MY life as an entrepreneur is fun and every minute is a joy to behold. That I am working with my wife, Lyndah, is already a fulfillment. We never even realized that the company we started, GMB Franchise Developers Inc., is already 23 years old.

Let me tell you why it is fun. When we began this company, it was not our primary dream. Initially, we wanted to have a food retail business, as my experience during my overseas stint was with a multinational food chain. The years of training in different aspects of operations, including marketing and franchising, gave me sufficient background to pursue this dream. However, let us just say that life is full of twists and surprises. When I returned to the Philippines, my dream was shattered as I faced challenges in setting up my business. It dawned on me that I was way ahead of my time in the country.

We placed our plan on hold to save what was left of the limited fund we had. Reflecting on what happened, I realized that there was an opportunity lingering within my horizon. Most businesses here in the country needed fine tuning, like training store-front personnel on customer service, consistency of quality products, etc. Expansion was confined to the ability of the owner to build another branch. Franchising was rarely heard of, except for foreign-based companies, which were few at the time.

It did not take long before my wife and I were able to focus and get a business going. We weren’t able to have a food store, but instead, we chose to be mentors to small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs. There was also our commitment to send articles on franchising to various periodicals and magazines like Entrepreneur, a licensed Philippine edition of the US-based magazine.

Our company grew by word of mouth. We started with a few clients, but soon, the numbers began to grow. There were common denominators that we saw in the clients we were privileged to serve:

• Dream with Passion. Starting a business was brought about by an intense dream of making something out of nothing.

• Financial Incapability is not a hindrance. Having a few thousand pesos is already sufficient to fuel their dream and make it a reality. Creative capital (i.e., resourcefulness, etc.) played a very crucial role.

• An Open Mind and a Willingness to Learn. Despite the fact that there was a clear picture of what business they wanted, all were willing to listen, weigh the options, and follow suggestions in order to make the best move.

• Team Oriented. Most entrepreneurs often say and use the pronoun “we” rather than “I.” Indeed, collaboration is the engine of success.

• The Desire to Share and Give Back to the Community. Success is not complete without social responsibility. All your hard work is meaningless if it does not improve the quality of life and/or take into account the welfare of people, the environment and the common good.

Applying the above factors, it is no wonder then that blessings keep on pouring on the people we mentored. The steady growth of their businesses and the constant arrival of the right franchisees were a joy to behold as they not only provided steady income for their families, but also gave jobs and livelihood to a multitude of people—significantly changing the landscape of their destinies and that of the country.

Edgar “Injap” Sia II, a 30-something entrepreneur whose barbecue chain has overtaken multinational chain McDonalds in the second top spot in a span of 7 years, did not finish college because he has set a goal, according to Butz Bartolome, a business consultant.

Bartolome said Sia was focused on being successful in business and founded Mang Inasal in an Iloilo City mall parking space with like-minded friends in 2003. To compensate for his lack of education, Sia tapped the best talents and worked with available opportunities around him.

“He was oozing with passion and full of confidence. He had a dream in his mind. He put his studies at stake and accepted that fact. He compensated [for his lack of education] by tapping the best in the community,” shared Bartolome, a franchising expert and book author who was among the intimate few shepherding Sia during the growing up days of Mang Inasal.

It wasn’t easy, shared Bartolome. “They were faced with so many challenges. The suppliers were turning him down because [Sia] was young and has no track record.”

Sia then tirelessly went around his community in Iloilo and sealed supplier “deals,” some of them forged in wet markets, others through cooperatives.

Bartolome shared that when they were preparing to grow the business through franchising, they needed to manage not just the raw materials supply but also costs. “I looked at the financial figures and I realized there is so much inventory. Out of 30 products, only 5 are making money. The achara? People are not using it and throwing it away. We made a drastic move. We cut 30 items in the menu to 5. So when the point of expansion came, it was easy.”

Almost 8 years and over 300 owned and franchised stores after, homegrown food giant Jollibee Corp scooped 70% of Mang Inasal for P3 billion. This deal essentially valued Mang Inasal — a barbecue chain that serves unlimited rice wrapped in banana leaves sourced from communities in nearby Guimaras Island, and uses bamboo sticks provided by various cooperatives in the province — at a whopping P4 billion.

This catapulted the college dropout to the elite list of Forbes magazine’s 40 wealthiest in the Philippines in 2011.

On the flipside, this deal also allowed Jollibee to control the top fastfood chains in the country.

