Entrepreneur 32: JOSE MARI TANALGO

JOSE MARI TANALGO

Business: Bacolod Chicken Inasal

Category: The Young Millionaire

"My sister and I went into business in 1993 so we would no longer be financially dependent on our parents. We figured that food businesses always did well, and since we loved chicken inasal, we thought, why not bring this concept to Manila?"

They started with a nine seater take out counter on EDSA Central, but it proved to be too small for the volume of customers coming to them. They wanted enough space to allow their customers to sit down and enjoy the food. In 1994 they opened a 60 seater restaurant also along EDSA Central. But a bigger diner attracted more customers, so this forced them to look for another branch.

In 1998 they found a suitable place on Jupiter Street in Makati. It was being offered only on a nine-month lease, and no matter how pencil pushing they did, they still didn't think it was possible to make money operating a restaurant for just nine months. Yet they wanted to locate in the premier business district, so they took a gamble. Having been able to recover their investment in four months convinced the owner to extend their contract to five years. After the Makati branch everything else follows - 11 Bacolod Chicken Inasal.

They are keen on expanding the business. They've established a corporate office and put up a bigger commissary in preparation for going into franchising. 

They still subscribe to the four P's of marketing:

• P - PRODUCT - Having a good product means they have to offer something the others don't have. The product should be very good that people would always come back for more. Packaging must be good. Part of the product is service; have a good service.
• P - PLACE - Have a good location. It's very important because if you have a good product but your store is inaccessible, you still lose business. Have a good ambiance too. It should be homey or is consistent with the theme.
• P - PRICE - Pricing should be based on the target market. If you're catering to office workers, then your price should be affordable while your food should still taste good. If you're targeting the upscale market, then the premium you charge should be backed by good food, superb amenities and tasty ambiance.
• P - PROMOTIONS - Rely on good word-of-mouth to promote. Good product and service are enough to generate buzz for the business.

They serve good food from Bacolod. It is something that they give to Manileños so they don't have to go to Bacolod to eat inasal. from less than 10 staff in their very first branch they now have 285 employees supporting 150 families. 

"We get our banana leaves from suppliers living in the mountains of Bacolod, while our barbeque sticks and charcoal we source from the other provinces. So this business is benefiting  not just us  and our fellow Ilonggos, but many of our kababayans in other provinces as well. And we're doing business not only for our family, but also to help our economy through the taxes we pay and the jobs we create for people."

GOLDEN RULES:
" Do ordinary things extraordinarily well. Don't just go into business to earn money; do it because it gives you happiness and fulfillment."