Bakery chain exec finds his place under the sun

CEBU CITY, Philippines—A former top executive of a bakery chain finds satisfaction in sharing his expertise to help operators of small family-owned businesses to expand.

After leading Julie’s Franchise Corp. in its phenomenal growth over the last eight years, Virgilio Espeleta, former president and chief operating officer of Julie’s Franchise Corp., says he is savoring his “best place under the sun” nowadays as he manages his own consulting firm.

“Everybody is in search of happiness. How to achieve that is another question. It’s best to look at the bigger picture and keep your faith,” he tells the Inquirer.

Espeleta is now president of Famcor Franchise Management and Executive Development Corp., which aims to professionalize family-run businesses.

The fifth among eight siblings, Espeleta was born in Getafe, Bohol and went to a public elementary school. His father Bonifacio is a doctor, while mother Virginia is a nurse.

He took up chemical engineering at the University of San Carlos, but he dreamed of managing his own business someday.

After graduation, he worked at Pasar Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. in Isabel, Leyte for seven years. He left the company to take up his masters in business management at Asian Institute of Management (AIM).

“I shifted career after AIM. I was involved in business this time,” Espeleta says.

He joined Landco Pacific Corp., then worked for La Tondeña Distillers for seven years (as plant manager then as sales director for Visayas and Mindanao). For a year, he focused on his distribution firm 601 Marketing.

In 2002, he joined Julie’s Bakeshop after his friend, Roberto “Bobby” Gandionco, invited him to help run the family’s business.

Espeleta and Gandionco are members of the charismatic group, Bukas Loob sa Diyos.

The growth of Julie’s Bakeshop has been attributed to its strong franchising system, which Espeleta personally managed.

Asked how he was able to expand Julie’s 300 stores to 600, Espeleta says that he just “happened to be there [when the number of stores grew] and revenues surged.”

Interestingly, it was during Espeleta’s leadership when Julie’s went full force in its corporate social responsibility programs.

Apart from his business, Espeleta is a member of the board of trustees of Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is also this year’s chairman of Cebu Business Month, an annual celebration that showcases flourishing and emerging industries.

While Espeleta was already aware of the concept of franchising before he joined the Cebu homegrown bakeshop, he further sharpened his knowledge and skills during his eight-year stay with the company.

“When I talk to potential clients I am very confident because of my wide experience. I have credibility, and I can passionately talk about these matters,” he explains.

Espeleta says that he left Julie’s to concentrate on his own business. Here, he says, he can help more family-run businesses to grow, transform them into profitable firms and turn them into socially relevant companies.

The decision to focus on his business stems from a core belief of “finding that intersection among your three life circles.”

The first circle involves one’s talents and skills, “what you are really good at,” he says.

The second is “where you derive economic reward from some of the things that you do.”

To achieve, Espeleta says it will help to ask oneself: “In all the things that you do, which among them can you derive economic reward?”

The third circle touches on one’s “sense of purpose and mission.”

“What is the legacy I would leave this world? What is my sense of purpose? Find that intersection,” Espeleta says.

“When you find that intersection, you’ve found your best place under the sun,” he adds.

With a flourishing business and a loving family—wife Flora Mae and daughters Kristina, Melissa, Carmina and Vanessa—Espeleta has definitely found his sweet spot.