Company seeks to enhance quality of people’s lives
By Theresa S. Samaniego |Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:01 am | Sunday, September 28th, 2014
CHOA is one with Gawad Kalinga’s Tony Meloto in eradicating poverty in the country
Guillermo Choa’s office can be an unusual sight for some.
White boards are mounted on whole walls and desks, serving as canvas, and constantly filled with scribbles of new ideas, strategies and concepts for real estate firm Property Company of Friends Inc. (PRO-FRIENDS).
“My office and my house has a wall-to-wall white board because, if there’s one thing I like doing, it is to conceptualize, and to think about new things or improvements. I love writing and scribbling. In fact, even my office table has a white board so that when an idea comes to mind, I could take note of it right away,” the founder of PRO-FRIENDS tells the Inquirer.
Despite the success he has reaped over the years, Choa says he has never stopped learning and pushing himself to draw up new ideas on how to further improve the company, as he did when he first founded PRO-FRIENDS about 15 years ago. This, and the value of education, were things his mother taught him and his siblings early on, he explains.
CHOA
Reared to become a successful entrepreneur, Choa recalls how, at a tender age of nine, he was already expected to help out in the family business.
“When we were young, our family was into retail hardware business. We had a store located in Pasay City, it was called Taft Avenue Lumber. It was a business started by my grandfather that was passed on to my father. Eventually, I, together with my siblings, became part of it,” Choa says.
“We were taught to sell, weigh and pack items such as nails. Growing up, we moved from manual labor to sales. I was in charge of finding clients to sell our products. In an entrepreneurship, there’s no such thing as you work for sales or delivery or production. Being an entrepreneur means that, when something has to be done, you need to do it,” he adds.
The family hardware store served as the perfect training ground for Choa to hone his skills. It was there where he learned the basics of the trade—from manual labor and sourcing of materials to selling products.
“We were not [forced to] be entrepreneurs, but we grew into it. Before, we would wake up early in the morning and that’s the first thing that we see. If a client comes in and needs to purchase some items, you should be able to prepare it yourself. Apart from this, you should know how to properly sell it,” Choa shares.
Follow Us
Other Stories:
Recent Stories:
Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer's day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer's Reader's Advocate. Or write The Readers' Advocate:
seo tools
No comments:
Post a Comment