Go Negosyo! Go Negosyo! Go! Asenso Tayo! This chant filled the halls of Saint Louis University in Baguio City last Sunday as we held our first run of Youth Entrepreneurship Summit (YES) 2013 – North Luzon. Yes, you can achieve your dreams. You are all still young with full of energy. Surround yourself with positive thoughts. Study hard, work hard, and learn well.

We were pleased that schools led by Saint Louis University (SLU) helped us gather the students and teachers from Mountain Province State Polytechnic College(MPSPC), Cordillera Career and Development College(CCDC), University of Cordilleras(UC), Philippine Women’s University(PWU), Saint Louis College of La Union (SLC), University of the Philippines – Baguio(UPB), University of Baguio(UB), Abra State Institute of Science and Technology(ASIST), Abra Valley Colleges, Dine’s City College, and Eastern College.

SLU – Student Affairs Dean Gil Espiritu gave a warm and sincere welcome and emphasized the importance of programs for the youth in Cordillera. His message was also inspiring for everybody. Go Negosyo, represented by executive director Ramon Lopez, gave an inspiring message to instil positive enterprising mindset on character, competence, and creativity. Also, he highlighted a different dimension to defining success as the concern for others.

Our appreciation also goes to our advocates who served as the speakers and panelists. The long travel from Manila to Baguio and vice versa did not matter and they travelled six to seven hours just to be in the summit. They are always the essential part of the Go Negosyo success. We had Ardy Roberto, a new Go Negosyo advocate Miriam Quiambao (Miss Universe first runner-up 1999), GJ Jimenez(Banapple), Kamela Seen (Plato Wraps), Zarah Juan (Panda Cleaners), Melody Ayupan (Metaphors Body Products), Carlo Calimon (Let’s Go Foundation), Armand Bencgo (Colayco Foundation), and Michael Angelo Lobrin (Laugh with God Today).

Ardy Roberto started the jampacked day of YES with the first discussion about developing a positive entrepreneurial mindset as the key to success. He said, “You need enthusiasm, excitement and energy to start a business.” Miriam Quiambao also shared her moving story which did not only revolve around Miss Universe, but also on her faith and life as an entrepreneur.

During the panel discussion, it was a sweet story of GJ Jimenez as he shared the account of his wife who bakes very well and how they came up with Banapple. Kamela Seen demonstrated her passion for making her extraordinary recipe of special bread with chickens which is now popularly known as Plato Wraps. Zarah Juan, who has been actively participating in our YES events, came with her husband and son, and related how her fondness of dolls brought her Panda Cleaners. Melody Ayupan, who was the only panelist from Baguio, highlighted how her mother plays a big role in her success and Metaphors Body Products.

Carlo Calimon, one of the inspiring young Go Negosyo advocates, gave a very good discussion about entrepreneurship and inspired the participants by sharing his countless achievements as a young and vibrant entrepreneur. He emphasized, “Ang nakakakita ng hindi nakikita ng iba ay siyang kikita.” Furthermore, Armand Bengco awakened the participants on the right mindset on financial literacy by emphasizing the need to do proper spending, saving, planning and investing. He highlighted, “Save to use. Save to Keep. Save to share.” Last but not the least, with his witty, incomparable energy, Michael Angelo Lobrin motivated all the participants about life, choices people make, and the attitude which brings difference in the life of aspiring entrepreneurs. He said, “If you want to be successful, you have to make that choice even if that’s the most painful choice.”

Also, it was a good opportunity to talk with the youth from the Cordillera region and know their stories. It was an important reminder to the Go Negosyo team that we are really starting to make a sustainable impact.

Originally a Humanities student, 21-year-old Louie Marie Dadat was encouraged by her cousin to transfer to B.S. in Business Administration course. Maximizing her remaining months in her senior year, she participated in YES Baguio. After the summit Louie believes, “I want to start improving myself. To start and believe that no idea is bad until it is tested and done. The Go Negosyo speakers shared the most special day of the week with not just one, but more than a hundred strangers. Their willingness to share and talk about their experiences is one inspiration to me. That one Sunday, I will be standing in front of a couple hundred people and talking about my own success.”

Another student who was keen and attentive during YES Baguio was the 17-year-old Rhean Paul Flores, a first year student taking B.S. Business Administration – Marketing from Saint Louis University. He proudly says, “After gaining ideas from the summit, I made a deal with my uncle who has a t-shirt printing, wedding and souvenirs shop. That through social networking sites, I will advertise or sell his products and add at least 15 percent from the original price as my own profit.”

Christine Joy Vidad is a 17-year-old petite yet steadfast second year student of B.S. in Business Administration – Financial Management at University of Cordilleras. Her parents are not management course graduates. After graduating from high school, she thought herself that she wanted to be a financial management practitioner. When their professor told them about YES Baguio, she and her friends confirmed participation. For Christine, “The summit gives me an avenue that my dream is possible. It has taught me the right attitude especially in decision making.”

These are just some of the youth who continue to dream and aspire to be better people, and they are some of the reasons why Go Negosyo tries to reach out to our young Filipino dreamers outside Metro Manila. We are helping them with tools and guides that can somehow turn their dreams into reality sooner than later.

For the Youth Entrepreneurship Summit (YES) Visayas, in partnership with Central Philippine University, we are going to Iloilo on the 4th of September. On August 9, Go Negosyo with Philippines marketing guru Josiah Go will head to Pampanga for the Magandang Business Advice (MBA) Program in Marketing and Innopreneurship. Also, on Aug. 14, we will head to Laguna with the Department of Trade and Industry to bring the SME Roving Academy Calamba.