ABOUT

(Published July 9, 2014 Solar Daybreak, SOLAR TV)

 

“Business daddy” is a campaign and advocacy in entrepreneurship that Marco Victoria started.
His primary goal is to help others to become successful entrepreneurs.

Is he a real daddy? No, not to his own brood.
But Marco Victoria is an active volunteer at He Cares Foundation – A ministry dedicated to take care of street children. This ministry feeds 500 kids every single week. Marco considers all of them his kids, all his businesses are donors to this ministry as well.

Below is an interview done by Sha Nacino with the business daddy.

How to Put Up and Run 18 Businesses: An Interview with Marco Victoria
By Sha Nacino (October 2013)

At 26, he has 18 running businesses which include a high-end car parts store, a car exchange, a pre-school, a catering service, bridal cars, a production house, a neuro-muscular therapy clinic, a resto-bar, and a lot more.

How could someone so young be able to successfully put up and run businesses that seem to vary in nature? Abelardo Marco S. Victoria Jr. (or Marco for short) smiled and was quick to say that most of his businesses fall under his passions for cars and kids.

Before he became a successful entrepreneur, he was once part of the glamorous showbiz world. He rose from the ranks until he became an assistant director and director, respectively, of top-rating shows in ABS-CBN, TV5, and GMA 7.

When I asked him what made him decide to leave his career, he replied, “I was like an actor. When John Lloyd Cruz came around, people’s taste suddenly changed. They no longer wanted someone handsome with the likes of Jericho Rosales or myself. They wanted someone cute (like John Lloyd).”

You can guess he was kidding.

“I hated my boss. I wanted to be my own boss. I wanted to do the things that I want to do at my own time and I wanted to create jobs, too.” Marco continued.

With his achievements, people might think that he is intimidating. In reality, Marco is bubbly, down-to-earth, and a natural comedian. He loves to make people around him laugh.

There’s so much wisdom in him especially in business matters. During our random conversations, I asked him several questions so I could pick his brains and get a piece of how we, too, could succeed in business.

SHA: You have 18 running businesses. How do you manage to successfully run all your businesses?

MARCO: Trust. Pray. Have more business partners than managers. Make them business owners, too, so they would love your business. Sell. Never stop selling.

SHA: Have you ever had a failed business? Can you tell us more about it and what you learned from those failures?

MARCO: A lot of failed businesses. Too many to mention. Haha. I had a photo studio, a pizza stall, a pizza catering business, a “hambadog” food stall (I coined that word: HAM, BACON & HOTDOG with rice). Haha. And a couple more.  One thing I learned is to stand up, start again and sell again.

SHA: What are the three things that helped you succeed in business?

MARCO: First is my family’s support. My parents always supported me with everything. Second are business mentors. I call them at 12 midnight when I can’t sleep over a business problem. Lastly, my charming face. Kidding. But seriously, faith in God. I believe that if you take care of His business, He takes care of yours.

SHA: What advice can you give those who want to go into business but they lack funds?

MARCO: A lot of great business ideas never get off the ground because of lack of start-up capital. If you fall under this category, then congratulations! You are human. Ninety-nine percent of start-up businesses require money.

Create a business plan and find out how much you really need. Save for it. Borrow money. There are a lot of ways to finance your business.

End point, you will never run out of ways to finance your business. Sometimes it’s the inner voice in your head saying “You can’t do it” that’s stopping you rather than the lack of funds.
Marco shared that it was his Dad, Mr. Abel Victoria, a businessman himself, who inspired him to go into business.

Though Marco didn’t verbalize this, his actions signify that his uncle (Bo Sanchez) and his uncle’s words “The greatest purpose of wealth is to serve others” run in his veins.

Instead of touring Europe on his 26^th birthday, he chose to celebrate it with 500 kids from He Cares Foundation. He also treated the volunteers of He Cares Foundation to a one-night stay in a resort that he co-owns.

Just recently, Marco sent me a message on Facebook and asked me if I could be his mentor in blogging. I know Marco is gifted in a lot of things – photography, technicals , videography, etc. – and so I was surprised to read his message.

I smiled and thought to myself, “No wonder he is so successful. He remains humble and he keeps learning and growing.”

Sha Nacino (Oct. 2013)