Going Into Business Is Like Swimming Upstream or Going Into war

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Romie Cahucom

Yes folks, going into business is like “swimming upstream’… or “going into war”. It’s a hell of a lot of struggle and the outcome is very much uncertain. No, it’s not just uncertain; it’s much more likely that you fail rather than succeed.

I hate to say this, but it’s true. I’m not kidding. It’s not my word; it’s the word of experts in the field. The experts said it, and the statistics say so.

But first, the credits or the introductory part. This post marks the first time we jab into the business side of investment literacy. And here, we try to make this first jab sound a little explosive. Let us see if we can borrow a bit of a small flicker of the recent Donaire- Montiel boxing bout.

To set things straight, let us go first to the statistics. “Of every ten start-up companies, one half will disappear within the first five years, only four will survive into the tenth year and only three into their fifteenth year.”

These statistics, as quoted by MIT Professor Peter Senge in his bestselling book, “The Fifth Discipline” (New York: Doubleday, 1994), simply indicate a survival rate of only 30% over a 15-year period for start-up companies in the US.

The USA is certainly one of the most business-friendly nations on earth – where a sizeable number of immigrants made it big.

In the Philippines, the figures are a much grimmer. Casualty rate is 95% in the first year, 4% fail after 3 years and only 1% survive after 5 years. This is according to figures from the Filipino-Cebuano Business Club (FILCEB), Inc., a pioneering entrepreneurship organization of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Visayas.

Well, no wonder the survival metaphors abound. Going into business is very much like “swimming up-stream” or “walking a tightrope”. If that is true then would-be businessmen better train like hell…the way daredevils and stuntmen do.

A well-known venture capitalist Michael Moritz, a partner of the venture capital firm Sequoia Fund that helped jumpstart Apple Computer, Cisco Systems and Yahoo, once described starting a business as “taking a journey against all odds”.

Or “going into war”. A friend named Jun Bantungan of PICPA Riyadh said it during a business seminar and I guess he must have picked it up elsewhere. But the metaphor surely makes a lot of sense. One not only just has to be fully armed and equipped, he also has to be fully trained for battle and prepare for survival in a brutal environment in which only the most prepared make it.

Business literature is full of such war metaphors. “Lead from the front, not the rear”, “Ready, aim, fire”, “Go for the kill”, and so on.

In fact, competitive strategy in business has a lot in common with competitive strategy in war. Hence, the monstrous popularity in business circles of such war classics as Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” or Miyamoto Musashi’s “Book of Five Rings”. And hence, business writers and gurus seem to be continually scouring tomes of war literature to squeeze every drop of strategy lesson they can write about and apply to business.

And so, what then do we, hungry would-be businessmen, do?

Well, prepare for war. Read everything you can lay your hands on about business. Attend every seminar. Join business groups offering seminars or any group that aims to educate members about business.

If you are an OFW, attend seminars at the embassy in your work site. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur in the country, attend seminars offered by the Dept. of Trade and Industry. Or join small business clubs/groupings like the Filipino-Cebuano Business Club (FILCEB), mentioned above.

Then and only then can you have a fighting chance. Not a guarantee of success, but just an assurance that you got a fighting chance.

And having a fighting chance should be consolation enough… considering that you are “swimming upstream”, “walking a tightrope,” “taking a journey against all odds” or “ going into war”.

LEARN ABOUT YOGHURT BUSINESS

20 WAYS TO KILL YOUR BUSINESS



1.)Lack of Experience by the owner
Symptoms: Always doing trial & error

.2.) Poor Location
Symptoms: Low sales during peak hours & peak season

3.)Wrong or to much inventory or poor inventory management
Symptoms: much inventory on slow moving & obsolete products. Purchase Returns or Bad Orders are increasing.

4.)Permanent Equipment Problems
Symptoms: Delayed production & Deliveries or Repair & maintenance expenses increasing

5.)Poor Credit Practices
Symptoms: Too much long overdue accounts, usually beyond 120 days.

