The Go Negosyo bestsellers

It seems like it was only recently that we launched our first Go Negosyo book. In 2007, Go Negosyo: 50 Inspiring Entrepreneurial Stories instantly became the number-one non-fiction bestseller in National Book Store after its launch — not bad for a first book.

The idea of producing a book was born out of Go Negosyo’s advocacy of spreading a positive mindset.  In order to spread optimism, inspiration is important.  Getting inspired by another person’s success tells one that success is possible, despite adversities in life.  It also tells one how that other person did it.  Getting inspired moves a person to dream big and to work towards that dream.

Through the first book, we discovered our role as a storyteller.  By publishing the book, Go Negosyo was able to share the remarkable stories of our country’s most successful entrepreneurs, like Tony Tan Caktiong of Jollibee, Socorro Ramos of National Book Store, Henry Sy of SM, and 47 other names in the big league.  Their stories continue to inspire Filipinos to believe in the power of determination in order to make dreams a reality.

We continued our mission as storytellers and launched a second book the following year. Go Negosyo: 50 Inspiring Stories of Entrepreneurs (Celebrity Edition) compiled stories of celebrities who fulfilled their entrepreneurial dreams. Go Negosyo adapted to the reality that many Filipinos look up to their celebrity idols, so we projected these celebrities’ success as well in the field of entrepreneurship so they could serve as good role models. Many celebrities in this book expressed the importance of a grounded and financially mature future through entrepreneurship.

To support the inspiration provided by our first two books, we launched the third Go Negosyo book in September of the same year.  It turned out to be one of the most in-demand books by our readers, as it provides the basic steps to starting and growing a business. It is a how-to book that we felt was also needed after launching two inspirational books. It was authored by entrepreneurship experts and Angelpreneurs Pax Lapid and Ping Sotto. The user-friendly workbook 21 Steps on How to Start Your Own Business serves as a bible and guidebook for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs of all ages. The true success of this book can be felt from the positive feedback we continue to receive from our readers all over the country.

Going back to our calling as storytellers, in March of the following year, we launched a special book in celebration of Women’s Month.  Our third book, Go Negosyo: 55 Inspiring Stories of Women Entrepreneurs, celebrated the strength, ingenuity and entrepreneurial prowess of women.  It shares the inspiring stories of Zenaida Tantoco of Rustan’s, Milagros Yee and Clarita Go of Goldilocks, and other “womenpreneurs.”

The fifth Go Negosyo book narrated the stories of success and inspiration from the micro and small entrepreneurs who have succeeded in overcoming poverty.  Go Negosyo: 100 Inspiring Stories of Small Entrepreneurs is dedicated to the simple folks who worked hard and thrived against the odds to achieve a certain degree of success, and most importantly, freedom from poverty.

Go Negosyo believes in the importance of planting the seed of entrepreneurship at a young age.  This is the core principle that led to the creation of our sixth and seventh books. Authored by esteemed educator and Angelpreneur Mary Joy Canon-Abaquin, 8 Simple Secrets to Raising Entrepreneurs is a book for parents and teachers.  It shares a different approach to teaching kids at an early stage about how one can be enterprising, build on his or her strengths and passion, and about the basic concepts of money, life and success. 

To highlight the successes of the younger generations, we launched Go Negosyo: 50 Inspiring Stories of Young Entrepreneurs.  Here, we were able to show the world that the Filipino youth can thrive in entrepreneurship even at an early age.  Age is definitely not a determinant of success.  Antonio Tiu of Agrinurture, RJ David of Sulit.com, and the rest of the young entrepreneurs in our seventh book are proof of this.

Last March, we launched our eighth and ninth books.  The overwhelming success of our third book led Go Negosyo to produce a simplified Pinoy edition, 21 Hakbang sa Pagsisimula ng Sarili Mong Negosyo.  It is a more compact Filipino version, specially created to cater to more readers who have the passion and heart of an entrepreneur.

Our storytelling continues with our recently launched book, Go Negosyo: 50 Inspiring Stories of Agri-entrepreneurs.  This book highlights the inspiring success stories of top Filipino entrepreneurs in agriculture as they have shown that agribusiness can be successful, profitable and, above all, rewarding. I encourage our people to open their eyes and minds to the great and endless possibilities that agri-business brings.

Eight years of the Go Negosyo advocacy led to the production of nine books on entrepreneurship — all of which have been recognized as National Book Store bestsellers.  But, most importantly, all nine books have been created to inspire and educate Filipinos.

Behind every Go Negosyo book is a team of skilled and talented professionals.  I would like to give credit to the hardworking authors, editors, writers, art directors, photographers, and book project leaders that convert the book concepts into reality.

As storytellers, we will continue to share more stories of inspiration.  We will carry on with our mission of finding entrepreneurs with tales worth telling.

The 10th Go Negosyo book will be coming soon.