Entrepreneur: There’s no foolproof biz plan

CEBU, Philippines - There is no foolproof plan for any business, so always be ready for any hardship, shortfalls and errors in managing an enterprise, a Cebuano entrepreneur advised.

Ariel Paculto, the proprietor of Cebu-based Ayer’s Lechon, said the Murphy’s Law that says “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong” can well be related to the reality of a business.

He noted that entrepreneurs must accept the fact that problems are inevitable in running a business and that negative factors are definitely out there to drive it down.

However, setbacks must be taken easily and solved immediately, advised Paculto, who used to work for the government as Visayas director of the Philippine Anti-Smuggling Group.

Having a degree in a business-related course is not always a given that one will succeed as an entrepreneur. A lot of guts and having a desired vision and mission are what it takes after all, the businessman emphasized.

“It’s going to be easy if you know how to equate your skills into business management skills,” Paculto told The FREEMAN in an interview, adding that the things he learned from his post in the Philippine National Police have made him a better enterprise manager.

“Yan lang yun ang business eh, ang natutunan ko sa academy I also apply sa business,” he added. “Sa experience ko kasi sa PNP, sanay akong mag-handle ng maraming tao.”

This is precisely one reason, he continued, that has helped him grow his business and employ people.

His lechon company started small in 2010 with a capital of P30,000 and with no store yet at that time, he shared, stressing that his motivation to overcome the odds to create and run a successful enterprise was what led it to where it is now.

During that time, he knew already that the lechon making industry in Cebu was already very competitive and booming, considering the idea that the province has been known to be the Philippines’ best lechon producer.

But he believed there are factors that could make a food company stand out and survive the competition, and these include the good kind of service that customers normally want and the pricing that would suit the target market’s purchasing power.

It’s also imperative to keep updated on industry trends in the community and the situation in the market.

The lechon owner also urged aspiring entrepreneurs to always hold on to the belief that they would “become successful” just with the “right vision” in mind.

‘Keep expanding’

The world of business has endless opportunities to grow and become even more known to the market. And for Paculto, expanding the business to other potential and lucrative markets is one of the tactics to grow as an entrepreneur.

He shared he is keen on the idea of building stores in the country’s capital and trying to invest into business franchising but admitted though it may take a serious research and planning process.

“Sa franchising kasi, you have to make a win-win situation between the franchisor and franchisee,” he noted. “Hindi ako magpa-franchise sa isang applicant kung sa tingin ko hindi siya kikita. Kailangan ma-achieve muna yung win-win situation.”

At present, he has a total of eight lechon stores in Cebu. The eighth outlet recently opened at Elizabeth Mall.

When asked for other business advice, Paculto has this to say: “Don’t spend more than what you earn.” One of the key reasons a company may go down is the tendency of the owner to have no control of his spending.

He further added that people should rather save the money and invest on other ventures.

Moreover, he mentioned that both serving the government before and handling a business have given him satisfaction and career happiness.

But Paculto took the challenge to reignite his career from being a public servant to becoming a self-made entrepreneur without failing to face the dilemma of the Murphy’s Law.