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Her job as an exhibition manager of a trade center in Manila constantly brought her to Cebu in the 1990s.
Her transactions in Cebu made her notice the industry?s potential.
But it was enough for Lilibeth Ducut-Abais to leave Manila and set up her own exhibition company in Cebu ? L.A. Ducut and Co. Inc.
Her first show in Cebu was the Construction Show Cebu in 1992.
From then on, Abais went on full throttle. She now holds an average of four to five shows yearly.
These include the Construction Show Manila and the Sinulog Export Overruns and Consumer Bazaar.
The Construction Show Cebu was also very successful that it has been running for 18 years since it started.
Abais said she put up the company with only a few hundreds of thousands of pesos in capital. She only had two staff members then.
Experience
But she used her eight-year experience as exhibition manager in Manila to make her business grow.
Abais used to work with the defunct Philippine Center for International Trade and Exhibitions (Philcite).
Her work experience taught her how to conceptualize, organize and manage shows.
?I started working for Philcite right after graduating in 1983 as staff assistant but that was not my first job as I was working while studying at the University of Sto. Tomas,? she said.
Abais said she quickly rose from the ranks and became the exhibition manager handling trade events in Cebu and Manila.
She said that back then, exhibitions in Cebu weren't as popular as today.
?My experience as exhibition manager was challenging. And at the same time, it provided me with the best hands-on training I could have, which I think has helped me acquired the skills I have now in managing my own shows under my company,? she said.
Abais said that as exhibition managers, they were allowed to conceptualize shows, propose a budget and decide all the operations, including booth rates and marketing.
Philcite
?Philcite was my breeding ground and was also for all the other professional exhibition organizers like Sophie delos Santos and Mariles Villar of Trade Show International, as well as Lila Pascual-Cailles of the World Trade Center,? she said.
With the success of her first show in 1992, Abais had another concept for a trade show in December 1997, but this time, targeting exporters and tourists for her trade show.
The result was Sinulog Overruns and Consumer Bazaar which was launched on 1999.
?I thought why not conceptualize a bazaar featuring export overruns especially that Cebu has a lot of exporters manufacturing the products right here in Cebu. And with the influx of so many tourists for the Sinulog, it will be a huge captured market for my exhibitors,? she said.
Sinulog bazaar
Abais then studied and planned the concept.
?I have to wait for another year because I thought of it in December na so I decided I'd do it in January of 1999,? she said.
She approached exporters and other possible exhibitors because the bazaar could not feature export overruns alone. So she mixed it with other consumer products like handicraft from other provinces like Bicol.
The first Sinulog Overruns and Consumer Bazaar was launched in January 1999 with only about 50 exhibitors.
?My first Sinulog expo was very successful and as soon as my exhibitors from other provinces got a feel of the local market, some of them decided to join me regularly every year,? she said.
Key
Abais attributed her success to her passion to help others.
?In this business, we don't grow unless our exhibitors or clients don't grow. So I have to make sure that people will come to my shows and I have to put in place the right marketing tools for that,? she said.
Abais said she felt happy and satisfied every time she learned that her clients closed big deals like bulk orders. For her, what makes them known now is because of the good track record and reputation that she has so carefully maintained over the years.
?If I feel I don't like the concept of a show that we are asked to do, I don?t do it. So I carefully choose my projects talaga. I don't do it because the pay is big.?
Abais said she would do an average of four to five shows every year.
?Three of these shows are ours. These are the Construction Show Cebu and Manila, and the Sinulog Export Overruns and Consumer Bazaar.?
Personal Touch
According to Abais, her company could have grown tremendously if she chose to do so.
But she wanted to maintain a manageable operation.
?I don't want to lose that personal touch that I have in every show that I do, so I do shows that I can manage and can still give me time for my family.?
Abais only maintains a lean manpower of 11 staff and just hires additional project-based employees when the need arises like every time she has shows.
Abais said the Sinulog Export Overruns and Consumer Bazaar paved way for more products from other places outside of Cebu to be available here because her exhibitors meet local partners in the process.
?I could also say that I have also contributed to Cebu becoming known to many as a good location for exhibitions. Before, wala pang masyadong nagshoshow dito but now ang dami na,? she said.
Mice
Abais said she knows that Cebu has a lot of growing in terms of the exhibition industry especially with the recent development of the Department of Tourism to focus more on MICE or meetings, incentive travels, conventions and exhibitions.
She, however, said she has other plans ahead. She was just happy that she somehow had contributed to the industry's growth.
?There are still a lot of potential for the industry especially Cebu's tourism becoming more and more strong over the years, but I have another plan for myself. I want to do another project but not on the exhibition.?
Abais said that as a employer, it is s her responsibility to provide security of tenure for her people to make sure that the business remains profitable.
Now, she plans to put up a resort in Cavite because after doing exhitions for 28 years, she wants to do something different this time.
?A resort could be another business for me and a retirement place for me and my people as well,? she said.
Abais said she is excited to make her plans a reality soon.
