How Eppie built her success

CEBU, Philippines — From assisting airline passengers as an international flight attendant and ground airline crew for years, Marie Fe “Eppie” Villanueva Acusar finally found her comfort and success in real estate.

Behind the success of newly opened and branded buildings—-commercial developments, condominium towers, deluxe resorts, is a former beauty titlist, who now manages a growing real estate services firm called iBuild Management Services Inc.

Eppie is one of the brilliant brains that assisted the success of various real estate developments such as The Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort and Residences, Banilad Town Center, Insular Square, North Drive, A Space, Design Center, Gaisano Grand Malls, among others.

Currently, she is doing conceptualization works for Paseo Arcenas, and some development projects outside Cebu.

In the real estate development sphere, Eppie is one of the favorite names when it comes to local market intelligence expertise.

Her eloquence in sensing the right brand positioning of a project, and other crucial marketing strokes has become a sensation in closed door strategic meetings from big to small property developers.

Unlike other branded and high profile property consultancy firms, Eppie’s low key business is mainly founded by her sheer “word-of-honor” and integrity as capital. No more. No less.

Personal connection

Before Eppie stumbled into establishing a business of her own, she worked for several corporations, after her stint as airline stewardess.

A graduate of Bachelor of Arts in English, Eppie is well trained in stroking the art of communication and personal connection.

Her flair in keeping personalized rapport brought her to who she is today.

“I built my company through referrals,” she shared her story recalling that she even did not plan to enter into formal business in this field. Hers was just helping the friends she made over time in their ventures.

Eppie is generous with imparting ideas, concepts and even her knack for sensing a good market in a particular location. At first, she just show up and talk her brain out and call it a plain “chit-chat.”

“But, they [businessmen-friends] pay me,” that’s when she thought of establishing a professional consultancy services firm, specializing on real estate.

When helping becomes a business

The saying “there’s no such thing as free lunch” is naturally not in Eppie’s DNA.

She grew up in a family raised by an educator mother and a security guard father in the quaint province of Ozamiz. Serving others come naturally for her. Putting a price in helping a friend is foreign to her. Not until, she was immersed in the world of corporate space.

Eppie is one of those few, good people who turn a sheer helping hand into a business, not because she wanted to, but because the corporate opinion markers insisted to.

While she was employed, she was already helping business owners, developers for several strategic plans and conceptualizations.

“It was all about helping people. Using my connection lang gyud. Then, if they asked how much I was charging I tell them “kaw lang bahala nako”, she said almost shyly.

But in real business, helping is a business too, she realized. This perfect combination—helping people while earning a living inspired her to leave the corporate working space and became a company owner herself.

In 2014, Eppie formalized her consultancy services and registered the iBuild Managemrnt Services Inc., with a handful of side-line employees. Her siblings also joined her in the company as incorporators.

Taking good notes

Since her entry to employment ground at the age of 18 years old, Eppie never missed to take note of the lessons she learned every single day.

As an airline stewardess and ground crew of Philippine Airlines (PAL), Eppie learned the art of heartfelt customer service. As a banker, she took good notes on how to build relationship and earn trust from clients.

But, Eppie’s stepping stone to enter the vast ocean of real estate is her stint as senior leasing manager of SM Malls for four years, where she was able to build strong connections, and dozens of trainings.

Every company she worked for in the past, she said contributed to her investments in becoming a real estate services company owner.

Eppie’s built-in expertise is not just putting things together to make a project running, but she is also gifted in helping struggling developers come back to its right place again.

“I like to turn things around,” using her wide experience in several corporate crises and managing pressures to produce and impress the bosses, Eppie has proven to a number of satisfied clients that her fragile feminine charm is not a hindrance to turn things around.

Her solid experience and long string of connections are her greatest capital.

Truly, Eppie’s business school is the real business field—the various corporations she worked for in the past. Her diploma is the SEC registration of her iBuild Management Services Inc.,

Sometimes, money is not the only requirement to build a business. Eppie is just one of those success stories proving that business can be built by word-of-honor, sincere heart, and mastering the art of personal connection. (FREEMAN)