ROMMEL JUAN
Business: Binalot
Category: The Young Millionaires
Binalot was inspired during their family outings in Cavite wherein their mom wrap their lunch in banana leaves. Rommel with his brother Raffy saw the potential of the banana leaf as a marketing and branding tool, that in 1997 they decided to start the business. With the help of their friend, Aileen Anastacio they introduced to Filipinos their mom's style of wrapping picnic food. Binalot was born.
Just like other new graduates, Rommel also tried his luck as an employee, but after six and a half months he decided to pursue my dream of running his own business. The first task was to decide where to put it up. Since he had no cash to pay for rent, he decided to deliver the food to the target market. They started by calling friends and asking them to try Binalot. The business was very good in the beginning not until the Asian financial crisis wherein employees started packing lunches and eating in the office instead of dining in the malls. As a result they started having a lot of unsold food, and to solve the problem,the board required each member to sell seven meals a day and to pay for all unsold meals.
It was 1999 when their chance to put up a mall based outlet came, it was when Shangri-La offered a spot in the Food Court. The company was not doing well at the time, but they decided that the brand was mature enough to hit the malls and it became a huge success.
"As an entrepreneur, I cannot help but be creative. I like spotting new opportunities, as well as imagining and dreaming new concepts. I've had my share of failed ventures but these only intensify my confidence."
GOLDEN RULE: To minimize your risks when starting out, learn everything you can about the business. Read. Research. Get a mentor.
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