The Asian+ Council of Leaders, Administrators, Deans and Educators in Business (ACLADEB) held its 3rd Business Summit on September 8, 2017. Over 300 Business students from different colleges and universities filled the Palma Hall of Universidad de Manila to learn about global trends in Business and Education from the invited speakers, including Filipino motivational speaker Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales.

Pocholo was the last speaker of the Summit, who spoke about the Entrepreneurial Mindset. He began his presentation by sharing the story about his own entrepreneurial journey – from being a freelance voice artist at the young age of 16 to building his own recording studio a decade after. Pocholo shared the challenges he had to overcome in the industry, such as the politics and monopoly among the veteran voice artists. He told the story of how he was rejected as a new talent, which motivate him to open his voice acting school to pave the way for aspiring voice artists.

Pocholo’s story was his transition to his main topic, how to develop one’s entrepreneurial mindset. He shared the qualities and way of thinking that puts one in great advantage to becoming an entrepreneur. He talked about setting goals, planning and finding a mentor as some of the things that help a person thrive in building a business. Pocholo talked about passion in great length. He said that it was his passion for the art of voice acting that propelled him to not only build his business, but to also persist and stick to his vision.

Pocholo encouraged the participants to get into business for the right reason – to serve and provide solutions instead of just simply earning money. Pocholo’s story is an example of how building a business with passion and purpose is the best way to become an entrepreneur. He also suggested that in order to succeed in business, an entrepreneur should continually develop their skills in order to stay relevant and valuable.

Pocholo also highlighted the importance of mentorship for entrepreneurs, which is the reason why he founded the Youth Entrepreneurship Academy, an advocacy organization that provides training and mentoring for aspiring young entrepreneurs. He explained that entrepreneurship is all about helping other people, which is why successful entrepreneurs also look forward to providing guidance and being mentors to aspiring and budding entrepreneurs. Pocholo also shared how he has helped hundreds of aspiring voice artists through his school, and also through the opportunities he provide for them to practice the craft. He also shared the stage with one of them – Kelvin Lumibao, one of his scholars – who amazed the audience by doing a repertoire of character voices.

In the end, Pocholo motivated the participants to utilize entrepreneurship as a way to fulfill their calling in life.