FLORA THE ENTREPRENEUR

28 October 2025

Although she completed a two-year secretarial course, Flora was a full-time homemaker for many years, comfortably raising three sons, until her policeman husband died. There was his pension, a sari-sari store the couple owned next to their house, and a small plot of land in the province inherited from her husband’s family. But she thought that without his regular salary, these were not sufficient to support the family.

Undaunted, she decided to go into business. First, she looked at the resources of the family and concluded they were enough to start a small business--but what business? She took stock of what she could do. Over the years, Flora had honed many useful skills. She had learned the disciplined use of the money her husband gave her every month.  Having taken free courses from the government-run TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Program), she could do minor carpentry and plumbing repair jobs in the house. She also knew how to delegate chores to her sons—Roger, Andy, and Miggy.  She would constantly admonish them, “Don’t follow the other boys in the neighbourhood who think that just because they are boys, they don’t have to do household chores”.  Instead, she taught them how to budget, cook, clean, and wash clothes. Everyone had their respective responsibilities.

As she and her sons were good cooks, her first idea was to make simple pre-cooked dishes to sell to the neighbours, many of whom did not have time to cook.  The neighbours liked their meals, and her operation soon stabilised, but she realised it had limited growth potential.  Her next idea was to convert their mortgage-free van that was used to take her sons to school into a “mini-bus”.  Instead of the cumbersome carpooling, the “mini-bus” could ferry a number of neighbourhood kids to and from school.

One day, whilst in the van, she observed that the small children’s carers were always searching for places to buy food. It was their way of whiling away the hours until dismissal time. But the nearest stores were some distance away.  By the following week, Flora and her sons had various eatables ready: pancit, lumpia, kikiam and gulaman drink (Philippine snacks). The “shop” was at the back of the van, and the family driver was the salesman. It was not much more work since she was already preparing meals for her neighbours.  Since she had a captive market, the “shop” was a hit.   Business grew, and in time, she was able to sell her van and buy a real mini-bus, attracting more parents from nearby neighbourhoods.

Although her two small businesses were doing well and Flora had been frugal -- ploughing back most of the earnings into her ventures –  the money was hardly enough to take advantage of various other business opportunities she could see.  Still, she felt uneasy about approaching the bank for a loan, what with its tons of documentation she didn’t understand.

Whilst still mulling over various possibilities, a friend told her about a group of women forming a cooperative to apply for loans from the microfinancing programme offered by an NGO. There weren't many forms to fill out, and she felt more secure when informed that members of the cooperative paid their loans on time, with a repayment rate of well over 90%! Flora quickly joined them.

As chance would have it,  she also heard of a water-refilling station for sale for only Php200,000, including the franchise and all the equipment.  Moreover, the station was in an area with heavy traffic from nearby residents, and the rent was only Php15,000 per month. She could probably come up with the purchase price, but where to get the funds for operation?

She approached her son’s high school teacher in economics, as she heard he once worked for the government’s NEDA (National Economic Development Authority). Offering him a consultancy fee, he helped her secure a concessional loan from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).  It financed programmes for micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises.

As soon as her loan application was approved, and together with the funds she was able to acquire from the microfinancing NGO,  Flora knew she was now set for what she considered a real small business. Nevertheless, she met this with a bit of apprehension. Thank goodness she had the support of the franchising company, or she wouldn’t have known where to start. The fee of Php7,000 per month was well worth it as the mother company provided her with a strong brand and an easily recognisable logo. It provided promotional materials and label stickers. The franchiser also gave her and her staff tips on proper management. Lastly, it had a ready supply of water containers, as well as filters and chemicals for the servicing and maintenance of the machines.

The station used tap water, which was not potable until it was processed through the station's filtration, distillation, and purification machines. Flora sold the purified water for Php30 per five gallons. She also sold refillable dispensers for Php200 each. Payment was always in cash. To prevent staff from pilfering, one of her sons acted as cashier.

Many customers were walk-ins, but she also had sukis (repeat customers) who regularly had fresh water delivered.  The empty dispensers were picked up for washing and refilling.  She employed three boys who hired “motor-tricycles” for delivery, until Flora would have had enough savings to buy them.  Alternatively, she planned to convert her “school mini-bus” into a delivery lorry.

Then, the COVID pandemic struck. Schools were closed, and formerly busy neighbours cooked their own meals, but the demand for delivered purified water increased exponentially. With a rapidly growing customer base to service and ready cash to spare, Flora now exchanged her mini school bus for a delivery lorry.  She stopped the franchise in order to embark on her own brand and logo—FLORA PURIFIED WATER -- creating her own flyers and other promotional materials.

