Events, Profiles, Taoke (Business)

Modern Tao Ke: Tips from the Top Execs of Universal Records, Foodee Global, and Richprime Global

In line with the Modern Tao Ke campaign, Globe myBusiness partnered with CHiNOY TV to provide two-day online business mentorships through Modern Tao Ke Exclusive: Taking the Lead in 2021, wherein they invited a group of successful entrepreneurs from the local business industry to impart digital solutions to Globe myBusiness’ loyal clients who are the next generation of business leaders.

Following the line of mentors from the first day of the consultation, each mentor was able to provide a great opportunity for each client coming from different industries to learn how to scale their digital transformation during the pandemic and beyond. 

Among the mentors during these consultations were successful entrepreneurs Kathleen Go, Myrna Yao, and Rikki Dee.

 

Kathleen Go

Growing up, Kathleen Dy-Go, Managing Director of Universal Records, was exposed to different types of music and artists, as well as the business side.  She is the second generation of their family business, and the successor of her father Dr. James Dy, the Godfather of the Music Recording Industry. 

After working as a trader in the Philippine Stock Exchange, she dipped her toes in the music industry, and eventually, she decided to give back to her father and start Universal Records. Through the years, she was able to equip it for inevitable societal changes and the ever-changing market and local recording industry. 

Because of this, Go has gotten used to having to adjust to the constant change of the times with Universal Records having started out with vinyl, moving on to cassettes, changing to CDs, and then going digital. In that time, it has become a business empire and the biggest independent record label in the Philippines.

She has optimized digitalization as a tool for communication, online conferences, contract signings, and press launches, even maximizing the use of social media for promotions, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and more. She even ventured into online concerts.

She is a firm believer that Filipinos will always be music lovers and that’s why she will always have a market. She also finds motivation in meeting the needs of the local consumers and supporting great talents in OPM (Original Philippine Music). Although the rapid change of the market has been a challenge, she uses it as an advantage.

“There’s only one constant in business and that’s change,” she said. “And to thrive, we need to anticipate and adapt to this evolving digital world.”

 

Myrna Yao

 

Fulfilling her role as the President and CEO of Richprime Global Inc., Myrna Tang-Yao has dedicated her life to her business, from learning the ropes at a young age to adapting to the industry and market changes.

Even early on, Yao wanted to be an entrepreneur. Her parents, who were working in copra (coconut) trading in Bicol, had a great influence on her and contributed to her love for business. When she was young, she chose to help man their sari-sari store and sell candies. Coming from those humble beginnings, now she leads RichPrime Global Inc., a pioneer in the local toy industry.

During the consultations, Yao shared that their business has grown “more than one thousand percent” and gained 1M in the process. She shared that it was all thanks to shifting to digital and deliveries that sustained their business and contributed to their growth. 

Accepting Globe myBusiness’ invitation to mentor entrepreneurs, she imparted words of wisdom based on years in the business world. She shared that the very first action step is finding the best internet connection in certain areas.

“Nowadays, you really have to do some research,” she advised. “Do a mapping [as to] where the Internet connections are good and focus on that area, and study the business and the population in that area so that you will know where to focus so that you will not be wasting your time. So that you will be able to see more successful results when you do that.”

Through decades of being a business leader, she has learned to overcome numerous changes in the market, adversities, and crises and adjusted to them. She recommended that entrepreneurs must always follow where the market opportunity is and grab it, in the same way that she did during the EDSA Revolution when a lot of business owners were leaving the country.

“I know I had to stay because I know that there is an opportunity,” Yao shared. “I know I had to stay because there’s always an opportunity. So whatever is happening right now, you just have to study the situation and really look for the opportunity that you can take.”

“I always believed that any kind of downtrend or downslide — there’s always an opportunity, and many times, in my own experience, I was able to grow when there is a downside in the economy. I never gave up. So you always have to look at those opportunities because you can take advantage of it while others are sleeping and waiting, and you are running and working,” she added.

 

Rikki Dee

 

Today, the founder and CEO of Foodee Global Concepts, Enrico “Rikki” Dee, has various successful brands and high-profile restaurants. But before all his success, he started small with a restaurant along Pasay Road in the 1980s. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, he soaked up his parent’s construction business, which also informed his passion for creating his own company.

Having been given the opportunity to open at SM Food Courts and outlets worldwide have helped each of his brands and restaurants flourish and become a mainstay for people’s dining experiences, making Foodee Global Concepts one of the leading multi-faceted food operations in the Philippines. Throughout its three decades in the industry, Dee has ensured that each of his brands has the capacity to stand the test of time and the ever-evolving market. 

However, during the height of the pandemic, Dee’s empire was dealt a huge blow, both locally and globally. Despite this, Dee forged on, sustaining his business by maximizing the use of online deliveries, given that malls had to close during the lockdown.

At the Globe myBusiness’ one-on-one consultations, he imparted the knowledge he gained from decades in the industry.

“This pandemic is a wake-up call for us, like ‘Hey, you’re not Superman,’” Dee shared. “We always believed na staying focused in the business would really take you to the next level. So today, what happened was we accelerated our digitalization. If digitalization was in our plans to be two to three years, we accelerated it into six months. Food delivery, which was already hot and ‘in’ elsewhere in the world, we accelerated. Today, we are 35% delivery. Cashless payment — it’s part of our digitalization.” 

All three aforementioned entrepreneurs eagerly shared useful advice for each client, even providing digital solutions that best suited to each business. When one manages a business, one must be aware of the market changes and stay strong and resilient despite the incoming external crises that would affect the company. Striving to focus on one’s growth, adaptability, and innovation can help overcome the challenges, which will help the business become future-ready. 

 

For more activities and exciting promos of the Modern Tao Ke, stay tuned to Globe myBusiness and CHiNOY TV’s Facebook pages this 2021, and equip yourself for growth and prosperity.

For more business advice, check out our Modern Tao Ke articles here.

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