April 23, 2026 l Manila Bulletin
On April 17, my mother turned 88. To me, her life represents an 88-year masterclass in work ethic, human capital development, and the eventual transition from the classroom to the boardroom.
My mother’s career began in 1955 at the age of 17. Teaching English and Literature at Rizal Memorial Colleges in Davao City, she was the embodiment of “compounding knowledge.” She eventually rose from Teacher to Registrar and Dean, proving that intellectual capital is the most resilient asset one can own.
I remember visiting her speech laboratory and watching her command a classroom. She was a “fashionista” who drew whistles from students (much to my five-year-old confusion), but beneath the style was a rigorous disciplinarian. She managed our household of six children with “just-in-time” logistics—where dinners were served at 8:30 PM only after the day’s academic “R&D” was complete.
Upon retirement in her 60s, she pivoted from institutional management to pure entrepreneurship. She leveraged her passion for education to establish a school, her sense of style into beauty parlors, and her culinary skills into a canteen serving SSS employees in Davao.
She did not do this alone. My father provided the “economic base,” pursuing steady employment to ensure regular cash flow, then eventually pivoting to support and manage my mother’s entrepreneurial activities. This synergy between stability and venture became the blueprint for my own life.
When it came time to build my own family, my wife and I looked at our “early benchmarks.” My wife came from an entrepreneurial household where her father ran a farm while her mother focused on the home. Drawing from these lessons, we made a strategic decision: I would seek capital through corporate employment to provide a “sovereign floor” of stability, while she pursued entrepreneurial ventures. We realized that for a family “enterprise” to succeed, someone must be present to manage the home and nurture the children.
This teamwork is the ultimate hedge against the volatility of starting a business. It allowed us to build our dreams without compromising our primary “investment”—our children.
Following my mother’s footsteps, I spent seven years teaching Finance at the university level. There, I learned a fundamental truth: to master a subject, one must teach it. I “stress-tested” finance textbooks, memorizing chapters to ensure I could explain complex valuations to students. This rigorous “due diligence” prepared me for the world of investments, lending, and my work with Tulay sa Pag-Unlad Inc. (TSPI). Our microfinance mission at TSPI focuses on the same “Human Capital” my mother valued—supporting the enterprises of mothers who serve as the “Chief Operating Officers” of their families.
Reflecting on my mother’s 88 years, I see that entrepreneurship can be started at any stage, provided one studies the market and learns from the experts. While the corporate world is a great training ground, one can “learn the ropes” in a decade or less. The real growth happens when you apply that knowledge to your own venture, backed by a partner who shares your vision.
Happy Birthday, Mama. You showed me that the best investment isn’t found on a ticker tape, but in the discipline of the daily grind, the courage to pivot, and the strength of a partnership working toward a common goal.
***The views expressed herein are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of his office as well as FINEX. For comments, email carlosrheal@yahoo.com. Photo is from Pinterest.