1 week ago
6
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Entrepreneur and author Joel Cruz believes that setbacks and disappointments are essential lessons on the path to success.
If there's one moment in Joel Cruz's life that he considers life-changing, it's not the time his perfume business Aficionado became a booming success. It's the time his old garments factory --- his first real enterprise --- went up in smoke back in the late '90s.
"My garments business grew from just having five sewing machines into a factory in seven, eight years, with one hundred high-speed machines," Joel recalled during his fireside chat at the launch of his new book Business 101: What Worked for Me by Joel Cruz at the Manila International Book Fair 2025 at the SMX Convention Center.
"I was supplying to Rustans, Landmark, SM, Robinsons. Unfortunately, way back in 1997 to 1998 was the Asian financial crisis, and those department stores started getting goods from China. Pinakitaan nila ako ng isang blouse for like P50 or P75. We simply could not compete. I told them, 'Kung itutuloy n'yo 'yan, magsasara ang garment factories in the Philippines. True enough, nagsara nga."
Joel was referring to the time the Filipino garments and textile industry faced intense competition from lower-cost suppliers, particularly the ones from China, which flooded the global market with cheap goods. This drove Joel and other local manufacturers, which were already burdened with high operating costs, out of business.
"I remember I was in a small room, sarado na lahat ng shops namin. Pati mga makina, hindi na namin maibenta 'cause wala naman bibili na kasi sarado na ang factories. I was really crying. Sabi ko, lahat ng itinuro sa akin ng mga magulang ko, inabsorb ko 'yon, ginawa ko. Lahat ng sipag at tiyaga, binigay ko. I was questioning God, kasi in a split second, everything was gone."
After spending some time with his family in the US and recovering some of the losses he incurred from his failed business, Joel decided to return to the Philippines. With a renewed sense of hope and purpose, he managed to come across an exciting business prospect. Through a good friend of his, Joel met the people from Henkel Philippines, a supplier of fragrance oils. This meeting led to the birth of his fragrance manufacturing company, Aficionado. "Humble beginnings also. My very first store was in Ever Gotesco. Talagang wala kaming opisina. Nag-rent lang ako ng apartment. I didn't even have a table. Siguro walong tao lang yung tao ko na nagbebenta," he recalled.
With a seed money of just P100,000, Joel poured everything that he had into his new business. Before long, his hard work started bearing fruit. "Now we have more than 500 stores nationwide. Distributorships in supermarkets, groceries are in the thousands. We're now distributing to 19 countries already," he said.
Looking back, Joel attributes his success not to "luck" or "perfect timing." It was his will to keep going even if the odds were looking slim, that got him to where he is today.
He said, "I didn't stop. I learned from my sister to just continue, and that another door would eventually open if I kept going," he recalled. So that's what he did. Joel did not quit. "What I learned from my father was discipline. From my mother, my faith. I put my faith in Him and I teach that to all my employees."
Such golden nugget is just one of the many found in Business 101: What Worked for Me. His new book, published by Vibal Foundation, offers an authentic and insightful look into his journey of building a successful business from the ground up. More than a collection of essential wisdom for aspiring and established entrepreneurs, the book is an honest look back into Joel's colorful life story, starting from his humble beginnings in Sampaloc, Manila, where he worked in his his father's moving/trucking and his mother's small party rental business.
Filled with personal anecdotes of setbacks and triumphs spanning decades, the book will also give a glimpse into his life as a father of eight, a role that fuels his drive to keep growing.
"I'm very transparent about my failures, challenges in this book. Marami kasi tayong kaibigan, mga kababayan na naghahanap-buhay din, pero kapag pumasok ang problema, minsan nawawalan na sila ng pag-asa. But here, I shared all my difficulties sa journey ko, sa business ko, dito mababasa n'yo na hindi ako nawawalan ng pag-asa. Hinaharap ko talaga lahat ng challenges. Isa itong regalo na hindi mabubulok, walang expiration, that you can share to your families, your friends. Marami kayo matutunan dito."
RELATED CONTENT: Joel Cruz's beautiful photos with his eight adorable kids
