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Arlito Gomez
The author is the third in the family of six. He was born in Mindanao to a pair of public school teachers; raised and grew-up in Donsol, Sorsogon, Philippines --a once sleeping farming and fishing ...view moreThe author is the third in the family of six. He was born in Mindanao to a pair of public school teachers; raised and grew-up in Donsol, Sorsogon, Philippines --a once sleeping farming and fishing small town, but now a popular tourist destination for being the whale shark capital of the world.
Arlito Gomez graduated elementary and high school in Donsol, Sorsogon, then bounced from one university to another trying to find the right college course that will get him and his family out from poverty. He finished a vocational course –General Radio Communication Operator in 1993 hoping to land a job in a shipping company, but by the time he started looking for a job after embarking on a two-year religious mission, he cannot find one. The job has been obsolete already due to the advent of internet based communications.
He decided to go back to school and took-up a business course at Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, Manila after passing the scholarship entrance examinations of the school. But in the middle of the second semester, he realized that school has nothing to offer to get him to his dream of becoming rich and out of poverty. He started looking for lucrative jobs in real estate and insurance while trying to educate himself about the things that could lead to his dreams in life –in business.
After staying in the real estate industry for a couple of years as property consultant while doing part-time life insurance underwriting at the same time, he decided to test the waters in business. It took him 6 failed business attempts before he successfully grew a small chain of pharmacy –Maharlika Drug in Sorsogon province with the help of his pharmacist wife. Unfortunately, in 2006, a super typhoon that regularly visits the province wiped-out the main store that left them with unbearable supplier debts. The couple was left with no choice but to sell the business and free themselves of the debacle.
In the middle of these business failures, the author got the chance to attend a two-month intensive entrepreneurial training at the Academy for Creating Enterprise in Cebu City, Philippines with retired businessmen from the U.S. as mentors. He was hired as an instructor and as business development specialist at the same time in this training center a couple of years after his graduation. He considers the training and teaching opportunity at the Academy as the turning point in his career and business.
After losing the small chain of pharmacy, the author landed a temporary job in call center just to survive while looking for a lucrative job or business opportunity. After a year, he got hired as Franchise Operations Manager by Generika Drugstore. His stint in the company was cut short when he and his wife saw a much better opportunity in consulting for pharmaceutical companies. He also started consulting to other businesses by making business plans for start-up businesses. In 2011, through a close American friend, he was hired as Senior Executive Vice President of Amethyst Development Co. Ltd. in Thailand and still serving in this capacity at present. He started writing this book a few months after getting hired. Along with this book, he founded Break the Cycle of Poverty Philippines Foundation Inc. The foundation's mission it to help relieve poverty to selected Filipino families through business training, manage-to-own businesses, and business mentoring.view less