. 6.)Increasing Personal Expenses
Symptoms: Unliquidated Cash Advances

7.)Premature Expansion of the Business
Symptoms: Pay Back Period is too long & Return of Investment is very low.

8.)Bad Attitude of the owner or employees
Symptom: Always heard a complaint

9.)Letting costs get out of control
Symptoms: Keeping Savings account that pays 2%while paying credit card charges & interest 3.5 to 5%

10.) Low Sales
Symptoms: Inventory is high

11.)PROSCATINATION OR LIVING IN THE MOMENT
Symptom: Failing to establish monthly financial Statement

. 12.)Competition
Symptoms: Loyal customers don’t buy anymore or No. of Customers are decreasing.

13.)Crime (Internal or External
Symptoms: Inventory always doesn’t match with theoretical vs. physical



14.)
Underestimating the importance of Cash flow Management
Symptoms: Can’t meet the day to day expenses
Remember: Cash is king

15.)Sloppy Record Keeping
Symptoms: No available data on sales, inventory, purchases, A/R & A/P & other biznes transactions at the end of the day

16)Disregarding Employees Concerns
Symptoms: Turn over is high

17.)Failing to Delegate
Symptoms: Do it all attitude, “ako nalang dali pa” or Cant leave the biznes more than a month.

18.)Offering something the customer doesn’t want
Symptoms: Customers are inquisitive about what’s new



19.)NOT OBSERVING GOVT. REGULATORY BODY OR DISREGARDING NOTICES FROM GOVT. AGENCY CONCERN
Symptoms: Too many notices & audit by Govt. agency concerned

REY CALOOY FEATURED IN MASIGASIG GLOBE MAGAZINE: RISING ABOVE CIRCUMTANCES

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BIG TIME

True stories of big successes that have come from humble beginnings

RISING ABOVE CIRCUMSTANCE

From helping his mother peddle goods in Southern Leyte, Rey Calooy has become one of the most admired entrepreneurs in Cebu.

May 2010

by Mari-An Santos • Photos by Jun Pinzon

The second in a family of six, Rey Calooy—whose last name actually means "pitiful" in Bisaya-was born in the agricultural town of Libagon, Southern Leyte. Not an auspicious beginning, but through hard work, Rey went from selling scraps to supplying companies like Starbucks, Bo's Coffee, Jollibee, Chowking, and Manila Hotel, among others. Now he is helping spread the secret of his success.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Rey's father was a farmer, and his mother helped augment the family income by selling bibingka on the side. By the time he was in grade 4, Rey, too, had to contribute. "'Pag manghingi ako ng pera, hindi ako bibigyan. [I was told:] Kailangan magtrabaho ka, kailangan tumulong." Rey would go with his mother to the local cockpits to sell the rice cakes, and collected bottles and other scrap to sell at junk shops, earning a peso for each day from his earnings. "Nakita ko dun, 'Ah, masarap pala mag-work hard!'" Rey learned that when you work hard and you sacrifice, "there's always a reward."

After Rey graduated from high school, his mother told him that they had no money to send him to college. However, she allowed him to cross the waters to Cebu to try his luck. Rey had an aunt there who had a store at Carbon Market, and he could work as a helper there and in the household.
In 1986, 16-year-old Rey packed his belongings and boarded the boat to Cebu City. He worked as a porter at Carbon Market during the day, and as a helper at his aunt's house at night. Later, asking his uncle for permission to study, he was allowed to take night classes, and was advised to take up accountancy, because "kahit punerarya, may accounting." Rey heeded his uncle's advice and enrolled at the University of Cebu.
To make everything fit into his schedule, Rey worked tirelessly every single day; it would be midnight when his head would hit the pillows, and he would still wake up at 3 am to work at the market. "Tatlong oras lang ang tulog ko, kaya inaantok ako sa klase," Rey recalls. Still, he took three subjects per semester and enrolled during summer term as well.
Aside from working for his aunt and uncle, he made bookmarks and traded stationery that he sold to classmates and teachers. He was also able to sell some to supermarkets like Gaisano. That was his first exposure to such enterprise.
On his senior year, he started another sideline—as radio reporter for a local station, DYLA. "I needed more money for school expenses, and had to earn extra." And when Rey finally graduated in October of 1990, none of his parents nor siblings were at the ceremony, as Rey did not want his parents to spend on traveling to Cebu and celebrating with a feast. Right after graduation, he went home and told his parents: "I graduated yesterday, dala ko pa ang toga ko para dito nalang tayo magpa-picture." Being practical would stick with him through his adult life.

