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Cited by AFFI. Day 2, Academically, Rommel was not prepared for business. He graduated with a marketing/ advertising degree, hoping to pursue his creative knack in the advertising field. Being from a family of business owners, he initially tried his hand at doing ads for their company, learning all he could about its marketing direction. Through this exposure, he realized that it was good to have your own company and make the decisions for it.
Further employment at the Toyota Motor Philippines plant and Honda Makati dealership, while educational, sealed his decision to be his own boss.
I took a job at TMP marketing department. Thing is, I was placed in the parts depart division. I wasn't exactly happy there. Still, I was thankful for experiencing the discipline of working for a Japanese firm where they really pu value in work ethics - being on time, meeting your targets, etc. After Toyota, I worked in sales at Honda, then eventually decided to join our own company, MD Juan.
Since Rommel is a third-generation business owner, his entry into the family business was about learning the ropes from his father and aunt - observing more than actually doing. As such, Rommel had a lot of spare time that he wanted to put to good use. It was then that he and brother Raffy laid the groundwork for Binalot.
At the start, Rommel saw Binalot as a project, something fun to do. It was in his personality to inject fun in things he does, including business. He was attached to the novelty of the idea and used his knack for making things fun to come up with the company's image - from its menu, to its mascot, and brand. He was able to use his creativity while building the Binalot concept.
I used to think if the company grew, then, fine, thanks, I'll enjoy the money. But that wasn't my drive. My drive was basically to have a running business. I wanted to enjoy it.
Rommel's passion for the new business made the days fly by quickly. The company gained ground and Rommel faced the challenges of entrepreneurship. He learned how difficult it was to handle people and realized that not everything was fun, even in a business you were passionate about.
One time, when I was in my early twenties, I had to fire someone. I had to tell him that he no longer had a job. It was very difficult, but I learned from it.
After that baptism of fire, Rommel soon encountered one challenge after another in the growing business. He did not let his inexperience get the better of Binalot, although he admitted that there were times he thought the business would actually fold up.
I admit that there were difficult times. Like after the 1997 economic crash, delivery service was in near slump. Unfortunately, the delivery service was the initial business model for Binalot. We didn't know how to react. Using a loan from Dad, I bought a lot of motorcyle units then hired riders. I was surprised to find out later on that our outlet in Jupiter Street had eighteen employees already! That time, I was clueless about income statements. My idea about operations was simple: if there's something lacking, stock up; if there's a problem, fix it. It was simply firefighting. Thus, the delivery operation didn't grow.
To be continued...
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