Before fame and fortune, there was only frustration. For the young and unknown Ricky Reyes, foremost was his choice of profession. “I was supposed to be a doctor. But I had a friend who had an accident. Naputol ang finger. Nakita ko ’yung dugo. Natakot ako. Tapos gusto ko maging abogado. Nag-enroll ako sa FEU. Di ko matapos ang pol sci. Kasi puro memorize ng pangalan at petsa! Ay mahina ako dyan!”

When he went home, he reflected long and hard. “I looked in the mirror and asked myself, ‘Ano ba talaga gusto ko?’ I replied, ‘Magtrabaho.’ Eh may trabaho na ako. So, pinag-igi ko na trabaho ko.”

And so the legend began. From a lowly hair sweeper to the most celebrated hairstylist the country has ever known, Ricky Reyes’s story is always inspiring. Proof of that is when he was last week cited as such at the Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines 2009 awards banquet at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting was named Master Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young, the award-giving body, for his and Plantersbank’s efforts in forwarding the interest of small and medium entrepreneurs. He will represent the Philippines in the World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on June 1, 2010.

In the Philippines, the SGV Foundation Inc. established the Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003. They also presented other awards: the Small Business Entrepreneur (Eduarda V. Ayo, owner and manager of E.V. Ayo Enterprises), Manufacturing Entrepreneur (Justin S. Uy, president of Profood International Corp.), Social Entrepreneur (Gemma N. Bulos, founding director of A Single Drop for Safe Water), Emerging Entrepreneur (Antonio L. Tiu, chief executive officer of AgriNurture Inc.), Woman Entrepreneur (Corazon D. Ong, founder and vice chairman of CDO Foodsphere Inc.) and Innovation Entrepreneur (Kenneth C. Cobonpue, CEO of Interior Crafts of the Islands Inc.).

It’s a testament to the goodness of his being and generosity of his spirit that Ricky Reyes finds extreme satisfaction in just being nominated. “I’m happy and thankful to the SGV Foundation and Ernst and Young,” the usually animated “Mother” Ricky seemed humbled by the recognition. “This transcends all borders. Di ka bading. In their meticulous selection process, ang pagka-negosyante ang tinitingnan.”

Only when he became a finalist was he notified of his nomination. “I don’t know the nominator. But being a finalist, winner ka na eh. First, I’m one person who’s not so keen on awards,” Reyes stressed, adding that his plaques of appreciation are numerous and scattered, even his Darling of the Press awards. “Wala akong pinapatulan. But this one from SGV, ibang level! I am just working all these years and I didn’t know there are people who’ve noticed what I do. Nakakatuwa!”

“My mind is not centered on receiving awards. For the business sector to get me as a finalist, this is different. There are thousands of businessmen, at isa ako sa mga finalists,” Reyes beamed with pride. “Entrepreneurs are born; entrepreneurs are not scared to lose money. They are thinkers. I am that. Businessmen only follow what’s popular. I am one person who’s always a player, who thinks about what to do; businessmen are bystanders. They stay safe. Entrepreneurs are the ones who start, spark and pioneer.”

Indeed, when Reyes came along, he revolutionized the hair industry with his Crazy Colors, Crazy Curls, colored streaks for males, perms, rebond, hair spa and milk rebonding. And the rest only followed after the immense successes of these innovative salon services.

At the SGV interview, Reyes was asked who he would like to be with if he won. “I cried. I said, ‘My mom.’ She was a hairdresser. She worked hard but she didn’t make it. I want to tell her, ‘I made it for you.’” Before the interview concluded, most in the room at the time were teary-eyed, familiar as they are with Reyes’s triumph over poverty and adversity. All these are detailed in the book Hair Majesty by Abe Florendo.

To date, there are 45 Ricky Reyes salons, all in the Philippines, all company-owned, no credit cards accepted. His business interests are just as diverse—manufacturing, a resort and spa and a learning institute. “In business, I’m jaded with money. Di ako nabubulag ng pera. If I lose everything now, I will make it in the next five years because I know better now,” he said, smoothing out his tweed suit, quipping, “I designed this myself. Once an artist, always an artist.”

“I don’t sit on my laurels. Yung ibang negosyante, 90 percent ng capital nila inuutang. All my businesses are debt-free; that’s why I’m not scared with the recession. I’m not worried. I have no interest na binabayaran. When I’m asked how much my business is worth, I couldn’t come up with an accurate figure. I let them grow. I don’t think about ROI. I think about the network, maybe that’s why Ricky Reyes is still here.”

Reyes infuses the income he generates into his business, research and development, new technology, improved ambiance of his shops and putting up new ones. “The beauty business is still here. People will always have the attitude na ‘Ang hirap ng buhay, magpapaganda na lang ako.’ Or, ‘Apply ako for work, kailangan mag-ayos’; “Nangangaliwa asawa ko, I have to be beautiful.”’

What Ricky Reyes caters to—and masterfully so—is an emotional market. “The beauty business benefits depressed people. After a break-up, women would cut their hair. I always tell them to change their looks every quarter, like putting little bangs or coloring their hair. It boosts their personality.”

In 1984, Ricky Reyes started giving back. “Isang Gunting, Isang Suklay” visited all depressed areas of the country from Isabela to Sulu. “Helping the poor learn a livelihood project came naturally to me. I’m happy doing it. Now it’s called corporate social responsibility. Ang tagal ko na ginagawa ’yan! Dati they call it charity; now sosyal na!” He let out his flamboyant laugh. 

Over breakfast at the Makati Shang, our interview was variously interrupted by calls from people he tapped to help feed the poorest victims of the Typhoon Ondoy tragedy. Reyes was then cooking up his “Kain na, Juan” program. “I always like spearheading something that will contaminate people. There are so many good people. They just don’t know where to start helping and who to trust,” Reyes muses.

“I’m happy because I’m so blessed. Sobrang bait ng Diyos. Gusto ko ibalik sa kanya lahat ng kabutihan nya,” he went on. “I can’t ask for more. It’s too much. When I check my income, I get scared. Why is God so good to me? What I do, binabalik ko sa kanya.”

Reyes emphasized that he has never been educated in business, “but I learned my trade along the way. I practice honesty, ’di ako nandaya. My business will be 40 years next year, and no one can come up to me and tell me, ‘Oy niloko mo ako!’ Mine is a triumph of someone na di nakapag-aral. Na pwede pala mag-succeed someone na nag technical-vocational schooling lang.”

Was he hoping to bag the Entrepreneur of the Year award? “To be a finalist alone, happy na ako. After all that I’ve done in life, eto na ang gift from God,” Reyes said, radiating an after-facial glow. “I am someone who has no inggit, galit o tampo.”