THOUGHT AND LEADERSHIP PRESENTATION
MGT1101 Final Requirement
Selected Organization
Abino Coffee
Successful Leader
Sophia Michaela Abino
Founder and Head Roaster
by
Asis, Angela Cae B.
Esteban, Lady Mae R.
Cequena, Francein Anrym H.
Guevarra, Danielle Anne B.
Salingay, Julietmae G.
Tanfelix, Alexandrea Louise S.
Yacap, Maria Nicole M.
Section 6
November 13 2021
Table of Contents
Overview/Name of the Business………………………………………….. ...................... 3
Company Address and Contact Details………………………………………………… 3
Date of Virtual or Online Interview…………………………………………………….. 3
Resume of Person Interviewed………………………………………………………….. 3
Questionnaire Template…………………………………………………………………. 4
Transcript of the Interview……………………………………………………………… 6
Photo Documentation……………………………………………………………………. 11
Individual Reflection Paper/Personal Plan…………………………………………….. 12
Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………... 23
References………………………………………………………………………………… 24
Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………... 26
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Overview/Name of the Business
Abino Coffee is a coffee business owned and founded by Sophia Michaela Abino, a sole
proprietor. She established her coffee business in January of 2020. The name of the business is
derived from the last name of the owner, Sophia Abino. They sell coffee beans and bottled iced
coffees. They also conduct online coffee sessions.
According to their website Abino Coffee (2020), their purpose is to spread a sense of
security with coffee. Not only with the people who buy their products, but also their farmers.
Farmers share a sense of confidence with Abino Coffee because of progress, resulting in quality
coffee at the source. Abino Coffee provides a sense of safety through fair trade, ethical sourcing,
and ethical roasting.
Company Address and Contact Details
Abino Coffee is located at Camella Abraza, Pasig, Kalakhang Maynila. They also conduct
their business operations online through their website http://abinocoffee.com/.
Contact details include; their email theabinocoffee@gmail.com , their Instagram
@theabinocoffee , and their Facebook website https://www.facebook.com/theabinocoffee/ .
Date of Virtual or Online Interview
The interview of Ms. Abino happened on October 29, 2021, and October 30, 2021. The
interviewers conducted virtual discussions by using Zoom and Google Meet.
Resume of Person Interviewed
The LinkedIn profile for Sophia Michaela Abino by (2020) says that Ms. Abino is a 21year-old entrepreneur whose products and services are recognized and featured nationwide. She
got invited by various schools and organizations. Furthermore, she has shared her knowledge about
entrepreneurship with well-known universities in the Philippines.
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For Ms. Sophia Abino's work history, she is the Founder and CEO of Abino Coffee (2020
- Present) started her business to establish connections and share coffee and entrepreneurship
knowledge through a common denominator, coffee. Furthermore, Ms. Abino who is the Business
Strategist and Project Manager for V-Bridge Corporation (2021 - Present). She develops functional
strategies and marketing plans as a business strategist. She also works as a customer success
trainee at SassyOS Technologies (2021 - Present), in which she minimizes costs by finding ways
to increase productivity and reduce expenses.
Regarding Ms. Abino's skills and proficiencies, she is proficient with Mobile App Design
UI/UX and Swift/Xcode. In terms of business skills, she excels in creating strategies, negotiations,
making business models, design thinking strategies, leadership, public speaking, pitch
presentation, and storytelling.
For her honors and awards, she is a special awardee from Impact Hub Manila (2021). She
also qualified for the Global Student Entrepreneur of EO Philippines (2020). Lastly, her business
became the winner of Impact Hub Hackathon Climate Change (2021).
For her educational background, she is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Business
Administration major in Entrepreneurship at Far Eastern University from 2018 until 2022.
Moreover, she finished her K-12 program under Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM)
at Philippine School Doha from 2016 to 2018. She is currently attending Y Combinator, an online
startup school.
Questionnaire Template
A. Engaging in business entails a lot of investments in terms of money, time, and sacrifices.
And despite all these investments, still many have failed in their business ventures. Based
on your personal observation as a businessperson, Do you AGREE or DISAGREE that it
is a reality that not everyone is destined to be a successful entrepreneur?
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B. As an entrepreneur, do you prefer to (1) manage the business by yourself, (2) manage the
business by yourself and with your family members, (3) manage the business by yourself
and hire employees? Why?
C. What are the certain values that you follow and observe in your business operations? Were
there any instances where your values were challenged?
D. Is it possible for an entrepreneur to keep a daily positive mindset? What were those
situations as an entrepreneur wherein having a positive mindset truly mattered?
