An Ilongga goes from employee to business owner

MANILA, Philippines - In the Filipino culture, having a job means having a life, a steady source of income to support personal and family needs, a means of financially sustaining the rigorous demands of increasing expenses. An eight-hour work shift, coupled with a few hour’s worth of daily overtime, may provide the extra boost in paychecks. Sadly, more time at work means less time for other stuff, like love, friendship and family.

The only way out of this is to find another source of income that wouldn’t mean spending more hours in the office cubicle. Unfortunately, there’s a big gap between those who want it and those who do the things to make it happen. 

Such is the case of 28-year-old entrepreneur Cherie Gold Cajandig-Grabato of Iloilo City. A true-blue Ilongga, she graduated from Central Philippine University (CPU) with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Tourism way back in 2006. Skilled in public relations, she landed a job as an account executive at Iloilo Grand Hotel in 2006 followed by a brief stint as Mabuhay Lounge administrator at the Philippine Airlines. After settling down with her husband Ireneo Encarnacion Grabato II, she decided to leave the corporate world to focus more on her budding family.

  “My husband and I were talking about having our own business. His family is into construction supplies and rice trading so we thought into venturing in the food business,” Cherie Gold says. After scouting for possible franchises, she inquired with Binalot Fiesta Foods Inc. (BFFI) for a possible contract.

  “Why Binalot? It was the quality and cost of products that made us decide,” she says. It’s the banana leaf wrappers that ensure an environment friendly packaging, true to the mission and vision of promoting Filipino food while providing livelihood for their banana leaf suppliers.

 After inking a franchise contract, Cherie Gold established the first Binalot store in Panay Island. The newest Binalot branch in the Visayas region is located at GT Plaza Mall, Molo, Iloilo City with the grand opening slatedjust last December 2012. Ilonggo’s can now enjoy Binalot’s 11 All Time Pinoy-vorites (ATP’s) such as Fiesta Adobo, Bistek Walastik, Taparap sarap, Vivo Tocino, Sisig na Makisig and Bongga Longganisa (all served with salted egg and tomato).

 While she can cook and bake, Cherie Gold aims to open more branches of Binalot in the near future to cater to more Ilonggo’s looking for a taste of the ultimate Filipino food experience. “For everyone who is planning to have a business, one must be ready and should take into consideration the time, money and effort to be able to succeed.”

BFFI currently operates a network of 40 stores, 35 being franchises. Binalot aims to further increase the number of its franchise-owned stores next year, as more stores are soon to open in Valenzuela and Naguillian, La Union.