I’m halfway through a Global Mentoring Certification Course for Entrepreneurs and it still amazes me that so much value is given away for free in the business landscape today.
I saw it firsthand in Bali where I had a taste of coworking and got to connect with entrepreneurs from all over the world, and I saw it in the Philippine and ASEAN startup scene at my first startup event in Manila. People really are willing to help each other these days!
The very next day I showed up in a more traditional garhering and again saw this mentoring come to the fore: women talking business over brunch.
Organized by Business and Professional Women (BPW) Makati, which is the Philippine chapter of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women, the facebook event invite read as follows:
Business over Brunch with Beng Tesoro
“Maria Isabel “Beng” Tesoro is one of BPW Makati’s founding members and the current group CEO of Tesoro’s. She will share her insights along her enterpreneurship journey to spark that inspiration inside of us.”
I love going into a room where I know no one and meet people for the first time. Given that it was a Saturday morning and the venue was in a cafe in BGC, I expected it to be light and casual, possibly a cross between an advocacy meeting and a management class. I walked into a room of strong and independent women, and I was happy to spend my morning exchanging stories with them.
BPW adheres to the Women’s Empowerment Principles of the U.N. and lists the following as its Mission:
1. Establish high-level corporate leadership and gender equality.
2. Treat all women and men fairly at work–respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination.
3. Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers.
4. Promote education, training and professional development for women.
5. Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women.
6. Promote equality through community initiatives and advocacy.
7. Measure and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality.
It turns out Beng Tesoro is not just a CEO of a long-standing family enterprise, but also a professor of management with a great sense of style (check out her barong dress!). She shared the story of her family’s business through the years and how in the days long before Mission-Vision Statements were invented, her mother insisted on their company’s values from the start: honest, authentic, consistent. My big takeaway from her practical tips: take care of your finances. Cash flow is king: the main business of a business is to stay in business.
Click on the pic below to open a slideshow of pictures from the event, including slides of Beng’s talk, with “tips on how to sustain a growing business, manage risks, and remain relevant through the changing business ecosystem”:
My own insights after the brunch:
Talking to more people about the #startup culture has gotten me believing this sh*t is for real.😍 I feel like I’ve been living under a rock since 2010, but just wow. What a happy #realitycheck.🤗😆 What an #amazing #world we live in!
July 23, 2017. #Sunday
#montalutdoodles #linedrawing #illustration #visualmeditation #trust #payitforward #helpersareeverywhere
Where was I when trust *really* became the currency of business and economics? Time to get out of my bubble and raise my hand. Maybe both hands and feet too! Can’t say it enough: What an amazing world we live in.
July 23, 2017. #Sunday
#montalutdoodles #linedrawing #illustration #visualmeditation #trust #payitforward #helpersareeverywhere #raisemyhand #imhere #showup