The VoiceMaster Inspires MSME’s in Legazpi, Albay

The Mentor Me Program, a joint project of the Department of Trade and Industry and Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (Go Negosyo), conducted a free seminar for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME’s) last August 23. Held at the Casablanca Hotel and Convention Center, the seminar is part of the first phase of the program, where MSME’s are taught to develop good business sense. The seminar features talks from Go Negosyo Angelpreneurs and Mentor Me mentors, such as Filipino motivational speaker, Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales.



The seminar started early in the morning with a welcome message from DTI Bicol Regional Director Engr. Jocelyn LB Blanco. Usec. Zenaida Maglaya from DTI Regional Operations Group also sent her message to the seminar participants. Albay Board Member Alan Ranola also graced the event with his presence to give some words of inspiration on behalf of Albay Governor, Hon. Al Francis Bichara. Go Negosyo was represented by Programs Development Associate Miracle Lansang, who shed light on the Kapatid Mentor Me program. The opening ceremony was immediately followed by the first training session, which was presented by the VoiceMaster.

In his talk “Entrepreneurial Mindset of a Successful Entrepreneur,” Pocholo talks about how to think like an entrepreneur. He reminded the audience that a mindset that’s focused on success is what will bring about success. He began his presentation by introducing himself and his company, Creativoices Productions. He shared the story of how he started out as a freelance voice artist at the young age of 16, until he built his own voiceover services company at the age 26. Pocholo shared his struggles in starting and sustaining a business, and how his passion and purpose helped him overcome the challenges he encountered, especially when most people think he won’t be able to succeed in the business. He also shared that in the end, it was his love for his craft as well as the desire to pay it forward that made him and his business a success today.



Pocholo’s story was a transition to his main topic, the mindset of a successful entrepreneur. Pocholo shared the qualities shared by successful entrepeneurs – things like having a vision, setting goals, expanding their knowledge, just to name a few. He also encouraged and challenged the MSME’s to look at business as a way of giving back to the society, instead of simply a vehicle to make money.

In the afternoon session, the second presentation was done by Arlene Padua-Martinez, another mentor from Go Negosyo. She did a session about marketing one’s business especially in the age of internet and social media. Her presentation was followed by an inspirational forum where successful local MSME’s were asked to share their success stories to the audience. The forum was moderated by Mr. Butch Castro of DTI Albay. The seminar ended with some closing remarks by DTI Albay's Provincial Director, Mr. Rodrigo M. Aguilar.

Overall, the participants of the seminar left with a fresh perspective and brand new inspiration to build and grow their business.



Mentor Me Program is an initiative under DTI and Go Negosyo’s Kapatid, Angat Lahat program that aims to help MSME’s scale up their business through weekly coaching and mentoring on the different functional areas of entrepreneurship.

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The Pochologist Talks about Marketing for the Global Citizen at PJMA’s Juan Big Idea in Isabela

On August 20, the Philippine Junior Marketing Association (PJMA) conducted the first installment of Juan Big Idea, its annual marketing convention which serves as the organization’s platform to reach marketing students all over the country. With this year’s theme “Ang Paglipad ng Marketistang Pilipino,” the Luzon edition was held at the F.L. Dy Coliseum in Cauayan, Isabela, and was attended by over 1,000 students from all over the region. The event featured talks centered around the theme of marketing, including Filipino motivational speaker Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales.



Pocholo’s talk was about “Marketing for the Global Citizen,” where he shared his journey about starting as a freelance voice artist to becoming the most recognized Filipino voice artist even in the international scene. He talked about his childhood dream of hearing his voice on the radio greeting his mother, and how it led to his vision of making the Philippines the center of voiceover excellence in Asia. Pocholo also talked about his company and his voice acting school, and even amazed the audience with an ensemble of voice characters.



