An Inspirational Story of a Blind Businessman

I am doing this blogsite as a channel to reach out, inform readers of the latest business trends and seminars, tax information and of course, to inspire the readers of success business stories of entrepreneurs whom I have personally interviewed. And I was thinking of who could be my launching interviewee with truly inspiring story that I believe could, beyond doubt, get in the heart of my readers. I would want to interview Henry Sy or Lucio Tan (if they won’t snob a beginner blogger like me :D ), but I thought, you would want someone whom you can identify with, an ordinary man (because he is not yet a celebrity and a business tycoon yet) but spends his life extra-ordinarily. So I have chosen the man who has silently and bravely nailed his mark in his career, business and personal life despite the odds he went through. Guys, I am so privileged to open the pages for Mr. Prodex Tipuno.

A man of substance.

It was the youthful years of his life, famous for his cheery personality, an SK Chairman, just graduated at Technological Institute of the Philippines with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, was getting offers from so many big companies here and abroad, and was about to leave for Aruba, South America for his first big break in his chosen profession when he was gun-shot by someone who had mistaken him as the enemy. That was almost 15 years ago. That short-range gunshot incident has led to his full BLINDNESS and a BIG CHANGE in his life. 

How did he conquer it all?

Being blind is never easy. The more if you are naturally born with sight then suddenly it was taken away from you. His first 3 New Years of lost of sight led him to ending up with bruises because of bumping his head onto the edges of the door frame. Aside from physical struggles in coping up, sadness and frustrations come once in a while since some of his friends forget to visit him. But he is a person who does not dwell on the negativity of his surroundings or the situation, instead, he listen to the radio to get educated about blindness and how to deal with his condition. He also started to mingle with a partially-blind friend and learned from him and also associated with group of blind people who do massaging. For 5 years he went to work as a massage therapist after getting his license. Yes, blind massage therapists are licensed and they even have to undergo continuing massage therapy education for renewal of their license and it makes it more a respected profession. Prodex is also blessed with a family that supports him all the way.

Prodex at work!
For your massage needs, just text: 0939-5830-663 (yes, he can text you back!)

Now, where is Prodex and what does he do?

Well, what had happened to him does not limit him from doing almost anything a normal person can do. Mind you, guys, he now owns his own massage clinic A4DABLE MASSAGE SERVICES which is operating for more than 2 years now. A4DABLE MASSAGE SERVICES is located at 3^rd level Robinsons Pala-Pala Dasmariñas, Cavite. He also supervises 2 more massage clinics founded by their organization named as VIBES MASSAGE SERVICES. As a part-time "celebrity" :), it has been a self-therapy to him to sing in gigs of their band, this is aside from playing the bass guitar. They can be usually catched up at Cowboy Barn in Terazza Dasmariñas, Cavite. Unfortunately, they temporarily stopped from accepting gigs since one of their members can no longer join them for distance reasons. If you would like to apply, there is only one condition- blind yourself first! And what about his lovelife? He is proud to say that he has already his own small happy family with his wife Irene (his high school sweetheart) and two angels who are ages 14 and 8 years old. 

Prodex's active life with his bandmates
For your massage needs, just text: 0939-5830-663  (yes, he can text you back!)

Prodex with his happy family!
For your massage needs, just text: 0939-5830-663  (yes, he can text you back!)

About his business…

After 5 years of working as a massage therapist, he and his client who was then a bank manager and has become a friend decided to put up a massage clinic along with another high school classmate. And it was named A4DABLE MASSAGE SERVICES which offers an hour body massage for only Php250! It is so affordable yet quality of service is never compromised. I have already tried their services and it was so soothing to the muscles! You better have to try it for yourself. The A4DABLE MASSAGE SERVICES is now sole-owned by him since his two partners already sold it to him for some emergency reasons. He said that eventually his clinic will merge with VIBES MASSAGE SERVICES.

                                 

How is he as a boss...

He said that managing people is a tough job, more so managing blind employees. They are overly-sensitive at times and can easily fall asleep because of “darkness”, sometimes absenteeism is also a problem. But their “sipag and tiyaga” is insurmountable and the quality of the massage they deliver to clients is one enough reason for them to come back. Prodex even jokingly add that since his massage therapists employees are all blind, special feelings develop among couples there and he also plays as “Dr. Love” to them.

The Business and The Boss and The Client
For your massage needs, just text: 0939-5830-663  (yes, he can text you back!)

He even dreams for more…

When I asked him about how he sees himself and the business after 5 years, he answered me with a hopeful spirit! He looks forward to tie up with hotels and be able to give more jobs to the blind community. He proudly say that blind people nowadays are seldom seen begging for alms on the street. This is despite the fact that they get no fund assistance from the government. It is either they can be caught singing with their guitars but not begging because they too get tired of sharing their talents or they can be seen working in a massage clinic. 

