Miyerkules, Hunyo 22, 2011

Assignment no. 5 FILIPINO/LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS

                         1.Consuelo Valencia


From house cleaner to a multi-millionaire in just 10 years. That is the Cinderella-like story of Consuelo Valencia.

A huge percentage of hard work, an adequate combination of entrepreneurial acumen and a considerable touch of luck turned the house helper into a successful businesswoman.

Manang Consuelo, as she is fondly called, arrived in London 26 years ago on a work permit as a domestic helper.

Craving for greener pastures for her family, she relegated the responsibility of taking care of their children to her husband, who already struggles to earn enough money in the Philippines.

Willing to take her hand in, she decided to make the ultimate sacrifice and work for foreign masters to survive.

It was the same devotion to risk, exploring unfamiliar shores that eventually triggered a huge and sudden twist of fate in her life.

In 1986, Manang Consuelo’s rise from drudgery to a successful businesswoman began when after years of scrubbing floors and cleaning toilets, she was offered a job with a freight shipping firm.

Like a destined plan, she was given the opportunity to embark upon a livelihood that benefits her fellow overseas workers.

“At that time, nobody was doing business in the Philippines," she said. “But I realized there were many people here who wanted to send parcels to their families back home."

So, she decided to make a living out of helping his fellow OFWs get in touch with their loved ones.

When the owner of the firm she’s working for eventually retired, Manang took over and managed to bring the business to greater heights. She acquired an ever-growing list of customers, with her excellent people relations doing its wonders.

Today, she has made a difference in the industry of door-to-door delivery service to the Philippines as her company oversees the collection of boxes and T chests from individual customers across the United Kingdom.

Manang Consuelo received an outpour of blessings in that same year as she was also able to set up Farochilen Remittances, her own door-to-door cash delivery service.

She took advantage of many Filipinos sending money once or twice a month to give to their families back home. Finding her niche market, she quickly exploited it by offering face-to-face speedy delivery, high exchange rates and low remittance fees.

Confidently conquering uncharted territories, Manang Consuelo imposed a level-playing field and gave many banks a run for their money.

While savoring the success of the remittance and freight businesses, Manang Consuelo also ventured into other services like a travel service agency, phone card dealership, real estate agency, recruitment and newspaper publishing-- all hard work in just 10 years.

Her latest project was the Tatak Filipino, a mini-supermarket specializing in foodstuff from the Philippines and the Far East, which she started in October 2002.

Currently the managing director of the Farochilen Group of Companies, Manang Consuelo heads the biggest business, encompassing freight-forwarding, remittances, travel services, real estate, phone cards, groceries and human resources recruitment and publishing, which mainly caters to the Filipino Community in UK.

With a business empire that stretches forth into the heart of the city with her own prime real estate, the 59-year-old business tycoon has indeed gone far in the world.

Who would have thought that when she was just living off serving other people’s household needs, she would succeed with flying colors serving the whole Filipino community?

There may be many people who can thrive wealthily in this lifetime but only a chosen few can really be “maid" for millions.

Winning the Woman into Business Awards sponsored by the Bank of Scotland in 2003 and garnering the 11th spot among the 100 Real Women of Achievement awardees by the Daily Mail in 2004, Consuelo Valencia was one of the recipients of the Overseas Filipino Entrepreneurs (OFEs) awards handed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Presidential Consultant for Entrepreneurship Jose Concepcion III at the Go Negosyo Para sa mga OFWs at Balikbayans fair last December.




     2.Norma Macalindong
 
 
WHAT do expatriated Pinoys miss most about home? Family, yes, but also perhaps, meals accompanied by the salty treat of the tuyo at itlog na pula combo with the tangy addition of bagoong. Or those who played street basketball in their teens may remember fortifying themselves during their Pinoy-style post-game huddle with Pop Cola and Chippy.
The “sari-sari” store, the Philippine version of a one-stop shop, has been pivotal in assuaging the sudden needs of the average Filipino. This especially holds true for our sudden cravings for chips and crackers for merienda to canned goods and instant soups for supper.

