It was a painstakingly hot Monday morning and I could feel the sweat trickling from my forehead down to my already steaming body. The last thing I need right now is to look like I’ve won a 10-k marathon, I thought to myself. I then hurriedly tied my hair up, in the attempts of making myself much more presentable, while silently cursing this vicious Manila heat.
As I was sitting at the area behind the stalls—my usual spot to avoid the surge of passing people, I find myself looking for something to save me from the heat. With the impulsive hormones acting in a rage, my stomach, without even thinking, begged for the staple quencher. This, because of SOM mall’s new setup, however, was impossible to get my hands on. And in my world of make believe, my ultimate pick-me-upper died—this was the day I said goodbye to Buddha Bean’s milk tea, and I suppose I knew it was coming, but a girl in denial like me prefers to plop down the couches of wishful thinking.
Standing out, literally
Putting my improbable desires aside, I began to think about what I’d get from the owners I would be talking with for the next two days. But above all I was certain about one – everybody wanted it, and everybody made sure they did.
One thing I’ve noticed while leaving my eyes to wander off, though, is the diverse selection of varieties to choose from. This must speak for the owners’ passion, and I guessed right. Proving my theory was Gabriel Ignacio of Burger Flags, telling me the story of their group’s success. “We made sure that our proposal wasn’t ordinary. We used photo paper so that our proposal would stand out!” he exclaims as he laughs with his co-owners while reminiscing this stage in their development.
“It was pretty competitive. Everyone would really not divulge their menu and who their suppliers are.”
– Klentz Chua
Klentz Chua of Hungry Panda considers their vision one of the lucky ones. “It was pretty competitive! Everyone would really not divulge their menu, what their name was, who their suppliers are,” he says. But before their well-deserved success, his group had their fair share of these situations, too, such as sharing the name with another contender.
On the other hand, one stall shares their lost in translation mishap. During the second round of judging, their name had difficulty blending in smoothly with Dean Rudy Ang. “Sandchito? Sanitoto?” said Dean Ang as recalled by Maia Ang of Sandwichitos during their presentation. “We didn’t have trouble with any duplicates, but it came when pronouncing the name itself!”
The real deal
Need a crash course in setting up a restaurant in the future? Being in JSEC is the perfect solution. After going through the eye of a needle, as Gabriel would put it, the actual work must begin for these young entrepreneurs. The vision does not end in an approved proposal, but in the work that comes after it.
On lengths that have been trudged all in the name of business’ sake, one memento stands above the rest. “Three hours in the frozen meat section of the grocery!” That’s what Adrienne Yao of House of Saigon had to go through during the first week of operations. “We do everything! The groceries, the recipes, inventories, sales,” Adrienne says. Truly, this is no playground. The JSEC is, as Klentz quotes Mr. Mark Ruiz, “a business laboratory.” It takes a lot to be in it, so “one mistake is really crucial,” adds Adrienne.
“We have to give them their money’s worth.”
– Maia Ang
Overwhelming as it may sound, a number of brave souls like Kat Sanchez and her partners at Roma Manila set sail into what was unknown to their daily living. “It’s not like I’m the daughter of some restaurant owner! I only know Marketing!” she says with a laugh. She then follows it up by explaining the fear she felt for the first time. Being the person in-charge of accounting, she relates with the nerve-wracking wait for the sheets to balance themselves out. It is never like an actual class wherein you shrug a mistake off your shoulder. In the business, Kat explains, it will always be, “Oops, the balance is wrong–we’re going to lose money!”
The fears, of course, always come with the risks taken in every venture. “Playing safe will result to things being mediocre,” Klentz mentions while naming his top five owner must haves, “You have to be risky enough. That’s when you come up with the magical stuff.”
Speaking of creating the ‘magic’, one must not miss out on that one thing that fuels a business. Nico Lumauig of Burger Flags stresses the most important point of all, “You need confidence. You really have to believe in your product.”
And this, is probably one of the best-kept secrets of their industry.
Tricks of the trade
How does one win without soldiers in a battle? True enough, the strongest weapon lies in those running the machine, and in those running after it. It’s the people who keep it alive.
“We have to give them their money’s worth,” Maia stated while constantly reiterating the value of keeping the integrity to their patrons. And truly, the feeling of importance is what customers keep coming back for. And as far as feedbacks go, Kat mentioned that she loves getting comments from customers, may it be good or bad. “It gives us room for improvement,” she says with a smile.
Klentz seems to agree with this because he mentioned something that places the mark of a true businessman. He goes, “When we get positive feedback, ‘Okay great! How can we improve it?’ But at the same time, when we get negative ones, I still say the same thing.”
It’s really no wonder these folks made the cut, because they’ve not only inspired uncanny ideas—from small house parties to becoming a burger joint, from a high school vision to a Vietnamese hit, from tapas in Spain to on-the-go meals, from two pandas that turned to one that stood tall, and from a food addict’s taste buds to a fusion of different flavors—I was taken aback, and got more than what I’ve bargained for.
Gone are the days of unreasonable milk tea cravings. I’m now saying hello to the new string of incessant cries for Horchata—a concoction so orgasmic that it reserves the right for a Vampire Weekend reference—for the whole year (or even the next) through.
THE MAKINGS OF JSEC
There aren’t six steps to the path of instant JSEC success – there are six steps to begin that adventure. With a brilliant idea in mind, one sets out to immortalize this into that which is referred to as a project proposal. Out of hundreds of hopefuls, only thirty will remain to battle it out. The chosen ones then go through a cut-throat fight to prove their spot and to justify their eligibility. Round after round of intense competition hereafter, there’s only one thing left to do – begin the biz and prove that their cuisine, truly, reigns supreme.