E. As we’ve heard, this is not your first time venturing into entrepreneurship. What were those
other ventures aside from Abino Coffee? Do you have other ongoing projects at the
moment?
F. How have your priorities changed from when you first started?
G. With the knowledge and experiences you now have, are there any actions or decisions
where you would have done things differently when you were first starting out? What
would be the result if you took a different step?
H. Entrepreneurship requires variety of task in operating a business such as marketing,
accounting, customer care and others. To prepare for your business Ms. Abino, did you
(1) earn a college degree in business or entrepreneurship? or did you (2) not earn college
degree in business or entrepreneurship but attended business trainings and seminars? How
did these experiences make you stand out as an entrepreneur?
I. If you have any employees, how did you select them? If don’t have any, then what is your
standard of the ideal employee?
J. What is the one thing that you enjoy the most out of your business?
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Transcript of the Interview
Francein: Good afternoon Ms. Abino! How are you? We’re thankful that you’ve agreed to this
interview. As we’ve said in our email, we were inspired by the business journey you’ve shared in
the Entrepreneurship Club’s General Assembly 2021 held last October 2. We, therefore, have
chosen you, founder & head roaster of Abino Coffee, to talk about your stories and insights as a
successful leader. In this interview, my members will ask questions one by one, which you are
then free to answer. Without further ado, let’s start with the first question to be asked by
Ms. Julietmae Salingay.
Juliet: Engaging in a business entails a lot of investment in terms of money, time, and sacrifices.
Despite of all these investments, still many have failed in their business ventures. Based on your
personal observation as a businessperson do you agree or disagree that it is a reality that not
everyone is destined to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ms. Abino: Hello everyone, this is a great question. For me, yes, I do agree that not everyone is
destined to be a successful entrepreneur. Just like what I said in the last talk that I had with FEU,
it takes grit, passion, and perseverance to become a successful entrepreneur. The reason why
people fail when they enter the business world is that not everyone has grit. Also, I do not think
that everybody is destined to be a successful entrepreneur because if entrepreneurs were all
destined to be successful, we would not hear any news about failed business journeys. Keep in
mind that entering the business world is not easy. It requires a lot of time, sacrifice, and money.
The business world is hard, and it will be a lot harder every day, the next day, the next months, or
the next years. So, I think yes, not everyone is destined to be an entrepreneur.
Alexandrea: As an entrepreneur, do you prefer to (1) manage the business by yourself, (2) manage
the business by yourself and with your family members, (3) manage the business by yourself and
hire employees? Why?
Ms. Abino: Okay, so when I started Abino Coffee, I started it all by myself. I don’t actually want to
involve anyone from my family because they might abuse it. It might abuse the business because
if they make a mistake, you can’t complain, or you cannot scold them. The only option that you
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have is to forgive them. If we continuously forgive them, it might abuse the business. Potentially,
your business won’t exist in the long run. So, for me, it is not possible to involve a family member
in a business venture because I want my business to exist in the long run. I want to go global. I
want Abino coffee to operate in different countries, not just here in the Philippines. I think the best
option to manage the business is by myself and hire employees.
Angela: What are the certain values that you follow and observe in your business operations? Were
there any instances where your values were challenged?
Ms. Abino: Yes, I do believe that in the business it is really important that an entrepreneur has
values, especially honesty. Based on my entrepreneurial journey experience, the one that really
challenged my values was when I learned that I was selling fake local coffee beans. Even though
it was a bit challenging for me because I invested a lot of money in the inventory of coffee beans,
the moment that I knew I was selling a fake one, I immediately stopped selling it. It really
challenges my values and my honesty because the only option that I have back then is either to
stop selling fake local coffee beans or to continue selling them and earn money. You know I can
fool my customers that I was legitimately selling real local coffee beans because I can easily label
those as local coffee beans. However, I did not choose the latter because just like what I said, I
want the business to continue for a long run. Do you think that if I continued selling those fake
local coffee beans, I would still see my business in the next few years? Probably not, because I’m
doing the wrong thing. The reason why I have started this business is to introduce to the public,
especially for my customers that local coffee beans are safe to drink. So, that is one example that
I’ve encountered in my business that really challenged my values as an entrepreneur.
Nicole: Is it possible for an entrepreneur to keep a daily positive mindset? What are those situations
as an entrepreneur wherein having a positive mindset truly mattered?
