Tough nut to crack

Lydia LomibaoGeneral Manager and FounderHouse of Pili"Stop dreaming. I don't dream much. Dreaming will just make me sleep more. Whatever is there, work on that. Work from within. Priorities before passion."LYDIA "Lyd" Lomibao floated through the adjoining office, shop and factory of J. Emmanuel House of Pili in Canaman, Camarines Sur, before settling on an executive chair in a conference room with a full view of a whiteboard dashed with the previous meeting's notes.The homegrown brand has branches across Urban Metro Naga. But it is in this cozy, spotless subdivision corner house where Lomibao holds court.The notes were her daughter's instructions, given over video conference from the US. Her daughter had started remotely taking the helm of the family business on top of her full-time job abroad.The elder Lomibao is the company's general manager and founder.She wasn't always so managerial. She had tried her luck taking on secretarial jobs in Makati.As a native of Naga City in Camarines Sur, she had a ready stash of pili nuts to sell when she was in her 20s — a starter kit of sorts."I had this idea for pili. Dalaga pa ako, nagde-deliver na ako sa office (I delivered pili to the office when I was still single)," she recalled. "I had a pili cart. I saw the business potential in pili, so hindi naman talaga ako nagtagal sa Maynila. Hindi naman ako doctor, hindi naman ako lawyer."Without knowing it, she had become an entrepreneur. The lure of home —Naga — and pili won her over with the click of an idea.She described an almost intransigent tradition in the pili business back then:"There was no competition in pili. Back then, pili were being sold as pasalubong, delivered to households. Wala namang creation."She pushed along her pili cart: "It took courage and confidence" in a business ecosystem where pasalubong retailers sneered at ambulant vendors.The sarcastic "Sino ka naman?" ("And who are you even?") was the currency of underestimation.Retailers had their own bevy of suppliers cooking pili right at their stores or homes. Lomibao said, "They did not realize how unfair they were."Casual exploitation reigned. "They would cook the pili the whole day," Lomibao explained of small suppliers."With the whole family involved. Tapos magde-deliver and hindi muna babayaran."Lomibao's equally impenetrable outer shell challenged the prevailing order."I know the spirit of competition," she said. "You have to be different. I tried to be presentable, aside from making my pili cart different from the rest. Kahit nagsisimula palang ako, a little different lang. But it must be different," she stressed.She trawled out this cart, as of telling now, seemingly without strain. Or perhaps it's her grace under pressure that invited some clemency from a ruthless value chain.Her fond bachelorette days — "my break from Manila" — are superimposed on the struggle. "I was earning, I had money, and I had my own bank account, no commitment."She discussed the swoop of marriage so practicably, where there was an interesting love story. She is 11 years her husband's senior, but he matched her maturity with hard work. It became a full-blown partnership. "There was a meeting of minds," she said.To date, J. Emmanuel Pastries and House of Pili (eponymous of their eldest child, Joseph Emmanuel), run by the couple, is a multi-awarded processor and exporter of Pili.Lomibao herself has been rained on with the most prestigious accolades in agriculture.In 2008, she was selected as the regional winner of the Department of Agriculture search for Most Outstanding Rural Women. She was a recipient of the Gawad Saka Award in 2000-2001. Go Negosyo heaped her with an Inspiring Entrepreneur distinction in 2017.Her entrepreneurship attracted subsidies and grants from line agencies of the government.J. Emmanuel is one of the recipients of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (Setup), which recognized her as an outstanding adopter of DoST's equipment and technologies in 2012. Lydia Lomibao was the regional winner of the Department of Agriculture search for Most Outstanding Rural Women in 2018. She was also a recipient of the Gawad Saka Award in 2000-2001. Go Negosyo named her as an Inspiring Entrepreneur in 2017. House of Pili got subsidies and grants from line agencies of the government. J. Emmanuel is one of the recipients of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (Setup) and was recognized as an outstanding adopter of DoST equipment and technologies in 2012. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOSThe Department of Trade and Industry actually overlaid the "House of Pili" appellation to J. Emmanuel to distinguish it as a homegrown enterprise.She might be a decorated success story, but Lomibao's 35 years in the business have put her in a position of authority to assess the needs of the pili sector in her home province of Camarines Sur and the Bicol region. The dearth of raw materials curbs export potential. Planting materials for smallholder farmers remains severely limited.Amid all these, the success of J. Emmanuel as a processor pairs with Lomibao's sage critique of the system."Pili remains expensive, and although there is much demand, there is no supply. Exporting requires a certain volume. Then, people in Manila don't understand what pili is. You really have to go to Bicol and buy," she said. J. Emmanuel managed to penetrate specialized markets in Japan and New York.The scale of J. Emmanuel's success is outsized relative to the insouciance with which Lomibao runs it. A psychology graduate from Ateneo de Naga, Lomibao, is disinclined to overanalyze the workings of the business."I'd rather not be conscious. I'd rather let it flow," she offered as a touch of philosophy."You have this mission, then turn it into a project. Voluntarily, consciously, or not."Your accomplishment is how you set up what you are doing. Hindi pera."In real talk, the returns speak for the business. But Lomibao's self-effacement, removing herself from the cut of serious inquiry (she professes being neither an academic nor entrepreneur in the strictest sense), might be an approach that works.There are no windmills to chase for her, either."May pagka tamad naman ako," she said, amused. "'Di ba nakakatamad 'yung masyadong mental exertion? It takes something away from the physical."So, she puts away the mental load first: the conceptualization of products, the salesmanship, the strategies."Then, I hold off on the physical," she said. The exertions of the day-to-day, of passing among office, shop, household, and factory, could be postponed and delegated."Stop dreaming," she advised with a hint of sternness. "I don't dream much. Dreaming will just make me sleep more."Whatever is there, work on that. Work from within. Priorities before passion."She might be deadpanning on the energy with which most entrepreneurs run (passion as a buzzword has been a business inspirational sound-bite for too long), but Lomibao's track record scores her credibility.And she and her husband have sustained the business in this relaxed but focused mien into the next generation. Her daughter, Maria Angelika, has become involved creatively and operationally and is herself a laureate of entrepreneurship awards for the youth.It's the Lomibaos' greatest accomplishment, put simply by Lydia: Her family has a beautiful life. "Walang na-miss mga anak ko," she beamed with pride."We have been very present for the children." The business can always wait and still prosper.Quick QuestionsWhat really makes you angry?In household care, I have a keen eye and nerve when there is something wrong. I am general manager of the company. I take care of certifications like HACCP, so I am detail-oriented.What motivates you to work hard?Maximizing everything you can do and opportunities. If I can serve and enjoy. I also have my whims — diamonds — but I do not like expensive bags.What makes you laugh the most?My children bullying (teasing) one another.What did you want to be when you were small?Did I dream? Ayokong mainggit noon. I've always admired my intelligent classmates.What would you do if you won the lotto?We have a private resort where we cook plenty for the community. I hire a cook or katiwala. I want that developed for the community.If you could share a meal with any individual, living or dead, who would they be?Mama and Papa. I want to show them the success of the business.What's the most daring thing you've done?I don't shy away from the good fight. I regret the "umaasenso kasi kaya maraming kaaway." But when it's the character I dislike, I don't back down.What was the last book you read?I'm not a book reader. I recently read something about idiomatic expressions.What celebrity would you like to meet for a cup of coffee?Kris Aquino. Hindi ko siya idol, but I enjoy listening to her. She was, at some point, also a top taxpayer. She addresses everything, and she has no reservations.What's one thing you would never do again?I have no regrets about anything.Where do you see yourself in 10 years?As a mother of two lawyers and a doctor (one child is about to graduate from UST).