I never fail to say that without its mentors, our advocacy at Go Negosyo would not have succeeded as well as it did. Mentorship, after all, is a major pillar of successful entrepreneurship. Without someone to help one see the path and the hazards that lie ahead, the journey will be that much more difficult. The frustration of making avoidable mistakes – errors that a more experienced mentor might have warned against – can drive aspiring entrepreneurs to abandon their dreams altogether.

That is why it was such an honor for me to stand before the members of the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) last week and receive their prestigious Chairman’s Award. I think the award should be shared with the many entrepreneurs who have given their weekends and holidays to mentor MSMEs. With their help, we were able to create platforms like 3M on Wheels to connect mentees with mentors, providing small entrepreneurs with vital access to money (capital) and markets – both digital and offline. Likewise, the numerous business chambers and industry organizations that support our efforts deserve our thanks.

Looking at the many MSMEs who are struggling out there, they need all the help we can give them. For many, franchising was the fastest way to learn on the job. Franchising is a great model for aspiring entrepreneurs. A franchise is already a proven model in which entrepreneurs can just plug in and avoid the pains of experimenting and smoothing out the operational details because these have already been worked out in the franchise model. Franchises also offer access to ready markets, thanks to brand-building and promotions that are requisites of every successful franchise model.

Franchising, however, doesn’t mean you don’t have to work at all. It’s still hard work. You operate under someone else’s model and have to trust and follow the system. You are expected to operate on an agreed level and, most important of all, have to have the resources (i.e. capital) to avail of the franchise.

That is why we have another important pillar – access to money, or capital – to successful entrepreneurship. Easing access to capital is a constant struggle in the advocacy for a robust MSME sector in the Philippines. Banks are, by nature, cautious and risk-averse. The business plan that comes with franchises often helps in overcoming this hurdle.

Go Negosyo’s early mentoring events started with many PFA members as volunteers. I can recall that as far back president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s time, the PFA family has been there alongside us as we reached out and mentored active and aspiring entrepreneurs. Many of the big franchise names we have in the Philippines today were once small entrepreneurs; today, some have become so successful that they have started venturing to franchise markets overseas.

Among the steadfast mentors we have from PFA are its current head, Chris Lim, past chair Sheryl Quintana of Oryspa, Kamela Seen of Platowraps, Siu Ping Par of PR Gaz, Tess Ngan Tian of Lots’a Pizza, Richi Cuna of Milkin Corp., Bing Limjoco of Francorp, Richard Sanz of Bibingkinitan, Alice Liu of Golden ABC, Glenn Yu of Seaoil and so many more generous businessmen. They give of their time – precious weekends at that – and their hard-earned knowledge to help other struggling businessmen. It is something to behold and always leaves me in awe of how the most successful people tend to be the most giving.

Chris, especially, would know how important mentoring can be. His father Samie is a stalwart of PFA and one of the pillars of the franchising community in the Philippines. In the same way that my dad, Joecon, taught me the importance of industry and public service in helping the economy, Samie taught Chris how franchising can be a tool to help others succeed in life.

Chris and his brothers actively helped in the family business; my father insisted that we go wherever he went so we can learn. In that manner, our elders became our mentors. In my case, my father taught us not just the ins and outs of running RFM, but also a sense of love and duty for the country. Even during the difficult years, he refused to leave the Philippines. He stuck it out here, along with us, his family and made sure RFM and his other businesses continued to operate and employ people, even as he divested to serve as DTI secretary. In that way, he taught me that there is more to being a businessman than making a profit. You have to take care of the ecosystem in which your business operates. That means caring about the people and the businesses that support your business.

Thanks to his guidance and the wisdom of my own mentors, I understood that there is no other way for our nation to be great unless we help our MSMEs scale up. Our country’s future is intrinsically linked to the success of our MSMEs. When MSMEs thrive, they generate more jobs, fostering a robust economy that benefits everyone. This Circle of Prosperity – where a vibrant business sector spurs job creation, leading to higher wages and a stronger GDP – is a vision we must collectively strive for.

Franchising, especially, can be the vehicle for many aspiring entrepreneurs. It is estimated that franchising contributed 7.8 percent to the country’s GDP in 2022, making it a major factor in the Philippines’ post-pandemic recovery. It is not hard to imagine then, how franchising alone can generate an estimated two million direct and indirect jobs for Filipinos. With a growing middle class and increased information sharing via social media, we can only expect the franchise sector to be one of those to lead our country to upper-middle income status. All thanks to the inherent mentoring that franchising brings to our MSMEs.

Originally Published in Philippine Star