UNSURE FUTURE
Before Rey graduated, fearing that he would not be able to find a job, he sent out 50 application letters to different companies. But after graduation, he was hired as a radio reporter. "Though the salary was small, I was okay with it because I came from having nothing." He lived on his own and got by for a while, even hosting Youth Forum, a weekly program.
When he was retrenched from the radio station in 1991, Rey reviewed the replies of ten companies out of the 50 applications he sent out. Since he wanted to go into sales, he took the job at a pharmaceutical company that assigned him to work in Metro Manila. He was eventually assigned to the Mindanao office, and then to the Visayas office. When, in March 1995, the company wanted to promote him to assistant sales manager, Rey decided it was time for him to resign. "'Naisip ko: 'di naman ako magiging may-ari nito."
What gave him confidence was his promising enterprise. One day in 1994, as he was on a jeepney from Talisay to Cebu City on his way to work, he observed children who were selling rags to drivers for P1 each. He thought of innovating: selling rags not to drivers but to a new market. He found out that exporters of wrought iron furniture used the same rags. Rather than buy from hardware stores, he wanted them to buy from him instead. He found out where the rags were being made (as part of a company's livelihood program) and convinced the person in charge to let him market the rags. "That was where my communication skills, honed from working on radio, came in," he says. Since he did not have any money to use as capital, he was able to get the rags with 15-days terms.
Rey did the math. The cooperative sold the rags at P15 per kilo. The exporters bought rags from hardware stores at 30 a kilo. He could sell them at 25 per kilo and make a P10 profit for each kilo. Now, one company would order up to 100 kilos a week, and through referrals, he supplied rags to more and more companies. "When I computed it, what I earned became even more than my salary!"
He did not stop there. He tried to find out from the purchasers what other needs they had. They looked to him to supply allied products like lacquer thinner. With this, he made P100 from each tin. An average of 20 tins per week resulted in P2,000 a week for him, on top of earnings from supplying rags.

BOLD STEPS
So it was that RNC Marketing was born, and the family went from a one-room affair where they would share floor space with rags and other products to an apartment at their present location in Tambunok, Talisay City, just a few minutes from Cebu City.
Rey continued to look for other business ventures. He thought about supplying to hotels. He tried to find out what it was that they needed. They told him they needed sugar, coffee, and creamer in sachets. Their supply from Manila was frequently delayed. From his savings, Rey found the supplier in Manila and became the distributor in Cebu. He would get the shipment from the pier and deliver them to the hotels. Tourism started to boom in Cebu, and hotels and resorts provided good business.
However, inevitably, shipments were delayed. This led Rey to ask: what machine did they use to make those sachets? He researched online and found just what he was looking for-on a website of a company based in Taiwan. After further research, he was referred to their distributor in Metro Manila. He made plans to make the trip when he was informed that the company was participating in a machinery exhibit in Ayala Center Cebu, saving him time and money.
When he saw the automated form-fill-and-seal machine in action, Rey was overjoyed. It was exactly what he was looking for. Until he saw the price tag: P300,000. He collected brochures, and decided to save—though it was still a big question mark how long he would have to work to save enough money. Months? Years, maybe? He approached banks, but they would not grant him a loan. "Kawawa talaga 'yung mga maliliit na negosyante," his eyes cloud over as he says this.
Around that time, his wife's parents sold some land in Cebu, and he asked if they could borrow the money, with interest. He issued them a postdated check and was able to contact the office in Manila to order a machine. The repacking machine has an output of 100 pieces a minute, or up to 96,000 per day. The sugar was not hard to find, as there are two azucareras in Cebu, and Negros is very near. Rey bought in bulk from wholesalers and dealers.

