MARIA SOCORRO CANCIO RAMOS

MARIA SOCORRO CANCIO RAMOS

“I wish I could be a good example to them (entrepreneurs). Money does not come easy. You have to work hard for it, and also, you have to love your work, that’s important. And you have to go to school to study, because you have to learn more. If you want to earn more, you have to know more, and you have to read more,” – Nanay Coring

12 business success tips from Nanay Coring

WORKS

• 1 summer worked for American Sweets Wrapping bubble gum, was paid minimum wage of 50 cnets (the exchange rate at that time was P2 to US $1). A kilo of pork that time was 45 centavos.
• During the war by age 12-13 sell panocha (candied brown sugar made by her grandmother) in the market together with her sister, works during summer vacations to buy scholl supplies
• the matriarch of National Bookstore, the Philippines' leading retailer of books, office supplies, and greeting cards. In 1965, she and her husband Jose set up a nine-story building along Avenida Rizal which would be the very first National Bookstore. What has become the Ramos family business has not stopped growing since, having opened Powerbooks, a now popular specialty bookstore, in 1996.

1. Know what you want to do and believe in yourself. If you want to be a salesman, make sure you are the best salesman you could possibly be.

2. Find out what your customers want. Ask them. Ask around. Sell them what they want.

3. Make sure every customer feels important. Be humble and always be willing to serve them.

4. Buy something from one centavo. Sell it for more, but always less than the people who are selling the same thing.

5. Be frugal. Live simply.

6. Always be on time. Never be late.

7. Don’t be afraid of anyone. Speak out when you have to. All people are the same.

8. Work hard, very hard. There is no express elevator to success – you have to climb the stairs.

9. If you have the love and passion for what you do, hard work will not be a sacrifice, but a joy!

10. There will always be hard times. There will always be failures. If you fall down, get back up. Never give up.

11. Invest in your mind. Read more. Know more. Earn more.

12. Buy lots of books.

Values

• Coring stays humble, and credits her success to core values, including being actively involved in the business, making moves quickly and decisively, and constantly looking out for changes in the business landscape.
• it’s impossible to learn absolutely everything about a business --

SUCCESS STORY

• In 1940, Socorro Ramos, barely 18, started working as a salesgirl at a Goodwill Bookstore branch owned by her brother (Manuel Cancio) & his wife (Dona Juana Cancio) in Escolta, Manila. Because of her selling skills, Ramos was put in charge of the store.
• It was only after marrying Jose Ramos that her dream of the setting up a bookstore finally materialized.
• In 1948, Typhoon Gene entered the Philippines destroying dozens of houses and property including the Ramos'. Their house and store were taken down and all the merchandise soaked following the typhoon.
• In 1963, the construction of the Albecer Building.

AWARDS

NANAY CORING

Birth Date: September 23, 1923

Birth Place: Sta. Cruz, Laguna

Parents: Jose and Emilio Cancio

• Socorro is 1 of 6 children

• An honor student at grade 7

• Studied in Arellano High School

• Born to entrepreneur parents & grandmother

• Wants to take medicine but her family doesn’t have enough money.

• Moved to manila when retail merchandise

business in Laguna went down.

• Father died at the age of 10

As an entrepreneur, Socorro Ramos received some of the country's notable awards such as:

•  Agora Award for Outstanding Achievement in Entrepreneurship (1991)
•  DTI Outstanding Filipino Retailer Award (2001)
•  Woman Entrepreneur of the Year (2004)
•  The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Award (2006)
•  Filipino-Chinese Federation of Business and Professional Women of the Philippines Award for Business (2007)
•  Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2004 (Woman Entrepreneur 2004)