Strengthening family bonds — one building at a time
When you ask Enrique Moran, president and CEO of F.P. Morgen Construkt Corp. (FPMCC), president and COO of Eastville Realty Corporation, Moran Architects + Partners, and Manila Inasal Philippines how he started, he replies, “I believe it starts with “why”? For me, it’s love, purpose, and passion. Love for family and a higher purpose in life — to serve and make lives of others a little better — that is how I started.”
At 35, Moran is a young man with a mission/vision focused on making a difference in this world — one construction at a time. But, embedded in making a change in his world is bringing with him his family, as they are the pillars of his life that he leans on.
Every day he is finding out it is no easy task, as every building is a process of putting together lives — not just structured lives — but also lives that build with him as he takes every breath — his own and those he calls family.
Looking back
It was in 1996 that Enrique’s father, architect Peter Moran, had a vision to create home and business development companies that would make the lives of others easier. Together with his wife, Fe, architect Peter tirelessly worked to turn this dream into a reality.
Through the passion of Peter and Fe, the husband-and-wife team built a reputation for themselves in the building and design industry by rising to the challenges of this constantly evolving trade, and delivering satisfaction to their long list of clients in Metro Manila and other parts of the Philippines through their companies Moran Architects + Partners, an architectural and engineering design studio, and Eastville Realty Corporation, a boutique developer that focuses on residential projects.
In 2017, FP Morgen Construkt Corporation (FPMCC) was established. FPMCC specializes in Construction Project Management (CPM) service — a comprehensive practice with the intention of fully satisfying clients’ interests in terms of the project’s functionality, timeline, and budget. The company is committed to highlighting the significance of construction managers in the Philippines, aiming to enhance lives today for a better tomorrow.
A family that builds together
During the initial years of the FPMCC, Enrique was employed with Phinma Properties, where he spent 13 years honing his skills in the realty development and construction business.
But as fate would have it, he found his calling, and after much deliberation, he left Phinma and joined the budding business of his family. And although these were the pandemic years, Moran kept his focus on a calling he felt deep within.
Today, as businesses are picking up, Enrique shares five cornerstones of his family business that keep him focused and grounded every day.
1) God’s grace and mercy are the keys to starting a business. It is his daily conversations with God that have helped him and continue to help him bring endless opportunities to his business amid the challenges his companies face.
2) Business is about addressing a specific need or a gap in a market but beyond that, it’s about providing jobs and opportunities to all the stakeholders related to it. There must be a bigger purpose as to why you start a business, and for Enrique, it’s making the lives of others a little better every day.
3) Make a firm decision to start your own business. Enrique says, “After being part of what is out there — I was in corporate for 13 years before I moved into working with family fulltime — it took me about five to six years to finally take that leap of faith and say it’s time.”
He adds, “The journey in making that decision wasn’t easy. But it was a journey I knew I had to go through to ensure that it was really the best decision for my family and I at that specific point in time. It was literally a constant struggle with God, until circumstances and opportunities came up and I made the firm decision to take that leap of faith.”
4) Be patient. Work your way up and earn your spot; your time will come. Roles in the family business should be based on merit, expertise, and strengths. Don’t just assign anyone to a certain role just because there’s no one else to take it.
There are continuing discussions with parents and siblings identifying the best roles for each person or which type of person should be invested in to push certain things forward.
Enrique shares that since he was in realty development prior to joining the family business, he was assigned to help form the foundations of the company — to lead.
5) Invest in people. “With FPMCC and the other companies under the group, including Eastville Realty Corporation, Moran Architects + Partners, and Manila Inasal Philippines, I always believe that the Lord will not put forth things that we, as a company, can’t handle,” Enrique says. “But that said, it’s humanly impossible to start several businesses alone, take over some (with challenges), and try to grow the others.
“Investing in people is key to be able to run operations the way it should be.”
“Keep advisors: it’s always good to have advisors with different backgrounds or expertise. That way it keeps me open to the world out there and helps me in the decisions that need to be made to ensure a stable and long-lasting organization.”
Building blocks
Enrique says failure is bound to happen at some point. “It builds character; it enables one to learn. I have gone through a lot of learning experiences. I am going through a lot of challenges and hardships as a new business owner, but I do not allow that to define who I am, but rather challenge myself to go beyond that and push myself to succeed and be a better person. It’s always an opportunity to learn and be better.”
He has been smiling these days, as the pandemic years are behind them and the businesses are growing. He knows because there is a need to set up systems that their once mom-and-pop operation used.
He copes by taking daily walks with God: “Don’t just ask God to take away the pain, but rather pray for endurance in order to get by every day and achieve your dreams.” My challenge is to bring the business from below ground to ground level and one day beyond. The clients I have worked with the past year have been very instrumental in my pursuit of making things better. It wasn’t perfect at all; it was like a baptism by fire, but these clients pushed me to my limits, challenged my thinking, and one of them who probably is one of the toughest but best clients told me, ‘Just put your heart into it.’”
With a planned townhouse development in Metro Manila for Eastville Realty Corp., several new residential design projects for Moran Architects + Partners, and building up F.P. Morgen Construkt’s Construction Management services, Enrique’s plate is full.
“I have learned to focus and prioritize through my entrepreneurial journey,” he says. “At the same time, I listen to people I value and align with the most: my previous boss, who continues to mentor me, and one of my clients, who takes the time to teach me (even when I make mistakes) through the work that we do together. With all these I am working with my family to make our services, products, and company better each day.”