Pocholo then transitioned his talk on marketing, and how one can establish his/her brand to compete on a global scale. He touched on a bit about global brands such as Google, Facebook and even 7-11, and how these brands have gained top-of-mind awareness despite not having extensive ad campaigns. Pocholo said that being a global brand – be it a person or a company – all boils down to the experience that they provide, in order to give people something to talk about.

Pocholo’s talk did not only focus on the technical aspect of marketing. He also inspired the students by challenging them to discover their purpose, and to do things with passion and commitment. He shared to them how his success as the VoiceMaster was not purely about what he has done with his skill, but more importantly his passion and zeal to make the Philippines the center of voiceover excellence in Asia. He also shared the qualities that make a successful entrepreneur and marketer.



The Philippine Junior Marketing Association (PJMA) is the official youth affiliate of the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA) and is the national alliance amongst the local Junior Marketing Association (JMA) organizations from different colleges and universities across the country.

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The Pochologist Speaks about Passion-Driven Enterprises for YES Philippines

On August 17, 2017, the Young Entrepreneurs Society Philippines or YES Philippines, in partnership with EntrepRadio and Pen Brothers, organized a seminar entitled “Passion-Driven Enterprises”. This 3-hour seminar was aimed towards a mindset shift from going into business being motivated by money to going into business being motivated by passion and purpose. The seminar featured none other than Filipino motivational speaker Pocholo "The VoiceMaster" Gonzales – the most recognized Filipino voice artist, veteran radio broadcaster, internationally-awarded youth advocate, author, and a highly sought-after voice director, trainer and motivational speaker. Pocholo is also a Go Negosyo awardee and Angelpreneur, and the founder of Youth Entrepreneurship Academy of the Philippines (YEAP).



The seminar opened with EntrepRadio’s main anchor and YEAP Executive Director Dennis Sajo, who introduced their advocacy in igniting the entrepreneurial spirit of the youth. He also shared his own experience on how his own passion for speaking and motivating people has led him to cross paths with the VoiceMaster, and how he grabbed the opportunity to host the show and head YEAP when the opportunity was opened to him. Dennis then introduced and called on the VoiceMaster onstage, whom he referred to as his mentor and brother.



Pocholo started his talk by energizing the crowd and getting acquainted with them. He shared the story of his entrepreneurial journey, from the time he started working as a freelance voice artist until he opened his first recording studio, Univoicesal Productions. He told the participants how his first business venture failed, costing him 2 million pesos worth of investment after 6 months. Learning from his mistakes, he attempted to start a smaller recording studio in 2005, which is now what is known as Creativoices Productions.

After entertaining and mesmerizing the audience with his voice acting talent by doing a repertoire of character voices, Pocholo then shared that PASSION and PURPOSE are the 2 key ingredients not only in building a successful business, but also in being able to persist amidst trials and challenges. “Just do what you love and the money will follow,” was the wise advice of the VoiceMaster. He also said that knowing why you are doing your business in the first place guides the entrepreneur as he builds and grows his enterprise.



Pocholo then led the group through a quick workshop on how they can identify their passion that can be turned into a business. He asked them to list 5 things that they are interested in, then choose 3 that they feel they are passionate about. He defined passion as something that someone would be willing to do everyday even if they are not getting paid to do it. He then shared different methods on how those passions can be made into a business – creating a product or service, creating a digital product or even teaching the skill to other people.

The seminar ended with Pocholo inviting the participants to volunteer and become part of EntrepRadio and YEAP, which he founded for young aspiring entrepreneurs.



EntrepRadio is a weekly radio program for young entrepreneurs, airing every Sunday from 9 to 10am, at DZRJ 810AM, with live streaming at 8 Trimedia Facebook and Youtube channel. Youth Entrepreneurship Academy of the Philippines is a training and mentoring program for young aspiring entrepreneurs, created to support Senator Bam Aquino’s Youth Entrepreneurship Act or R.A. 10679.

