An 'egg-citing' business

MANILA, Philippines - Eggs, they say, are one of the best sources of protein.

“Its nutritional profile as a nutrient-dense food,” according to Dr. Elizabeth Applegate of the department of nutrition of the University of California at Davis, “have made eggs the cornerstone of nutrition owing to its high quality protein and substantial amount of many essential vitamins and minerals.”

Realizing the potential of the egg distribution business, Elaine Lasac, an accounting graduate, thus decided to put up Goldnest Inc. in 1997. Formerly known as G.E.L.L. Enterprises, the company opened its main office along E.R. Hidalgo St. in Quiapo Manila with an initial capital of only P50,000.

“I decided to venture into the egg distribution business because it seemed like a good business — very profitable and easy for me to familiarize with,” said Elaine. But just like all other businesses, Elaine also had her own share of tough times in running Goldnest.

For instance, there was the day-to-day concern of delivering orders on time for all store owners in different markets around Metro Manila. Without a delivery van, it was hard for Elaine to commute via public transportation while carrying all the trays of eggs. She also had to reckon with her more established competitors in the business, many of whom were getting a bigger share of the market owing to their ability to deliver orders on time.

She also experienced the problem of buyers not paying for their orders, which definitely created problems in the company’s cash flow. Goldnest could not get a bigger credit line as well from suppliers since the company was then considered “a new kid on the block” in the egg distribution business.

At that time, advertising on television, radio, and newspapers was definitely out of the equation. Elaine had very limited resources and had no budget to allot for advertising Goldnest. But this did not stop Elaine. Armed with sheer determination to succeed and to grow her business, Elaine took on the challenge of marketing the company without necessarily draining the company’s limited resources. Elaine remained optimistic that there were solutions to these problems and it was just a matter of time to find them. She eventually found the “holy grail” to her marketing woes when a friend invited her to attend a seminar conducted by SME.com.ph, an internet company that offers Filipino small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with customized web design, ecommerce, web and email hosting, and online programming. 

A joint venture company between the Plantersbank, the country’s lead bank for SMEs and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), SME.com.ph provides SMEs with affordable IT-based business solutions to help them market their business not just locally but even globally through the worldwide web.

While attending the seminar, Elaine realized that linking up to the Internet is the answer to her problems as it offered huge potentials to expand her fledgling business.

She signed up with SME.com.ph for their web hosting services and voila! – Goldnest immediately received an inquiry from a major hotel within Metro Manila requesting her to supply their daily requirement of eggs.

Since then, Goldnest was on a roll, getting three-star hotels, five-star hotels, and even restaurants, fast foods and supermarkets as their clients.

Since signing up with SME.com.ph, Goldnest was able to propel itself to become one of the major egg distributors in the country today. “Our yearly sales volume went sky-high and orders just kept on coming,” she pointed out.

To beef up the company’s capital, Elaine went to Plantersbank to apply for a loan to finance Goldnest’s business expansion. She learned of Plantersbank’s vast experience in ‘handholding’ the SMEs towards growth. “Partnering with Plantersbank was a big help because they were able to help me expand my business,” she stressed.

Despite her success, Elaine is not resting on her laurels. She has just ventured into the construction business, “on a small scale”, according to her. She also plans to go into farming soon. At the end of the day, she has proven that it only takes the right amount of knowledge and perseverance, and more importantly, a reliable partner, for an SME to prosper. So for your next egg delivery, no matter how big or small, just call 735-3784 or 734-4879. You can also visit their website at www.goldnesteggcenter.com.