Former Ateneans give tips and lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs
Want to have your own business but not confident enough to start it? You may want to take the advice of John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM) Dean Dr. Darwin Yu to aspiring entrepreneurs: “You don’t have to be a management major to be an entrepreneur.”
“Entrepreneurs are those who are innovative, they are bold; they’re risk takers, but at the same time they are able to calculate risks. They are the ones willing to take that one big step forward while others are afraid to,” Dr. Yu said in a talk part of the JGSOM Week 2014 celebration. Titled “Multiplying Success: Sustaining Excellence in Entrepreneurship,” the talk featured two successful Ateneans in the field of entrepreneurship.
Businessman Vince Padilla, owner of establishments Padi’s Point Inc., Gotcha Inc., Greenhills Badminton Center, and Fun Ranch, gave tips to students aspiring to be entrepreneurs. “Entrepreneurship is about building business. It’s about making money grow and grow. For me, it’s not about finding that one big deal nor is it about being a one-trick pony. It is about doing anything and everything you can when and where it is needed and wanted all the time. It’s about continuously finding the intersecting point between your passion, your abilities, and the world’s needs,” Padilla said.
After giving a long list of qualities entrepreneurs should possess, he reminded the students that one must not forget to give back. “Success does not end when you reach the goals you originally set. It must come full circle and you must give back in whatever capacity you can,” he said.
Islands Group Inc. CEO Jay Aldeguer meanwhile shared his journey of entrepreneurship that started at a young age when he sold his drawings to his classmates. During college, he sold shirts to his classmates and even hosted a basketball event in Cebu. In 1992, Aldeguer started the popular souvenir shop Island Souvenirs.
For him, innovation is not even about creating an out-of-this-world new idea. “It’s about tweaking something and understanding your market better and that minor tweak actually made a difference,” Aldeguer said.
He also cited the advantage of the youth today in doing business in the dawn of the social media trend. “Today is very different. The environment today is so conducive to the youth. The youth today are the opinion leaders, the target market. The Internet and social media were created for the youth,” he said.
Aldeguer left the students one piece of advice: just start now. “You may not know how to go about doing it but start now. You can afford to take risks. It’s the most important thing, especially for the youth today.” Further he added, “Dream big. Think big. But more than that and more importantly, make sure you follow through and make it happen.”
