MANILA, Philippines - No one needs to tell us how the economy is doing. We all know how it’s doing. But Filipinos are not giving up. Small businesses keep sprouting up like mushrooms. Most are adapting on the fly with their creativity and positive attitude. And many are achieving success.
One such Filipino, is Geraldine T. Laudencia — owner of Get Laud who, like many others, started her business with a small cart inside a mall. Now, her thriving fashion retail business is becoming a household name among women.
“I realized early on after graduating I wasn’t cut out to be an employee. So I dabbled in a lot of things — playstation rentals, organizing bazaars, even insurance sales. Then the idea of creating my own line of clothes hit me because, at the time, women wore mostly t-shirts. Unisex t-shirts that are outright unflattering. I wanted something better. I wanted something that would look sexy, feminine, and body hugging. That want gave birth to the Get Laud baby tees idea. After that eureka moment, I just went for it and gave it all I’ve got,” Geraldine on ‘Gigi’ to her friends and associates.
“I’m pretty goal oriented and look more at the end result. I do admit that I could be OC (obsessive compulsive) every now and then, needing to make sure that everything is on the right track,” she adds.
With her normal hectic schedule, Gigi believes that spending quality time with her family could be the the best reward she could get at the end of the day.
“I don’t have a lot of free time, so I savor it when I do. I usually prefer to stay home with my two kids. I also love reading inspirational and self-help books. In addition to that, I have a long time hobby... I love reading manga (Japanese comics). I feel happy and refreshed when I get to do things I like and be with my loved ones. It gives me the strength and drive to work the day after,” he says.
Asked to describe her management style, Gigi says she did all the tasks herself at the beginning but when the business began to grow, she decided to pass some of the loads to some of her family members.
Her husband, Darren, handles mostly site development and general maintenance. Sisters Jenny and Mimi, on the other hand, does operations and marketing, and takes care of outlet stores (wholesale and Get Laud Plus) operations, respectively.
“When I started five years ago, I made all the decisions myself. I handled all departments, talked to everybody, did a lot of tasks myself. But as the business grew, I realized that I can’t do everything myself. Fortunately, my two sisters and my husband’s siblings decided to join Get Laud. Today, I have a team to whom I delegate specific jobs and let them manage their own departments,” she says.
But Gigi, a graduate of B.S. Math at the Dela Salle University, says she still sees to it that she makes all the major business actions.
“I regularly meet them for updates and major decisions,” the 37-year-old business enthusiast says.
As she is basically goal-driven and much of her time is spent to making her first business venture a success, Gigi envisions Get Laud to become one of the well-known and affordable fashion wears in the country.
“In terms of our plans for Get Laud, we still have a long way to go. We’re still on expansion mode,” she notes.
She says expanding Get Laud’s chain of stores is part of her short-term plans.
Gigi believes that Get Laud will continue to live up to the expectation of its customers as long as it adheres to its mission which is “to create a decent and stylish Philippine-made fashion wear that depicts Filipino craftsmanship and design, available and affordable to women of all ages with different lifestyles.”
“Just for the value that women get from Get Laud, I think 2009 will be a banner year for us,” she concludes.