This document profiles several successful Filipino entrepreneurs and how they started their businesses. It describes how Henry Sy began selling shoes after World War 2 and built his business into the SM retail empire. It also discusses how Socorro Ramos continued her bookstore despite destruction and fires, how Tony Tan Caktiong pivoted from ice cream to hamburgers to form Jollibee, and how Elena Lim brought Sony products to the Philippines and founded Solid Group. Overall, the document highlights how these entrepreneurs believed in their ideas and persevered through challenges to achieve business success.

1. Chapter 5
Initiative The SMEs : Entrepreneur Idea

2. Overview Topic
• Background of the SMEs owners in Philippine
• How to Initiate the Idea of SMEs ?

3. 3 FILIPINO BUSINESS ICONS
HENRY SY - SM Corporation
• It all began after the war in 1945 when
Henry Sy began selling American shoes
imported by enterprising soldiers. Soon
he opened shoe stores.
• His confidence in himself later inspired
him to make these stores into a full-
pledged chain of department stores.
Today he is the richest Filipino.

4. Henry Sy - SM Buildings

5. • In 1945, National Bookstore experienced
Japanese soldiers destroying the books
they sold and fires that burned the store
to the ground.
• All these did not stop Ms. Ramos in
continuing the business. Thanks to her
positive attitude and sound business
sense, it now has 100 branches
nationwide.
SOCORRO RAMOS - NATIONAL BOOK
STORE

6. Socorro Ramos -National Book Store

7. • When Tony Tan Caktiong began to sell
more hamburgers than ice cream, he
decided to turn his small ice-cream parlor
into a burger restaurant named Jollibee.
He focused on true Filipino values in his
product development.
• Tan Caktiong credit his success to “hard
work and determination.” Today, Jollibee
has over 600 local and 500 international
stores.
TONY TAN CAKTIONG

8. TONY TAN CAKTIONG-JOLLIBEE CORP.

9. Joey Concepcion – Presidential
Consultant for Entrepreneurship and
RFM President

10. Joey Concepcion
• As a boy, idolized Batman and wore Batman
costume during birthday celebrations.
• As a businessman, pitted Selecta and
Cosmos against giants Magnolia and Coke.
• Later appointed by the Philippine President
as Presidential Consultant for
Entrepreneurship.
• From idolizing Batman, Joey is now helping
fight poverty in the country by helping
Filipinos on business.

11. Julie Gandiongco
• Julie did not complete Education degree
having married her husband at age 20.
• To help feed the family she did many jobs
but still not enough.
• One day while doing her task picking up
bread from bakeshops, a baker suggested
that she put up her own bakeshop which
she followed.
• Today her bakeshop called Julie’s
Bakeshop has over 500 stores

12. Julie Gandiongco - Julie’s Bakeshop

13. They Believed!
• Poor boy to Harvard University
• Grace Gupana - ABS Herbs

14. Grace Gupana
• At first people did not believe in her bitter
gourd capsules as cure for illness
throwing it to the gutter after her lecture.
• Grace persevered and established ABS
Gen Herbs in 1999.
• Today her bitter gourd capsule is popular
as natural medicine for diabetes and
other illnesses and has attracted famous
people.

15. Elena Lim – Solid Group Inc.
• Years ago, Elena Lim brought into the
Philippines the still unknown brand of
radios called Sony. No one wanted to
do business with her because Sony was
not yet famous and she is a woman.
• But Elena believed and went to Japan
to ask that her company be allowed to
manufacture and market in the
Philippines the Sony Trinitron TV.

16. Elena Lim - Solid Group Inc.

17. Arnel Ignacio
• Arnel Ignacio could have just blamed
constantly his genes for his growing
baldness. Instead he looked for a solution
and stumbled on a German supplier with
the right products.
• He made it his mission to help people
with thinning hair and established
Creative Hair Systems that is now doing
well selling wigs, hair extensions, and
hairpieces.

18. Arnel Ignacio – Creative Hair Systems

19. Dr. Vicki Belo – Belo Medical Group
• Vicki Belo began with a simple dream:
for all Filipinos to look beautiful. So
she enrolled in courses that taught the
most advanced beauty techniques.
• Today she has 7 successful clinics and
her clients include movie stars, rich
people, and even middle-income
customers.

20. Vicki Belo – Belo Medical Group Clinic

21. RICHIE CUNA - FIORGELATO
• Richie Cuna decided to start an ice cream
business even while working as bank VP
because he realized a job ends at
retirement,
• Initially he juggled his time between his
job and his business but later resigned to
focus on business which was succeeding.
• Today, the business has expanded to 4
other brands and has several outlets in
the US.

22. Richie Cuna - Fiorgelato

23. Tintin Bersola – Precious Memories
• TV personality Tintin Bersola put up in
2004 Precious Memories but a former
employee copied everything and put up
her own business offering lower price.
• Instead of getting discouraged she
offered better service and quality and
won back her clients. Business problems
do not stop her from forming new
businesses such as cologne and lotion.

24. Tintin Bersola – Precious Memories