“THE only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” — Steve Jobs
Opportunities to achieve something significant don’t happen every day. In fact, they sometimes come rarely in a lifetime. Here’s a classic turnaround story about a young up and comer who broke through the clutter of beverage manufacturers and still made a mark: Patrick Cua of Golden Coolers, a company engaged in the production of flavored juice drinks in doy packs.
A full blooded Ilocano, Patrick’s life is just one of the many stories replete with failures in the beginning but success came in the latter part. As had been proven time and again, people are most creative when their backs were against the wall.
He went through the same phase early on in life. Ever the enterprising entrepreneur, Patrick tried several enterprises before going into the beverage business. He sold “samalamig” and fishballs in carts and mini donuts to children starting in 2002 and these ventures failed. But this did not deter him from trying other ventures. He thought to himself that he may fail at the time but climbing the ladder little by little, he can reach the top.
Patrick, as a Chinese lad, had been taught that the difference between an interest and a commitment is the difference between if and when. When we truly commit ourselves to success, it becomes inevitable.
At the start, his family was against the beverage production business because they say juice drinks are seasonal and sales are brisk only during summer but Patrick was persistent and passionate about the idea. Sometimes, it is quite true that there is a fine line between entrepreneurship and insanity. Crazy people see and feel things that others don’t. But you have to believe that everything is possible. If you believe it, those around you will believe it too.
Patrick was crazy about the idea and he firmly believed he could make it if given another chance. He kept on pushing, approaching his father and other family members and friends. They were all against putting up another venture that ‘might fail again’, so they say.
Patience and determination paid off, however. Somebody who had been on the road and knew how it was to take risks, took the reins for Patrick – he was able to win his grandfather’s support. His lolo, who is fondly known as “Ponga” in the community, owns and manages Town Bakeshop (the pioneering bakery in Laoag since the ‘50s), had him rent his property at a fairly reasonable price which Patrick turned into a production facility and warehouse.
He put up the business against all odds and faced all kinds of problems: not enough capital, lack of manpower, production problems, etc.
Golden Coolers had its soft opening in 2006 with only P3,000 capital, second hand equipment and 3 people (1 boy, 1 girl who formed his sales team and Patrick as all-around manager) and 1 bicycle. He officially opened up the company by May 2007.
I was introduced to Patrick by his girlfriend, who was a former student at De La Salle, hoping I could give him some advice on how to get started on a professional level. Unable to resolve the company’s growing pains, he wasn’t so sure at the time how to venture and promote his product on a bigger scale. When I first made my first visit to Patrick’s factory, production was inside the warehouse. His staff then numbered around 30 people. It was very hot inside as there was no air condition. Structure, leadership development, and soul-searching were needed to successfully guide Patrick through the transition process.
Patrick meticulously mapped out business strategies to solve his problems on personnel management, sales, marketing, distribution, production and financing strategies. Next, he set up regular Man Com meetings with supervisors, finance, personnel managers. The meetings proved productive almost immediately, where collective decisions were made. Everything was put into place – financial records, minutes of meetings, personnel files, etc.
Now, Patrick has more than a hundred employees. Latest sales performance has been phenomenal – from an unpredictable few thousand boxes a month when he met me, to a whopping hundred thousand boxes a month and still growing. Today, Patrick’s company is the dominant beverage manufacturer in Northern Luzon, even beating his biggest competitor, an industry giant, in terms of sales in his territory.
With operational matters handled much more easily, the company’s leadership can now focus on strategic questions such as expansion and more creative marketing and branding decisions. “Today, Golden Coolers has a real management structure in place that can support substantial growth,” says Patrick.
Not because something appears in contrast with the norms, it is no longer an opportunity worth taking. For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour and Patrick did just that. He faced various problems and even contradictions from friends and family but he believed in himself and saw the ‘potentials’ beyond the horizon.
Sometimes, the most rewarding opportunities come from the most unconventional ideas. By looking at things with a balanced perspective, you’ll be able to face every opportunity thoughtfully and realize what good decision is yours to take in the end.
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Prof. Soriano is the Turnaround Advisor of wongadvisory.com and the Chairman of the Marketing Cluster at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. For comments please check his Facebook account or email writer at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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