Attributes and

Characteristics of
Filipino
Entrepreneurs

BSBA 1C
Baradi, Clarisse
Cruz, Merrylee Stephanie
Malonzo, Yza Kamylle
Mendoza, Luis Angelo
Paraiso, Angela
Reyes, Aviline
Teodoro, Jannah
Timonera, Dianne Rose
Nature of the Business: Food and Beverage

Company/Business Name: Bo's Coffee

History/Business Startup:

Steve Benitez is a man with an entrepreneurial mindset. Just like the coffee chain he
founded, Steve is proudly Filipino, born and raised in Cebu City, the country’s second-largest city.
His relationship with coffee during his law school years, as drinking and making coffee became a
ritual during long nights of studying. When Steve realized he savored the buzz of caffeine above
all else, he dropped out of law school and traveled to the United States to study the coffee industry.
Steve met a man named Bo, an Italian-American coffee roaster in a coffee exhibition he attended
in New Orleans whose passion made an impact on the young entrepreneur. By that Steve inspired
and put a name to the business: Bo’s Coffee. By 1996, Steve opened his first coffee kiosk upon
returning to Cebu. More than 20 years later, the company has grown to more than 100 stores in the
Philippines. The sources of coffee beans are locally from Sagada, Mountain Province, Mt.
Kitanglad, Mt. Matutum, and Mt. Apo.

Fast forward to 2015, Bo’s Coffee sets itself apart by serving

customers with authentic and unparalleled Filipino hospitality and is vying
with international chains, such as Starbucks, and even some local
copycats. Bo’s Coffee is in fact the first coffee chain in the Philippines to
launch a loyalty app, enabling the company to gain in-depth insights into
customer purchasing behavior and preferences. Steve, who was also the
President of the Entrepreneurs Organization Philippines, is proof that local
entrepreneurs can compete head-to-head with international brands with the
right blend of innovation and customer service.
Attributes and Characteristics:

Persistent

Steve possess this characteristic of being persistent when he challenges his business in
acceptability, since people were not familiar with the product he offers because they found it
expensive. He did not give up because of his persistence to treat it as something he wants to achieve
and also because of his passion.

Creative

An entrepreneur is also innovators who continuously look for ways to market and supply
their customer the best service and to encourage more loyal and supportive target market. Steve
Benitez shows his creativity when he develops a strategy to attract and payback for his customers.
Bo's Coffee is in fact the first coffee chain in the Philippines to launch a loyalty app enabling the
company to gain in-depth insights to customer purchasing behavior and preference. This creativity
he developed add some advantage to his competitors and to the uniqueness of his business.

Responsible

He also classified for being responsible because he managing all of his branches and also
employees from the lower level up to the top. As he said “I try to hire the best people in their field
of expertise so we can achieve greater things together ". His goal is to have a better people that can
teach or mentoring one another. As the owner he is responsible for all of the things inside of his
company.

Inquisitive

As mentioned in the story Steve traveled to the United States to study the coffee industry.
Because when he travels, he always goes to coffee shops around the world and felt that his
experience was lacking and there is an absence of that experience in his hometown, so he takes the
opportunity to seek for that experience and bring it to his business.

Goal-Oriented

Steve Benitez being a goal-oriented entrepreneur brings coffee into the highest level. The
mere fact that he sacrificed law school and just focused on coffee industry became his first step to
reach what the entrepreneur's achieved today. Despite on several competitors Steve Benitez didn't
quit, he elevates the quality of Philippine coffee that makes Bo's Coffee internationally
competitive. Who would know that the coffee he used to drink while studying become the
Philippines' first and largest homegrown with several stores nationwide
Independent

Steve is also independent entrepreneur because he started his business in a small kiosk with
a one hundred fifty thousand capital. By this he proves that with his passion he can able to work
alone with himself and can do things with his own supervision.

Self-Confident

From the start, Steve Benitez shows self-confidence. He is confident when he established
his business and for his product that will satisfy the customers because he knows every detail,
manage the operations and monitor the transactions in that way he is 100%proud that Bo’s Coffee
will be more successful someday.

Risk Taker

Steve can be counted on being risk-taker because from the first place he didn't have a doubt
on dropping his law school for the coffee business. As stated in the article, Despite the initial
struggles and the growing number of international competitors, he created a business that is locally
rooted and internationally competitive. And by that Bo's Coffee is still one of the tops in successful
business here in the Philippines. He took the risk of having coffee business even he was not that
professional in business world.
Nature of the Business: Food Manufacturing Industry
Company/Business Name: Pampanga's Best
History/Business Startup:
Lolita O. Hizon’s meat vendor neighbor approached her one day with some unsold pork at
the end of the day. She agreed to help cure the meat in order to avoid spoilage using her own
version of the traditional Capampangan pindang (fermented pork). She called the end-product
‘tocino’ and the unique salty-but-sweet taste became a hit among buyers. “I asked for her five kilos
and I processed it into tocino, which I learned from my mother. I gave it to her again the next day.
She sold it easily,” said Lolita. Later on, she refined the formula and the process which eventually
led to establishing the Pampanga’s Best, Inc. To get started, she needed a P3,000 capital and she
found a way to produce the money. “I pawned my ring for the amount. I started making tocino
every day and I was praying to God that the orders will double the next day,” she recalled.