So then, why not a sari-sari store in Rome, Italy-based Pinay Norma Macalindong thought. After all, the majority of the 87,000 documented OFWs in Italy reside in the Italian capital, according to 2004 figures culled by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Stable income source

“It all started when I became president of the Mancini Club [organization of Filipinos working in Piazza Mancini,” recalled Macalindong, now 47. “We would all spend our days selling Filipino food near Piazza Mancini, there under the bridge, everyday.”

It was not long before Macalindong decided to make formal her enterprise. Soon, Norma’s International Food Store broke ground. The business offers the same assortment of goods found in sari-sari stores back home. It was an instant hit. Dried goods and husked rice are among her bestsellers, and not just among Pinoys.

“Surprisingly, we now have more South Americans customers than Filipinos,” she disclosed. “Although, of course, Filipinos patronize what we sell.”

Macalindong decided she had had enough of scrubbing bathroom floors or watching over someone else’s children, which she did when she first started working in Italy. She realized the store would be a more stable source of income and a way to keep life intact for her family back home, specifically her children.

“This is all for my children. I have many [children] so I make even the night a working day just to assure their future,” Macalindong shared. “With the store, I do hope to feed them and also send them to decent schools.”

Seeing her store grow, she decided to turn it into a family business. Her husband is now involved in its operations, as are her seven children who now study in Italy. When they aren’t available to mind the store, Macalindong’s in-law takes over.
Go Negosyo awardee

For establishing her sari-sari store in Rome, Macalindong was singled out as one of the outstanding Overseas Filipino Entrepreneurs by the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE). Macalindong received her award from PCE founding trustee Jose Concepcion III and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The Go Negosyo Para sa mga OFWs at Balikbayans program is part of the continuing Go Negosyo campaign spearheaded by Concepcion. It aims to develop entrepreneurship in the country and assists in reintegrating OFWs by exposing them to business opportunities.

“It is really an honor to be part of those Filipinos considered as successful business people across the globe,” Macalindong said. “It reassures; much more than your status, (it reinforces) the pride of having succeeded, as a Filipino, a steady life overseas.”

The recognition, however, is simply a nice little icing. “Okay, so there’s an award for my entrepreneurial efforts, but this doesn’t mean that I’d be complacent of my business,” she said.

The family has also started an export business in the Philippines, which is managed by one of Norma’s children. The Las Piñas-based Macalindong Export-Import reduces the expense of acquiring products from importers. It has made three shipments to their own store in Rome but may soon service other Asian shops in the city.
Business birth pains

Although it’s now easy for her store to meet its daily sales quota, Macalindong openly spoke of the hardships on the way to business stability.

“I first continued my studies here for I haven’t finished high school back in the Philippines,” she narrated. “I went on studying terza media, then concorso for Camera di Commercio, for me to be able to open my business. I needed to finish one year and four months of studying to legalize my business because I knew escaping the cops who were after us illegal vendors will do me no good. And of course, shelling out some amount of money was inevitable.”

She also had to deal with envy. Her growing success attracted “negative impulses” like the rumor-mongering of other people. “But thank God I am still here in Piazza Mancini flourishing on what I’ve started,” she said, emphasizing that she established her store independently or without the help of an Italian backer.

“When you’re that passionate in what you’re doing, and you believe that God is by your side, there is just no breaking you down,” she declared.
From selling…

Macalindong said her entrepreneurial bent began when, as a second grader, she would accompany her mother to sell fish.

Her selling skills were evident even after she left her destitute life in the Philippines to work in Italy. During her days-off, she would go to train and tram stations to vend bags. This helped augment her and her husband’s income. Selling soon became the couple’s major means of livelihood.

Fourteen years later, the full-blooded Batangeña’s persistence paid off. She vended in Andrea Doria, a well-known marketplace for migrants in Vatican, then moved to Ponte Millo, and finally found her zone in Piazza Mancini.
…to serving

Macalindong’s success has snowballed into concerns more civic. Egged on by fellow Filipinos and other Italian officials, she plans to step out of her comfort zone for a better cause: service.

“They insisted that I run during the elections,” Macalindong revealed. “They say that I have a great chance of winning.” Especially as she has established good relations with both her countrymen and the people from her adopted country.

