Kiwi finds business inspiration in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - In a welcome contradiction to the Filipino diaspora, a New Zealand native preferred to settle in the Philippines and now calls it his home—and sees a bright and crystal clear future here.

Andrew Beech first fell in love with a Filipina, and eventually fell just as hard for her country.

“I was born in New Zealand where I lived for the first 30 years of my life. After graduating with a Bachelor of Business majoring in Real Estate degree, I worked in property development helping complete many large residential condo towers and hotels throughout New Zealand. After taking a holiday to the Philippines and falling in love with a beautiful Filipina, I decided to relocate here last August 2010,” Beech relates.

While Beech admittedly enjoyed his previous work in New Zealand, he was never completely content with being an employee. He always wanted to own his own businesses which will eventually become a passive income stream for him. When he arrived here, he was initially looking for work with a property developer but found it difficult to make any progress in a locally dominated industry with only a few consulting firms being open to expat workers.

One day while waiting for his order at a pizza joint, he read a copy of a popular magazine where one of the featured topics was about franchising. The thought of opening a franchise business here were planted in his mind from then on.

Taking heed of the information at hand, Beech acquired a copy of its special edition franchise issue. “I then proceeded to find the franchises which were within the budget I was willing to risk (not knowing much about the Philippine business environment yet) and then analyzed each business based on my thoughts on the product and the reported payback periods,” he says.

Water refilling was one of the franchises that stuck out for Beech, water being something that everybody needs every day and after people consume it once, they need to purchase it again. “After communicating with several Water Refilling Franchisors, I settled on Crystal Clear as the staff seemed genuinely eager to help me and their systems and standards were high and professional,” Beech adds.

“My initial thoughts about Crystal Clear have been proven correct ---Ferdie Laureta, Crystal Clear’s Business Development Manager, even used to pick me up and we would drive around for hours looking for suitable locations for my franchise. To me, that is dedication and great service!”

Crystal Clear is the leading water brand in homes and offices nationwide. A product of Solerex Water Technologies, Inc., which was established in 1990, Crystal Clear helps anyone maintain a healthier lifestyle since it’s free from sodium, chlorine, lead, calories and oxygenated with ozone.

Solerex continues to set the standards in the Philippine bottled water industry as the undisputed leader in water treatment for home, commercial and industrial establishments, with over 2,500 franchise stores plus operations in Indonesia and Malaysia. Over the years, Solerex has firmly established itself as a competent and trustworthy supplier of water filtration, sterilization and purification equipment in the country.

In its roster of franchisees in the Philippines, Crystal Clear counts Americans, a Singaporean, an Aruban, and now a Kiwi. Truly, Crystal Clear is a brand that’s world class.

Beech is satisfied with his clever business venture. “The benefits of buying a Crystal Clear franchise are easy. It is a proven brand with a ready market, and water quality is the same no matter which store you buy it from, whether in Cebu or at my store in Mandaluyong. The challenges for me have been following the formal process of setting up a business in the Philippines as a foreigner. Luckily I have a great support team in the form of my girlfriend Daniela Sodi and her sister Ana,” Beech says.

Unknowingly perhaps, but just as propitious, Beech opened his franchise store on EDSA, site of the People Power Revolution which is commemorating its Silver Anniversary this year. Coincidentally, it is also Solerex’s 25th year in the water business.

A memorable moment for Beech was finally finding a great location for his store. It took more than two months to find one so it was a great feeling for him to know that he had a site secured and could start with the renovations.

He exults: “It felt like it was finally about to start happening! Almost four months since opening now and our sales are growing every month!”

Life in the Philippines is indeed a far cry from his existence in New Zealand. “It is very different from the days of working 12 hours a day in a corporate environment back there. The weather is definitely warmer here, too! I actually enjoy managing my store on a day-to-day basis and I have a great team of employees. Some days, if you’re lucky, you will even see me working the filling lines when we are busy.

But for me it’s just part of what you have to do to run a successful business. It’s important for me to know every aspect of my business from the floor up so I can look for ways to help my staff enjoy their work and be more productive.”

What advice can Beech give to those who are thinking of getting a franchise?

“Find a product that you can relate to. For me, I was fortunate enough to live in New Zealand where we can drink water straight from the tap. I believe everybody should have access to clean drinking water, so Crystal Clear is a product I believe in. Find a product/brand that has a proven track record and strong systems in place,” Andrew Beech advises.