Del M. Agahan: the evolving entrepreneur.

Agahan, Eileen M.

A HUMBLE BEGINNING

Edelmira "Del" Agahan hails from Cavite, a province of the Philippines located just 30 kilometers south of the country's capital of Manila. Cavite is referred to as the historical capital of the Philippines because it is the cradle of the Philippine Revolution and the birthplace of Philippine Independence.

Being the oldest of seven children, Agahan had to assist her mother with running a small retail store and taking care of her siblings while her father served the Philippine Navy and traveled overseas until his retirement in 1972. Nonetheless, her father would send money to support the needs of the family. Agahan indeed took on a number of responsibilities at a young age. For instance, at the age of seven, she started visiting vendors at the public market and purchasing things that her mother needed, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, canned goods and housewares. She would also prepare food at home after school on a daily basis. Agahan's father earned only about US $250 a month, but it was already considered a good salary to especially support his children's education. Agahan attended a public elementary and high school in Cavite where she consistently obtained honors.

GROWING UP DURING THE POLITICAL DICTATOR ERA

Agahan grew up in the Marcos era. In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos was elected president of the Philippines and he defied the rules of the political game. He built a domestic power base among military officers, civilian technocrats [supporters of technocracy, or governmental, social and industrial management by technical experts], and a faction of the elite.

At the same time, he secured external support from the U.S. government, skillfully manipulating preoccupation with the military bases and personally investing in the electoral campaigns of key U.S. politicians. He ruled the Philippines for twenty years until he was driven into exile at last by the People Power Revolution of 1986.

In the two decades of President Ferdinand Marcos' rule, the Philippine economic development strategy was defined by a revolution in rice agriculture that successfully doubled production of the country's basic food staple, a reliance on export agriculture as a major source of income and foreign exchange earnings, and large-scale borrowing from foreign banks and official lenders.

Major economic sectors comprise the country's gross domestic product (GDP). The two largest sectors--services and agriculture--grew more slowly than total GDP, while manufacturing and construction grew more rapidly. Total employment grew at 3.3 percent per year from 1962 to 1986. Employment in agriculture and manufacturing grew more slowly at only 2.6 percent. In contrast, employment in the service sector grew at 4.7 percent, increasing that sector's share in total employment from 25 percent in 1962 to 37 percent in 1986. The service sector plays a leading role in the growth process; labor productivity in the service sector held fairly constant from the early 1960s to the early 1980s. Furthermore, labor force participation rates particularly increased among women.

The increase in female labor force participation could be attributed to factors, such as a decrease in gender-related employment constraints and the need to adopt a survival strategy amid tough economic conditions. Between 1962 and 1983, the U.S. government provided $3 billion in economic and military assistance. In the same period, the World Bank lent $4 billion to the Philippine government.

Income per person in the Philippines rose between 1962 and 1986. However, for the country's poor majority, this was not an era of rising income but of deepening impoverishment because they still could not afford to consume the minimum daily calorie requirement. Although per capita income in the Philippines rose between the early 1960s and the mid-1980s, the income of the country's poor majority declined.

Real wages fell in both rural and urban areas, even during periods when the country was experiencing rapid growth in average national income. Between 1962 and 1986, real wages of unskilled laborers in metropolitan Manila declined at an annual rate of 5.8 percent and real wages of skilled laborers declined almost as rapidly at 5.2 percent. If the central aim of the Philippine economic development strategy is to reduce poverty, then the strategy in the Marcos era was a failure.

THE RISE OF A WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR

Because her family could not afford to send her to a nursing school, Agahan chose to major in marketing at the Philippine College of Commerce located in Manila. Going to college was not easy. The daily commute by bus each morning that took one to two hours was tiring. Nevertheless, Agahan successfully completed college in 1974.

