When entrepreneurship gives hope to the jobless

CEBU, Philippines - In a country where consumers can easily get drowned in the abundance of products being offered in the market, penetrating the vigorous competition can be any entrepreneur’s most daunting task.

Except probably for Norman Saluntao and Joyce Balag.

Feeling frustrated after being turned down for employment, these two Cebuano entrepreneurs claimed that to win the competition, an entrepreneur has to avoid any form of distractions along the way and just learn from constructive criticisms.

“When people don’t buy your product or are not convinced, then let it be. Find people who are willing to take your product, try it and enjoy the results themselves,” said Saluntao who manufactures Flacs Probiotic Health Soap.

Flacs, according to Saluntao, is an acronym for friendly lacto-bacilli soap, a natural skin antiseptic and organic soap formulated with ingredients complex and botanical extracts made under a formula he described “probiotic.”

On the other hand, for Balag, who is not a college graduate, her business of manufacturing Herbs Rubbing Oil became their family’s saving grace after she failed to get employment.

Balag and her family have been engaged in the business of producing liniment since the 90s, while Saluntao has been making soaps for a living since 2001.

Both of them now see growth in their respective businesses, but looking back, they actually started from small beginnings.

Saluntao, for instance, began by joining a skills training for soap-making initiated by a local foundation. After getting a capitalization of  about P40,000 and adding some sense of resourcefulness — he himself researched for the most up-to-date innovations on the business — he then ventured into soap-making on his own.

Saluntao noted that his soap-making business has now grown by about four times. His products are now available in major pharmacies in Cebu. Aside from that, he has also received inquiries from interested distributors in Manila and from a few overseas customers.

“One thing I like about the business is it doesn’t depend on seasonal demand. Soap is a commodity. Everyone needs it everyday, and that also keeps us busy. Now, we can dispose a total of 500 pieces every month,” said Saluntao.

Flacs will also soon be sold in a leading local mall chain once Saluntao’s negotiation with executives gets finalized.

Balag, for her part, shared the same experience.

She recalled that in the early 90s, people were very welcoming on herbal medicine. It was during that time that she was engaged in trading a book on herbal medicine to different offices in Cebu.

Every book a customer buys comes with a free herbal liniment that she herself made.

Soon when the customers who purchased the book ran out of the free liniment, they started asking for supplies and were willing to pay. That was how Balag discovered that there was a market for her product.

Today, Balag can sell out a total of  250 bottles of 120 mL of her rubbing oil every month.

“Nakatabang gyud siya sa among panginabuhi, ug sa amo pung mga silingan kay maka-earn man sila og extra income pud kun makakita sila’g customer (The business has helped our family a lot. Our neighbors are also benefitting from it because they can earn extra income for finding new customers as well),” she said.

It is Balag’s dream to see her products sold in department stores in the future.

Saluntao and Balag, however, said that just like any other businesses, theirs were not spared from the occasional challenges. They particularly cited capitalization as their biggest concern today, noting that increased demand for their products prompts them to increase production requirements.

“But with limited resources, we can hardly meet the demand,” said Saluntao.

Saluntao also pointed out that the greatest lesson he has learned from running his own business is to maintain a good record-keeping.

“Financial management is something many entrepreneurs would often overlook. They tend to be very focused on marketing their products and forget the management side. For me, I learned a lot of  good management practices along the course of doing business. I learned to track my expenses, things like that,” he said.

Saluntao and Balag are beneficiaries of Kapamilya Negosyo Na (KNN), a local institution aimed at helping small-scale enterprises further their businesses by providing them small amount of seed capital. (FREEMAN)