Ms. Abino: It is important to have a positive mindset because a business would not function if the
leader does not have the initiative to do so. For example, you are a small business owner, and you
are the one who is managing it. Though you have all the equipment needed for the business to keep
its operation, you are not doing well in handling it. Do you think the equipment will move by
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itself? No, it will not. Therefore, a business needs you no matter how small or how big your
company is. It needs a person that will operate it. In a business venture, especially in
entrepreneurship, you need to have a positive mindset; you should always keep in mind that you
are the leader, so you should always put yourself in the best condition. If not, it will cause a domino
effect. You are the motivation or the driving force of your business, and if your employees see you
struggling or having a hard time, it could greatly affect their work performance because they might
think that the business may collapse. Always remember that your mood or behavior could also
affect your employees because you are the source of all the motivations, positive feelings,
thoughts, and the positive mindset that would give your employees a positive workplace, and
having a positive workplace means it will increase the productivity of employees to work harder.
Thus, it would allow the business to run for a long time. We should make the workplace ambiance
as light as possible because your negative mindset might affect the whole operation of the business.
All the business operations will be coming from you. If you are not physically and mentally okay,
this could hinder you from establishing a good decision for the business. If you push through a
decision even though you know to yourself that you are not feeling it, there is a chance that the
business may fail, which could cause it to be a problem or hindrance. It is indeed a must for an
entrepreneur to have a positive mindset even though there are times that we may feel down, but
we should learn how to separate the business from any personal problems. We should always keep
things in balance and not let our personal feelings affect our business. No matter what challenges
you might encounter, you should always have the attitude of grit to succeed.
Danielle: As we’ve heard, this wasn’t your first time venturing into entrepreneurship. What were
those other ventures aside from Abino Coffee? Do you have other ongoing projects at the
moment?
Miss Abino: I’m interested in entrepreneurship because I do not see myself working for other
people or other companies. Although, if I will be working, I would highly recommend myself
working on my own company. I have been interested in entrepreneurship ever since I was in high
school. I had been leveraging my talents before. I used to sing and play multiple instruments. So,
with my skills, I used to do gigs. And that was the first time I was able to earn money for myself.
Whenever there was an event in our school, I would sell and make coffee. Because of that, it made
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me realize that I want to start being an entrepreneur. So that was the start of my entrepreneurial
journey. However, since I used to live in a foreign country, it was hard to establish a business
because of the strict requirements. So, when I went home in 2018 to continue college here in the
Philippines, I was so determined to start a business of my own, just like what I said, I do not want
to work in other companies or work with other people. I do not want to work in a business that is
not mine. As a result, I push through with entrepreneurship. So, I ventured out into different
businesses. I tried selling branded clothes and branded shoes. However, I realized that these were
not meant for me because I cannot take the business to another level. That is why I decided to halt
it. The next thing that I did I tried making perfumes. I did study how to make perfumes, which
includes the chemistry number of perfumes. When you are curious, you explore, and you find ways
to learn. Despite this, I realized once again that this was not meant for me. It eventually led me to
the advertising business, wherein I helped small businesses in advertising their products. I had
known that some businesses don’t have the leverage in technology, and I have thought that I could
help these small businesses in terms of Facebook ads. Then again, I guess this wasn’t meant for
me, as I don’t know how to progress to the next level. I don’t know how to properly convince these
small businesses because of issues about money. After that, I also tried selling toothpaste. I also
ventured into toothpaste then the funny thing is that I eventually sold 15 tubes of toothpaste to one
person only. Imagine that an individual bought 15 tubes of toothpaste just for their own. It is crazy,
right? I felt happy about that. However, just like other business ventures that I tried, I felt that it
wasn’t meant for me because there are a lot of well-known toothpaste brands such as Colgate,
Close up, etc. It is hard, and again, I do not know how to drive the business to the next level so, I
ended it. Then January 2020 came, and I realized, why not leverage my passion, which is coffee?
From there, it has been a roller coaster ride. To answer your next sub-question, I have ongoing
projects right now. I want to have my own tech company as well. That is what I’m working on
right now. I plan to start it right away before I graduate from college because just like what I have
said earlier, I do not like working for other companies. At the moment, I am working on a mobile
application, which is a dating app, so you guys should register.
Lexie: How have your priorities changed from when you first started?
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Miss Abino: So, when I started the business, my priorities had changed of course because it is a
big responsibility, especially that I’m investing time, effort, and money. Thus, I’m dealing with
different people for the business like the suppliers and customers. So, it was not playtime. I don’t
consider the business as something that would fulfill my leisure, because it is a big responsibility
to be a business owner since I am dealing with a lot of people and whatever that I do in the business,
whatever I give to my customers, and the decisions that I make with my suppliers, it will affect the
business. So, I need to know what and how to prioritize things. As a result, I think I’m now more
mature in terms of analyzing my priorities in life.
