Rhodora “Doyee” Tactacan-Tumpalan is no stranger to the world of business. Having grown up in a family that brought life to Marikina City’s booming shoe factory empire, she had spent a good chunk of her life learning the ins and outs of handling a company. As Doyee remarks, “My playground was a factory.” Currently, she acts as the president/CEO of First Vita Plus Marketing Corporation.  We sat down with her to learn about her road to becoming an entrepreneur and how others can follow in her steps to success.

What are some of the obstacles that you’ve faced in your career? How did you overcome them?

It wasn’t too difficult to get into business because that’s our world. Once I was an entrepreneur, that was when I faced many challenges. I started at 17 years old. While we were in college, we spent our Saturdays and summer breaks managing the shoe factory business. At 19, I was the head of our shoe factory— right after college. I had the hardest task of handling manufacturing. I handled 100 workers, two to three times older than me. They started with my parents, so we were like a family. It was still difficult since I learned it’s a business, the training is different. I had to deal with every one of them. I had to get the orders since we were supplying different department stores. I also had to keep an eye on trends since I was also in charge of design. It was good training since I was able to manage people and learn about forecasting, figuring out what will be the next trend, what I should follow, and what trends I should bring out. Another challenge I faced was the competition. That’s normal. For every business, there’s always competition. What I always tell myself is, “If I can outlive them, then I will not compete with them.” I’ve been in the business for almost 23 years now and I think I’m doing fine.

Who do you feel inspired you to pursue handling a business?

My mother is my inspiration. My mother had a very different personality from my father. My dad was very charismatic, much like any salesperson. Mom, on the other hand, was more of the creative type. She was a quiet type. My mother was quite disciplined. Work was work, and you could never say no. It’s what I dislike the most, saying “no” and “I can’t do it.” I saw the wisdom behind it, especially for when you’re running a business. Whenever you say, “It can’t be done,” then it’s finished, right? There’s no growth. That’s what I appreciated about my mother. The way she trained us was by bringing us abroad and letting us pick out any shoes we wanted. What we didn’t know was that she was studying to see if we knew our way with trends. For instance, for trendy shoes, it can break in one month or so, but with quality products, they last for years, and we learn to appreciate the quality. The trips were also to expose us to other people and learn how to talk with others. I want to instill this same mentality with my workers so that anyone they speak with can see the quality of what we have to offer.

How would you compare the current business landscape to when you were starting out?

It is super different. When I started out, I was talking mainly to baby boomers and the silent generation. It was easier because I knew their likes and dislikes. Now, I’m talking to six generations… The silent generation, baby boomers, generation X, millennials, Z, and alpha. Naturally, we had to change our style for each generation and look into focusing toward those with disposable income and who they can influence to buy. For instance, back then, when we talked about health, it was about cancer and hypertension. These days, we have to talk about conditions like anxiety, which people didn’t acknowledge as much before.       

What is your message to other people who want to start their own business?

What I always say is when God planted that dream in your heart, that means God will provide. He will give you all the necessary courage. Of course, it starts with you. Once you set your heart and mind to something, you can always do it. Regardless of age, gender, religion, or profession, you must first believe in yourself since it will be you handling things. When I started 23 years ago, I was in a difficult position because I was a female CEO in a male-dominated field; it was hard to try back then, but these days, not anymore. I would like to believe that I was able to empower my dealers, since 80 percent of my dealers are women. I made sure that we have a seminar every day for free on how to start your business, what to do with it, and product knowledge. If you really want to do something, there are many ways to do so. 

Where do you see the business landscape going in the coming years?

I’m now training my successor since I know, in five years, newer generations will be the dominant market. I want my successor to be ready to deal with the new market. Realistically speaking, by then it will be a very different landscape from today. I always have a succession plan, not only for myself but for my dealers too, in the sense that they can pass down their knowledge to future generations. I didn’t see the importance of social media before, but now I do. I used to be stubborn in not wanting to be part of the social media trend, but now (everybody has to be on digital).