Game in the Brain

My Grandfather is a Lechonero. He sold a premium product that was very laborious and had a very high margin. It had one really big peak season which was Christmas, that meant that they had to operate low cost most of the time and they had to have other revenues.

This resulted in the Canteena and the Grocery Store. My Grandmother sold rice and met my grandfather and managed the store while he cooked. Her sister died in starvation and sickness when they could not work and suffered a death spiral. They were busy trying to survive and I’m sure it haunted my grandmother she could not help her sister, or else she would starve too.

My Grandpartents, my father’s parents, invested the money they made in Christmas in Land. The land they bought accumulated about half a billion pesos when my Grandparents were still alive before my uncles lost it in losing businesses. This was land from fleeing Filipinos in martial law and the the changing of the status quo. They were not poor, they were upper middle class and my dad’s side was Galante (Generous).

Their business grew but it was a tough business and eventually no one wanted to continue it. They were 5 sons and 1 daughter. They didn’t like its harshness and tough conditons. They didnt like spending 12-16 hours a day roasting pigs and errands. They went to school and college, they had bigger things in mind.

Education was more a social thing for my Dad’s sibs and generation. They met future partners and allies in it. Management was not a science to them.

When my father worked in the Bank because of his Commerce degree, but was relatively well off. His hobbies were novea riche – biking in the 70s. He met my mother in the bank. When they got married, my grandfather converted one of his Pig farm lands into what would be our House. I dont go there anymore and I consider it our family house. Its on a Hill it is very valuable for its area.

My father, thanks to my Mother, invested that money what would become a family business. My mom worked in standard charted bank which paid a lot for its time.

My father was a Traveller and Explorer, he would get ideas from all these places because of his hobby and consolidate them. He would constantly find opportunities, but note that there was very little science in his method. It followed the success rate you would statistically expect.

Dad’s entrepreneurship was enhanced by his curiosity and travels. Up to now he would still roam far and wide, even as he’s turning 70. Of course its hard to be a Traveller and have 5 kids, you can imagine if we did an accounting of where his time went – the kids part would be a problem.

His business grew, we made Power supplies in our garage and I grew up with copper wires bundled into a Transformer and electrical boards being made by hand.

Dad’s business grew but had many problems, he relied on mom’s salary to subsidize it. Later when our bigger company came in Mom joined dad and provided Finanancial Management into the Picture. She now could filter dad’s leads into those viable and would make money.

The businesses grew further, especially in the 90s when I was a teen. We found opportunities in the Terrible infra and computerization projects. Dad was very well travelled and knowledgeable that he knew what tech was needed. We had a plant in Cabuyao Laguna. I didnt understand this all but we draged into it sometimes. I remember the Umbrella factory that they bought that would become our furniture factory.

My parents hated how unpredictable business was. The business got so big it controlled us. it limited decisions. They wanted us free from it so they planned to migrate to the US and cash out, as well as let us pursue art and what ever. This is where I have a lot of regrets being an artist – that how unprepared we and I was.

If you noticed something until this Point, I would like to point out that we never really learned management in the Taylorist method. We were adhoc and boot strapping adventurers. We didn’t really plan and just seized opportunities.

Now changing things to be more professional is a Really BIG Problem. its 35 and 25 years both companies have been around. That much inertia of adhoc processes. While we do have very good fiscal management – Proper Management of Processess and Activities has a LONG WAY to go.

Like my Parents I’m a DIYer and a boot strapper. I didnt go to biz school but I did read all the books and I do talk to experts. I dont have time to get “3rd Party” legitimacy and play the game of “Signal Boosting”. I’m really an artist by training and feel better refining and improving systems than dealing with messy messy realities.

My Grandparents were people of their time, in a Developing world and trying to make a living. There is no science to what they did but it did work. We profited in bad times, but its very developing world struggles and problems. Now in my time I have to figure things out and Institutionalize. The long tradition of Teachers come from my Mother’s side, and hopefully I can draw on that. They says History doesnt repeat itself but it Rhymes – 70s, 90s, and 2020s I dont know.

Not Covered

1. How we got into Software
2. Furniture
3. Gov’t Bids
4. My Mother’s side
5. How we did international projects
6. how we got into BPO
7. More about each company
8. how my grandparents lost almost everything