Danielle: Given the knowledge and experience you have acquired now, will you have taken the
same actions or decisions that you had when you were first starting, or will you do things
differently? What do you think will be the result had you taken a different step?
Ms. Abino: I can give a simple example since I am also a student. I didn't really invest in myself
before. I am close to any experiences. Now, since I have a business, I make a decision every day
to input something on my mind or gain more knowledge because it is not enough. The knowledge
that we have now or the knowledge that we know now is not enough. Of course, in business, there
will be a lot of uncertainties; and if I don’t study or I don’t input, for example, the emerging
technology now, or I don't study those fields, the business would be left behind. So before, I’m
really interested in technology whatsoever, but now I am investing time. I decided to invest in
something that would help the business in the long run. So, now that I am gaining more knowledge
and experience, I make sure that I don't stop learning every day. That is something I can say.
Angela: Does having a college degree ensure entrepreneurial success?
Ms. Abino: I’m now taking an Entrepreneurship degree in FEU, same as you guys, and I can say
that it is to my advantage because everything I learn in FEU, I can apply that to my business.
Besides that, I do not stop being a student at FEU. Since we have the internet, we can search for
business classes. I attend other business classes online. Through business classes, I can gain more
knowledge. If I get my source only from FEU, we will not be exposed to other information, right?
I make sure that wherever I go, I learn. Whenever I use the internet, I learn. So, there are a
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lot, actually a lot of sources. So, if you guys want to acquire knowledge, you can search everything
on Google. You just have to look for the right thing in the right place. You will discover more if
you explore.
Alexandrea: How would you describe an ideal employee?
Ms. Abino: Right now, since the pandemic, I have been working by myself. For my ideal
employee, I would like someone who has the same passion or mindset. An example is someone
with the same passion for coffee. I can say that I’m an overachiever. I don’t get comfortable with
just achieving one thing. I find it uneasy if I don’t do things or I don't excel on things. So, I would
like someone who is competitive in a good way; and I would like someone who can communicate.
I do not mean that I am not a good communicator, but I would like an employee that can listen
when I express my thoughts and ideas. Someone that I can trust. Therefore, if I hire employees, I
would like a relationship in which we are open. A relationship wherein we are close, but the respect
is still there. Something where the employees are comfortable with me as well as with the
business. Someone who maintains their respect for me as the owner.
Lady: what is the one thing that you enjoy the most out of your business?
Ms. Abino: One thing that I enjoy the most out of my business is the ability to know myself even
more. There are a lot of things that I did not expect I could do. There are a lot of choices that I did
not expect I will make. So having the business made me know myself even more. “Ah, I can do
this. There are more abilities that I could show. There are a lot of things that I can do." I feel really
happy to know myself even more. Everything is indeed possible when we are keen to achieve it,
when we work hard to achieve. So one thing that I really love about doing business is that I get to
know myself even more.
Photo Documentation
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Video Link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fu3flA7UHd4q5nAGZOhA4CiodrbxDISE/view?usp=sharing
Video Link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eQw3Y5w_FIurURBYoI7g1-d9f3esHdNs/view?usp=sharing
Individual Reflection Paper/Personal Plan
Asis, Angela Cae B.
Being a leader is a huge responsibility especially when it comes to leading a business.
Before interviewing our chosen leader, I was surprised by the fact that she was still a student in
FEU like us. At such young age, the leader was already invested in the field of business, most
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likely being an entrepreneur. I learned that it takes grit, confidence, values and knowledge when
handling a business.
Young entrepreneurs usually take risks and start their businesses from scratch, along with
their resources and knowledge in business management. But the journey of handling a business is
not easy. There are failures that they encountered while managing their businesses. Even if you
have enough resources, if you’re not skilled enough, or you have a small knowledge in managing
a business, it will not thrive. Based on a study, training is important for entrepreneurs for them to
fully understand what it means or how to manage their businesses well. Training will boost their
confidence and enhance their abilities in bearing risks. That was what I’ve observed during the
interview with Miss Abino. She had great knowledge for answering our questions in terms of how
she leads her business because aside from being a student in FEU, she attended classes/trainings
from other schools to fully develop her abilities in managing her business.
Along with leading a business is the owner’s values. Their values will reflect on how they
handle such issues or express themselves while managing a business. Knowing the fact that when
Ms. Abino has known that she was selling fake coffee beans, she immediately stopped selling them
even though she had the option to sell and fool her customers, she decided not to sell the fake local
coffee beans. Ms. Abino says that in business, it is important to be honest. It was said by Ms.
