INNOVATION is frightening at times, but it’s key to long-term success.
This is what entrepreneur Chester Lim of the Belmont Group believes. He said that to survive in today’s tough market, a business, regardless of size, must stand out.
Chester was named innovative entrepreneur of the year by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is the vice president for administration of the 45-year-old Belmont Hardware Depot and is president of Belmont One.
Groomed to take over the family’s hardware business, he took up his masters in Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship in Florida, USA, and enrolled in short courses to broaden his knowledge.
From a mere hardware business, Chester took a leap of faith by injecting modern ways in Belmont Hardware’s setup.
He led the modernization of the operations of the family business by introducing the do-it-yourself (DIY) concept and installing new inventory systems such as barcoding, point-of-sales (POS) terminals and inventory management.
These brought Belmont to greater heights, allowing it to expand product lines to cater to a wider market segment. It has also expanded into three branches in Cebu and now employs some 200 workers.
Chester is also leading the family to erect Belmont One, an integrated development in Minglanilla town that will house the family’s biggest hardware store, a hotel, food park, supermarket, retail outlets and amusement park.
According to Chester, the new venture shouldn’t be a mere copycat. It has to stand out and become a landmark itself.
“This is a huge leap for the Belmont family. This is our own way of giving back to the place which gave us so much,” he said.
For Chester, there’s never a dream too difficult to achieve as long as one has the right attitude, the vision, and an open heart to embrace change.
What was your first job?
I started with providing computer supplies, selling floppy disks and other things to an internet service provider. It was in a converted showroom under my mom’s export business. I was still in college that time, between 1994 and 1997. After which, I decided to close the store and fly to the United States to take up my graduate studies in entrepreneurship.
Who inspired you to get into business?
My parents were already in business and when we were in our primary and high school days, they would always bring us to our hardware store for us to know what the business was like. It was through that exposure that I was inspired to work even harder for our family’s legacy to continue and grow.
When did you realize this was what you were meant to do?
The experiences I have had during my internship in Miami, Florida, made me realize that our family business was worth preserving. Moreover, the employment opportunity we could generate was a greater noble deed than any other personal goal.
Why did you pick this type of business or industry?
We thought of something that will bring families together. Thus, the management team of Belmont transformed a unique opportunity to make something new for Cebu and so, Anjo World was created. Anjo World will be a place of adventure and fun, a refuge where families and friends can relax and play together in a wholesome and safe environment.
Where did you get the training you needed to succeed?
I believe that the early exposure I’ve had in the business became a great training ground for me. All of those years in the retail industry and real estate also gave me a good grasp of what it takes to succeed. I’ve recently involved myself in the amusement industry as well, participating in international conferences and leadership training in Osaka and Tokyo.
How many times did you fail before you succeeded?
On my end, I have introduced new products, operations and concepts. We have been constantly innovating and while some of them succeeded, many of it did not. However, I still continue to work twice as hard because that is what we at Belmont abide by--competence, character and conscience.