Featured Lucenahin: Entrepreneur Fernan T. Enriquez
For this week’s featured Lucenahin, join us as we sit down for an interview with Mr. Fernan T. Enriquez, the man behind Lucena City’s much beloved tea drinks and franchise, Bon Appetea.
Fernan Enriquez, owner of Bon Appetea Lucena (Photo from him)
How and when did you get started in the business industry and get noticed?
My best friend, Kevin Magsipoc, brought me to a Franchise Expo event wherein a lot of retail businesses and franchise opportunities were gathered together. We collected brochures of commercial entities that we could possibly invest in, and after much deliberation, we ended up choosing Bon Appetea. We decided to build the franchise here in Lucena City since there were still no sensible tea shops in the city at that time.
We started on September 9, 2013— that is our grand opening. After a month, our tea room was instantly recognized; the shop was filled with customers and there was always an insanely long queue — to the extent that we failed to entertain some of our clients during that time.
Do you have a related educational background that inspired you to go into business? Can you tell us something about yourself?
I am actually a registered nurse. No connection, right? But Kevin and I go by the maxim, “Anyone can start a business.” The only requirement is that you have the guts. Of course, there’s a certain edge for those who graduated with a business-related degree, but I know during that time that I can manage one as long as I know the basics, and since Bon Appetea Lucena started as a small franchise, I found it very easy to manage. Perhaps when bigger business opportunities come my way, then it would be necessary for me to take a degree related to business management.
After graduating from high school, I really wanted to take HRM, but I ended up taking Nursing instead as it was “in demand” during that time. After graduating from college, both the opportunities to become a nurse as well as the salary that comes with it decreased, which is why Bon Appetea has been a great help to my career.
People keep telling me how good I am, because according to them, I’m too young to have a business. I was 21 when I started Bon Appetea, and now I’m 23. I’m very much overjoyed to receive such compliments, for they are a lot like reassurances that I have achieved and accomplished something in life. I also believe that age doesn’t matter when it comes to business management. As long as you know how to handle money and your people wisely, then you have nothing to worry about.
What inspired you to start a Bon Appetea franchise here in Lucena City?
First of all, I was inspired with the thought: “Ayaw kong umasa habang buhay sa aking magulang. Iba talaga yung pakiramdam kapag may sarili ka nang pinagkukunan ng sarili mong panggastos.”
Second, my insecurities also inspired me to start the business, but I refuse to go into detail on what those insecurities are about.
Lastly, I was inspired by the help and encouragement of my best friend, Kevin Magsipoc. After graduating college and taking the board exam, I started to work as a call center agent. Somehow, I learned to love my job — partly because the pay was high — but after 6 months, I suddenly realized that I’m not happy with my job anymore. That was the time when Kevin asked me what I wanted to do with my life. He suggested the idea of starting a business, and from then on things started going our way. I wouldn’t be a successful entrepreneur today if it weren’t for him.
How have you gotten the “word out” about Bon Appetea?
We started out by posting large tarpaulins all over town, and during our grand opening we immediately set a promo “buy one, take one” in order to rapidly spread the taste of our products. We started giving out Bon Appetea and Nirvana inspired T-shirts as well. Then we advertised on Facebook and social media. My co-nurses recommended our products to employees in the hospital, and I have a friend who’s a DJ in Radio Spirit FM whom I also asked to promote my newest franchise. Overall though, the word about Bon Appetea rapidly spread through word of mouth from our Lucenahin clients.
How long has the tea room been at this location?
We’ve been here at Queen Margarette Hotel downtown, in front of Maryhill College, for 1 year and 7 months.
How would you describe Bon Appetea?
The name “Bon Appetea”is a result of word play from the French word “Bon Appétit,”literally meaning “good appetite,” and used as a salutation to a person about to eat. It’s basically saying, “Have a good meal!” but for me, Bon Appetea means happiness and Nirvana (a winter melon milk tea and our bestselling drink). There’s this quote that I love which says, “You cannot buy happiness, but you can buy Nirvana, and that’s kind of the same thing.”
What makes your tea room different from other tea rooms around here?
Ours is customer-friendly, especially to students and youngsters who deem our shop as their favorite tambayan and go-to-place for hanging out.
Our tea room also has a pleasant ambiance, great interiors and furnishings, books, and a freedom wall/message board for customers to leave their sweet nothings, traces of their visit, or share their Bon Appetea experience.
What’s your secret to keeping customers coming in?
Aside from the high quality of our products, we also offer free loyalty cards to our customers, so that they could receive a promo for every fifth order of their drink.Our fast service also leaves a great impression on our customers. Our greatest secret, however, is having a friendly and accommodating staff and making our customers feel at home, so that they get the urge to always come back.
How do you ensure that you provide a convenient dining experience to your clients?
With the recent renovation of our shop, we made the tea room look as cute and cozy as possible in order to bring out that homey feeling. We also offer:
- music
- books
- freedom wall
- air-conditioning system
- Wi-Fi access
What are your day-to-day responsibilities as a business owner and manager?
Usually, I sit on the cashier whenever I go on duty. I also manage the following:
- Inventory
- Scheduling
- Encoding of sales
- Quality control
- Personnel management
Although my staff also knows how to do these things, I still insist on doing some of the work whenever I’m on duty. I train them gradually from being the cashier to making the products and doing the inventory so that they’ll be able to manage on their own whenever I’m not around.
Just recently, there had been reports about “milk tea deaths” due to alleged poisoning. How did this incident affect your milk tea business? What measures have you adopted to deal with the incident?
To be honest, I didn’t actually feel that my franchise was affected by the issue, since our sales were still the same as usual even after the incident occurred. Besides, we were closed for a week since we underwent a renovation, so perhaps our customers missed our products.
Furthermore, I’m certain that our products are clean and safe,which is why I wasn’t very alarmed by the incident. In spite of that, I keep reminding my staff to continue what they are doing and keep the products clean and safe from contamination. Double checking the expiration of our ingredients is also a frequent reminder, and as a nurse, I also get to use my knowledge when it comes to proper handling of foods.
How do you hope to see your tea room grow within the next few years?
Of course I would like an expansion; to reach the point wherein the demands will go unusually high that it would be necessary for us to expand our space. I would also like to build more branches not just here in Quezon, but in other provinces as well. Actually, I already have a second branch in Lipa, Batangas (operating for 5 months now) and my next target is Batangas City — hopefully. I’m also planning to offer additional products in the future—cup cakes, rice meals, and pasta maybe so that our customers can have several options and never get tired of our products.
What’s the best part of being a business owner and manager? What are the most challenging parts?
The best part is that I have control over my schedule. Whenever there’s an emergency, I could easily quit and dismiss my duty, since I have no time in and time out. I just like to go with the flow though I always make sure that I’m leaving the shop in good and sensible hands. The most challenging parts would be when there is an increase in the number of competitors, decrease in the number of sales, and meager supply of products, promotions, and discounts. It’s also a challenge for me to think about ways on how to entertain our customers and provide them with a comfortable atmosphere all throughout.
Do you have any tips for budding entrepreneurs who are itching to start their own business?
They just have to make sure that they pick a good and ideal location in order for their target market to patronize their franchise. When they are already certain of that,then everything else will surely follow.
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