Prev12Next

The second in a family of six, Rey Calooy—whose last name actually means "pitiful" in Bisaya-was born in the agricultural town of Libagon, Southern Leyte. Not an auspicious beginning, but through hard work, Rey went from selling scraps to supplying companies like Starbucks, Bo's Coffee, Jollibee, Chowking, and Manila Hotel, among others. Now he is helping spread the secret of his success.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Rey's father was a farmer, and his mother helped augment the family income by selling bibingka on the side. By the time he was in grade 4, Rey, too, had to contribute. "'Pag manghingi ako ng pera, hindi ako bibigyan. [I was told:] Kailangan magtrabaho ka, kailangan tumulong." Rey would go with his mother to the local cockpits to sell the rice cakes, and collected bottles and other scrap to sell at junk shops, earning a peso for each day from his earnings. "Nakita ko dun, 'Ah, masarap pala mag-work hard!'" Rey learned that when you work hard and you sacrifice, "there's always a reward."
Sure enough, pollution in the waterways brought disease that wiped out the prawns, threatening to put the Tanjangcos' investment to waste. But instead of giving up and letting their time and effort dry up into a failed project, Jet and Apolonio remained convinced that the business could still work. "They knew in their hearts that God allows things to happen for a reason... even when the reason may not be clear to us initially," says A.S. Jet converted the prawn farm into a bangus farm to take advantage of the area's most popular product: Bonuan bangus, known for its size and the density of its meat. Jet named the new company Anjo Farms, after their paternal grandparents Anita and Jose.
After Rey graduated from high school, his mother told him that they had no money to send him to college. However, she allowed him to cross the waters to Cebu to try his luck. Rey had an aunt there who had a store at Carbon Market, and he could work as a helper there and in the household.
In 1986, 16-year-old Rey packed his belongings and boarded the boat to Cebu City. He worked as a porter at Carbon Market during the day, and as a helper at his aunt's house at night. Later, asking his uncle for permission to study, he was allowed to take night classes, and was advised to take up accountancy, because "kahit punerarya, may accounting." Rey heeded his uncle's advice and enrolled at the University of Cebu.
To make everything fit into his schedule, Rey worked tirelessly every single day; it would be midnight when his head would hit the pillows, and he would still wake up at 3 am to work at the market. "Tatlong oras lang ang tulog ko, kaya inaantok ako sa klase," Rey recalls. Still, he took three subjects per semester and enrolled during summer term as well.
Aside from working for his aunt and uncle, he made bookmarks and traded stationery that he sold to classmates and teachers. He was also able to sell some to supermarkets like Gaisano. That was his first exposure to such enterprise.
On his senior year, he started another sideline—as radio reporter for a local station, DYLA. "I needed more money for school expenses, and had to earn extra." And when Rey finally graduated in October of 1990, none of his parents nor siblings were at the ceremony, as Rey did not want his parents to spend on traveling to Cebu and celebrating with a feast. Right after graduation, he went home and told his parents: "I graduated yesterday, dala ko pa ang toga ko para dito nalang tayo magpa-picture." Being practical would stick with him through his adult life.

