Photography has always been a hobby of mine. In college, during weekends, I would take pictures of my friends and they would pay me for enlargements or recopies.
Soon after that, I advertised in the neighborhood newsletter, and people started hiring me to take photographs of themselves, their homes, their pets. I once traveled to a farm in Batangas to photograph a client’s horse!
In 1983 I left the company I was working for to put up my own. Ninoy Aquino had just been assassinated–the political situation then was bad for business–but I felt that I could no longer work for someone else.
Great Image offered only photo-video coverage of weddings in the beginning–the first branch was in SM Cubao–but business was surprisingly good on the first day because we’d advertised in a newspaper and offered lower prices to get customers. Later, I came up with a gimmick: I threw in a bridal car for free, and sometimes drove it myself so we could accommodate more clients. I followed the Japanese style of management–management by consensus–and I still do.
I often consult my managers and my staff first before implementing a decision, although there have been times when I just followed my gut feel–like that gimmick with the bridal car.
We now have 30 branches all over Luzon. I think it helps that we have a good record with the big malls like Robinsons and SM: Each time they put up a new mall, they invite us as a tenant, and that boosts our credibility with customers. We also have stand-alone shops at the University Belt in Mendiola and Morayta in Manila, and we plan to put up another mini-studio specializing in ID pictures near recruitment offices, where a lot of people apply to work overseas.
But business is increasingly becoming difficult. The cost of materials is going up daily. When I started the business, the peso’s exchange rate against the dollar was only 21, but now it’s more than twice that. As a result, I always thank God we have survived for more than 20 years, and I consider myself lucky with my employees. I’ve heard that the right employees are a company’s best assets, and I would have to agree.
I have about 120 people under me and many of them have been with me from the start–some starting as messengers and eventually becoming managers. I guess we have survived because we have passion. A company won’t survive for long unless its people have passion: passion for work and passion for giving customers the best possible service and the best quality at the best possible price. Passion is the great difference. It’s what transforms an ordinary company into a great one. –Interview by Jaclyn Lutanco-Chua
Telephones: (02) 635-2438; (02) 633-1699
Fax: (02) 683-0870 local 102
E-mail: rpalomo@yahoo.com