She landed her first job after six months with California Manufacturing Company (CMC), a subsidiary of Unilever Philippines that exports leading brands like Knorr, Lady's Choice, Lipton and Best Foods. She worked as a secretary and accounting clerk for three years before finding a higher-paying job with an advertising firm known as Scaife Clemens and Associates. She worked as a billing supervisor for three years until the company failed and filed for bankruptcy.

Agahan then heard of a job opening at Prudential Bank located in Makati, a major financial, commercial and economic hub and often referred to as the financial capital of the Philippines since many global companies have their headquarters in the city. There she worked as a bank teller for four years.

After her petition for a U.S. visa was granted in 1984, Agahan left the Philippines to start a new life with her husband in Guam. She became a U.S. citizen three years later. She first worked as a receptionist for Guam Polyclinic before leaving to work with the accounting department at Bank of Hawaii in 1986. She left after two years and took a higher-paying job offer at Calvo's Insurance where she became a collection supervisor.

Due to her desire of career advancement, she decided to pursue another opportunity with World Book, Inc., an industry leader in the production of award-winning encyclopedias, reference sources and digital products for the home and schools. Agahan learned about this company through a local teacher who sold some children's books and encouraged her to be a sales representative. Six months after joining the team of World Book sales representatives, Agahan had the opportunity to take her first trip to the United States and attend a conference in Chicago, Illinois. It was the success of the company's top sellers that motivated her to work harder to attain her goals. Due to the high volume of sales that she generated on a weekly basis, she was quickly promoted to the position of Sales Manager for Guam and Hawaii. Agahan surely had a number of notable accomplishments within her six years with World Book.

GROWTH OF THE BUSINESS

Agahan's biggest accomplishment was leading her 1994 World Book team to the Million Dollar Club. She eventually became an exclusive World Book distributor, which led her to establish a small business under the company name "Dynamic World of Learning." She continued to sell educational books to households, public and private schools in Guam and Micronesia as a licensed wholesaler and retailer.

Then in 2000, she decided to diversify by acquiring other businesses outside her company's current products. She took her company into new areas, such as selling Pure Water treatment systems for use in households, schools and offices. Diversification was a strategy for company growth.

Agahan then became a local representative of Delaney Educational Enterprises, Inc. (DEE), a distributor of high-quality fiction and non-fiction books and multimedia products with its headquarters in San Diego.

SUCCESS OF THE BUSINESS

It is Agahan's diligence that makes her a successful entrepreneur. She is one action-oriented woman who passionately seeks new opportunities and pursues these opportunities with discipline. She is always looking for the chance to profit from change.

She links strategy with her choice of undertakings while creating and sustaining networks of relationships. For instance, she recognizes a viable idea for a business product or service and carries it out by finding the necessary resources--money, people, or location--to undertake the business venture.

A business start-up requires great effort. Agahan assumes the financial and legal risks of ownership. For instance, she had to rely on her own resources for initial funding. Running a small business may be difficult and risky, but Agahan is rewarded by the personal satisfaction of being a business owner and wants the flexibility that comes from being self-employed. She places high importance on being free to achieve and maximize her potential.

FUTURE OF THE BUSINESS

Agahan is looking for a better way of doing things amid the current economic downturn. Due to the advancement of computer technology, Dynamic World of Learning has experienced a drop in book sales.

However, Agahan is determined to keep the business moving and build something of lasting value by making real estate investments. She purchased her first property in 2002, which was a triplex apartment located in Mangilao. Today, she owns a total of eight rental units, which include three apartments and five single-dwelling houses on Guam.

Eileen M. Agahan, University of Guam

REFERENCES

About Cavite Province, Philippines. Retrieved on November 28, 2009, from http://www.islandsproperties.com/places/cavite.htm

Del Agahan. Personal Interview. November 27, 2009.

Sicat, G. P. (Ed.). (1964). The Philippine economy in the 1960's. Philippines: Institute of Economic Development and Research, University of the Philippines

Sicat, G. P. (1974). New economic directions in the Philippines. Philippines: National Economic and Development Authority