UNSURE FUTURE
Before Rey graduated, fearing that he would not be able to find a job, he sent out 50 application letters to different companies. But after graduation, he was hired as a radio reporter. "Though the salary was small, I was okay with it because I came from having nothing." He lived on his own and got by for a while, even hosting Youth Forum, a weekly program.
When he was retrenched from the radio station in 1991, Rey reviewed the replies of ten companies out of the 50 applications he sent out. Since he wanted to go into sales, he took the job at a pharmaceutical company that assigned him to work in Metro Manila. He was eventually assigned to the Mindanao office, and then to the Visayas office. When, in March 1995, the company wanted to promote him to assistant sales manager, Rey decided it was time for him to resign. "'Naisip ko: 'di naman ako magiging may-ari nito."
What gave him confidence was his promising enterprise. One day in 1994, as he was on a jeepney from Talisay to Cebu City on his way to work, he observed children who were selling rags to drivers for P1 each. He thought of innovating: selling rags not to drivers but to a new market. He found out that exporters of wrought iron furniture used the same rags. Rather than buy from hardware stores, he wanted them to buy from him instead. He found out where the rags were being made (as part of a company's livelihood program) and convinced the person in charge to let him market the rags. "That was where my communication skills, honed from working on radio, came in," he says. Since he did not have any money to use as capital, he was able to get the rags with 15-days terms.
Rey did the math. The cooperative sold the rags at P15 per kilo. The exporters bought rags from hardware stores at 30 a kilo. He could sell them at 25 per kilo and make a P10 profit for each kilo. Now, one company would order up to 100 kilos a week, and through referrals, he supplied rags to more and more companies. "When I computed it, what I earned became even more than my salary!"
He did not stop there. He tried to find out from the purchasers what other needs they had. They looked to him to supply allied products like lacquer thinner. With this, he made P100 from each tin. An average of 20 tins per week resulted in P2,000 a week for him, on top of earnings from supplying rags.

BOLD STEPS
So it was that RNC Marketing was born, and the family went from a one-room affair where they would share floor space with rags and other products to an apartment at their present location in Tambunok, Talisay City, just a few minutes from Cebu City.
Rey continued to look for other business ventures. He thought about supplying to hotels. He tried to find out what it was that they needed. They told him they needed sugar, coffee, and creamer in sachets. Their supply from Manila was frequently delayed. From his savings, Rey found the supplier in Manila and became the distributor in Cebu. He would get the shipment from the pier and deliver them to the hotels. Tourism started to boom in Cebu, and hotels and resorts provided good business.
However, inevitably, shipments were delayed. This led Rey to ask: what machine did they use to make those sachets? He researched online and found just what he was looking for-on a website of a company based in Taiwan. After further research, he was referred to their distributor in Metro Manila. He made plans to make the trip when he was informed that the company was participating in a machinery exhibit in Ayala Center Cebu, saving him time and money.
When he saw the automated form-fill-and-seal machine in action, Rey was overjoyed. It was exactly what he was looking for. Until he saw the price tag: P300,000. He collected brochures, and decided to save—though it was still a big question mark how long he would have to work to save enough money. Months? Years, maybe? He approached banks, but they would not grant him a loan. "Kawawa talaga 'yung mga maliliit na negosyante," his eyes cloud over as he says this.
Around that time, his wife's parents sold some land in Cebu, and he asked if they could borrow the money, with interest. He issued them a postdated check and was able to contact the office in Manila to order a machine. The repacking machine has an output of 100 pieces a minute, or up to 96,000 per day. The sugar was not hard to find, as there are two azucareras in Cebu, and Negros is very near. Rey bought in bulk from wholesalers and dealers.

STILL INNOVATING
Now, Rey supplies sachets to most hotels in Cebu like the Hilton, Marriott, and Waterfront Hotels. The supply improved because they had a local source. RNC produces sachets per request, so companies need not worry about stocking and taking inventory. "There was a toll repacking pioneer in Cebu, but their cost was higher. Because of the competition, prices went down. That's the advantage of healthy competition."
When Rey set his sights on expanding in Manila, he chose to knock on the door of the Manila Hotel. "I sold the sachets to them at cost. My goal was to make them a model customer." Other companies followed. He now supplies sugar and cream sachets to branches of Starbucks, Bo's Coffee, and Figaro nationwide.
That was the guiding principle when he established Rhea Noemi Food Products (named after his only daughter) in 2001. RNFP employs about 50 people to manufacture vegetable-enriched pancit canton miki, and odong in a factory in Rey's hometown. "I wanted to help my relatives and neighbors. So that instead of going to the cities, they could work in their hometown." It is a study in fair trade practices: vegetables like squash are bought directly from farmers, eliminating middlemen; the fire used to cook the noodles is fed by rice husk, which would otherwise go to waste; and the packaging tie is made from locally grown abaca fiber instead of plastic twine.
His products, Rey says, are simply innovations. The vegetable-enriched noodles came from his desire to provide children a source of nutrients, and not just carbohydrates, when they pair their pancit with rice. Under Kapinoy is a 4-in-1 coffee sachet that makes a hot cup of mocha. The Sikwate is a 3-in-1 hot chocolate sachet, and Gatas is an easy way for older children to enjoy milk. There are also sachets of Ginger Tea and Corn Coffee to address the need for healthier drinks. "Products that are not focused on the environment and health will no longer survive. Consumers are wiser and well-informed," Rey says.
In 2005, Rey started My Partners Trading International, which is their marketing and distribution arm. Aside from RNC and RNFP products, My Partners distributes products like Cobra Energy Drink, Ligo Sardines, Absolut Bottled Water, Vulca Seal, Ho-Mi Noodles, and Renew Placenta Soap in Region 8 (Cebu, Leyte, Samar, and Bohol).
And Rey says that he's still got more up his sleeve. "My goal is to put up a new business every five years," he says. "There is a need to have many businesses and to diversify. You just have to follow the 'copy, develop, innovate' formula." Among his future ventures are a coffee shop and a resort in his hometown in Southern Leyte. Through a business loan from Plantersbank, their corporate office will soon rise in Tisa, Cebu City.

