Rhod: Seeing failure as catalyst of success

CEBU, Philippines — If there's one significant lesson that Rhod Stephen Cabaluna, an owner of a t-shirt printing enterprise, has learned, it's that failure in business is not the end but a fresh opportunity to grow.

The 34-year-old can attest to that as he went through the biggest challenge in his entrepreneurial life.

His business, Printahanan Sugbo, went bankrupt early last year due to a failed partnership he entered into in late 2015 and mismanagement.

Rhod lost thousands of pesos from that hurdle, leaving him problems how he could pay his house and car mortgages, add to that the daily needs of his family.

He may have lost from that experience but he did not give up.

With the support and motivation from his family, his parents and his faith in God, Rhod started over again.

"July 2016 when I decided to pull out from the partnership and start again in the space I retained (in our house). I was very thankful of my workers because they did not leave me and instead they offered help and told me 'we can do this,'" he told The FREEMAN in an interview.

But as he was recovering from the losses, another challenge came into his family's life when his wife had an ectopic pregnancy and was rushed to the hospital for operation, leaving him desperate to borrow from loan sharks as his credit profile with banks had already been affected.

"I accepted it to myself that I really failed and I messed up," he said, sharing that he even thought of ending his life to free himself from debts.

But his wife and his son became his motivation to start again.

"I asked God for signs if I should quit from the business and look for a job, but instead He gave me fresh clients and my previous clients," Rhod said.

He is happy that his printing business is getting better and slowly coming back up from when it stumbled down in 2016.

He also joined the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Kapatid Mentor Me program, an initiative that empowers entrepreneurs.

How Printahanan started

Rhod recalled how he started Printahanan Sugbo way back in 2006 with only P5,000 capital and turned this into a thriving business.

His passion on drawing led him to this business.

"I grew up with passion in arts and music. I love to draw and sketch. I grew up also seeing my father do his work in a printing press. He worked as a layout artist in a printing press. In him, I learned and knew how to do layout, color proofing and color separation," the 34-year-old entrepreneur recalled.

Rhod started his passion for the craft he joined a school organization called Printers Club during his high school years.

"There I learned how to do green film cutting and basic paper stenciling and t-shirt printing. That was the time I took it as a hobby of printing my own designed shirt," he said.

Eventually Rhod, while in high school, worked part-time in a printing press as a layout artist and from there he practiced digital graphics and photo enhancements.

That job gave him extra income for his allowance and needs through college.

He later on found another job as a graphic designer in a sportswear shop and chose to postpone taking his board exam after he graduated with electronics and communications engineering in 2004.

He worked there for five years.

On the sidelines he also started accepting small screen printing jobs at home for extra income.

It was in 2009 when he decided to resign from his job and pursue his review for the licensure examination but he was told by his school that it was prioritizing its fresh graduates then.

Given that, he just thought that another path was in store for him.

Being jobless, he ventured into the silkscreen printing business full-time at the height of the election campaigns.

His entrepreneurial journey in the printing business started when a certain politician asked him to do the printing for his campaign shirts during an election.

"That was when I enjoyed the printing and continued to market and look for printing jobs," he said.

It was in 2014 when he transferred his printing production from their house to a rented place just outside their place in N. Bacalso Avenue in Barangay Basak Pardo in Cebu City.

What started as a solo home-based business now produces around 200-300 t-shirts every day from 200 pieces in 3-5 days when the business was just starting.

"I remembered starting the printing solo, as in I look for customers, do the design, prepare the stencils, mix the inks, purchase materials, do the printing, packing, delivering and collecting," he said.

Aside from the usual t-shirt printing, Printahanan Sugbo also now offers embroidery, sublimation printing and digital printing for tumblers and mugs.

With only around P5,000 capital to buy screen printing squeegee and exposure tables to start the business, Rhod had been able to grow it.

"The business has grown with the help of the word-of-mouth from my clients who are satisfied with our craftsmanship. Quality and good service were the primary keys in the growth," he said.

Today, Rhod now has four printers in his shop.

His existing clients include schools, alumni associations, exporters and other firms in Cebu.

"I am looking forward in helping institutions with their needs in printing, giving jobs as I expand our production and acquire new equipments," he said.

Amid the challenges he went through Rhod realized that experience was his best teacher.

Facing challenges

"Problems and struggles will always come. Don’t treat it as burden but take it as a challenge and as an opportunity for your growth. It is with challenge where someone will improve and grow. As an entrepreneur, always know everything in your business so that whatever problems that may come, you can handle them," the Cebuano entrepreneur imparted.

"Always do the best quality possible you can and let your crafts and works do the market for you," he further added.

"In every decision you will make, you must look in the other side of it, think about all the ‘what ifs’ and have a failure plan. Failure is not the end, it is just the beginning of our growth and our step to success. Don’t be afraid of challenges, just accept them, and never stop learning," he concluded. (FREEMAN)