Difficulties and hardships are valuable lessons about diligence, thrift and principled work!
Slumdog Millionaire, from movie to real life, is always inspiring stories, with examples from poverty to riches and power, through hard work and perseverance, and the smile of fate. Those are the people who come from lowly and poor backgrounds, but have overcome life’s challenges with will and determination to the end, to reap worthy results.
Let’s learn the story of billionaire Henry Sy – the man who came to the Philippines and struggled from his early days as a shoe store and grocery store, and eventually became the richest man in the country – and kept hold that position to this day.
At the age of 12, Henry Sy followed his father to the Philippines, raising hopes of a more prosperous life. To support his family, his father opened a small grocery store on Carriedo Street (Manila).
Recalling those hard days, Henry Sy once said: “I cried when I saw my father’s hardships. Every day, my father had to get up early to pick up the goods, then bring them back to sell at the roadside shop until late at night and then sleep there. Those hardships and hardships gave me the first valuable lesson in industriousness, thrift, and principled work.”
Born in 1924, in a poor family in Jinjiang, Quanzhou, China, at the age of 12 Sy moved with his family to the Philippines. Even as a child, Sy had to work at her father’s small grocery store for more than 12 hours a day.
Little Sy is so engrossed in work that he has no childhood, does not often play with other children, and wishes to have a chance to help his father with his business.
But heaven does not please people. During World War 2, the Philippine economy collapsed and their shops were burned and robbed. For the period after the store closed, Sy continued to sell goods on the street alone to support herself, while His father returned to China.
One day, he was shot in the body by a shrapnel and nearly bled to death if not promptly taken to the hospital by a friend. Sy returned the favor by making that friend a business partner for the rest of his career.
After World War 2 ended, Henry Sy started retailing shoes. His rapidly growing business allowed him to open his first shoe store called Shoe Mart (SM). That store was also very successful and Sy went on to open more branches.
Then a new challenge arose – suppliers opposed Henry’s business instructions. They only provide a limited amount of goods, causing Shoe Mart’s business to stall.
With not enough stock to sell, Sy’s Shoe Mart faces a big challenge. Unable to convince the partner, Sy decided to diversify products. He imported more garments and other goods to attract customers.
But the difficulty does not stop there. When Sy opened the first department store in 1972 in the chain he developed, the Philippines imposed martial law. In the end, things got even more difficult when the economy was in a recession… In the face of mounting difficulties, many believed that Sy would fail.
Even so, Henry Sy did not waver. He is ready to face all objections with confidence and optimism, with encouragement from employees, friends, family and even customers.
In the process of building the megamall, Sy and his team continued to experience delays, and then the Asian crisis in 1997. Despite the difficulties, Sy managed to grow the number of stores, as well as the number of stores. Expansion of business beyond the retail sector. On November 8, 1985, he opened the first SM Supermall, SM City North EDSA.
Tireless efforts finally brought Henry Sy worthy results. His SM Prime Holdings group grew strongly, affirming the number one retail position in the Philippines, making Henry Sy the richest person in this country. Besides that, Sy also entered the banking, food and beverage business, and also achieved admirable achievements.
He has won numerous awards throughout his years for his optimism, unyielding will and knowledge of the business: Management Personality of the Year Award by the Philippine Management Association in 1999, Top 40 The richest Philippines in 2008, featured in Forbes’ “Charity Heroes” Magazine in 2009, the first Chinese-Filipino to receive the PRA President’s Award in 2005, …
Henry Sy showed us that, despite all odds, perseverance pays off in the end. He once stated that “opportunities are created by us, opportunities do not come by themselves.” This is also a lesson for each of us – where there is a crisis, there is an opportunity, and turning a crisis into an opportunity brings worthy results.
The mall business is a long-term business. It can even take up to 8 years to payback. But Sy chose to keep the activity going because he was aware of how Filipinos and even foreign tourists love to shop. His company also strives to innovate, always providing new products to customers. It is another lesson in the ability to assess potential markets to seize business opportunities.
Henry Sy went through many adversities, many ups and downs like so many people have encountered, before achieving success. What made him different was his steadfast pursuit of his dream to the end.
Sy is always taking on new challenges and facing them with years of experience. With the help of friends and family, and his own extraordinary efforts, he built the largest business empire in the Philippines from a small shoe store. And the title of the richest person in the Philippines is definitely a worthy reward for this talented businessman.
“I cried when I saw my father’s hardships. Every day, my father had to get up early to pick up the goods, then bring them back to sell at the roadside shop until late at night and then sleep there. Those hardships and hardships gave me the first valuable lesson in industriousness, thrift, and principled work.”
In addition to his wealth and eccentric entrepreneurial spirit, Henry Sy is also admired by many for his way of educating his children. Having 6 children, he always taught them to appreciate perseverance and hard work. Since the age of 13, the billionaire’s children have had to go to the supermarket to stack goods on the shelves and work as cashiers. Now, his children and grandchildren are all involved in the family business.
The richest billionaire in the Philippines, passed away in 2019 and until now, he is still a businessman mentioned by many thanks to his influence on both the retail industry and the lives of the people of this country. .
According to Success story
at Blogtuan.info – Source: cafebiz.vn – Read the original article here
