ANYSIA LYNACE CORONADO found her lane after getting lost in the highways and byways of the food business. Good thing there’s mom.
“Overwhelming ’yung pagtanggap ng market, pati ’yung pagod, lahat-lahat na. Along the process, parang nilamon na ako ng trabaho tapos sasabayan pa ng personal issues ko, I felt lost and worn out [It was overwhelming: the market acceptance and the exhaustion; everything the business required. Along the way, I felt work was consuming me and there’re also personal issues],” Coronado, 23, told the BusinessMirror.
Coronado is referring to how she helped grow Billy’s Tapa To-Go, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that serves pick-up meals, of which the main dish is the Tapsilog.
Tapsilog is a meal composed of fried rice with garlic, a piece of sunny-side egg and fried beef strips. Aside from Tapsilog, the four-year-old Billy’s also serves Liemposilog (fried rice, sunny-side egg and fried pork loin) and adobo (pork stew) flakes.
Coronado said it has been a struggle since opening Billy’s on Antonio Street, Dapitan, in Manila, mid-August 2014.
The young entrepreneur said she and Bill Hablo, a business partner that time, grappled with how to run a business that was based only on their thesis under the Entrepreneurship program in the University of Santo Tomas-College of Commerce and Administration.
Building blocks
CORONADO said the main hurdle was how to introduce the product in the market, mainly composed of students from UST, one gate of which is only a hundred steps away from Billy’s.
“We also discussed lengthily how we can penetrate this market given the fact that there are lots of existing food establishments within the area where Billy’s—a portmanteau of Hablo’s ‘Bil’ and the first two letters of Coronado’s second name ‘Lynace’—is located,” she said.
Coronado added she and Hablo were aware Billy’s is not alone in offering budget-friendly rice meals to students who stretch their allowance. There are also small, home-based eateries aside from big fast-food brands competing for a slice of this market.
“We also felt a bit overwhelmed when students arrived in droves as customers,” Coronado said.
Likewise, having regular employees was a struggle for us, she said, adding that some of their staff only lasted for a month or two. It was Coronado and her aunt who worked all around in the eatery: taking orders, cooking and packing meals, cleaning tables for sit-in customers and washing dishes.
This is a tall order as the small restaurant is always packed, especially during lunch on weekdays.
Mom’s support
BEING a small restaurant catering to students, Billy’s has rough times during summer vacations.
“We suffer during the summer, hindi kasi kami nagbubukas kasi wala namang estudyante [We close the shop because students are out for the summer vacation.] Our bills are piled up for two months and we literally got zero balance,” Coronado said.
She said they decided to remain open even during the summer vacation, April to May, this year to at least cut their obligations—they pay a monthly rent even if Billy’s is closed.
“True enough, there were customers,” Coronado said, adding that they were wrong to close the restaurant during April and May.
Still, since she lives in Laguna, about 80 kilometers south of Manila, Coronado had to top up an expense from renting a room near Billy’s.
“The good thing is my mom went through for me. She helped me in the business and she accompanied me through my struggles as a young entrepreneur,”
Coronado said. “I’ve lost myself along the way but I’ve constantly pulled myself back, with my mom beside me.”
That support is paying off: Coronado opened a new branch of Billy’s at Saint Jude College, also in Manila. That store, of course, offers take-outs and can accommodate more dine-in customers because of its estimated 30-square-meter space.
Entrepreneurial spirit
THE 5’2″ Coronado, of course, claims Billy’s tapa is best-tasting: the flavor is tastier and the meat is tender.
They use authentic carabao beef (carabeef) for their tapa, which comes straight from the Coronado hometown of Nagcarlan, Laguna. The beef strips are delivered to Billy’s every morning.
“My family originally has a tapa business in Nagcarlan. Billy’s gets its source product there,” she said.
Coronado explained she and Hablo decided to bring her family’s business to Manila since she grew up with it and, hence, she trusted the product’s quality. She added it was her family’s business that sustained her and her three siblings’ education.
Coronado, the youngest, was the last to graduate. She said her parents taught her how to marinate carabao meat when she was still in elementary school. She always helped in preparing the carabeef since then.
Her experience also helped her continue Billy’s while Hablo went his separate way.
Customer choice
UST student Deniece Maegan Diala commends Billy’s market strategy.
“The to-go concept I think is what makes it student-friendly, especially for students who are late for class,” Diala said. She noted because of its proximity to UST, students like her can immediately go back to class.
Indeed, Diala is part of Billy’s target market: on-the-go students who do not have time to eat. Coronado explained that when she and Hablo were still in college, they used to look for eateries that offer take-out food and fast service because they were always in a hurry for class. Hence, they established a business that they, themselves, are the target market.
Billy’s sells approximately 350 orders a day, earning an estimate of P21,000 to P23,000 a day as the price of every meal ranges from P60 to P65, and these only comprise of walk-in orders alone. It also occasionally caters bulk orders for different organizations in UST that are usually given a 10-percent discount.
Another student, Piolo Veluz, said the P65 he pays for a Liemposilog meal is worth it.
Business class
CORONADO said a technique to a successful business is to find and top what the target market is looking for.
“It is also important to be consistent with the taste, kasi iyon ’yung babalik-balikan [because this is what customers would return for].”
And while she did encounter personal difficulties, Coronado said she didn’t allow these to affect the business.
“In life, you need to have your feet firmly planted on the ground so you can grow in full bloom. Everyone should always have the courage to continue.”
And she always thanks her mom, who she said continues to be there for her.
Hence, amid series of printing shops, sari-sari stores and dormitories, Billy’s stands as the lone go-to eatery in Dapitan for fans of Tapsilog.
Image credits: Monique Danielle A. Fernando