From Forbes Asia, 2011

Bartolome shared that he admired Sia for learning the keeping the lessons of the past.

“He could have sold 100%. He could have lived a lifestyle. But he has learned to give back and share to the community which had returned to him the favor [when he was starting],” Bartolome said.

Sia remains vice chairman of Mang Inasal, now one of the key units of Jollibee.

Bartolome said Sia is now focused on another venture: land development in Iloilo. - Rappler.com

Philippine franchise guru Armando ‘Butz’ O. Bartolome, the newly elected president of AFFI, said among the goals set by the current Board of Directors are to beef up the benefits of the group’s members, increase its presence and activities in the provinces, intensify the education program for franchisers and franchisees, and sustain public-private efforts to weed out pseudo franchisers.

“To achieve these goals, we are repositioning our officers so they can take charge of different roles. We will have officers that will take care of regional members, international relations, government relations, private and non-governmental agency networking, and education,” Bartolome, also the founder of GMB Franchise Developers, emphasized.

He said Ricardo Z. Cuna of Fiorgelato Ice Cream will take the lead in promoting private and non-governmental agency networking. Victor Fernando of Big Apple Spa has already agreed to handle government relations, Bong Magpayo of SweetCorn will be the regional chapter head for Mindanao and Kamela Seen will lead Northern Luzon.

Bartolome said the association will also have its new home at 818 Building on Shaw Blvd. where the group rented a 54-square meter space.

Bartolome, the newly elected president of the Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. (AFFI)- the foremost industry group that advocates innovative policies and programs for home-grown franchise concepts, will acquaint prospective franchisees on the ins and outs of franchising so they will be properly informed on the business before they invest their hard-earned money.

Bartolome is recognized as an enabler to the success of a good number of locally-bred franchisers, which include the phenomenal Mang Inasal, Fiorgelato Ice Cream, Bibingkinitan, Potato Corner, Ginger Snaps, El Buono Pizza, Lay Bare, Bayad Center, Julie’s Bakeshop, Generika Drugstore, Lot’s A Pizza, Peanut World, Baliwag Chicken, and Chicharific!, among others.

“They should know the questions that they need to ask and the information they will need from franchisors in the one-day event. At the end of the seminar, they will be more confident in putting their money in the franchise of their choice,” Bartolome, founder of GMB Franchise Developers, explained.

The seminar will be held at Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City on May 17. Handouts, certificates, lunch, and morning and afternoon snacks will be provided.

For inquiries, call (482) 2980420; 09393189037; 09162909293; or send email to biz.communicators@gmail.com.

Still, there are those startups that simply want to pursue their passion in cooking or baking without thinking of expansion.  And, of course, everyone is enamored with the restaurant business as it is “sexy” to have one. Mind you, a lot of restaurants barely make their rent and operating expenses, but owners usually keep these businesses for the bragging rights.

When do we decide if we should put our business up for franchise?

A good friend started the green trend in cafés and now she sees more people copying her pan de sal “meatless” burger, copying her fresh fruit juices and even the colors of her store. Should she be flattered or should she be irritated? She asked me what she should do.

In fact, she didn’t know what to do as openly there are customers who would take snap shots of the products, the store layout and the color schemes. There was a day she arrived at the store only to find several people having a meeting and taking some measurements of the place! She introduced herself as the owner and inquired why they were doing such activity right inside her store.

One of the ladies in the group explained that they want to bring the concept to the United States!

Upon learning of these incidents, I told her, “You better think of franchising!” “But I only wanted one store,” she says. Sorry, Madam, if all you want is one store, you cannot help but see competition copying you in no time. You see, once a business is opened to the public, no matter what location, if the food and concept are good, word will spread and soon copycats will be hounding the place. That only means she is doing well, doing good and looking well, too. If not, who would want to copy a sad-looking and losing business?

Does she have any choice? Oh sure, she has! She can just remain where she is and let those who want to taste her popular recipe come. I have seen a number of places like that in the metropolis. On the other hand, she can look at the benefits of franchising. There are times when the word “franchise” may sound Greek to entrepreneurs. Or they may feel “they are not yet ready.” Exactly when can somebody say that the business is ready? Injap Sia of Mang Inasal, Josie See of Peanutworld, Richie Cuna of Fiorgelato, Tess Ngan Tian of Lots A Pizza, Bards Lapid of Chicharrific, Gilbert Jim of Bubbatealicious, Rommel Juan of Binalot, Sarah Salcedo of Baliwag Lechon Manok and Liempo, Julie Gandionco of Julie’s Bakeshop, Lita Urbina of Café Laguna, Vic Perea of Mr. Softy, Jose Magsaysay of Potato Corner, Cielo Templo of Cielo’s Doughnuts, Bong Magpayo of Sweet Corn, Fred Co of RBX Rice In A Box, Kamela Seen of Plato Wraps, Emmanuel Balce of Sisig Hooray and countless others never manifested to me that they were ready.

