An Afternoon with the Business Icons

June is Cebu Business Month. With the theme “Get Inspired!”, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) has lined up various events to develop and promote Cebu’s businesses particularly in Tourism, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and Entrepreneurship.

I was able to attend one of the events for the Entrepreneurship track of the Cebu Business Month called “Meet the Business Icons”. This was held at the Marco Polo Lobby Lounge last Thursday, July 18 from 2 pm to 6 pm. For a minimal fee, with snacks already included, I had the opportunity to be sitting with other individuals, from students to other businessmen, as three prominent business icons shared their experiences and wisdom in business.

The icons who graced us with their presence were George Yang of Golden Arches Development Corporation (master franchise owner of McDonald’s Philippines), Justin Uy of Profood International Corporation (largest producer of dried mangos in the Philippines) and Dr. Alfonso Uy of La Filipina Uy Gonco Corporation (with businesses from agro-industrial to real estate).

With the masterful Bunny Pages facilitating the discussion, each business icon responded to different questions thrown by the audience. They were able to tackle topics ranging from the tame – typical day for a business icon – to the challenging – how they cope with the current finanical crisis.

Although I thought that most of what they shared were very generic, things that can be gleaned from any entrepreneurship textbook, these were still words of gold coming out of from the mouths of these very successful businessmen.

Out of the three icons, I grew to admire Justin Uy of Profood International after hearing his story. A true blue Cebuano, he was able to overcome his financial background and a very difficult start to his business and grow it to the size and profitability it is today. Every aspiring entrepreneur, Cebu based or not, should make him one of their role models.

Unfortunately, there were two downsides to this event. First, the venue was not enclosed. Noise from other parts of the hotel especially from the participants of another event in a separate function room was very distracting. Second, the event started late (around 2:30 pm) and ended early (4:30 pm). Event organizers should strictly follow the time stated in the brochure and the invites. I felt that ending the session early (plus its late start) shortchanged the participants who came and paid to be there.

As a plus, Marco Polo as usual, served excellent dishes for snacks. Listening to the icons while having a hearty snack of various pastries and cocktails was very pleasant.

So what did I take home from this session? Two things: persistence and diligence. George Yang, Justin Uy, and Alfonso Uy were unanimous on these qualities of a successful entrepreneur. And as George Yang added, a little luck also helps.

Kudos to the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) for holding this event. I’m sure every participant came out of this truly inspired.

The Cebu Business Month events continue until the end of the month. You can visit the CCCI website at http://cebubusinesswebportal.com for the list and schedule of events or you can call them at 2321421 to 24.