Business Mentor: What fuels your drive to succeed?

In our weekly live stream program FRAN-GURU EXCHANGE with my wife Lyndah as co-host, we had a guest who began his business at the early age of 22.

When asked how he started, he shared that he wrote a business plan with a 7 square meter store space. Now at 25, he has established three branches and a growing brand.

The young man, Josh Manguera, hails from Angeles City. He graduated with a degree in marketing management, and worked at a garments factory inside Clark Economic Zone.

His mother has been in the ready-to-wear (RTW) business for 25 years. Josh began buying and selling RTW shirts from various suppliers.

His mother told him there was 7-sqm space available in a local mall. Josh took his chances and learned from his mother how to sell and convince customers.

Everything was running smoothly until one day, and a foreigner came in looking for the business owner. He was asking for original brands like Ralph Lauren. Not finding any, the customer ridiculed him saying Josh's shirts were awful, below standard, etc. Those remarks left a lasting impact.

A week later, Josh decided to put up his own brand. He designed shirts and asked sewers to assemble them. His brand was called Plain and Simple.

His business began to take off. One thing which struck him was customers would come sad into his store and leave so happy. A week after, these people would tag their friends.

From that small store, Josh opened a second outlet in another mall. It was a hit! The line reached from the entrance of the mall.

Tired and yet inspired, Josh opened his 3rd store and a complete production line. His FB followers have broken the 400,000 mark.

His production line boasts of various styles and colors. Part of his business innovation is designing limited edition and practical cargo shorts.

What fueled his drive to succeed? It was the foreigner who insulted his business.

Now, he is so upbeat and confident of his products and focused on a target market.

Bartolomone, A. (2021) Business Mentor: What fuels your drive to succeed?. Retrieved from: https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/10/09/21/business-mentor-what-fuels-your-drive-to-succeed.