The VoiceMaster Speaks at the Launching of the 1st Cordillera Youth Entrepreneurship Program

 On October 16, 2020, DTI Cordillera Administrative Region launched the first Cordillera Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) at the Newtown Plaza Hotel in Baguio. The YEP, with its official tagline Harnessing Our Own Resources for the Advancement of the Youth” or HOORAY!, is a nationwide program that aims to help young Filipinos develop their entrepreneurial skills through a comprehensive package of interventions. Due to the pandemic, the event was also held online with participants in the Zoom meeting and Facebook Live.

Filipino motivational speaker Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales was one of the invited speakers in the event. He expressed his gratitude for the organizers as the event was his first-ever speaking engagement online. Pocholo gave an informative talk entitled “Getting Plugged In: Building a Business Network for the Youth” and discussed the 12 Qualities and Mindsets of the Successful Entrepreneur as part of the program.

Before getting into the heart of his presentation, a video that shows a glimpse of Pocholo's life as a voice artist was played; his humble beginnings, entrepreneurial journey, and how he established his brand as the VoiceMaster was presented. He further talked about this in his lecture where he expressed his adoration for Dr. Jose Rizal as the epitome of greatness and excellence, then challenged the participants to become agents of positive change in their respective communities.

In his lecture, Pocholo shared how at a young age, he was already exposed to entrepreneurship. He talked about how his entrepreneurial journey started from his grandmother’s vegetable store in the public market. Today, as the Co-Founder and Vice President for Marketing of the Titans Business Ventures Corp., Chairman Emeritus and CEO of CreatiVoices Productions, and founder of multiple organizations, Pocholo has established himself in the world of entrepreneurship in the Philippines. 

As a youth entrepreneurship advocate, Pocholo shared valuable insights on the importance of having an entrepreneurial mindset starting with the topic of building connections with other people. He began his talk by sharing his journey in connecting with other people in Voice of the Youth (VOTY), an organization that aims to inform, inspire, involve, and empower the Filipino Youth. Aside from VOTY, Pocholo also built connections with other entrepreneurs in Youth Entrepreneurship Academy, which seeks to support the Republic Act of the Philippines 10679 or the Youth Entrepreneurship Act.

Pocholo also spoke about the importance of AIM or having Ambition In Mind. “Hindi masamang sabihin na ambisyoso ka” he explained. He also inspired the audience with relevant entrepreneurial topics and ignited the youth’s entrepreneurial mindset by helping them discover their passion and purpose in life. 

Such was the perfect transition to his topic of the future. He asked the audience to imagine that it's already 2030, the pandemic is gone and all is back to normal. Through this, Pocholo managed to let the audience evaluate their current situations and bridge them to their future. He made them realize that the decisions they make today will significantly affect their future. “Do something today that your future self will thank you for” he quotes. 

In the latter part of the event, a video of Pocholo with his son, Patrick Gonzales, was featured. The video shows the father-son and mentor-mentee relationship between Pocholo and Patrick. “Greatness is nothing if you don’t share it, especially to your child.”

The last topic Pocholo discussed is the 12 Qualities and Mindsets of the Successful Entrepreneur:

1. They don’t do it for the money.  

2. They are not afraid to fail. 

3. They focus on a single goal or purpose. 

4. They have a mentor. 

5. They understand the why. 

6. They dream big dreams but often start small. 

7. They prioritize. 

8. They know they can’t do everything. 

9. They have faith they will succeed. 

10. They understand, “it does not have to be perfect”. 

11. They avoid negative people. 

12. They never stop learning.

In the end, Pocholo left the audience with his Pochology “An entrepreneur realizes this and continues to grow. They read business books. They enroll in educational classes. They talk to people both in and out of their field of expertise. In other words, they never stop learning,” and “Success is more than just reading quotes. In fact, it often involves changing who you are on the inside and developing successful habits” to challenge the participants to seize opportunities for them to become young entrepreneurs.