Dreams that drive

“If a department tells me something can’t be done, impossible! I was able to do it before with even less resources. It really depends on the person to reach the target.”

He and his siblings — five brothers and one sister — had it ingrained in them since their youth the responsibility to earn and help provide. Kevin took up nursing at the Chinese General Hospital Colleges, but more than anything else, it was a fallback course.

And that’s what he would have continued with, had he not shown such acuity and passion for business. While studying, he worked. On a visit to Batangas, he observed there was an abundance of coconuts. He then sourced the product and sold them to wholesalers and, eventually, to restaurants. He not only supplied coconuts but rice, too.

Misfortune struck in 2009, however, when a rice wholesaler client swindled Kevin out of P500,000. This forced him to sell a small vehicle he owned, a multi-cab, to be able to pay off people he still owed.

“Nag-isip ako ng business na ‘di na kailangan umutang (I brainstormed for business ideas that didn’t require me to borrow money),” Kevin says, traumatized by the incident.

He sold three vehicles then and realized he made a good deal, since he was paid in cash and he was able to get more than what he had originally paid for them. After finding out that his buyer was from Cebu, he flew there and bought four units of vehicles, had these shipped to Manila and sold them. This began the buy-and-sell period of his career, at which point he was able to attract investors with whom he would split profits.

Enter Marvin Tiu Lim, a friend of his from his Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF) Bible study group, his first investor and current partner at Autokid. The company’s name dovetailed with Marvin’s on-the-job-training project, Laptopkid, where he sold laptops from the US.

Kevin and Marvin racked up a collection of 15 vehicles, which they parked outside Kevin’s home in a village along Congressional Avenue in Quezon City. “Our neighbors were getting annoyed,” Kevin recalls, amused. That’s when they decided to open a proper shop. The shop was conceived to be 300 square meters, until they came across a space on G. Araneta Avenue, also in Quezon City, that was four times bigger. Despite the increase in expenses, they decided that the prospect would serve them better in the long run. They recruited another Bible study group friend, Eric Lim, to work with them, and the three began Autokid.

Aware of the keen competition in truck sales, Kevin thought of a differentiating factor — he included parts and services in their offerings. “Truck services are very important. They’re more expensive, but there are no service centers for them,” he observes. “From supplier to after sales, we are the ones handling it.

“We want to be a one-stop shop, covering even insurance and registration.” This allows clients, according to him, to focus on their businesses, instead of getting caught up in the red tape.

This trucking honcho handles the day-to-day operations of Autokid — everything from importation to actual sales. On any given day, he visits the company’s different branches across Luzon and meets with department managers. Their three key non-urban hubs, Sta. Rita (Bulacan), Subic and Batangas enjoy his attention weekly.

“I’m also the VP (vice president) for Sales,” Kevin explains, a factor that has helped him build rapport with clients. “With cars, people go to the showroom. With trucks, kami ang pupunta sa customer (we are the ones going to the customer). Especially in the provinces, even if they’ve patronized another company for 10 years, but when you visit them, iba talaga (it’s really different). Mas personal (It’s more personal). Everyday ‘yan, at gusto ko kasi ginagawa ko (I do this every day and I like what I do).”

Kevin finds that challenges with employees occur when they adopt a “pwede na (good enough)” attitude toward work. “When we started, there were only two of us. I cleaned, fixed papers, everything. Now, we have almost 320 employees. So kunwari may isang department sinasabi na hindi kayang gawin ‘yan (if a department tells me something can’t be done), impossible! Kung ako nagawa ko nga, mas wala pang resources noon. Nasa tao talaga ‘yan. (I was able to do it and there were even less resources then. It really depends on the person). So, I give them a target and it’s up to them how to reach it.”

Despite this firm hand, Autokid has room for flexibility. “Anyone can approach me,” Kevin says. “We have one Autokid Facebook group.”

Another challenge he faces is educating customers on the value their services provide. “For the longest time, people resorted to backyard servicing,” he observes. Many other brands’ service centers specialize in just cars, not trucks.

Kevin works on average 12 hours a week to maintain his goals, which are threefold. “Gusto ko masaya ang customer (I want my customer happy),” he says. With this in mind, he created a CSR group that receives feedback and complaints that must be addressed immediately.

Second, he wishes employees would see Autokid as a place where they can grow professionally and consider it home, too. “Every Holy Week and December, we get together.”

How about sports? “Dati, basketball, pero wala nang time (I used to play basketball but there’s no more time).” He quips: “Kaya tumataba eh (That’s why I gain weight)!”

“You have to like what you do and work hard for it,” Kevin reflects, when asked what advice he could give to aspiring entrepreneurs. “Make it a point to know the ins and outs of the industry that you’re interested in. When you make mistakes, learn from them and never repeat them.”