Monday, May 28, 2007 How Hapee Made Money By Karla Bautista UP Mass Comm intern
THEY say there are only three ways to get rich. I wouldn’t mention the first two things; I leave it to your imagination. Unless you're a bigwig in some multinational company, we all know that the only other way to getting our first million-- fast-- is to venture into business.
Yes, it may not sound that easy especially for those who do not have that much capital to start with.
Last month, I was invited to the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry luncheon with one of the country's business legends. The entrepreneur instinct in me kicked in, and I know, I just have to be there to learn and be inspired by businessman Cecilio K. Pedro, president and chief executive officer of Lamoiyan Corporation. Established in 1987, the company manufactures toothpaste brands Hapee and Kutitap. Mr. Pedro is also the first Filipino to penetrate the toothpaste market that has long been dominated by foreign brands, getting the number three spot in the market.
I could say that I was able to get a lot of tips and techniques from the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2004 awardee. Here’s a short summary of what I gathered from the four- hour talk about business and social responsibility. Read on to hone the entrepreneur in you.
1. Results Oriented
Always keep your focus on the results you want. It's important that from the start of your business, you know what it is that you want to achieve and you work hard to achieve that goal.
2. Risk Taker
Business, Mr. Pedro says, is very much like falling in love. You can never be too sure of what may happen, but you just have to take the risk if you want to achieve something. Most likely, the greater the risk, the greater the rewards.
3. Reliable
Both the entrepreneur and the quality of his products or service have to be reliable–it can't be just one or the other. Quality control is crucial, Mr. Pedro points out, and you must awlays meet the standards or better yet, exceed them. Never compromise quality, because it would be a deciding factor on how much the world would value your product or service.
4. Empowering
To empower means to share your information, knowledge and experience to those around you in the company. To be a good business leader, you allow your subordinates to grow and excel.
5. Professionalized
It is not wrong to admit that you cannot run a business all by yourself. One way for the business to grow is to “professionalize” it. Recruit people who know and work better than you and give them the authority to run your company while you keep watch from the sides.
6. Efficient
Another way for the business to succeed is to beat competition. How do you do that? By offering the same quality in terms of product or service but at a lower cost. Again, how do you do that? By reducing the cost of outsourced materials, and to improve the system and manpower to make production even more efficient.
7. Enduring
In life and in business, we should go by the same rule: “Don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do... Mistakes may come along the way, and that is a given. But always learn from them and constantly look for ways to learn and improve," shares Mr. Pedro.
So, find these qualities in you and you’re on your way to becoming the next business legend. The capital to start up a small business would not be that hard to come by, so long as you've got the business skills, and the drive to succeed.
(Karla, 22, was crowned Ms. Cebu 2003, Bb. Pilipinas-World 2004 and Ms. World 2004 Asia and Oceania.)
