IT STARTED with a dream to play in the PBA. Or maybe an amateur league. But the point was: He'd save up enough money to put up a business.
Funny how life takes you on a detour en route to your dreams.
"'Pag nakapasok ako ng PBA or any amateur professional league, punta ako sa business. Parang ganun," mused Eduardo Magdua about his old life plans. In a former life, Magdua was as a PE teacher, and was known to his student as Sir Jabs. "'Yung money na na-save ko or yung naipon mapupunta sa business. Parang 'yun yung vision."
As a student, he took up a business course in San Sebastian College-Recoletos, then moved to Rizal Technological University, where he played basketball in the hopes of hacking out a career as a player.
However, when he was not able to continue his business course in RTU, he enrolled in Bachelor of Science in Physical Education.
“I [knew] na of course I cannot play naman until a certain age. Hindi pwedeng maglaro hanggang matanda or meron lang limit,” Magdua said.
Graduating in 2010, he started as an educator in Infant Jesus Academy in Marikina before moving to Claret School of Quezon City three years later.
“I enjoyed naman," said Sir Jabs of his former career. "No regrets and ang dami rin kasing natutunan especially of course personal growth and I was exposed to different culture I gained social skills."
Realizations of Eduardo Magdua during the pandemic
So what was the turning point that turned him from teacher to CEO?
When the pandemic hit the world, Magdua, teaching PE in Claret, found himself in a funny situation. He was teaching physical education, "pero nasa harap tayo ng camera.”
The uncertainty of the lockdowns and the return of face-to-face classes made him question himself. “Hanggang kailan ba ‘to? Hanggang kailan ko gagawin ‘to?”
So, whenever he closed his laptop at the end of an online school day, Magdua would attend to his side business, an Asian convenience store in Marikina.
Like many people during the height of the pandemic, the PE teacher found a side hustle to complement his teachign career.
He started selling ice cream products, posting about on his social media pages.
Magdua’s sister also came in to help since she was fluent with Korean products, and so they added new products to their minimart.
Now called the Star Asia Minimart, they expanded from a limited selection of Korean products to a wide range of Asian products.
So while Magdua was teaching in the morning and running a business at night, a timely word from his mentor meant that things quickly came to a tipping point. Sir Jabs had to choose: teaching or business?
“Sabi ko, kaya ba ‘to?" he recalled of that fateful decision. "Medyo nakakapagod tapos may mga employees din ako na minamanage and then sabi ko di ‘to kaya nang sabay.
“I realized na yun I need to focus muna sa business sa store. So I passed my resignation letter."
Despite leaving the academe, Magdua admittedly said that it was a tough decision for him to focus on the business from his career as an educator.
“Eventually medyo nagkaroon ng ganung mga momentum and then ngayon focus na ako dito,” he said.
From PE classes to P&L statements
The transition was far from easy, of course. Fast forward two years later since the strict implementation of the lockdowns and the now gradual return of face-to-face classes, Magdua admitted that he missed his days of teaching. He said that, back then, he even took up coaching jobs in summer camps, training the youth in basketball skills for the Global Peace Culture Exchange Association organization, as well as in schools.
“Estudyante yan e," he reflected. "Ngayong may edad ka na, [maalala mo na] kasama mo yang mga bata, kalaro ko sa basket, soccer."
But even as a business owner, he said, he still treats his associates as his students “as CEO, as leader teacher parin naman ako.”
Now, instead of holding class records, he now holds financial reports of the business he currently handles.
Running Star Asia Minimart now as its chief executive officer, he envisions bigger opportunities, and even wants to train those under him for that time when he needs to pass on the leadership to his associates.
“I belive na mas malaki yung accountabilty, yung responsibility so enjoy naman.”
Calling it his “DNA”, Magdua sees his business as more than a money-making enterprise. He thinks of it as a legacy.
“I wanted to be remembered kahit wala na ako, yung naiwan ko tuloy tuloy yung operation, [at] may opportunity,” he said.
The person he looks up to? Late SM founder Henry Sy.
“Suntok sa buwan pero gusto kong i-achieve yung ganun kataas,” he said.
As he shepherds a growing business, Magdua now wanted to maximize his business and move away from the “mini mindset” as he plans to rebrand his Asian minimart soon.
With a free-flow of income from his business since the height of the pandemic, Magdua gave a word of advice to those who wanted to plan to start an enterprise: “Equip yourself, learn so that you can teach and find the right people.”
After all this time, Sir Jabs still sounds like a teacher at heart.
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