Her sons were by this time at university, and she felt blest indeed.  Still, she worried that she was getting older and it was about time she made provisions for their future.   Consequently, when she saw a FOR SALE sign in the adjacent laundromat, she knew she had a second business.  The laundromat could use the same taps used by her unpurified water, making it indeed a complementary operation.

A few years after the pandemic, Flora had built her integrated businesses:  a water refilling station that she planned to expand by adding a branch, which would be for Roger; and a complementary laundry business next to her water refilling station for Andy.  That only left Miggy without a business of his own, and Flora went back to her original idea – an eatery to be set up in a commercial space just across the street. This would have the added advantage of keeping the family physically close to each other.  Flora, now in her 60s, planned to retire in another five years, leaving these businesses to the children.  She constantly reminded them of their inheritance, “so they won’t forget”, she added.

For the time being, she and her under-board accountant took care of the paperwork related to the businesses. A trusted right-hand man supervised the water-refilling station.  His wife managed the laundry shop, whilst a cousin served as cook and manager of the eatery. Meanwhile, her sons were learning their respective trades by working in these shops after school and during weekends.

Flora thought it was easier to hire people she already knew, or relations of those she knew.   Even though they were not necessarily schooled, it was more important that everybody got along and was loyal to her.  Still, she hovered around all day, every day. She hesitated to delegate responsibilities even to these trusted employees because she believed that if she wanted to get things done, she had to be there to supervise them herself:  businesses were only successful if the owners were hands-on.

In due course, Roger, the eldest, graduated from accountancy and started reviewing for the board, even as Flora reminded him that he didn’t need to because he would be working for himself.

Andy was finishing hotel and restaurant management.  He would get the eatery.  Miggy, was still learning business management, but he knew he would have to work at the laundrymat after graduation.

It was Roger who led his brothers in disobeying their mother.  He had studied for four years at university, on a course he loved, and had ambitions of joining a big firm, but he felt chained to the water store.  Flora was appalled:  she had thought her son would be grateful!  Soon, Andy followed.  He would like to try being a chef, working in a hotel or on a cruise ship, and not have to cook lugaw (porridge) in his mother’s eatery.

Miggy, however, was different.  He volunteered to manage all the stores for Flora.  But his mother was not thrilled. Miggy wanted to meddle in her decision-making!  She recalled their exchanges from a few months back, when Miggy “advised” her to hire people based on competence, rather than simply because they were relatives of staff bound to each other by loyalty.  

It seemed that Flora’s well-laid-out plans were going to waste.  She remembered her years of struggle to give her sons a decent future, her frugality, even the various questionable diskarte she had used, cutting corners in order to save on costs. For the first time in a long while, she wished her husband were around.  He knew how to discipline the kids.  She was always the one giving in to what they wanted.

Helpless, she watched as Roger spent time diligently studying for his Chartered Public Accountancy (CPA) exam that would make him more marketable to big accountancy firms.  She watched Andy apply for a position as a culinary trainee at a large international hotel.  She was now giving in to Miggy, who kept insisting the businesses needed to professionalise.  There are more water stations being opened today, charging less than Flora’s shops, he had said.  They must be more efficient.  Did she know a new device was also entering the market, installed on taps to purify and filter water without the need for containers, and certainly without the need for Flora’s delivery lorry?

Flora did not anticipate these new developments.  Indeed, times have changed.  Perhaps Miggy was right.  Perhaps it was time to let the next generation take over. 

COMMENTARY

Flora’s story is that of an entrepreneurial venture in transition.  In the true spirit of an entrepreneur, Flora had assessed her strengths, had scanned her surroundings for opportunities, and even with limited information, had decided on services she thought the market needed.  These decisions carried some calculated risks as the ventures could as easily have failed.  Additionally, Flora had important traits often displayed by successful entrepreneurs:  aside from calculated risk taking, they include an innovative spirit, hard work, frugality, focus, grit, and quite a bit of luck. 

At a certain point in the growth of these ventures, the entrepreneur could no longer manage the business on their own and commonly uses the help of family members.  When these family members assume operational responsibilities, with perhaps even some imputed ownership, the venture becomes a family firm. 

Family firms are the backbone of the Philippine economy:  from small firms such as that of Flora’s, to Manuel Villar’s real estate empire, supposedly worth USD27.2 billion (+/-Php 1 trillion),  ranking 117^th in Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires worldwide for 2025.  (Fifteen Filipino billionaires are included in the list).

