At Business and Professional Women (BPW) Makati, we see the value of converging and connecting in order to share stories, learn from each other’s experiences and expand our respective networks. Since the beginning of the year, we have been collaborating with A Space Manila on a monthly series of “Women Wednesdays” events that feed both our minds and our souls.
For the month of June, and with the theme of independence in mind, we decided to tackle the precarious shift in which many career women sometimes find themselves: that of shifting from the corporate world to entrepreneurship. There are many prevailing myths around entrepreneurship and the “freedom to be your own boss,” and our three speakers candidly shared both the risks and the rewards of this often-tricky, but always-empowering path.
Camille Basa, owner of CrossBow Communication Services and business development manager of Globex Properties Philippines, was once a marketing executive for one of the largest multinational health, wellness and nutrition companies in the world. She also lived and work in Singapore for a few years, before coming back to the Philippines to establish her own firm.
Ma. Rosario “Ito” Gruet, co-founder of Computer Professionals Inc. (CPI) and one of the leaders of the Philippine Software Industry Association, started out in information technology (IT) and project management roles in the insurance industry, building up over 25 years of experience in various areas of software development. After cofounding CPI, she led the team that developed an integrated nonlife-insurance system that has since been widely adapted by the Philippine insurance market.
Also an IT wizardress, Dinah Salonga is cofounder and managing director of SQL*Wizard Inc., an IT solutions and services company focusing on Oracle technology. According to her, she was “Employee No. 1 of Oracle in the Philippines,” having worked with the company from 1991 to 1996. After founding the companies SQL*Wizard Inc. and its affiliate, dB Wizards, Dinah was named one of the “10 Outstanding Entrepreneurs for 2007” by Entrepreneur Magazine. Aside from her outstanding credentials in the IT industry, Dinah is also a certified Hot Yoga and Yin Yoga instructor and coowns the yoga studio Yoga+.
Our workshop participants noted that all three women had these things in common:
Passion: All three women decided to build something of their own, doing something they love. There are many challenges to being an entrepreneur, but they enjoy the process, as well as the outcomes, because of their passion for the field.
Single-mindedness: Passion isn’t enough to sustain a business, however, and it’s actually purpose that gets you farther. All three speakers expressed a very clear purpose for making the shift to do what they do now. Beyond the “what” and the “how,” they know why they decided to take on the risks to establish their own ventures.
Grit: Camille, Ito and Dinah all had their own battles to contend with, and they had the determination and the persistence to keep on going even when times were tough. They knew that rejections weren’t personal, that there were always other opportunities to pursue. But they also knew which battles to fight, and when to give way and let things go.
Support: All three talked about having a support system composed of family, friends and loved ones. This kind of support structure is also one that BPW Makati hopes to nurture, through a network of inspired individuals that others can also draw inspiration from.
When asked about “the greatest thing that kept [them] going” through the transition period, and through the tough times of entrepreneurship, here’s what they shared:
“It’s a lot of self-mastery and self-awareness. Am I really that persistent? Is it time? Is it something I want to do?” Camille talked about the early questions in her head. “Do all the scenarios in your head of how bad it could get. Fight the battle in your head already, so when you do get there, like when you’re trying to…close accounts, it’s really not personal.”
“When you know yourself… there’s that confidence [that] whatever the outcome is… it doesn’t have anything to do with how good or bad you are as a person. You have to be firm and strong on the inside. But, of course, you also have to cut yourself some slack. Take time out, give yourself breaks.”
Ito talked about her personal-support system. “It also helped that we [in our team at CPI] have supportive husbands. They saw we were having so much fun. That was the most important factor. We always try to look at everything on the lighter side. You will always hurdle if you are positive. ‘There’s always a solution to every problem,’ that is our motto.”
Meanwhile, for Dinah, “It’s very important that the business you are getting into is something that you like. The money comes because you’re doing what you love and you’re putting your heart and soul into it.”
However, she also cautioned the idealists in the audience: “As an entrepreneur, don’t think that everything will always be good. You will always make mistakes. It is a lifelong learning process, but the beauty is you can always change because you dictate your strategy. “
But what about the rewards of entrepreneurship? According to Dinah, “Oh, times are always hard! As an entrepreneur…I feel that what keeps me going is always believing in what I do. Whether it’s in IT or in yoga, I see the value. When we implement a system and it’s successful and the customer is happy, that is the reward. When I see one of our [yoga] students suddenly getting it [and saying], ‘Oh my God, yoga is saving me, I don’t take medicine anymore, I can sleep better,’ that’s the reward.”
Dinah concluded, “So even when you have difficult times and you hear these stories, it makes [all the challenges] worth it.” For us at BPW Makati, we couldn’t agree more.
To learn more about how BPW Makati supports current and aspiring entrepreneurs and to be part of the BPW Makati network, e-mail bpw.makati@gmail.com.
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Niña Terol heads corporate affairs for McCann Worldgroup Philippines, the leading multinational marketing communications firm in the Philippines. Terol is a member of Business and Professional Women Makati, a nonprofit organization aligned with the United Nations Women Empowerment Principles.