Joemar Aquino is the founder of Zonal Realty as sole proprietor on August 30, 2011 and incorporated it on February 28, 2016 at literally no capital.
I did not start this alone. We were seven when we started. The six persons beside me are Cecilia Salomon, John Michael Fornaliza, Jonathan Malajacan, Bernard Cañaveral, Luzviminda Rada and Lailah Alaya-ay. From the original seven we are now 4 founding members remaining. The last three started their own venture as well.
Truth be told, the initial capital was 3K which came from our first first 3 sales as cash advance. 500 was used to apply for DTI Registration of Zonal Realty. 1K was used to print the first 10 booklet but erred. So we reprint another set as VATABLE because early on we already projected a good amount of sales coming in. So there’s no need to amend or update. That’s another 1K down the drain. Then we started selling. And when I asked by DTI staff to declare my capital, I was to ashamed to admit that it’s only 3K and I’m left with 500. So I declared 10K. Money that I don’t have.
We had no formal office. I used the living room as our office. The room I’m renting is approximately 12sqm. And four of us lived there as we started our business. And it’s technically really bare and empty except for a double deck in the room with just flyboard on top of it. No pillows. No bedsheets. We’re only renting it at 2,500/month and it’s very close to FCIE Dasmariñas Cavite which is our main source of clients back then. Plus it’s accessible to local transport because back then, we have no car for tripping.
I started a business out of necessity because me and my team were treated unfairly by two successive brokers despite of the good amount of sales we are delivering. It turned to be a blessing in disguise. So thanks to their unfair treatment which became our stepping stone and start our own. No car. No money. No office. All we have are big dreams. Everything started as projections. Then little by little, those projections became real. Little by little it grows. It’s not a straight path to what we achieved now. It’s one hell of a ride but it’s all worth it.
With no mentors to turn to, i read books and attended seminars. Most notables are Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Everybody Wins authored by Keith Hollihan and Phil Harkins, founder of REMAX.
It’s a full year of struggle with pangs of hunger and hustle. We have to make ends meet. Commissions are coming by trickle at long intervals back then. Oftentimes, we rely on free meals from several open houses of developers.
The golden rule is strongly observe in our day to day operations. And Pay it Forward became our mantra. Teach the next person what you know in order to grow. Looking back, those things that hindered us, actually made us stronger. Because we strive harder. We made our breakthrough.
Today, our annual sales when we started is now our daily sales and we still have more rooms to grow. And we strongly advocated the unfair commission scheme. Back then agents are limited to only 2% - 3% commission rate. But in our company our sellers get as much as 7% - 9%. It’s because developers are very generous to us by giving the top rate and we just passed them to our frontliners. And we are very lavish in offering our members extra perks and incentives.
Agents back then are just a fly on the wall. Today, not any more. And at the end of the day, even if it’s not all roses, it’s a good feeling to know that you’re able to help and earn at the same time! Nakakatulong ka na, kumikita ka pa! Zonal’s success is not self-made. It was team-made. Zonal has created a dream team in sales that’s worth emulating. And I’m so proud of it and the team as well.