ENTREPERNEURIAL TRAITS OF GOKONGWEI

1. Foresight

            John, already an established and very skilled trader and importer in the Philippines at the time, was looking to the future and wanted to expand his company and his businesses. Instead of just importing goods, his companies began producing and marketing Filipino-made products, from coffee, chocolate, sugar, flour and snack foods that competed with and often surpassed the quality of products made by huge international companies. Today  the Gokongwei companies became a captain of industry and were marked for their innovation, leadership and global competitiveness. They have a lot business that been involved. World become modern by each day so as an entrepreneur need to have foresight thinking just like John Gokongwei and family did.

2. Integrity and Reliability

Cebu Pacific Air (PSE:CEB) is  also owned by John Gokongwei. It entered the aviation industry on March 1996 and pioneered the “low fare, great value” strategy. They have since then flown over 100 million passengers and counting. CEB is the largest carrier in the Philippine air transportation industry, offering low-cost services to more destinations and routes with higher flight frequency within the Philippines than any other airline. CEB also operates flights to 28 cities in 18 countries in North Asia, ASEAN, Australia, and the Middle East.

CEB currently operates a 55​-strong fleet of 47​​ Airbus (10 A319, 31 A320 and 6 A330) and 8 ATR 72-500 aircraft, one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world. Between 2015 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 7 more brand-new ​Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft orders. It began long-haul services in the 3rd quarter of 2013.

CEB is also the preferred and dominant air cargo carrier in the Philippines. They provide competitive, fast, flexible and straightforward air cargo services to an extensive network, for individual shippers and cargo agents.

Their guests have also learned to anticipate a uniquely upbeat flying experience with CEB, as they are the only carrier offering fun in the skies with their “Fun Games” on board.

3. Decisive

John improves technology by working with new ways and intelligent systems (Digital and Sun Cellular). He lost the court ruling of getting a board seat at San Miguel, but it didn’t stop him to work more.

      Our world is composed of everything that is continuously developing. That is why businesses should keep up with such like John did.

       Take risks, calculated risks. According to Dr. Khanser, entrepreneurs like Gokongwei “are risk-takers; they thrive in the high-risk market environments. But the risks they take are well educated; they are not merely gambling.” Indeed, in the words of Gokongwei: "Entrepreneurship is not for the weak of heart. There is no easy path to success. You will need to work harder than your employees, to keep your mind sharp, and to face your inner fears. In the end, entrepreneurship is not only finding opportunities to create value in the business sense, but also finding the opportunities to be your best self."

4. Perceptiveness

John sees positivity in every failure, mistakes, and bad thing he experiences and looks forward to using the experience to improve. John who were the small boy who used to sell soap and candles in a Cebu market. Today, he makes the world a better place with his enterprise. He believes that every Filipinos can do the same. Everyone has their chance to make it big in the entrepreneurial field. He said that even the big players today started off small.

John offer quality products in a cheaper price to his target customers because he knows that customers will give them benefits in availing the products and services. He consider innovation to the product for him to gain more and loyal customers.

"But to be a truly great nation, we must also excel as entrepreneurs before the world. We must create Filipino brands for the global market place." Gokongwei has consistently emphasized in his speeches the need to aspire for the global market, and to see trade liberalization not as an enemy, but as a challenge. "Through the years, the market place has expanded between cities, countries, and continents. I want to urge you all here to think bigger. Why serve 86 million when you can sell to four billion Asians? And that's just to start you off. Because there is still the world beyond Asia. When you go back to your offices, think of ways to sell and market your products and services to the world. Create world-class brands” said him.

5. Initiative

Although he came from a wealthy family in Cebu, creditors seized their family’s assets when his father died in 1939, leaving his family penniless. Unable to keep the family together, his mother placed the 13-year-old Gokongwei under his granduncle’s care. When his granduncle could no longer support him, Gokongwei sold soap, thread, and candles on a bicycle to support himself.

Unsatisfied, he traveled to Manila to sell products from Cebu and Lucena during World War II. His initiative impressed older Chinese traders enough for Dr. Alberto SyCip, chairman of the board of China Bank, to entrust him with a P500,000 loan when he wanted to start a corn-milling factory in 1956. Since then, Gokongwei hasn’t looked back, investing and re-investing in different ventures to grow his empire into what it is today.

This what makes him able to do a legacy for his family. Don’t be afraid to take on the big boys. This is eerily similar to the motto of the Pinoy Entrepreneurs site, which is “In a global economy dominated by entrenched giants, the Pinoy Entrepreneurs can still make it big”. Everyone knows that Mr. Gokongwei is a living testament to this motto, by taking on domestic and global giants. In his words "Remember the story of David and Goliath? Every industry has its Goliath. But every David knows that all giants have their weaknesses. Every weakness is an opportunity”.