'In business, one can survive anything'
She knows how to promote herself and is ambitious. Her first venture as a marketing consultant led her to present a paper in Singapore where she coined the phrase “internal branding.” Charmaine guided her clients on how to be consistent with their products and the way they are presented.
“When you talk to your clients and you say your conditioner will make their hair shine, you probably should also have shiny hair, “ she explains. It’s all about understanding the needs and wants of your client.
Charmaine Cruz’s firm evolved and is now known as Provocateur Worldwide, an import company supplying hotels their toiletry needs. With over 40 products that Provocateur delivers to institutional clients, Charmaine smiles as she describes herself as one of the more aggressive suppliers of the needs of hotels and hospitals. Shampoos, lotions, bathroom tissues, disposable paper products, ketchup, salt and sugar are some of the goods that she trades with the help of her 15 employees. Our bachelor ponders over her disaster with Typhoon Ondoy and her lovely red Chanel lips:
One of my goals this year is to train my people to be more independent so that they can do things by themselves and I won’t have to intervene with everything that goes on. It helps me to grow and have a different perspective when I don’t micromanage.
The last meal that truly impressed me was the lobster I had at Legal Seafood in downtown Boston City. It was so huge, maybe a bit more than a foot long. So meaty and tasty. I can’t believe I ate the whole thing. It’s hard to admit but I think I finished it.
The last CD I bought was the CD of American Idol finalist Adam Lambert. It’s punk rock. Funky. I bought it when Kris Allen was here before I had dental surgery. I had to have work done on my wisdom teeth and needed music to keep me going.
A recent “find” is my Sun wireless broadband flash drive. A friend of mine told me that the Sun is effective and I have been using it for a week. In terms of downloading e-mail and using the Internet in my car, sometimes it works.
The last thing I bought and loved was a Sonya Rykiel wallet that I got before Chinese New Year. They say that you should change your wallet regularly to keep the chi flowing, because if you don’t change your wallet there is no more chi.
For grooming and style, I rely on Vogue UK.
A memorable place I have traveled to in the past year was Boston for the experience, education and people I met. I took a course at the Harvard Business School designed for entrepreneurs to acquire skills and vision to make a profit. In fact, this Owner/President Management (OPM) program was mostly about making new friends. They taught me the importance of networking and my classmates came from all over the world.
The site that inspires me is You Tube. I play songs when I work. Makes it easier to work when there is music.
The best gift I have given recently is the new anti-aging serum of Dior to my mom. She likes it. Turns out that I like it, too. Just apply once or twice a day and every morning she asks me, “Do I look younger now ?”
And the best one I’ve received recently are the travel subsidies and freebies from clients abroad. I enjoyed my free hotel stay in January and have another one coming up in the spring.
In my fridge you’ll always find strawberry yogurt.
A while ago I was browsing THG, a sports management company, which holds hospitality events like tennis tournaments. The group is one of the Marcus Evans events company that I worked with before as one of their speakers.
My style icon is Queen Rania of Jordan. Apart from getting her clothes and what she wears all coordinated, she expresses herself by reaching out to the world. She has this cause, 1 Goal, which aims to provide greater education for the poor. Queen Rania is also active in the World Economic Forum. Style is not just wearing brands, it’s about developing your personal brand and using it to help others. That is how I define style.
If I wasn’t doing what I do, I would probably be an actress. When I was younger, I wanted to be a teleserye drama actress but my dad did not want me to pursue it so he told me to keep on studying, which is probably why I keep studying until now.
The grooming basic I am never without is my red Chanel lipstick.
If a failure of elections is called, my reaction would depend on who wins. If the candidate I support wins, then I would say there was no failure of elections and everything went well.
When my friends talk about politics, I gauge my replies. If I feel that she wants to argue, I just give my piece and then shut up. For those who are passive, I like to exchange ideas.
In school, I learned about life. My philosophy classes taught me how to question things in life. Rene Descartes’ “I think therefore I am” showed me that the more you think about things and about life, the more you become a human being. Thinking helps you to analyze, question things, look at your experiences and in so doing, you join the process where you become the person you are meant to be.
The thing I’m eyeing to buy next is a hair straightener like Conair, which they say does not dry your hair. I hope it works.
What helped me to conquer fear were my adventures as a college student in Ateneo. Prof. Tony Perez assigned me and my classmates to talk to spirits and delve into the psychic world. We walked in cemeteries at 4 a.m. and felt strange things. After the class, we continued for another year and at the end of it, I learned to be fearless. Learning how to conquer my fear of the unknown has helped me to succeed in my business.
A recent setback I had was when typhoon Ondoy affected our central warehouse and wiped out millions worth of my inventory. I took it in stride and just kept on going. It may sound like a cliché but there are always opportunities in crisis. I found it not only critical but crucial to restructure and reorganize my operations post-Ondoy, which I wouldn’t have done if the typhoon did not take place. One can survive anything as long as you put your heart and mind to it. After that, pat your back, get a massage and get on with your life.
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E-mail aurorawilson@gmail.com.
