From P10,000 capital to a real estate empire: What is the secret to entrepreneurial success?

In a famous online challenge, the Trade Up Challenge, participants are tasked to make trades of higher and higher value and see how far they can go. Everyone starts with a ballpoint pen, or at times even a paperclip. They then make a trade with anyone, not for cash, but for any other item. By the end, some participants are so successful with their trades that they find themselves trading a car or luxury items.

Beyond salesmanship, the Trade Up Challenge is a lesson in negotiation, and in value. And what’s true here for salespeople is also true for entrepreneurs — especially for Felix and Bernadette Tiu, the founders of the EON Group of Companies. This power couple started with P10,000 in capital and a market stall and “traded up” from one business to the next until they had a successful real estate development company which has sold over 10,000 units across their vertical and horizontal developments.

In my many conversations with entrepreneurs, I’ve found that they share many common traits. They come from a wide variety of business ventures of different sizes, and yet they often cite the same reasons for their success. While of course the business itself is important, it’s become increasingly clear to me that it’s not the key ingredient of successful entrepreneurs’ “secret sauce.” It is their skills, their attitudes, and their approach to business — their superpowers, if you will.

Felix and Bernadette Tiu are great examples of this in action. Today, EON is a company primarily in real estate development. From their roots in Iloilo, they have built a veritable real estate empire that stretches to Cagayan de Oro and Guimaras. And yet, the Tius weren’t always in real estate. In fact, EON began as a stall in the marketplace selling basic commodities like sugar and cooking oil. From there, they “traded up” to other businesses. They got into trading, distribution, manufacturing, even micro finance. And eventually, they entered real estate, where they are redefining the industry with their quick turnaround, high sell-through rates, and close partnership with brokers.

So what makes the Tius so successful at entrepreneurship? What are their superpowers? In my interview with the power couple on the RJ Ledesma Podcast, they talked about some of the things which I think make a significant difference for entrepreneurs. Let’s take a closer look.

OPPORTUNITY AND RISK
Foremost among the superpowers of entrepreneurs like Felix and Bern Tiu is the ability to spot opportunity.

In our conversation, Ms. Tiu immediately links this with risk-taking. Speaking about her husband Felix, she says, “One thing that he’s got is guts. I mean, he’s not afraid of taking all the risk, but he’s always making sure that he’s gonna do his best, he’s gonna have a goal, a plan, and must reach that goal. And he’s just so hardworking. He’s so blessed with this gift of… identifying opportunity.”

For Felix Tiu, though, this talent of spotting business opportunities isn’t magic. It’s the product of hard work, study, and experience.

Explaining the origins of their next business after the market stall, Mr. Tiu said, “Candies was the best place to get into in terms of a business. Specifically, we identified lollipops because, in all our product lines before, lollipop is the one that is selling well.” And, what’s more, there were only a few competitors making lollipops, he added, which allowed the company to become the second largest lollipop maker in the country.

It is this considered approach that allowed the Tius to enter business after business, from trading to food manufacturing and ultimately to real estate. Mr. Tiu advises young entrepreneurs to learn how to take a risk when they spot an opportunity.

He said, “in everything that you do, you should always learn how to take a risk. You should not put all your eggs in one basket. And all the exploration and all the investment that you want to get into, you should have a feasibility study… You should make a calculated risk.”

HARD WORK AND PERSEVERANCE
The next entrepreneurial superpower I want to highlight is one that is both basic and essential: the value of hard work.

For Mr. Tiu, it is his most important piece of advice, saying, “For me, my advice, number one, is to be hardworking.”

Ms. Tiu adds a deeper dimension to this work ethic by focusing on perseverance.

“The word perseverance should always be there,” she said. “I always believe that if you just persevere, you will always get to your goals. I’m always telling all the brokers, even the sellers or the new recruits, to just persevere because success is getting up one more time every time you fall.”

RESPECTING CONSUMERS AND PARTNERS
Finally, the Tius embody a value that many successful entrepreneurs possess: an unwavering commitment to their customers and their partners. “We’ve always stood by our principle to deliver quality and affordable products to all our clients,” Mr. Tiu says.

Concretely, he talked about how brokers can speak to the owners of EON Realty directly, and how they have consistently been the fastest real estate developer to pay brokers’ commissions.

Perhaps the greatest entrepreneurial superpower the Tius possess is the passion they have for every business they enter. Ms. Tiu says, “My kids are always telling me to just give up my position and give it to others. And I said, ‘And what am I going to do? You know, this is the place where I can just laugh my heart out and talk to people.’ And I just love what I’m doing. Maybe that’s one thing that lessens my wrinkles.”

RJ Ledesma (www.rjledesma.com) is a Hall of Fame Awardee for Best Male Host at the Aliw Awards, a multi-awarded serial entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and business mentor, podcaster, an Honorary Consul, and editor-in-chief of The Business Manual. Mr. Ledesma can be found on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. The RJ Ledesma Podcast is available on Facebook, Spotify, Google and Apple Podcasts. Are there entrepreneurs you want Mr. Ledesma to interview? Let him know at ledesma.rj@gmail.com.