Abino that in business, it is important to be honest. Think of the factors around you like your
employees, customers, environment & etc. Not just thinking about how to gain profit or how to
have money on your table.
What makes the interview really interesting for me, is the fact that I can use the knowledge
she shared, for my studies and with the hopes that I can also use it when I already achieved the
profession that I wanted. She made me more interested and motivated to strive harder in my studies
to be someone like her, a successful leader and entrepreneur.
Moreover, I have learned a lot of things in the interview but the way she expressed her
knowledge in handling her business along with the values she has, made me thought that she is
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indeed a leader who has the passion, abilities, and confidence in leading her business and make
ways to make it improve or go higher.
Esteban, Lady Mae R.
The CEO and Head of Roaster of The Abino Coffee Ms. Sophia Abino, is a young student
entrepreneur at Far Eastern University. Ms. Abino made her name well known to the business
world in such young age. She was able to start her own business with her own money and eager to
fulfill her ambition since she was a kid, at the early age she did try a lot of business ventures to
learn and explore what her heart desires. She encountered a lot of different challenges and
difficulties from past businesses that she ventured with. Despite of all challenges and difficulties,
it does not stop her to pursue what her heart desires with the grit, passion, and perseverance she is
now able to reach her success. She is the best example of a courageous young entrepreneur because
starting a business by your own is not an easy task. It takes a lot of risk when venturing into a
business because it requires money and manpower. I was in awe of her ability to start a business
whilst continuing her education because from my own understanding, balancing studies while
managing a business is not easy. Furthermore, Ms. Abino is a great representation that being an
entrepreneur does not require, age limit in order to be successful. She shows that if you have the
grit, passion, and perseverance, you can make your business successful whatever your age is.
If I’m going to connect these entrepreneurial journey experiences of Ms. Abino to one of
our lessons in Leadership and Decision Making, it would be the discussion with regards to, The
Spiral of the Experience or the Action, Observation and Reflection. Action, Observation and
Reflection Model that allows business owners to reflect back on your own individual experiences,
observe and consider the possible outcomes. With the actions that Miss Abino experienced, she
was able to use it to make the better version of herself as an entrepreneur. All those challenges and
difficulties that she experiences does not hinder her to start all over again.
According to Quain (2019), running a business that takes pride in being ethical and
socially responsible is a challenge, and many companies end up cutting more than a few corners
in the name of profit. He further stated that it is nearly impossible for a business to build trust if
honesty is not a guiding principle in how that company handles every aspect of its work process.
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I admired Ms. Sophia Abino for having the value of honesty during the most challenging time
to her business. The time when she found out that the local coffee beans, she was selling was not
legitimate. This experience really challenged her values as a young entrepreneur. It challenged
her ethical values for she was torn between doing what is right and wrong. The options that she
has during that time was between continuing selling the fake local coffee beans and fool her
customers for it was easy for her to change the label, or stop selling it. When she said that she
chose to stop the production, I admired her even more. She chose to do the right thing even when
this decision caused loss to her investments.
In conclusion, the interview with Ms. Abino made me realized that in order for us to be
successful, we need to protect our good reputation because once an entrepreneur lost the
reputation no one will ever trust them again. Also, I learned that ethics must be the foundation
of the business, for it will be our guide to do what is right. If there is a single best quotation
describes the entrepreneurial journey of Miss Abino, it would be, “Better to fail at doing the right
thing than to succeed at doing the wrong thing”- Guy Kawasaki
Cequena, Francein Anrym H.
In the past few weeks, my team members have worked on our MGT1101’s final output
entitled Thought and Leadership Presentation. Its purpose is to prepare us, students, to become
competent employees in the business industry. The output focuses on the interview documentation
with our chosen successful leader. We chose Ms. Sophia Michaela Abino, a young entrepreneur
with a flourishing business and a brilliant resume under her belt. During the interview, I felt
enlightened by her stories and insights as a businesswoman. She shared her challenges in selling
fake coffee beans, her values in managing a business, and some suggestions on how to enter the
industry. Although all of her ideas piqued my interest, a message that truly resided in me was the
importance of grit.