Macalindong is eyeing the position of Consiglieri for Municipio 2 of Rome. As a councilor, she will have a consultative function in the Italian Counsel and will be entitled for five years to represent migrants of every nationality residing in the area.

“But win or lose, my business shall continue. It certainly is my life now,” Macalindong concluded.?



                                         3.Lucio Tan 
Lucio Tan (simplified Chinese: 陈永栽; traditional Chinese: 陳永栽; pinyin: Chén Yǒngzāi) (born July 17, 1934) is a prominent Chinese Filipino business magnate and is one of the most prominent business magnates in the Philippines. He, as of 2011, is currently the second richest businessman in the country, holding a networth of $2.3 billion.

                              Tan owns Asia Brewery, the second largest brewery in the Philippines, Tanduay Holdings, one of the world's largest rum makers, Fortune Tobacco, the largest tobacco company in the country, Philippine Airlines the Philippines' flag carrier - these companies are just some of the 300 companies that Tan controls. Tan was born on July 17, 1934, in Amoy (now Xiamen), Fujian, Republic of China. His parents moved to the Philippines when he was a child. He studied chemical engineering at Far Eastern University in Manila and later obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in the said program from the University of Santo Tomas.[2] He actually quit before graduating to take a job in a tobacco factory. Though a non-smoker, he started a cigarette company called Fortune Tobacco in 1966. This humble venture, which was housed in a small hut in Marikina, proved to be the enterprise that would catapult Mr. Tan to success. From this flagship company emerged numerous successful ventures in agribusiness; airlines and related services; banking, finance and securities; brewery; chemicals; distillery and alcohol; education; food; hotel; manufacturing; property development; steel fabrication and construction; and tourism and travel services.
Tan has received numerous recognitions and awards both in the Philippines and abroad. He holds a Doctorate Degree in Commerce from the University of Santo Tomas along with a string of honorary doctorate degrees from various institutions of higher learning. Tan established the Tan Yan Kee Foundation in 1986 in honor of his father (see below). Committed to the corporate social responsibility of the Lucio C. Tan Group of Companies, the Foundation’s principal projects are in support of education, culture and sports; health and social welfare; research; and manpower development.[2]
He was a known ally of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
In 1970, Tan brought to the country an advanced hog-raising facility from Taiwan and set up Foremost Farms in Tanay, Rizal. The farm now operates on a 146-hectare facility and has an average daily production of 50 metric tons of hogs for the domestic market making it one of the largest hog farms in Southeast Asia.
In 1977, Tan acquired from the Philippine government the defunct General Bank and Trust Company, which he renamed Allied Bank.
In 1978, Tan ventured into building and construction when he bought Riverside Steel Inc., which was renamed Grandspan Development Corporation. To date, Grandspan has been involved in the construction of power plants, high rise buildings, bridges, airport terminal and hangars, and other structures.
In 1982, after then President Ferdinand Marcos lifted the ban on the establishment of new beer companies, Tan established Asia Brewery, the second largest brewery in the country, with a 10% share of the Philippine market.
In 1985, Tan bought Century Park Hotel.
Tan established the Tan Yan Kee Foundation in 1986 in honor of the late Tan family patriarch (see below. In 1988, the Lucio Tan Group of Companies acquired Tanduay Distillery, the oldest maker of rum, from the Elizalde Family. Tan and his group launched a plant modernization and expansion program that increased Tanduay's production by almost 50 times.
Realizing that education is the only way to escape poverty, Tan is also heavily invested in education. He bought the University of the East in 1990, which he considers his biggest feat in promoting education in the country.
In 1993, the country's national flag carrier, Philippine Airlines, joins the list of companies that Lucio Tan controls and manages.
In 1995, he founded yet another company in the aviation industry. The Macro Asia Corporation was envisioned to be the leading provider of aviation and logistics services. This vision has become a reality as Macro Asia Corporation is now the provider of technical ground handling, engineering and maintenance services, and catering services to the majority of international airlines.
In 2000, Tan became the majority stockholder of Philippine National Bank. The merger of PNB and Allied Bank is expected to be completed before the end of this year.