Esquire Philippines' ‘Financial Adviser’ Column is Now a Book
If you could sit down and have a heart-to-heart chat with the Philippines’ top entrepreneurs, what would you ask? Would you want to know how they started their businesses? Or how they encourage innovation? Perhaps you'd like to know how they seek out talent, or plot their overall strategy, or chart their vision for the future. Perhaps an hour wouldn't be enough to ask everything you wanted to know.
For over a decade, financial columnist Henry Ong has been interviewing the country’s top business leaders in multiple industries. After each of these no-holds-barred interviews, he distills their career into five actionable, insightful business lessons, told in the interviewee’s own words. Ong publishes these interviews regularly on Esquire Philippines, and his weekly column has become one of our most popular articles.
ALSO READ
Now, Ong has collected 21 of his most insightful conversations over the years, and will publish them in a book called Five Business Lessons: Principles on Success From the Philippines’s Top Business Leaders (P685, Summit Books).
“I usually choose business founders and entrepreneurs who have compelling stories to share,” says Ong, who is also a financial analyst. “I prefer businesses with popular brands that people can easily relate to. I am also drawn to heritage brands—those that have been operating for more than 20 years.”
About the Five Business Lessons Book From Henry Ong
Five Business Lessons assembles a diverse batch of entrepreneurs from all walks of life. It features conversations with William Belo (Wilcon), Walther Buenavista (Shawarma Shack), Sid Consunji (DMCI Holdings), Anna Lorenzana De Ocampo (Wildflour), Rikki Dee (FooDee Concepts), Vic Del Rosario (Viva Entertainment), and Atty. Felipe Gozon (GMA Network).
For the book, Ong also spoke to the late Rey Lapid (R. Lapid’s Chicharon), Wilson Ledesma (Mann Hann), Mariano Manas (Hen Lin), Abba Napa (Moment Group), Nonoy Quimbo (Novellino Wines), Edgar Saavedra (Megawide), Renato Sio (Sanicare), Kim and Aby Sy (BLK 513), Danilo Tamayo (DDT Konstract), Tommany Tan (i-FERN), Joel Torre (JT’s Manukan), and Dennis Anthony Uy (Converge).
The book will also feature never-before-published interviews with Lance Gokongwei, who leads JG Summit, and Edgar “Injap” Sia II, who founded both Mang Inasal and Double Dragon Properties.
“I aimed to present a balanced selection of business personalities in the book,” explains Ong.
Many of the interviews in the book contain cut content that didn't make it to the original published version. Ong also took the opportunity to rewrite many of the chapters, adding more context and insight to each interview.
The carefully curated selection of interviews allowed Ong to highlight “entrepreneurs who have achieved tycoon status, with their companies already listed on the stock exchange.”
“It also includes founders of successful food businesses and individuals with very inspiring rags-to-riches stories,” he adds. “The most common theme I have found is that they do not give up easily when facing challenges early in their business.”
He points to the continuous innovation of the entrepreneurs’ business models, as well as a shared mindset when it comes to income.
“They typically save the profits and reinvest it to expand,” he points out.
Whether he's interviewing a head of a conglomerate, a construction magnate, a retail titan, or a restaurant or food stall founder, Ong offers a masterclass for every Filipino entrepreneur in the book. These are their stories, told in their own words, to inspire every Filipino.
Five Business Lessons: Principles on Success from the Philippines’s Top Business Leaders will be available this December for P685. To preorder a copy, tap on this link.
