepreneur. For Jacob, there were no regrets as he was able to apply whatever he learned during the course into his line of business. In fact, while attaining his Fine Arts degree, he also cross-enrolled himself in business courses just for the love of it.

From the very start, Jacob loved the idea of building something. Whether it’s a small business downtown, or the hotel he oversees right now at Escario Central, he feels that the involvement he spends during the conceptualization phase is his own affair with the arts. Escario Central is Terre D’ Or realty corporation’s first commercial project. The corporation aims to launch another one by next month, St. Mark Hotel, still in Cebu City.

“It’s never too early to start. Never get discouraged,” he shared random bits of advice about what he thinks are some secrets to getting started in business.

Whatever the case, here is a man who has chased, pursued and embraced his true calling; finding some sort of serenity being one of the players in the fast-paced business sector of the metro.