MANILA, Philippines - Getting a business off the ground is never an easy task, even for veteran entrepreneurs. For Franklin Cas and his wife Emmie, this rings true, looking back at when they started their fledgling egg, fish, and cold cut trading business in Laguna in 1983.
Franklin, a professional aquaculture technology trainer, Food and Agriculture officer of the United Nations and self-trained businessman, admitted to experiencing downfalls at some points in their business operations. But these incidents he positively regards as learning curves. “Difficulties are but part of any business; what is important is to learn from them and move on,” Franklin stressed. “With our combined talents and hard-earned savings as joint capital, we took pains to learn everything with accuracy, even from scratch. Our joint perseverance is what really kept our business going through it all.”
Soon enough, this shared passion gave birth to their dealership operations of four Caltex retail stations.
As each business undertaking came one after the other, Franklin’s 7-Eleven convenience store franchise opportunity, meanwhile, came in 2009 when he was offered by Chevron to manage his own outlet. “One of the first 25 outlets that sprang from the 7-Eleven and Chevron partnership in 2009 is my gasoline station located along Malugay Street and Buendia Avenue in Makati City.
“When they offered me the chance to manage a 7-Eleven franchise, I knew I had to grab it. It is a privilege and great honor for me to be given that level of trust and confidence and I knew right then and there that I could do it.”
From then on, Franklin and Emmie were partners in ensuring the smooth operations of their franchise store. “Early mornings are allotted for my important e-mails to Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) and phone-in orders to suppliers and staff, and the rest of the day we go about our visits and managerial duties in the store.
“The first months of operations are a normal adjustment period for any business manager. But as you know, 7-Eleven’s training and proven CDI and POS systems support has greatly armed me with the necessary tools to make this adjustment relatively easy,” Franklin mused.
PSC also accords site acquisition, store construction, operations field consultants and area managers, marketing programs, bookkeeping and logistics to its franchisees.
“I follow a very simple philosophy, and that is success should be a product that results from a strong commitment to deliver only the best results.” With his reputation earned from years of hard work, Franklin, now 53, still inspires colleagues and employees with his infectious, go-getter energy — he continues to dream of even grander financial ventures; one in particular the acquisition of another 7-Eleven franchise outlet.
“In less than two years, our Makati branch is regarded as the model outlet, in terms of Challenge of Excellence, achieving an A rating of 89.5 percent based on its compliance with regard to key performance standards and procedures. It has also been thriving consistently well ahead of competitors in the area. Following this success, I am now gearing up for my second franchise store in Biñan, also within the year,” he proudly announced.
“Our 7-Eleven stores provided additional financial stability for my family, as well as for my staff, who benefit directly through employment and thus earn livelihood support for their families. Even when we retire I am quite secure about our future,” Franklin shared.
Franklin and Emmie now proudly see their business ventures flourishing from their humble beginnings to financial success. But there is much more to be proud of as well, such as their children’s own success stories. Their eldest, Ava Gail, is a US-based statistical research and risk management practitioner and is currently working on her PhD studies in Economics at Duke University in North Carolina. Francis Lloyd, Frank’s only son, is a Business Management major who now works as marketing coordinator at Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in San Francisco, California, while Ana Frances, the youngest of the brood, is enjoying her successful stint at Procter & Gamble Philippines.
“My wife and I are very proud of our children. All of them have developed a genuine appreciation for our family business even way back when they were young. I know they will be our businesses’ greatest assets in the future,” said Franklin.
“Taking advantage of every opportunity that comes your way does make significant and wonderful changes in one’s life. Mine started with an egg,” Franklin mused. “From my experience as an egg trader with just P2,000 in capital to my successful franchise venture with 7-Eleven, I can say that we are now reaping the fruits of our labor and literally enjoy watching all our eggs hatch into bigger and greater success.”
With 600 stores and counting, 7-Eleven remains the top convenience store outlet in the country today. 7-Eleven’s network of stores and expansion plans are concentrated in the island of Luzon, covering areas in the National Capital Region (NCR), Calabarzon, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Central and Northern Luzon, and Bicol Province.
To learn more about 7-Eleven franchising, call 726-9968, 0920-950-8651, 0917-869-5964 or e-mail franchising@7-eleven.com.ph. You can also visit www.7-eleven.com.ph.