From scratch to a franchising option

When the Asian financial crisis struck in 1997, Bernard M. Cariño, who was then one of the highest paid employees of Electro Systems – the audio contractor of major events in the country – had to sacrifice his post to ensure that his three other staff could retain their jobs. When he resigned, he did not have anything to start his business with.

His boss, Wilson So, liked him so much that he asked Cariño what he needed to start his own business.

Cariño then asked to retain his company car, some technical equipment and a few clients to begin with. These were all given to him on a pay- as- you- can basis.

Cariño put up his own company, BMC Sound & Video Corp., which after seven years launched its franchising program last August, the first company to ever franchise such kind of service.

Cariño’s first showroom was the living room of his friend, who he later asked to become his partner. Cariño also used his friend’s land line and mobile phones as contact numbers. His first client was Music Box and Dance Café, then schools like Centro Escolar and Ateneo de Manila hired him as their audio visual contractor.

But his biggest break came from the Iglesia Ni Cristo, which appointed him as the external engineer and installer of audio visual and sound systems in all of its 400 churches in the country.

"In less than a year I was able to recover not just my P250 initial capital (invested in his calling cards) and paid a portion of what I owed to my boss," Cariño said.

"My first lessons from this experience is that trust has to be earned the hard way. Nobody will trust in you at once. Also, it pays to always work in front of the table. Make sure you are always on your toes, attending to inquiries from clients and checking on details from your staff," Cariño said.

When BMC started in 1997, there was just Carino and his partner. By end of 1998, there were already 15 people in the 25 square meter office in Anonas, Project 3, Quezon City.

A potential franchisee must have an available 25 sq.m. office/showroom located in a very visible area so people can inquire about the products and services offered.

BMC’s first showroom in fact contains only a sampling of 40 brands. "We can not have all of them inside because that would require a lot of space," Cariño said.

Cariño’s inventory did not come easy. "First, the suppliers required me to pay everything in cash. Then when they started trusting me, they required only downpayment; then this became payment terms of 15 days evolving into 60 days with credit limits of initially P100,000 growing to P500,000 and now P1 million," Cariño said.

Cariño started his franchising program early August and hopes to award the first franchise this month.

Franchising the business means increasing its visibility in more areas by setting up showrooms where people can also place their orders. "The more visible we are the more clients we will get," he said adding that not too many people would like the idea of going all the way to Anonas everytime.

The franchise package is P495,000 (inclusive of P75,000 franchise fee). The criteria for being a franchisee are: "He must be technically prepared for the business; he must have a willingness to learn different ways to become successful in business and he must be willing to grow the business with us."

Carino’s steady clients are: the Iglesia ni Cristo, CEU, Ateneo and the UP Theater. He is also the external engineer of Discovery Suites Hotel.

According to Cariño, an audio visual and sound systems company derives its growth largely from the rehabilitation of all audio and video systems in chapels/ churches; auditoriums of schools and universities; the psychology and chemistry labs of schools and practically every event that would need audio and video equipment (either on rental basis or installation/rehabilitation).

"There is a big demand for this kind of business. There are so many churches/ schools which do not know such kind of service exists. And all these services can actually be franchised out," Cariño concluded.

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BMC Sound & Video Corp
Unit 1-1 Anonas, Proj. 3, QC
Phone : 9129687/9122927