Battery biz powers up an architect's coffers

Powering up gadgets is not anymore a problem. "All Batteries" battery shop provides all sorts of batteries for any gadget. "People say it is a unique business" said the 32-year-old Francis Manglapus, All Batteries shop proprietor.

Francis finished architecture but he decided to put up a business of his own.

Being entrepreneurial runs in the family as all of Francis' kin are into business.

"My parents have a business in hardware as well as my brothers, so I decided to venture on batteries to be a little bit different from them" he shared.

"It was quite difficult for me to handle this business at first because unlike my brothers, I am not a business graduate" he confessed. Later on, learning from his own experiences and a little guidance from his brothers, Francis soon grasp the ropes of the trade.

The youngest in a brood belonging to a Filipino-Chinese lineage, Francis' interest in business is greatly influenced by his family.

"We have been trained in business since we were young. We were asked to help in the business before, so I learned how business goes about" he said. After graduating college, his parents financed his own business on batteries.

Francis' uncle is a nationwide battery supplier. Seven years ago, they agreed on a joint venture on this battery business.

"All Batteries came about just three years ago, before All Batteries, we were just supplying of automotive batteries, now we have almost all sorts" he said.

All Batteries supplies car batteries, cellphone batteries, camera batteries, motorcycle and big bikes batteries, remote control batteries and even air soft batteries. The batteries he sells are imported from Indonesia and other countries outside the Philippines. All Batteries is located at Banilad Trade Center, Banilad and Subangdaku, Mandaue City.

Just like any other entrepreneur, Francis meets certain obstacles too. " It is very difficult to look for good suppliers because we need to establish relationships first before venturing" he said.

"Another problem is on coping up with the progress of technology. There are a lot of gadgets now with different kinds of batteries like the cellphones and the digital cameras" he shared.

"Customers who lack knowledge in automotive also give us a little problem but we educate them and explain to them how the battery works" he said.

Equipped with his knowledge based on his early training and experiences, he faces these problems to keep his business profitable.

"I'm planning to make All Batteries a one-stop battery shop. In this way, I can help people by making it easier for them to find the specific batteries needed for their gadgets" he said.