The Joys of Entrepreneurship
In this column, I often write about the challenges faced by new entrepreneurs. I have advised young business owners to be prepared to make sacrifices, to deal with obstacles, and be prepared to fail. It is certainly not my intention to discourage anyone from taking that leap of faith into the world of entrepreneurship. I simply want young entrepreneurs to be prepared because putting up your own business is like navigating your way through a dense jungle. You must be prepared with your equipment and your path plan, you need to be able to overcome challenges and threats, and more importantly, you have to adapt to the changing environment. Someone compared entrepreneurship to riding a rollercoaster—one time you are on a high then you would suddenly plunge down the loop. For this article, I would like to talk about the highs of owning your own business.
The first thrill is the freedom to be your own boss. Being your own boss does not mean the freedom to be lazy and start working at 11 a.m. then going to the movies at 1 p.m. and taking a siesta at 4 p.m. It means that you now have the freedom to develop a schedule that works for you in order to maximize your productivity. But more importantly, being a businessman means you now work for yourself and not for an employer. The biggest difference, in my experience, is motivation.
After I finished my master’s degree in business administration in 1973, I decided to take a job at the prestigious firm SyCip, Gorres & Velayo (SGV). I enjoyed my time there and I actually learned a lot. But something out there was calling my name so I decided to give entrepreneurship a go by selling fish to restaurants in Makati offices. You already know that this initial venture failed. After this debacle, I decided to become a financial analyst at the Private Development Corporation of the Philippines (PDCP). My job was to sell World Bank loans which was very difficult despite the attractive rates. I loved the people I worked with in these two jobs as well as my bosses and mentors, for instance the late Wash Sycip. But I knew I belonged somewhere else. Being your own boss, putting your reputation, your money, your hard work, and, your future on the line is the biggest motivation to succeed. That is why I never entertained the thought of giving up. No matter the obstacle, I pushed harder. It is that autonomy, the freedom to chart your own course, that gives you the pride to, one day, say that you built something from the ground up, with your own blood, sweat, and tears.
The second refers to the pure delight of creating something on your own for other people. The term invention is often used to refer to men of science and medicine. But let us not forget that entrepreneurship is all about creativity and innovation. What I have learned in my years of being an entrepreneur is the fact that you cannot stop innovating, otherwise you perish. We could have stopped at real estate. We could have been happy building homes. But that would have made us extinct in an instant. And there is pure thrill in discovering and doing something that no one has done before.
After I established my own business in 1975 hauling gravel and sand to construction sites in BF Homes, I made the decision to focus on affordable housing, which established property developers at that time frowned upon. I went below the BF Homes market which was middle class. My strategy was to buy up small and irregular-shaped spaces that big developers are unable to sell, subdivide them into smaller plots, and offer house and lot packages instead of offering just lots, which was the norm at the time. By focusing on what I called “pocket development” that is, building within major projects I was able to save on cost because I did not have to construct access roads, power and water lines and other infrastructure, which were already there. This is something you cannot achieve if you were employed by someone or some business that have their own vision and strategy. Your job is not to create but simply to execute.
I watched a video on TikTok where fresh graduates were asked how much salary they expect for their first job. One said, ₱100,000 while another replied ₱75,000. I understand that the cost of living is so high now especially in the Metro but that is the wrong question to ask young people. When I was young we were always asked, “Anong pangarap mo?” And I think young Filipinos today should start thinking about their dreams instead of target salaries. Even if you have a high paying job, is that the culmination of your career goals? I am reminded of a quote from John D. Rockefeller, founder of the Standard Oil Company who became one of the world’s wealthiest men: “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” A dream is bigger than a goal. More importantly, dreams never have to end.
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