CEBU, Philippines – At his teenage years, Michael "Mike" Cubos already knew that he was destined to do something big in the future, although he wasn't sure what was in store for him and how he was going to reach it.
Today, at 32 years old, Mike already owns a call center company now known as Performance 360 Solutions Inc., which has several branches in Cebu and Davao and soon in other key cities in the country.
Mike"s journey is one of the most inspiring tales, packed with striking rays of hope to hundreds of thousands employees of the outsourcing sector, that they too, can become not just a boss in the company they are working for, but an owner of a company without having to invest millions of pesos to do so.
A graduate of Mass Communications at the University of Mindanao (UM) in Davao, who toiled his way through college as a working student. Mike hopped from one job to another, as tele-communicator for big hotel chains in college, to a multi-level marketer, until working as a call center agent for five outsourcing firms in the span of eight years.
Along the way, Mike did not let go of the vision that kept flashing on his mind telling him that there is something big down the road--those same familiar playful hunch he had in his teenage years.
"I just followed the 'blurry' vision I have in my subconscious and believed in it. Until one day I decided to leave my employee life to start my own," he shared.
This move, however, did not please Mike's wife Sherry Lyn, causing tension in the household for a while. But, he pursued his goals anyway.
True enough, choosing your own path, they say, is a sacred privilege. Mike honored this life principle.
Armed with technical know-how to connect effectively with customers from all over the world, he was able to develop a pool of clients who trusted him over the online job brokers Freelance and oDesk. This twist gave him the courage to set up his own outsourcing operation, convincing his wife to join in a small internet cafe in their neighborhood in Consolacion, Cebu.
With P10,000 pulled out from family savings, Mike contracted the internet cafe to rent some computers with internet connection after it closes at 12 midnight. This means, the couple had to sneak out from their house, leaving their sleeping children behind to tender to their small money-making venture until the sun rises.
Few months after this sleepless activity, Mike was able to establish the Performance 360 Solutions Inc. in Davao and the Performance 360 Global Services in the municipality of Cordova in Mactan Island.
His prowess to please his foreign clients – delivering jobs on time and paying his 10 sideliner-agents rightfully, brought him to bigger opportunities a year later, when a relative in Davao offered to join his business as partner to set up an 80-seat call center.
Performance 360 Solutions Inc., opened in Davao in 2013, followed shortly by the opening of 130-seat capacity call center in Cordova, Mactan Island.
Mike’s company is the first call center in Cordova, which officially opened in November last year employing mostly locals of Cordova.
Davao is now handling four international accounts, while Cebu is maintaining three clients, focusing mostly in providing sales and marketing and customer service jobs.
While the outsourcing industry is largely dominated by bigger players, handling bigger accounts, he clearly sees the opportunity for Filipinos to set their own small and medium sized call center, as SMEs from all over the world are also looking for smaller outsourcing firms that could easily meet their budget requirements.
He believes that the lucrative outsourcing sector does not only offer opportunity for employment, but also a welcoming door for Filipinos to start their own outsourcing business.
Recently, Performance 360 opened a business development and collection office in Philadelphia, USA.
Turning Point
Raised in a financially troubled family, Mike and his six siblings had to earn their own money in order to go to school.
"My father had no permanent source of livelihood. He used to sell dart boards."
With such a difficult childhood, Mike took comfort in daydreaming to escape from reality, and holding on fervently – by faith, that life eventually gets better.
It was until he completed reading the popular book of Robert Kiyosaki entitled "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," that this shy daydreamer found the clarity of his vision and sensed that his "turning point" has come.
Mike attributed the inspiring story of Kiyosaki, which affirmed his belief that success indeed knows no limits, regardless of financial capacity and education backgrounds even culture differences.
This turning point opened up to a greater and clearer picture that even after owning a call center firm that bravely compete with multinational giants, and earning handsome pay-off, his inner conscience is still insisting in telling him that the "something big" is just starting.
Following the sliver of light of his instinct, Mike was resolved that he is in for a greater purpose, this time to help more Pinoys make money out of the multi-billion dollar outsourcing business, instead of foreigners fattening their pockets to capitalize the talented and friendly nature of Filipinos--the meat of outsourcing.
From an ordinary monthly-earner as call center agent, to an outsourcing firm owner, Mike has finally found his calling, not just to give comfortable and decent life to his family, but sharing this journey to more Filipinos to be able to claim their right to earn more out of outsourcing and become their own bosses.
Something Big
Early this year, Mike was hand-picked by officers of the most influential business organization in Cebu, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) led by President Melanie Ng to lead the first ever Innovation Council of Cebu or ICC.
Intuitively, Mike discerned that this is the "something big" he had been seeing in his vision. Truly, this responsibility is bigger than the success of earning for his own and his growing employees.
What is big, he learned is not actually the money that comes to his pocket, but by sharing it to everybody who has open mind like him, to step on the same road he is taking.
This creates a balance in his entrepreneurial journey, that while continuously expanding his business, he is also giving himself to a greater and free-of-charge cause – inspiring Pinoys to take advantage of outsourcing business, with talent and courage as pillar investments.
One of ICC's main thrusts is to identify and quantify the active freelancers initially in Cebu, so that they will have a stronger united voice and protect themselves in any untoward issues, and eventually make them bigger players in the outsourcing industry. (FREEMAN)