CAPITALIZING ON THE TOURISM BOOM
His love for Cebu has made him one of the country’s staunch supporters of sustainable tourism.
From souvenir T-shirts to a full set of tourism services, Jonathan Jay Aldeguer, president of The Islands Group, has grown the family business into one that would give each tourist the best tourism experience while they are in the country.
The group’s main business, Islands Souvenirs, carved out a niche for itself in the souvenir industry. It has creatively designed souvenir T-shirts highlighting the best tourism assets of Cebu and eventually other destinations in the country.
“Cebu deserves nothing but the best,” Aldeguer has said in past interviews.
From selling T-shirts that speak of love for Cebu and the Philippines, Aldeguer expanded the business to other travel accessories and tourism-related businesses—Islands Pasalubong, Islands Banca Cruises, and Islands Stay Hotels.
This visionary, who grew up learning business from his parents, already had the heart for entrepreneurship at a young age.
It’s been an exciting run, especially now where we are once again experiencing a strong momentum in the travel and tourism industry. I feel very fortunate to be in a business that is part of a sunrise industry. JONATHAN JAY ALDEGUER
President, The Islands Group
During his childhood years, he started making money by selling his drawings to his classmates. When he reached college, he sold T-shirts he bought from his foreign travels to his classmates and friends.
One of his efforts to elevate Cebu’s tourism experience is when he and his creative team introduced the “Cut and Style” activity during Sinulog, one of the crowd-drawing festivals in the country. This interactive concept that highlights the creative spirit of Cebuanos further hyped the month-long celebration of Cebu.
Now that he has made it big in business, he is giving back to the community.
He became an active mentor for aspiring entrepreneurs through the Go Negosyo platform. He also part of the Global Shapers Cebu Hub as the founding curator.
What was your first job?
I was given jobs all throughout my childhood. During the summer time, when I was about eight or nine years old, my aunt would pay us 25 centavos to dig out weeds from her Bermuda lawn. That was my first “job” so to speak. My first professional job was working in my father’s factory when I was around 12 or 13. I was tasked to help out in the silk screen printing section of my father’s clothing business. I was paid minimum wage and reported daily.
Who inspired you to get into business?
Both my parents are entrepreneurs. Just watching them when I was growing up made it natural for me to get interested in business at an early age. My brothers and I had to move out of our bedroom when my parents started Loalde sometime in 1975. We saw how my parents grew from having just two sewing machines to one of the more successful retail brands today.
When did you realize this was what you were meant to do?
Wanting to go into business was a natural progression even when I was still very young. I sold shirts in college and staged a couple of hugely successful basketball promotions when I was just 18. From that time on, I knew that I wanted to become an entrepreneur. But being a businessman was just one of the many things I wanted to do in life. I always believed that life was too vast to confine oneself to just one path.
Why did you pick this type of business or industry?
I graduated from university in 1991. This was the time when the Cebu airport became an international hub and the Shangri-la Mactan had just opened, so tourism was on an upsurge.
I wanted to capitalize on the travel boom in Cebu. I also noticed that the souvenir items in Cebu and in many places around the Philippines were outdated so I knew there was an opportunity there.
I set up Islands Souvenirs in 1992 when I was only 21. It’s been an exciting run especially now where we are once again experiencing a strong momentum in the travel and tourism industry. I feel very fortunate to be in a business that is part of a sunrise industry.
Where did you get the training you needed to succeed?
I learned many business principles from my parents. They taught us early and they encouraged us as well to dabble in different businesses even when we were still very young.
Aside from my parents, I would also talk to successful businessmen, especially when I was still growing my business.
Until this day, I would make it a point to talk to different successful entrepreneurs, from successful tycoons to fruit vendors. I continue to get input from almost anyone; it not only helps you gain knowledge, it also stimulates ideas. One will be surprised what you can learn from chatting with a balut vendor. I also like to read books and business success stories. One should never stop learning.
How many times did you fail before you succeeded?
My entrepreneurial journey had a rather fortunate start. Most of my businesses in the beginning did very well but along the way, as I attempted to try out other ventures was where I had a number of failures. I dabbled in the fried chicken business. I also had a stint in media and a few other endeavors that didn’t do well.
One must always take it in stride and learn from these setbacks. That is part of business; that is part of one’s entrepreneurial journey.