(Miller, 2017) defines grit as "the passionate pursuit of hard goals that awes and inspires
you and others to become better people, flourish emotionally, take positive risks and live your best
lives." When our group asked Ms. Abino if it is a reality that not everyone is destined to be a
successful entrepreneur, she answered yes. According to her “...it takes grit, passion, and
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perseverance to become a successful entrepreneur. The reason why people fail when they enter the
business world is because not everyone had the grit. .” I agree with her message. Many studies
have shown that besides talent and intelligence, grit was also a variable for a person to
succeed. (Wolfe and Patel, 2016) revealed a favorable correlation between grit and the
entrepreneur's age, implying that grit is a mechanism for young individuals to overcome resource
limits in terms of personal, social, and financial capital when engaging in entrepreneurship. I
believe that this is also true in students.
From my experience, grit is a vital key to learning. There have been many lessons taught
at school that I felt were impossible to understand. Luckily, I heard this message by Ms. Abino in
which grit is the characteristic of successful people. It was a big game-changer for me because,
despite the fact that I wasn’t the brightest in the classroom, I had the confidence in my ability to
persevere. When I encountered chapters in the Leadership and Decision Making course that
included enormous amounts of concepts, I made it my mission to study it; even though it’ll take
days, sometimes even weeks to understand. Failing quizzes were also a part of my experience as
a student. Yes, I’d be sad for a couple of days after the quiz, but then I would try my best to
determine my mistakes and create practice tests so I wouldn’t repeat them. Because of my deep
engagement in the learning process, my academic confidence is now based on how hard I work on
the subject instead of my results. It was then proven to me that as long as I have the will, no
situation was hopeless.
Additionally, I am reminded of the revelation in Chapter 1 of the McGraw workbook where
its states that there are more women who take on leadership roles than ever before. Granting that
there are obstacles to women rising in the highest positions of leadership, such as sex-role
stereotypes (Schein and Mueller, 1992), the number of women in leadership positions is largely
consistent. (Grant Thorton, 2020) shows that the proportion of organizations with at least one
woman in senior management has stayed stable at 87% all over the world, and I believe that grit
is one of reasons why these women stay competent at their jobs. (Mitter, 2020) discovered a
positive link between self-control and leadership emergence, as well as grit and leadership
emergence.
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To conclude, this output has given me a deeper understanding of what it takes to be a leader.
Having the resilience to act, even in the face of failure, is the major determinant of success. As
Ms. Abino said, “No matter what challenges you might encounter, you should always have the
attitude of grit to succeed.”
Guevarra, Danielle Anne B.
During the discussion period about leadership, I have formed in my mind what a great
leader looks like and what are his/her credibilities for him/her to be acknowledged as an ideal
leader. We tackled the importance, behaviors, types of leaders, types of leadership forms, etc. Then
for our final requirement, we were tasked to find a leader/entrepreneur to interview just to know
and learn something from them in terms of business, and leadership. When we started searching
for a leader/business owner to interview, I have used the knowledge I have gained on finding a
leader that would fit my definition of being a great leader. Luckily, we were able to find Ms. Sophia
Abino, which is somehow close to my definition of a great leader.
Furthermore, all throughout the remaining days that we have spent studying about
leadership, this gave me an idea in terms of formulating questions related to her business and
leadership style. After finalizing the questionnaires and setting a scheduled interview with Ms.
Abino, everything was settled, but there are still things that I want to add to our set of questions
due to my curiosity about leadership. On the day of the interview, the only thing that I am looking
forward to is observing her and analyzing her answers. During the interview session, I have noticed
immediately where she belongs under the five fundamental archetypes of leadership by Ket de
Vries (2005), which is a mix of both Warrior-Knight and Revolutionary-Crusader. The way she
answers the business risks-related questions like when she decided to halt the operation of selling
fake coffee beans when she figured out that it was not real, and how she had challenged herself to
push harder for every threat or problem she encountered. I have thought about it due to the reason
that I agree with the said Five Archetypes of Leadership as they are accurately present in every
situation and how leaders forge their leadership style. Next, According to (Zemke, 2001) in his
research of four (4) generations of workers, it is very clear that Ms. Abino falls under the
“Millenials” worker, wherein she sought teamwork, and work-life balance when she answered on
separating business from any personal issues. She is also tech-savvy as she is highly experienced
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in creating websites, advertisements, and apps. She also plans to venture into the digital industry.
Regarding Zemke’s four generations of workers, I disagree with it due to the fact that workers can
change or improve their working habits or abilities as they gain experience. This topic is
generalizing and somehow discrediting the workers’ ability to change and to be seen from a
different perspective. After the interview, it made sense now that a leader or entrepreneur is indeed
a tough job to do, especially that overseeing the operations and training the employees in achieving
a goal is already a tough job, what more could it be when handling thousands of people. It is a big
responsibility that you have to do and to work it out.