A great number were even in their incubation or growing stages. Yet they dared to begin the process of looking forward and expanding their business.

Those people I mentored began with a positive outlook in mind. They were prepared even if the process may be so detailed, sometimes leading to drastic changes, experimentation and a paradigm shift. There was always a joke among them that whenever they saw me—and especially if my wife Lyndah was with me—they would take an ibuprofen pill for a headache that was sure to come! It is better to face the problems before you allow any franchising. What may be a disaster is for the franchisor to face franchisees with different situational concerns and be unable to offer a solution for these. Of course, there will be problems as part of the growth of the brand, and still the franchisor must be prepared for any challenge. It is just like being a soldier where they undergo tedious process and horizontal foundation building.

A successful franchise is the result of all the hard work and efforts of a franchisor. There is no magic pill to speak of.  There are entrepreneurs who believe that a surefire way to success is just copy and copy without innovating. Sorry, but this is where many brands flop!

Here are a couple of tips to set the tone in franchising your business:

1 Documentation of the procedures: Refers to writing step by step how to prepare the products or services. Consistency and quality control have to be taken cared of, especially when there is a demand and the number of branches begins to grow.

2 Identification of recurring problems in the operations of the business: No matter how small the problem is, if it keeps happening, this is a sign something has to be done. Taking it for granted may become a major obstacle in the future.

3 Is there a business model to showcase the concept? How profitable and acceptable is it? Franchising speaks of having a successful model. This means from the external features of the store to the products and services, there is a positive acceptance by the targeted consumers. The financial statement, too, must be showing profit to determine the payback of the investment.

For more details, interested parties may grab a copy of my latest book Is Franchising For You? available in all National Bookstore branches.  Those using tablets may go to Amazon.com or iTunes for e-book format. If you like to follow the footsteps of those people I mentioned, well, this is the book for you.

Finally here is something for all to ponder:

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Lao-Tzu (604 BC-531 BC), The Way of Lao-Tzu

Bartolome, however, advised businessmen to take extra caution in picking the right franchise concept they would acquire or adopt to avoid ending up as bitter losers.

“Some entrepreneurs will just probably do their research through the Internet and then copy a concept. But it is not that easy. You need to get all the necessary information before starting a franchise business,” Bartolome stressed.

To help acquaint businessmen on the nitty-gritty of franchising, Bartolome will kick off on May 31 at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City his 2012 franchising seminar series which has for its theme “The Realities of Franchising.”

If properly informed, Bartolome emphasized, prospective franchise owners have better chances of succeeding, even during crisis times.

For inquiries, call the secretariat at (082)2980420 (for Davao residents); 09393189037; 09162909293; 09162936413; or send email to biz.communicators@gmail.com.

Bartolome, who founded the GMB Franchise Developers, Inc. said franchising can inject and create fresh opportunities and flavor to a business concept. More importantly, he added, franchisees are new partners that will infuse additional capital and also expand the presence of the business.

“Some businessmen are too proud and stubborn. They shun franchising because they believe they do not need partners to grow their business. Later on, they will discover they have been overtaken already by competitors who opted to franchise their business,” Bartolome noted.

To avoid the prospect of becoming the last players in their industries, he counseled that businessmen should always keep an open mind when it comes to franchising their concepts.

To help entrepreneurs in determining if their business concepts are already ripe for franchising, Bartolome will launch a year-long nationwide seminar series with the theme “Realities of Franchising.”

The seminar series will begin on May 31 at Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City.

Bartolome will acquaint businessmen on the nitty-gritty of franchising, making the seminar a must for those who want to expand through franchising, invest in a franchise concept, those who want to gain a good understanding of franchising, those retiring and thinking of retiring but are looking forward to becoming entrepreneurs, and overseas Filipino workers and their families.

For inquiries, call the secretariat at (082)2980420 (for Davao residents); 09393189037; 09162909293; 09162936413; or send email to biz.communicators@gmail.com.