Today, Pampanga’s Best, Inc. is a multi-million meat processing corporation, operated and
owned by the couple, Mr. Angelo D. Hizon Jr. and Mrs. Lolita O. Hizon, and their twelve children.
It manufactures eleven core products – Tocino, Hotdogs, Longaniza, Ham, Bacon, Tapa, Burger
Patties, Corned Beef, Embotido, Barbecue, and Nuggets. True to its motto – Always the best from
Pampanga’s BEST – the company puts prominence on the importance of high quality throughout
it’s more than 40 years in the business, creating customer value, satisfaction, and loyalty. Also, it
acquired the AAA Category, the highest level for a manufacturing plant, from the National Meat
Inspection Service.Consumers’ taste for something new is endless, which leads to the development
of new products based on the consumers’ preference and his environment. With the expertise and
creativity of its Research and Development Team, the company is able to cater to the different
needs and demand of the consumers.
Competition is growing so fast – entrants of new and small enterprises and some companies
are imitating our products, but with the company’s mission to adopt new technologies for the
innovation of its products and service and its creatively and uniquely designed and well – executed
systems, Pampanga’s Best is surely a brand to match; because the value it gives to it’s customers
is irreplaceable.
Attributes and Characteristics:
Persistent
Lolita can be considered a persistent entrepreneur because after discovering tocino, (which
is made from pork), she keeps on trying new things. That serves as a way for her to discover
products that she could also sell. In fact, after discovering the tocino bloomed her discovery on
products that enables their business to gain more profit.

Creative
Lolita Hizon the person behind the famous Tocino from Pampanga's Best is one of the
successful Filipino entrepreneurs up to date. It all started when she asked one of her neighbors,
who is a meat vendor to use his left-over meats to make a new product. Being creative, Lolita
Hizon cured the meat for it to last longer and acquired the unique salty and sweet flavor that the
market loved. After receiving positive feedback in the market, she developed more variety of
products for the people to enjoy like hotdogs, longaniza, ham, bacon, tapa, burger patties, corned
beef, embotido, barbeque and nuggets. There are still more products that Pampanga's Best may
serve to us in the future that the customers will love.

Responsible
According to some interview, when Mrs. Lolita asked about what is the secret behind her
success, she said that it's love and compassion. The motto in their business is "Always the best
from Pampanga's best." They give focus on customers' satisfaction and creating customers' value
and loyalty. They are responsible for their customers’ needs and wants to make sure that they are
satisfied in consuming their products. Also, they acquired the AAA category from the National
Meat Inspection Service so it means that the meat they are using are clean and fresh. And was able
to manage the business well and she assessed her ability to recognize an existing problem and
found a viable solution to make the quality of life in general a little better for humanity.

Inquisitive
In an interview she said that “I asked for her five kilos and I processed it into tocino, which
I learned from my mother. I gave it to her again the next day. She sold it easily,” this proves that
being inquisitive enables a person to discover and create something new. When Lolita discovered
the salty-but-sweet taste of the meat she cured she asked for others opinion about that and after
receiving positive feedback she was able to start her new venture.

Goal-Oriented
Being a mother of twelve children, Lolita was burdened by the responsibility to support
her family that is why having an objective to feed a big family back then she is focused on
developing a plan on the growth of her newly start business. Having this as a mindset she has now
a multimillion business operating around the world.
Independent
Lolita became independent when she able to work alone in terms of discovering their
business by herself and by her supervision. The time when Lolita accept the pork offered by her
neighborhood and make some experiment on how to ferment it shows her independency to do and
discover things on her own.

Self-confident
Lolita also encompasses the ability to be confident when she thinks that the product will
click to many customers because of its uniqueness, she did believe that the sales of her product
would always be increasing. Also, because of her abilities to execute the business well she never
gives up on things she wants.

Risk taker
As said in the story, Lolita pawned her ring for P3,000 to be used as the capital for her
business. There were no assurance if it will earn a profit but she continue to do what she want for
trying new things that lead her to have a stable multi-million meat processing business today.
References:
“Entrepreneur: Steven Benitez Bo’s Coffee” (2016). Retrieved from

http://www.endeavor.org.ph/steve-benitez

Esposo, W. (2005, February 13). Love and compassion as a business success formula. Retrieved

from http://www.chairwrecker.com/column.php?col=180

“History” (2012). Retrieved from https://www.pampangasbest.com/history/#.XX5lXSgzZPZ

“Homegrown Spirit: Steve Benitez” (2019). Retrieved from

https://www.theceomagazine.com/executive-interviews/food-beverage/steve-benitez/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wnCj0E12nM&feature=share

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0CiewsmxHU