In conclusion, I have learned how it is important to know about leadership as it gives us
ideas or knowledge of what to do and to deal with situations that are overwhelming for us. There
are times that we would have to stand on our own feet and act as a leader in order to organize,
oversee, and help people or your employees in developing and finding their purpose. It also gave
me in-depth learning about handling a business and how one decision can impact the lives of the
people around you. Overall, I have learned a lot of things in the interview but the way she expressed
her knowledge in handling her business along with the values she has, made me thought that she
is indeed a leader who has the passion, abilities, and confidence in leading her business and make
ways to make it improve or go higher.
Salingay, Julietmae G.
This course has taught me many things that I feel will be more helpful in my future career;
that may be. I have been taught if I am qualified to be a leader or follower, that can make beneficial
for my future career. My instructor uses scaffolding activities that can I know what my potential
to become a leader is. In addition, experiencing an entrepreneur allows our group to interview
people succeeding in business. It was fascinating and beneficial to make this activity not only my
interview but to interact with other people and to explore some facets of my personality I have not
experienced so much previously. I fear talking and interacting with other people of new in my
eyesight. Also, I’m afraid to speak in front of people in my past. This has stopped me from
expressing the ideas and thoughts I had in my mind. This course based on leadership and
management holds me back and allows me to express my ideas and thoughts to the best of my
potential.
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We interviewed Ms. Sophia Michaela Abino, who is the Business owner of Abino Coffee.
Ms. Abino Established her coffee business when in January of 2020. Also, Ms. Abino graduated
from Philippine School Doha with an Accountancy, Business, And Management course. Although
I did not know her career before the interview, I did not know what Ms. Abino did as a business
owner. She informed me of the three best qualities if I want to start a business. Which is
Improvisation, Passion then the last is Perseverance.
One of the key points I took away from the interview with Ms. Abino was that you must
endure and passion about continuing your goals with the greed of improvement that may apply to
the career you end up pursuing.
It was satisfying to talk to someone who has gone through what I am about to do. Speaking
with Ms. Abino and hearing about her sight and career path was enlightening and, surprisingly,
was able to show me a prime example of how you can make your business work for you, this
interview, and I had not considered this before, also functioned as a way to build my self-esteem
and Perseverance. I am struggling with this, but I am now able to see that it is rewarding and not
something to be afraid of being Business Owner.
I think one of the reasons that this course has a benefit of doing interviews and preparing a
presentation. That information was presented. In this course, the professor requires you to read in
an e-book. As research by Reid and Cayley (2016). “It was found that eBooks contain engaging
reading features that help students improve reading comprehension. Multiple implications will
help teachers improve their curriculum with the use of eBooks along with professional
development”. To help you to find information that you want you to know. Then, I will elaborate
on the crucial concept that I want to find the meanings of the key points.
Working in a group increases productivity and improves our performance. According to
Davies (2009). “Groupwork is also one of the most expedient ways—along with work
placements—of ensuring that students develop transferable skills for life-long learning (teamwork,
leadership, project management skills, communication skills). This has largely been in response to
industry demands for more flexible workers”. We work as a group to interview a businessperson.
I also learned how I contributed to making our final report finished.
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All in all, I think that this course has been very beneficial to me. It was a challenging time,
especially when we took the exam and then the activities we needed to pass on time. It seemed
that this is likely due to accelerated courses trying to cram an entire semester. I believe I've
deserved to pass this subject Because I have put effort into my doing my activities and my part of
the groupings. I have spent so much time on each file I passed. I know that there are still areas for
improvement. Now, I’m relieved to have overcome my fear of speaking in interviews or online
classes. I enjoyed this course that I have learned from it and looking forward to using my newly
learned skills and taking part as a leader in the future.
Tanfelix, Alexandrea Louise S.
The leader we once interviewed said that “I tried many things and experienced failures just
to get here,” and that particular phrase made me realize many things. Building up a business will
always be a difficult challenge for everyone, especially entrepreneurs, not just in the business
industry, but also with school and hardships in life. That particular phrase from the interviewee
made me realize that all will be alright in time. Although there would be times that we’re on the
verge of giving up, as long as we do our best in life, there will be no regrets. According to Atwater
(2020) that when faced with the unknown, the best entrepreneurial leaders are good at
experimenting, learning, and iterating. Compare this skill set to a more traditional “analyze, then
act” leadership approach, and the difference is clear. Atwater also stated that a conventional leader
might be great at assembling a puzzle when the picture is laid out to copy, while an entrepreneurial
leader can dive in with no picture at all to start putting pieces together. “Entrepreneurial leadership
is a mindset that focuses organizations on turning problems into opportunities that create economic
and social value,” ,” says Babson College President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD.