Vibes Massage Services at SM Dasmariñas - soon at the hotels! (his goal)
Vibes was established by an organization of blind people, which just started in year 1996 from  the funds raised through their Christmas Carolings. From then on, it has become bigger and can now be found in many SM Malls. At first SM Malls were hesitant to accept them as tenants but now gave them a chance and SM generously waived their royalty fees as their way of helping them out.
For your massage needs, just text: 0939-5830-663  (yes, he can text you back!)

One quote from him that struck me!

“Ano ang magagawa ko bilang bulag?” What an optimistic point of view! As I had more than an hour of interview with him, I have seen how strong his character is. You can truly say that you can never put a good man down. It is not the situation that will make you fail or prosper but how you see and handle the circumstances that come across your paths. Only us can decide to make a positive change in our lives. It is a shame on those people who keep on complaining and playing victims of life when you hear this one blind man asking how he can make a difference in his lifetime. Now, challenge yourself with the same question- What can you do in all your capacity as a normal person to improve your life?

The "Kenkoy" Prodex!
For your massage needs, just text: 0939-5830-663  (yes, he can text you back!)

On creating huge wealth: What do managers of large corporations won’t tell you?

     It is interesting to know how the big boys play the game. Of course it is! Every ordinary entrepreneur I guess will be so enthusiastic to know what seems to be the secret to big corporations’ creation of wealth. Let us first see and analyze a traditional entrepreneur’s perspective of a business process:

     From their CASH, a merchandising business will buy their INVENTORIES and raw materials in case of manufacturing businesses that they will assemble to create a new product. From inventory it will be sold to direct consumers for retailing business or to its distributors for a wholesaling business. These inventories are seldom bought in cash by the buyers especially for bulk purchases and so it will be your trade RECEIVABLES which will then be collected but with a provision for doubtful accounts and CASH will again be realized. So the cycle goes just like that for a typical business environment. Of course, wealth can be created from that system and has been proven in many generations. But acquiring huge wealth is for the BIG C’S proven business process. And how do big C’s do it? Let us analyze their way and see if it can be applied to yours:

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

     This is the first step in huge wealth creation. Large companies invest in researching and developing new products that would satisfy existing needs or it is their way to create a need and come up with products to suit that need. This may mean for them going to different countries, hiring chemists, scientists, researchers to do it for them. 

DESIGN ENGINEERING

     After deciding what product or services to offer, next is the design engineering wherein this process involves a number of steps, and parts of the process may need to be repeated many times before production of a final product can begin. After perfecting the targeted output, prototype is made which will be showcased to prospective clients or customers. 

PRODUCTION

     Design is now ready for production. Say for instance, a shoe manufacturing company has made a prototype of a particular shoe design and got an order for it, the production department will be advised to mass produce such order. Or some companies do mass production of necessity-items such as office supplies, garments, kitchen wares and the likes. 

MARKETING

     You have the product, now it is the time to make it known by the public. You may do it thru TV ads launching, newspaper ads, magazine ads, or for beginners may advertise it for free in the internet. Promotional ads such as displaying or showing off your cheapest and most attractive items to attract more buyers can be done also. This is very easy to do nowadays since social media is just a click away and you can reach even the farthest area across the globe with just one click! 

DISTRIBUTION

     You have marketed your products and distribution comes next. You may choose to do it the conventional way of three-level distribution system: from producer-wholesaler-retailer. This is the method tested by well-established businesses from various industries. Another method is by direct distribution which is usually done by some cosmetic and healthcare products. By doing direct distribution, you bypass the wholesalers and retailers. Prior to adopting the direct selling approach, be sure that you won’t need these channels of distribution because they may not be available to you later on you decide to change method. Distribution may be done in two-way wherein only the wholesalers will be alienated. It means that retailers will go directly to producers to be able to cut the costs of having middlemen. Whatever method you choose, just remember the things to be considered so you can come up with the most profitable way of distribution without suffering your business relations as well. 

AFTER-SALES SERVICE

     This is one powerful method to know the concerns of your customers after buying your product. A sale does not end after you receive payment and your customer receives the product. You must proactively serve your client even after sales. You may do this after-sales service by providing hotline numbers wherein they can call about their comments, suggestions or complaints. By so doing, the customers feel that you value them more than profiting from them. 

     To become big, you must think big and apply to your business what the big boys have been doing. Don’t see those as a costly process. With a creative and analytical mind, everything can be made practical and possible. 

For your success, 

Marygrace