Entrepreneur 34: RICHMOND YANG

RICHMOND YANG

Business: Super Bowl of China
Big Buddha Restaurant
Chili's

Category: The Young Millionaire

"Low prices, big servings, and great service. That is the secret of Super Bowl's success. The idea for the restaurant came when my three partners and I were operating Chili's, an American franchise. Because the market was starting to slow down, we saw a weakening in demand for a concept like Chili's, where people paid P400 to P500 for food. We saw a potential to develop a concept that would fit a P200 budget. We figured that besides Filipino food, Chinese food was very much a comfort food for Filipinos."

Big Buddha happened only because the Ayala Group wanted to operate a new concept in Greenbelt, Makati. They don't put up big stores. Their stores are really small, they can only accommodate between 120 and 140 diners at any given time. In that way they always have lines outside to create an image of having a lot of customers.

They had piracy problem. Their competitors knew that they trained their people well, so they were easily pirated. 

"I can say that we take very good care of our people; we make them regular employees. Besides their monthly salary, they enjoy their tips and service charges, and that's substantial."

One of the right thing they're doing is hiring the right people. They've also been consulting because they are not experts in franchising. They constantly innovate. They launch new products all the time so that people won't get tired of eating the same food. They constantly upgrade their design..

"We are constantly looking for opportunities to expand the business. We have received franchise inquiries for Super Bowl from some of our ASEAN neighbors, and we are looking at that opportunity very closely."

GOLDEN RULE:

Surround yourself with people better and more knowledgeable than you. I can't grow the business on my own, so I am always on the lookout for talented people who can take us to the  next level."