FROM CASINO manager to bakery manager.

This is the story of how a former card dealer turned entrepreneur transformed a simple bakery into one of the leading bread stores in Batangas.

Ma. Corazon Garcia or Corskie as she is fondly called, came from a simple family who had entrepreneurship coursing through her veins. She recalls that her mother, Leoncia Garcia or ?Nana Osiang? used to sell pins in the neighborhood market.

?She was the original workaholic. There were no Christmas, Good Fridays or vacations for her. All she knew was that she needed to earn decent money to put us through school,? Corskie recounts.

To earn additional income, Nana Osiang started to buy bread from a local bakery and started passing it on to her consumers. By selling bread and pins, she was able to send her children to college and give them the one thing she never had, an education.

This paved way for her children, especially Corskie, who graduated from the University of the Philippines with a degree in business administration to earn more and enjoy life?s little pleasures.

But when Corskie was already a shift operations manager in the then Philippine Casinos Operation Corporation, she experienced a wake-up call.

?I came from nothing. So when I started earning money, I used to spend them all,? she says. But when her boss noticed her new clothes and unnecessary objects, he set her aside and asked her, ?Why do you need all this stuff? Do you know that it?s not going to be sunshine every day? Why don?t you think about the rainy days?? After hearing her boss utter those words, she felt like she was suddenly jolted into reality.

So in 1981, she decided to invest her money in a business that she hopes will turn into something profitable. Her mother then suggested that she try her hand into the bread industry. Corskie thought that this would be a wonderful idea since her mother is familiar with the business.

?I invested P100,000 for the bakery. But it was my mother who ran the business. I was just the manufacturer. It became a mother-daughter relationship,? she says. Thus, Nana Osiang?s Bakery was born. She named the company after her mother as a tribute and a sign of gratitude.

In 1986, Corskie left her post as a Shift Operations Manager and gave her undivided attention into the bakery. But though she was willing to finally be the hands-on manager of the bakery, she felt she was still lacking something. And so she enrolled at a Baking Technology course at the Food Terminal Incorporated (FTI) to further enhance her skills and learn more about the business.

?After taking that course, I applied everything I learned. I applied semi-mechanized techniques, went into electronic mixers and I modernized our system of baking. But at the same time, we were still making the traditional breads,? she says.

The more that she was involving herself with this business, the deeper she learned not only about the bread industry but of life as well. She says that being an entrepreneur is tough. ?Being your own boss can give you a lot of headaches but you have to keep on working,? she says.

She produces 56 kinds of bread. Her list of traditional bread starts with the all-time favorite pan de sal to biscuits such as favorita, ugoy-ugoy, canlubang, biscocho, hopia and cakes like pianono. ?The first thing you have to learn about the bread business is that it has a definite shelf life. The bread that you baked this morning may no longer be sold the next morning,? she says. She sells her bread in the nearby neighborhood market. ?I never tried going for the high-end customers. Naniniwala ako na ang pera ay nasa masa,? she says.

Like baking bread, this industry all requires a lot of patience and perseverance. ?Baking is not easy. You have to be willing to wake up early in the morning to make bread so that you can sell them first and sell them hot,? she adds.

When asked about her secret recipe for success, she just shrugs her shoulder and says, ?It?s not in your recipe, it?s your system.? She recalls that when she was still a Shift Operations Manager, she used to handle about 3,000 employees nationwide. And she considers this as her greatest training most especially on making on the spot decisions. ?You don?t only manage money but you also manage people,? Corksie says.

Asked how her bakery survives the constant hike of flour and sugar in the market, she says ?You have no choice but to reduce the size of the pan de sal yet I never compromise the taste of the bread. Kailangan consistent ang lasa. And it?s always quality over quantity.?

In addition, she says that she never uses preservatives in her bread. ?Unlike the other bakeries, they want to extend the shelf life of their bread so they use preservatives which I don?t believe in,? she says.

After almost 30 years of baking bread and biscuits, she has already acquired three ovens which consists of the traditional wood-fed and two other state-of-the-art ovens. Nana Osiang?s has two branches ? one in Tanuan, Batangas and the other in BF Homes in Parañaque.

She employs a sufficient number of employees to maintain the day-to-day operations. Being a self-confessed slave driver, she says that if there are three things that she teaches her employees its: Efficiency, cleanliness and punctuality.

But though she demonstrates tough love to her employees, she makes it a point to help them whenever she can. ?I have an employee who has been with me for 20 years. The children are my scholars. And for me, it?s like paying forward,? she says.

?Gusto ko nang mag-retire,? was Corskie?s answer when she asked about her plans for the future. ?I?ve been training my nephews and nieces to run this business because I?m ready to pass the torch to them,? she adds. This was also her mother?s advice to her and now, she is ready to heed her words.

Corskie likens the bread business to casinos where taking risks is a way of life and that holds true to any form of business. But she says that she puts a premium on perseverance. ?Kailangan masipag ka, 24/7,? she says.

In 2005, Nana Osiang passed away at the age of 94. But in her passing, Corskie kept her spirit alive by making quality bread and biscuits. But until now, she admits that she still turns to her mother whenever she would need advice.

?My mother once told me, ?Focus on your business. If you can?t do that, magsara ka na lang.?? Corskie relates. And up to this day, she never loses focus on what she?s doing. ?I think what they say is true that Mother knows best,? she says as a smile escapes from her lips.