Over the years, I have been fortunate to have met so many interesting and successful personalities and business people in Canada. Last week in Toronto, I met and chatted with Gina Cajucom, the newly elected Secretary of Canada-Philippines Business Council (CPBC), a non-profit organization that fosters trade between Canada and the Philippines.
Intrigued by her background and impressed by her success, I dug deeper into her business profile. In the process, I learned, not just about her, but more so about her inspired mindset and her positive outlook in life. Below, you’ll find our conversation about business and success.
MGR: What are your keys to success?
Gina: “I have found FOCUS to be very important to success. I find myself having a lot of development ideas and I continue to struggle on honing in on the core competencies that work best for me. PERSEVERANCE is the second most important thing. You have to believe in your vision and keep at it in spite of challenges and disappointments. I am inspired by the SIMPLICITY of the idea that business is simply knowing what people need and want and letting them know that you are the best person to provide the service or product to fulfill them. Finally, being able to CONNECT and make an impact is key. No matter how well thought out, the decision to buy a product or hire a service always has an emotional component. Tapping into the intangible aspect of the buyer and seller connection is like magic.”
MGR: Describe your business
Gina: “INSIGHT COACHING AND CONSULTING is a Career Management Services provider that aims to help individuals and organizations reinvent work-life by creating a work environment that is conducive to a fulfilling, meaningful, and engaged work that is inspired, aligned, and integrated. We help create an empowered careers. . . and help develop personal leadership and life skills. . .”
MGR: Who has greatly influenced you growing up?
Gina: My mother is a big influence on my entrepreneurial nature. Growing up as a child, she brings me to the marketplace every time since nobody is going to babysit me at home. She has always been a Retailer since as far back as I can remember. I learned the nuts and bolts of retailing from her. The most important lesson I learned was to always start a business within your means and make it grow incrementally by managing whatever financial resources you have started with. I saw how she did this and I have seen how she grew any little venture she started day by day, little by little. My mother was an epitome of a guerilla entrepreneur and that is how I would describe myself as well.
MGR: Who are your mentors?
Gina: I have no particular mentors who guide me through the challenges, but I was influenced to a large extent by my corporate experience. I have learned something from all my former CEOs, COOs, Managers, Supervisors, and professional friends. I learned from their experience and expertise. I am a big life learner. I watch and listen and learn all the time. To manage people well, I learned from my best friend Amy, who was a Human Resources Manager while I was starting out in my corporate experience as a Trainer. To manage process and maintain quality, I learned from my friend Ariel, who is a Quality Management executive. To sell and create business, I learned from my former COOs and CEOs. To find my way in my business brand and value proposition, my friend and business associate Linda helped me through it. I consider all of them as my mentors although they have not really consciously or intentionally mentored me so to speak. Nonetheless, I thank them for their valuable influence in developing my skills.
MGR: What motivates you?
Gina: All the pains that I have seen, the woes that I have listened to, the wasted opportunities in organizations that I have experienced – all of these motivate me to clearly identify my business mission and sharpen my selling points. The people who have gained clarity in their career goals, made the big steps in career transitions, achieved their job and career objectives, feel empowered in the process – they all motivate me to trudge on and give me a sense of fulfillment in what I do.
MGR: What are some of your challenges and how did you successfully solve them?
Gina: Being a start-up business and a guerilla entrepreneur, I have a very limited set of resources that I’m working with. I have to do a lot of stuff on my own. Having a bit of technical knowledge and having a professional experience for over 15 years across different industries; all the skills, competencies and knowledge that I got from all my work experiences now come in handy. I am largely self-sufficient but I also leverage on the talent and skills of all my business associates. Self-employment will be such a lonely road without them.