TELECOMMUTING & TIME MANAGEMENT
"You cannot manage everything by yourself. You cannot serve two or three masters," he admits, so he takes the reins at the mother company, RNC, but lets other professionals manage the other two corporations. "I strive to strike a balance between family, business, personal, and organization."
He is able to manage thanks in no small measure to telecommunication. E-mails and calls and texts through his cellphone make tasks easier. "Usually, we just call or text. When we need to send bigger files, we use e-mail." When there are inquiries on their company profile, he directs clients and potential partners to their website. "Technology is very helpful to business," he says. "You must be updated on technology. Everything related to business is available online." Now, with almost 100 employees in total and products available all over VisMin and in Makro outlets, Rey is not resting on his laurels—which are many: Go Negosyo Most Inspiring Cebuano Microentrepreneur, National Product Quality Excellence Award Seal of Product Quality for Best Sikwate 3-in-1 Chocolate Drink - Mama Lilia's Brand (VisMin), Philippine Marketing Excellence Awards, Most Outstanding 4-in-1 Energy Coffee Kapinoy, to name a few. He is even featured in the Go Negosyo book Tagumpay Mula Sa Kahirapan.

GIVING BACK
Looking back, Rey says that his investment consisted of time, knowledge, imagination, and effort. "All these resulted in profit."
And he is generous in making sure to give something back. Rey's companies have given assistance to landslide victims in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte, and established a feeding and a scholarship program in his hometown. In Cebu, he spearheaded the establishment of the Filipino Cebuano Business Club, Inc. Rey encourages his fellow entrepreneurs, "kahit maliit tayo, may pag-asa pa rin to level the playing field. Businesses now are merging, partnering. Why not organize so that we can have a bigger voice, and people will listen?"
According to Rey, it is not a time for competition, but "coopetition" on the part of MSMEs. "MSMEs are sustaining the big players in the industry. That is why our advocacy is promoting entrepreneurship in the countryside." That is why he gamely addresses groups with the message: the way to rise from poverty is to go into entrepreneurship. "We need entrepreneurialism—to revolutionize [our society]." Rey points out that SMEs provide 70% of total labor force in the country, because their businesses are labor-intensive, unlike mechanized, automated, computerized nature of big business. "The heart of the business and the center of the economy are MSMEs."

BANDING TOGETHER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Rey E. Calooy is the chairman of the Filipino Cebuano Business Club, Inc., a three year-old organization that is more than 5,000 members strong, composed of MSMEs. "We banded together so that we can have a stronger voice, and more people will listen," Rey says.

Among their projects for members are:
1. A website with a listing and company profile of members, along with contact information. According to Rey: "Kawawa talaga ang mga maliliit, they cannot afford their own website or don't know the advantages of having a website. This is the information age, so people should know about their products and services." Exposure through the website is gained by paying just P200 a year.

