Entrepreneur 33: EMELDA TENG

EMELDA TENG

Business: Maldita 

P99 Store

Category: The Young Millionaires

"My husband and I opened the P99 Store for the adventure, for the fun of doing something we'd never done before. There were immediate offers to expand the business when it opened, but our second outlet didn't do too well. Then we heard that Robinsons was opening a mall in Imus, Cavite, so we decided to open our third outlet there. Now we have twenty five P99 Stores all over the country, including four franchisees."

Their customer base has grown because customers like what they've been offering them, and customers are satisfied with the service. When they started the store they didn't think about profits, much less that it would last five years. What they concentrated on was overcoming challenges and making a mark. A P99 item may actually be selling for P500 in other stores.

They converted some of their L300 vans into a "rolling stores." The idea came when they were thinking of ways to turn their costs into "earners." They figured that they could make better use of their delivery trucksif it could sell goods along the way.

Maldita was born when their female customers started asking for a quality women's line that they could afford. The business was actually created in the spirit of fun. Even the name surprised many people because they thought it couldn't be done, that it was too risky to conceptualize a daring product line that was sexier than the norm. They included the merchandise in The P99 Store inventory two months before they launched its own signature line.

"If you ask me, opening a store is the easiest thing. The hardest part is overcoming a bad day, a bad week or a bad month. Ours is a lifestyle product."

When the economy is down, people cut down on their expenses, but they not to compromise or settle for what's popular.  They have some new brands and concept stores that they'll be opening. They hope to reach more markets that they have not yet satisfied.

"I've never been in a situation where the competition is easy. There are new, better and bigger players, but competition is an incentive for me to better. It keeps me on my toes. To compete better you must evaluate your performance regularly and think of new ideas. It means paying attention to your costs, serving your market well and never shortchanging your customers. Looking after your stores is like raising a teenage daughter. You just hope you're doing things right. It's the same thing with employees. They're my team, my family, but you can't really manage them. You just hope that you can lead them."

GOLDEN RULE:

" Be prepared to step out of your comfort zone. A lot of people who want to do business today think they can be their own boss - that they would be in control of their time and activities. I can tell you right now that when you have your own business, 24 hours is not enough. You will find yourself working very hard just to keep your business going."