ONCE a startup gets popular and profitable and starts expansion, inevitably, there will be people watching and carefully noting its growth from the sidelines. These may be the conglomerates that have multibrand chains, or a new group wanting a slice of the franchise market. The question is: How is a founder’s wishes fulfilled when a brand changes hands? Does the brand keep its equity?

We have heard of multimillion- and billion-peso acquisitions where founder-owners are laughing all the way to the bank with their stock options, cash and seats on the boards of the acquiring group. Mang Inasal, Red Ribbon and Dencio’s, Yellow Cab, Congo Grill, Karate Kid, Teriyaki Boy and Sugar House are just a few examples of acquired brands over the past decade. How are these brands doing now? It would make a good case study for the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) or the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) or any of the leading universities to determine if a brand actually expanded or began a slow demise under its new owner.

There are also brands where the owners reluctantly had to give up their driver’s seat due to some intracorporate dispute: I remember Figaro Coffee, Godiva, Red Ribbon (also) and some other family-led corporations that went sour or unfriendly. What has happened to the brands after the drivers reluctantly got off, so to speak?

There is also the interesting name change, like Delifrance to Café France; Mini Shabu Shabu and another name for a Shabu Shabu of the same kind. How does this name change affect a brand’s personality?

Do all start-ups dream of becoming acquired like Teriyaki Boy or Mang Inasal? Or do they all dream to take it to the top like the owners who longed to go public themselves but never got to do it?

Franchised brands all have their different happy and sad tales.

What is important is that the brand is cared for as the founders wanted it to be, and for the new owner to keep the founder’s vision. If this vision changes due to financial or other considerations, many of these brands may soon see a change in their market profile—a change in their profitability and a change in their endurance as a brand. Hopefully, the brand endures despite the change in ownership and management.

Consumers who have fallen in love with brands become intensely passionate about them. In fact they are sensitive if there are any changes, from a graphics design to the preparation or method of service. In effect they feel like they are owners, too. The other day I was on a plane going to the South and behind me were two gentlemen who I believe were in their mid-40s. One fellow was talking about how all of a sudden he was shocked to find the dilution of the menu of the favorite shop he and his family would patronize. From a European ambiance the shop became a confused thematic store.

This conversation made me recall the meeting I had with a late friend who was the former owner of a known pizzeria. She did build the business from scratch since she herself wanted to make use of her time. In short, from a kiosk the business grew and became popular. A known food giant then bought it out. She was telling me that even though she did not own it anymore, she couldn’t resist visiting and checking some branches. One day she could not take it anymore and she went straight to the office of the big man—the new owner. There, she called his attention on the dilution of the very products she crafted. In fact she even went out of her way to volunteer to teach the corporation’s chefs on the proper way of baking the crust to the preparation of the toppings. The big man appreciated her concern and immediately called the management.

There are times when entrepreneurs I mentor ask me why so-and-so sold his or her company. Well, everybody has a reason. However the point is when the business was born out of passion, nurtured to grow and expand, it becomes quite a challenge to wean one’s self from the brand. This is what I call brand emotionalism.

Entrepreneurs, even though they were paid a huge sum of money for their business, undergo a transition especially when they reach the stage of letting go. Perhaps there is a reason why the business got sold just like a couple of friends who initially couldn’t get over losing control of their shop. Yet, in time, they realized that they were pointed to doing another business. Today they are so happy, fulfilled and aging hasn’t caught up with them! For me, I still believe in doing a serious discernment and establishing a strong faith. Everything that happens— fortunate or otherwise—has a reason. We are stewards and not really the owners for there is our Chairman of the Board named God who is watching us.

By the way, in case you haven’t heard, the Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. (AFFI), now on its 15th year, has recently opened it office called AFFI Center For Franchising. It is at 818 Building, 169 Shaw Boulevard, Barrio Kapitolyo, Pasig City. By way of assisting the public there are weekly seminar schedules on “How To Select the Right Franchise,” “How to Turn Your Business Into Franchise.” For more particulars just e-mail rgc.affi@gmail.com.

Managing director received a special award Women Enabler 2012!

Lyndah Bartolome was given a special Women Enabler Award for 2012 during the 4th Women Summit held in World Trade Center. Photo with Lyndah is Ramon Lopez, Executive Director of Philippine Center For Entrepreneurship, Prudencio Garcia, Board of Trustee, Sarah Soliven Guzman, Philippine Star, Rosalind Wee, Board of Trustee and Joey Concepcion Founding Trustee