2. A business incubation center where startup businesses can consult experienced mentors, such as Rey, on the ins and outs of business; e.g. how to make financial statements, where to get loans. "Students" sharerent of the 40-sqm office space. In addition, Cebu Mayor Tomas Osmeña pledged 2,000 sqm prime lot at the developing South Road Properties to establish an MSME Incubation Center. It will be a building fully equipped with facilities provided by the government, where entrepreneurs can engage in business and learn hands-on, paying minimal rent. Rey says "it is very promising for the small entrepreneurs to have a chance to stand among the big ones."

3. An MSME call center through which members can route inquiries about their businesses. The center has three secretaries who answer calls and forward concerns to the business owners. This way, the owner can attend to more important business related to his or her growing company.

Filipino Cebuano Business Club, Inc. 2nd Floor Grand Orchard Building, C. Padilla St., Mambaling, Cebu City. http://• lcebubusiness.org

CONTACT DETAILS:

RNC MARKETING PHILIPPINES

Unit 1, DESPI Building, Lagtang Road, Talisay City, Cebu
info@rncmarketing.com.ph; rncmarketing@gmail.com; sales@rncmarketing.com.ph
www.rncmarketing.com.ph
0917.3284017
(032) 491.7959

ONLINE REVOLUTION

Rey Calooy recognizes the power of the Internet in giving startups a boost. With GLOBE BIZ ONLINE, you can easily give your company that much-needed Web presence. This suite of services enables SMEs to build a professional and credible image as businesses.

• Professionalize your business
• Reach a wider customer base through your website
• Build brand awareness

For more information, please call 730-1288, or email
customersupport@globebusiness.com.ph, or visit http://globe.com.ph/business .

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Rey Calooy: Cebu's 'iron' entrepreneur

Rey Calooy: Cebu's 'iron' entrepreneur
(The Philippine Star) Updated October 25, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (0)

Rey Calooy and his wife Necitas in their repacking plant in Cebu

| Zoom

MANILA, Philippines - Rey Calooy, founder and president of RNC Marketing, is popularly known in the south as the “Iron Man of Cebu.” Such a moniker may be rightfully attributed to the man who managed to get out of the shackles of poverty.

“For an entrepreneur to succeed, one must have perseverance, diligence, intelligence, and the ability to rise up to the challenge at any given time,” Calooy says.

Calooy firmly believes that a positive attitude and financial discipline are two of the most important aspects of the equation. “It takes 99 percent of failure to attain one percent of success,” he adds.

Calooy didn’t have much financial muscle when he started his manufacturing business.

“With a meager amount, a lot of effort, time, and a little imagination, I managed to make the business grow,” he enthuses.

Calooy now oversees a trading firm and a company that manufactures instant hot chocolate drink, ginger tea, and noodles. He also manages a repacking business.

From rags to riches

When he was still a student at the University of Cebu, Calooy was a regular fixture in the office of university president Augusto Go especially during examination week.

“I would go to his office to personally ask him to let me take the exam even without permit. My parents just couldn’t pay my tuition on time. Mr. Go motivated me to go on despite the odds,” Calooy recalls.

After graduation, he worked as a news reporter at the local radio station dYla. But a year later, Calooy got laid off from work.

“Life was tough. But that incident didn’t dampen my spirit. I mailed application letters to more than 50 companies,” he notes.

A Manila-based pharmaceutical firm was impressed by Calooy’s credentials. At 24, Calooy became its youngest sales manager. But Caloy wasn’t satisfied with his career so he resigned.

Using the P20,000 cash bond from the company, Calooy started selling dust rags in 1994. Realizing that there underserved market for the product, Calooy approached the manufacturer of the dust rags, bought all his stock for P15 a kilo, and sold them for P25 a kilo. He was surprised that he actually earned more from selling rags than when he was still working for the pharmaceutical firm.

Calooy is grateful for the support he got from Plantersbank, especially at that time when he was just a fledgling entrepreneur.

“During those times when I needed to buy new equipment, only Plantersbank had given me a higher credit line. It was more than enough to augment my resources and to improve my company’s productivity,” he says.