From fire extinguishers to popcorn, Go Negosyo ‘mentor’ sold it all

THE STUDENTS Concepcion gives advice to budding entrepreneurs during Go Negosyo’s 3M on Wheels program.

Inspired by his famous entrepreneur father, Go Negosyo founder Jose Ma. “Joey” Concepcion sold fire extinguishers at the early age of 18, then closed down that business and moved next to selling cotton candy and popcorn at the old Fiesta Carnival Complex in Quezon City.

That small snacks business would become today Kettle Korn, one of the many brands under the corporation founded by, among others, his grandfather Jose Sr. It was this shrewdness—although he is not downplaying the power of his surname—that he was able to bring to the table when he became president and CEO of RFM Corp. Concepcion can actually say he sold everything but the kitchen sink.

Concepcion admits he was fortunate enough to have had access to capital and guidance from his parents, a privilege that he says other small entrepreneurs don’t have.

Over the years, he saw these many businesses struggle, helping them resurface as brands under RFM.

Concepcion remembers acquiring the Filipino dairy product brand Selecta in 1990.

“During that time, some people thought I was using my father’s influence to buy companies. The owners of these companies know it was me who spotted them; some had issues with family shareholders, others felt the need to cash out,” he recalls. His father is Jose Jr., aka Joecon, who also once chaired RFM.

Today, Concepcion wants to be known as the mentor to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“I was once a microentrepreneur [who owned] a small snacks stand. So, I know what it feels to be a micro … moving to a small, and now a large company,” he says, stressing that he “saw the challenges that MSMEs face.”

Advocacy

Because of his know-how, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (PGMA) appointed Concepcion as adviser (though pro bono, he says) for MSMEs in 2005. He met Arroyo when she was undersecretary during his father’s stint as Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

“PGMA asked me to help the entrepreneurs since she knew I started something small … And I told her, yes, as a pro bono adviser,” Concepcion says, noting that was basically how Go Negosyo came to be.

Joey Concepcion
Go Negosyo founder

Today, he devotes huge amounts of his time as part of the government’s private sector advisory council, his name often making headlines when it comes to economic issues and policy recommendations concerning the country’s more than one million MSMEs.

“I believe that the most important thing that a country has to do is to create prosperity for all its citizens—what I call an equitable system. And how do we do that? [And so] we created Go Negosyo,” says the 64-year-old MSME advocate.

Providing access to mentorship, money and markets forms the framework of Go Negosyo’s goals, Concepcion says.

Since Go Negosyo’s creation, Concepcion has already organized various programs including “Kapatid Mentor Me” (KMME) and “Kapatid Agri Mentor Me” program.

It also has a 3M on Wheels program, a free nationwide mobile mentorship program that functions as a quick-stop platform for capacity-building development of entrepreneurs. To date, the 3M on Wheels program has mentored more than 3,774 MSMEs and aspiring entrepreneurs from all over the country.

Professional

Among those who benefited from Go Negosyo’s teachings is Benigno Roco, chief executive of “Everything But Cheese,” a fast food chain that serves cheese-based dishes such as fondues, burgers and pasta.

From being a service crew and a microentrepreneur selling ice candy and chicken in front of their house, Roco now has 21 branches of his still-growing restaurant.

He said Go Negosyo has been instrumental in his business becoming a success.

“The KMME program helped me in a huge way. Because of this, I learned how to run a business in a professional way. I gained the right knowledge, skills and attitude,” Roco says.

Philosophy

Concepcion says his philosophy is that for the Philippines to have a thriving economy, it needs to have a strong middle class like other prosperous countries and that it cannot be controlled by large corporations.

“It just doesn’t work that way,” says Concepcion, emphasizing there would be greater prosperity if only small businesses in the Philippines receive the necessary help and assistance in scaling up.

THE TEACHER Concepcion believes a mentor can be “your school, your friends, your parents.” —CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

He explains that MSMEs make up the overwhelming majority of businesses in the country, or about 99 percent, indicating their potential in steering the country’s economic growth.

“If we can scale them up from small, and then to medium, and maybe to large, then the country will really become more prosperous,” Concepcion says.

The power of mentorship

But what makes a good mentor?

“Somebody who would give a person confidence. Mentors should be more optimistic rather than [pessimistic],” he says, adding that they look for such trait when inviting people as part of Go Negosyo’s programs.

And a mentor comes in many forms: “A mentor is very important—[be it] your school, your friends, your parents,” Concepcion says.

Of course, Concepcion was once the mentee to his great mentor: his father. Aside from being a businessman, Joecon also founded election watchdog National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections.

He says his father taught him to love the Philippines. “His passion to serve through Namfrel and then at the DTI is one of the reasons I spend time helping MSMEs and wanting to see our country to be more inclusive,” he says. INQ