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Voice of the Youth Celebrates International Youth Day with Kabataan Night 2017

On August 12, 2017, Voice of the Youth Network (VOTY) celebrated International Youth Day with Kabataan Night 2017. The event was held at the D’Cup Coffee Republic in Mandaluyong City. The event was organized by VOTY under the supervision of its founder, Filipino motivational speaker Pocholo "The VoiceMaster" Gonzales.



The event was divided into two main segments. In the afternoon was Youthalks, a series of empowerment talks and forum. Three speakers took the stage to inspire the young participants – Dr. Edwin Monares of SAVE ME Movement, Dr. Rey Samson of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa and an anchor of Voice of the Teachers, and Coach Adette Purto, co-founder of D’Cup Coffee Republic.



The talks were followed by a series of youth forums, each discussing a specific topic. Each forum was facilitated by anchors of some of the radio shows produced by the VoiceMaster. The School of Life forum was hosted by anchors Bernz Caasi and Vic Asuncion, with panelists John Leo Algo and John Leonard Chan. It was followed by the Call Center Radio forum with JM Jasmin and MA Buendia, hosts of the radio show. Up next was The Author’s Voice forum, hosted by the anchors Sha Nacino and Bryson Bonsol, with Steffi Villa as their guest. The last forum was the EntrepRadio forum, hosted by main anchor Dennis Sajo, with guest panelist Jason Domantay.

Evening came, and Youthalks was followed by the Kabataan Night proper, which featured a series of performances, games and an open mic. Several groups and solo performers from Artist League Manila entertained the crowd, followed by more musical performances and spoken-word poetry from artists featured in VOTY’s radio programs. The night was also filled with inspiration and empowerment as youth advocate and Filipino motivational speaker Al Ian Barcelona gave a short but powerful speech.



Kabataan Night 2017 was capped off with the closing remarks from Pambansang Inspirasyon Lloyd Luna, who inspired the young audience to go after what they are passionate about. He then called on the VoiceMaster and presented the “Present-Day Rizal Award” in recognition of Pocholo’s dedication to serving the Filipino youth.

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The Pochologist Speaks at DTI’s Mentor Me Seminar in Marinduque

On August 10, 2017, over 100 micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSME’s) attended the free Negosyo Seminar under the Mentor Me Program, a joint project of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship, more popularly known as Go Negosyo. The seminar was held at the Marinduque State College in Boac, Marinduque, and was part of the first phase of the program, which focused on developing good business sense among MSME’s. Filipino motivational speaker Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales was invited as a resource speaker on Entrepreneurial Mindset and Values Formation.



After the introduction and welcome remarks, Pocholo came onstage and energized the crowd. He shared his own entrepreneurial journey on how he built his voiceover studio and voice acting school, armed with nothing but a 10,000-peso capital and his passion for his craft. He also shared his vision of making the Philippines the center of voiceover excellence in Asia, and how he is gradually making that vision a reality by establishing a school to produce quality and passionate voice artists. Pocholo’s story was also backed by his talent, as he amazed the audience with his repertoire of character voices.



His story as an entrepreneur was a great transition to the topic about entrepreneurial mindset. Pocholo started on this topic by redefining what it means to be a successful entrepreneur. He challenged the idea that building a business is all about making profit, and encouraged the participants to build their business with passion and purpose. He also touched on the crucial values of an entrepreneur – setting goals and plans, creating success habits, and developing an eye for opportunity.

In line with having the right mindset for getting into business, Pocholo also talked about the three-pronged approach to deciding on a business. According to him, an entrepreneur should build a business that 1) he is passionate about, 2) solves a problem, and 3) live longer than you (the value of legacy).



Pocholo’s talk was followed by a training on Marketing, by fellow Go Negosyo Angelpreneur and motivational speaker Henry Tenedero. Go Negosyo was also represented by Senior Programs Development Officer Jeah La Guardia.

Mentor Me Program is an initiative under DTI and Go Negosyo's Kapatid, Angat Lahat program that aims to help MSME’s scale up their business through weekly coaching and mentoring on the different functional areas of entrepreneurship.

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