The typical management style of Filipino family firms is naturally influenced by their cultural values:  personalistic, harmonious relationships, and hierarchical.  Managers are often paternalistic, prioritising loyalty and close affiliations over efficiency and productivity.  In turn, bosses are considered authority figures, providers of protection from the vagaries of life, and thus deserving of gratitude and unquestioning obedience. 

We can see the upside of this style.  It provides employees with a feeling of financial security in a country with inadequate social welfare programmes, serving as an ersatz family outside the home.  Additionally, it builds rapport and cooperation within the group, creating a strong sense of belonging and dedication.

The downside, as Flora had shown, is that hiring relatives or prioritising close relationship may not result in getting the most qualified. A strong desire to maintain harmony may discourage supervisors from giving negative feedback, even though constructive criticisms can lead to performance improvements. Likewise, steep hierarchies encourage over-dependence on the leader for direction, stifling innovative decision-making.

Still, many Filipino family firms succeed, as was demonstrated by Flora’s businesses. One reason is that Flora’s competitors also use similar management styles. These are, however, premised on keeping the size of the businesses small. When and if the firm grows, it acquires a new identity separate from the personal needs of the family.  For instance, income must often be reinvested in the firm to cover additional staff salaries and other company expenses, rather than used to fund the family’s next holiday.

As the firm expands and assumes this new identity, it needs to bureaucratise if it is to produce economies of scale, reduce unit costs, and increase efficiency.  However, as bureaucracies entail impersonal reporting hierarchies -- a janitor can no longer approach the family head of the firm to ask for a loan for their children's tuition fees – the CEO no longer has the time to entertain the personal needs of each employee.  Instead, they must focus on strategising and developing policies that affect the business's operations.  Additionally, bureaucratisation demands the establishment of structures and systems, including job descriptions, performance appraisals, and compensation structures.  To implement these structures, procedures are established – all impersonal mechanisms to protect the business from the whims of both the family and other managers.  The janitor must now ask their supervisor, who may refer them to human resources, who in turn may consult the company’s policy manual regarding extending loans to staff members.

However, these ideas often go against the grain of Filipino cultural values.  Rather than compromise these values, many family firms’ answer is simply not to expand to a level where they need to bureaucratise.  Instead, successful firms may spin off and acquire other ventures, including those from different industry sectors, whilst keeping each subsidiary relatively small.  This is precisely what Flora did.  Her business started with packed meals, then went into a bus service for school children.  The third business was a water purifier, and the fourth was an eatery. They are opportunistic approaches to finding new ventures rather than proactive strategic expansion. Needless to say, each new venture requires a steep learning curve, but with sufficient capital and similarly managed competitors, these ventures can succeed in their own right.  

As in Flora’s case, each business would be headed by a family member.  Atop these many ventures-cum-subsidiaries is a holding company with the subsidiaries coordinated through a management committee.  The committee is composed of the heads of subsidiaries – all family members --  with the original entrepreneur now called “patriarch” (or matriarch), concurrently the head of the holding company and management committee.

The successful patriarch retains their authority until they grow old or incapacitated.  The problem then arises on the issue of succession.  The eldest child (still more often the son, with a daughter being made treasurer) had already often been trained to succeed their parent.  Some firms choose the most able family member, rather than the eldest, as heir apparent.

In due course, as businesses continue to succeed and grow in complexity, they may no longer afford to be run like mom-and-pop stores, and therefore face pressures to professionalise.*  The degree of professionalisation varies.  Non-family experts may be hired simply as consultants whose decisions can be overruled by a family member.  Others may serve in the most senior management ranks with significant lines of responsibility.

Ayala Corporation, a Filipino-Spanish conglomerate, is one example of a family firm that has largely professionalised.  Listed on the stock exchange, it nonetheless remains a family-controlled corporate group that combines professional management and governance, but with significant shareholdings and leadership still reserved for the Ayala family.

On the other hand, the Henry Sy Group, a Filipino-Chinese holding company, rely more on professional consultants advising family members, whilst reserving most major decision-making in the hands of the family.

The Ayala Corporation model adapts relatively more Western approaches, whilst the Henry Sy Group retains much of the non-Western, Asian model.  Both family firms are successful, proving that there are many ways to reconcile business needs with Filipino cultural values. 

The conclusion is that each firm must chart its own course, balancing deeply held family cultural values with the demands of the business environment.  Nonetheless, understanding the different approaches of successful family firms could help firms in transition identify models of success, while keeping in mind their need for good governance as they fulfil their responsibilities towards the communities they serve.

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* Sometimes, the family likewise seeks political office in order to promote or protect the family interests, another means of expansion.