Never expect a perfect journey
Serial entrepreneur Lorenzo Escobal on what it takes to make it as a millennial business owner
After emigrating to CANADA from the Philippines,
Lorenzo Escobal is no stranger to being thrust into new situations. He married his passion for cars and the discipline he gained from being a part-time military reservist, and the union led him to becoming one of Canada’s most successful young entrepreneurs, with an auto detailing business that’s built partnerships with the likes of Google and Tesla. Here, he gives the lowdown on what his peers sometimes get wrong about business – and what you can’t afford not to focus on. »
Always expect to make plenty of mistakes. Each mistake is a learning lesson that teaches you how to improve
GQ: What made you start a business at 18?
Lorenzo Escobal: I never had intentions of creating my own business. However, after applying to a copious amount of jobs and getting over 20 rejections, I had to come up with a plan to pay my bills. Since I already had experience detailing cars, I made this an area of focus. From there I grew my business.
GQ: What inspired you to go into auto detailing?
LE: All my life I’ve had a passion for cars. Ever since my dad bought an expensive car here in Canada, I attempted to learn how to clean and take care of the car. When I purchased my first car, I put the same effort into it. When I started a business, this was the skillset that I already had, and I knew I was good at it.
GQ: Tell us about the innovation to take your service mobile – this is rare for any automotive service providers.
LE: It’s not that the service is rare; it’s that business owners don’t always know how to promote the service. There are a lot of busy individuals, so I thought, “Why not bring the business to them?” This allowed customers’ cars to be cleaned on site, making it more convenient for them.
GQ: How did the partnership with Tesla come about? That’s a serious leap for any business – and they must be exacting when choosing charging partners.
LE: The firsthand experience with Tesla was through a film company who was doing a commercial shoot for Tesla. After spending a considerable time with the Tesla cars in depth, I put in more time learning about the company itself. As I was going through their site, I discovered that they had a programme called Destination Charging. In this programme, Tesla will partner with local companies in your area – mainly hotels, restaurants and shopping malls. During this time, I already had an established location, where we would also detail a number of Tesla cars. So I figured, why not offer a value-added service of free, on-site charging? I filled a contact sheet on the site and created a proposal concerning this. A few days thereafter, I received an email stating that I’d been approved.
One year later, the service centre near my location called and said they wanted to work with us on detailing their cars.
GQ: Tell us about your other business, Medpro 3D.
LE: Medpro 3D is a medical rapid prototyping company. Medpro 3D creates replicas of organs from patients who undergo MRI or CT scans. The aim of this company is to create a new tool for oncologists to aid them in pre-surgical planning.
GQ: What have been some of the biggest lessons you learnt on your journey?
LE: I’ve learnt three things on my journey. The first being to stop chasing the money and instead offer something that creates solutions for customers. Second, take care of your employees first, then your customers, as your employees are vital to running a successful business. Lastly, never expect a perfect journey. Always expect to make plenty of mistakes. Each mistake is a learning lesson that teaches you how to improve.
GQ: You’ve had a great number of wins. What were some of the biggest failures, and what did they teach you?
LE: The greatest failure I had was not knowing my numbers. This led to losing track of expenses and eventually going into debt. Cash flow is very important when it comes to business, and you have to know your numbers right down to the cent in order to run a successful business.
GQ: You’re also a public speaker. What tips would you give to someone who’s interested in starting their own business?
LE: Always think about the longterm outcome, never the shortterm. Don’t be afraid of the new business failure rate, which is notoriously high. For there to be a success, you must believe in the product or service you’re selling.
GQ: What do you think millennials and Gen Z-ers get right about business, and what do you think they misunderstand?
LE: There’s a lot that millennials and Gen Z-ers don’t get right. I don’t like to down-talk my own generation and the next one, but it’s very true, in my opinion. My generation (millennial) thinks that when you start a business, everything will just fall into place on its own. This is especially true with recent business degree graduates. However, in the business world, especially when you’re just starting off, there will be a lot of stress, sleepless nights and a very little social life. You need to learn how to adapt in a very short period. You need to put your ego down and hear the cold-hard truth when it comes to constructive criticism. Lastly, you need to know that there will always be someone more successful than you, so be more open to mentoring or getting a coach.
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