For this family, success in business required the following factors: identifying the need for income, having passion to serve others, and getting the right expert support.

For Bayani Quilala, Mr. Quickie will always be an important brand. It is not just because he has relied on its services many times since childhood. More than that, it pertains to a business that helped his parents generate sufficient income not just to provide him and his brother with comfortable life growing up but also to send them to the best schools.

The 39-year-old college instructor is now completing his PhD in China on a part time basis while also helping manage his family’s several franchised Mr. Quickie stores in the country. Aside from that, he also finds time to continue being a scuba diving instructor.

Mr. Quickie is a ‘family’ business for him not just because his family has been keeping franchised stores of the brand for over 20 years now. He emphasizes that the company treats them like family by constantly monitoring and guiding them as they manage and operate the locations.

Getting a franchise

He recalls how the Quilalas have become among the longstanding franchisees of the business. It was early 1980s and his parents were thinking of ways to generate greater income to send their two sons to Ateneo grade school.

“One day, on our way home, my mother saw a shop space for rent along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City, just beside St. Bridget school. She immediately visualized a perfect spot for a Mr. Quickie franchise that would cater to nearby schools and office buildings,” he reminisced.

Quilala narrated that the next day, his parents personally visited Mr. Emiliano Caruncho III, a family friend and founder of Mr. Quickie, in his home to ask if they can open a franchise of the business in the area. “He graciously agreed and the rest was history,” he reminisced.

He disclosed that back then, his parents were somehow anxious about such an endeavor since it was their first foray into entrepreneurship. It was for them a ‘make or break’ opportunity.

Mr. Quickie’s support

“However, with Mr. Quickie’s support for their franchisees and effective business model, my parents became confident in managing the new business,” he continued. Needless to say, that store was a success.

Quilala could not help but be very proud of what his parents did. At the same time, he was thankful because the family experience in managing their first Mr. Quickie store helped instill in him and his brother the right entrepreneurial spirit along with the recognition of the importance of personal finance management.

He also thinks that the early exposure to business management opened their eyes about serving others, developing one’s self, and increasing earning capabilities at the same time.

Family and business legacy

Today, the Quilalas continue the legacy of managing franchised Mr. Quickie stores. The family currently owns and operates eight stores in Bulacan and Pampanga.

“Being a Mr. Quickie franchisee for over 20 years is a testament not only to the ease of doing business in the area but also of sound business judgment and action of my mother, coupled with the support from the main office,” Quilala asserted.

“There are a lot of shoe repair shops but not all come with the level of guarantee and excellence of workmanship rendered by experts who are trained and certified by Mr. Quickie,” he reiterated. Aside from service training and marketing support, the company also shares its own R&D technology to its franchisees or business partners.

*This article was originally published in the November 2014 (www.entrepreneur.com.ph)