From the success story of the interviewed leader, building up a business was very
challenging. Ms. Abino started with fashion business like selling clothes but, in the end she said it
wasn’t for her until she came up with her business which is Abino Coffee. During the interview
with the leader, it motivated me more to work and study harder for my future. While listening to
the interviewee, it amazes me how she didn’t give up her passion, she really worked hard to be
able to come up with the coffee business she wanted. For that to happen, it really takes courage for
someone to take the risk to create their own business. During the interview, it also deepened my
knowledge about the world of business and entrepreneurship. While doing the assigned task for
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our group, it was challenging at first because we need to come up with questionnaires for the
interviewee and we also researched how her business was built and how it was now in the present.
In the process of identifying a leader for the interview or interactive communication, there were
other options beside Sophia Abino and my teammates and I were contemplating whether we
interview the other leader or Ms.Abino, but in the end, we came to a conclusion to interview Ms.
Sophia Abino, the owner of Abino Coffee and overall, it led to a good outcome. Having teamwork
is also important since it is common when we’re already professionals in the future, it leads to
great results that would make the team finish all the tasks that were given.
In conclusion, this activity opened me to honing my leadership skills as what the
interviewee inspired me to strive more in life. With the lessons from our leadership subject, such
as the Five-Factor or Ocean Model of Personality states that leaders higher in openness to
experience tend to be imaginative, broad minded, and curious and are more strategic, and bigpicture thinkers. The interviewee or the leader made me realized that having experience even those
experiences came from failures at first, it will always lead to great outcomes in life.
Yacap, Maria Nicole M.
"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others."-Bill
Gate (2019). This, I believe, is a good summary of how I felt after this interview and doing this
final requirement. Ms. Abino's expertise proved to be beneficial to me in terms of pursuing my
objectives, and her interview also provided in-depth insights into the industry. I agree with her
assessment of what it takes to operate a great business: greed, passion, and tenacity. Those three
are correct since any business owner or entrepreneur must be greedy to manage a successful
company. However, this does not imply a desire for financial gain; rather, it implies a willingness
to progress. If a company owner has this trait, you can anticipate a respectable establishment. As
a result, if one individual who runs has this quality, the feature will be followed by enthusiasm and
persistence as they assist one another. Then she told us about how she tried a lot of different
businesses before settling on one. I loved how this demonstrated that not every business venture
can succeed; you need a specific combination of talents, methods, and money in a particular
industry. However, as an entrepreneur, you should be aware that not every business you start will
be successful; the difference is how long you can endure.
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Next, I agree with her viewpoint on how to recruit the most excellent staff for your
company. She said that if she had to pick, she would have selected an employee who shared her
enthusiasm for the company over a family member. Furthermore, this works because the quality
of a company's workers is critical. However, the most crucial element in selecting an employee is
to like their profession since quality and efficiency follow enthusiasm. Another aspect of her
interview that I find relevant is the notion she said when asked what she would have altered back
when she was a student, and Ms. Abino stated that she would have invested more in herself.
Furthermore, this is an essential component of a successful company since wisdom and
expertise are critical on the site. However, information learned in school or university is also quite
significant because you will learn approaches and strategies that will make your next company
attempt far more successful. Returning to the statement from Bill Gates that I used in the first
section of my reflection paper, I picked it because it relates to the lesson taught in this assignment.
After all, the interview we just listened to and saw will hopefully motivate us to pursue our goals
in the future. Furthermore, this would inspire us, but it would also encourage others, particularly
younger people.
Overall, completing this course's final requirement helped me comprehend and broaden
my viewpoint on how things function in the corporate world. Since the group also achieved this
last requirement, I learned how to accomplish the activity with other people and comprehended
the concepts we acquired in this course. To summarize, being an entrepreneur or company manager
is challenging; you will encounter many obstacles, risks, and hardships, but if you want to succeed,
you will find a way to achieve your goals. Because successful individuals are not naturally talented,
they work hard and then thrive on purpose.
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Acknowledgement
The completion of this output would not have been possible without the participation of
Ms. Sophia Michaela Abino and her business Abino Coffee.
We sincerely appreciate her willingness to educate us in our discussions. Her insights as a
successful leader truly enlightened us. We would also like to extend our gratitude Dr. Leonardo F.
Cada, Jr. for his continuous guidance and to all of those who have indirectly contributed to this
activity. Again, we wholeheartedly express our thanks.
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References
Abino, M.A. (2020). About Sophia Michaela Abino.
https://ph.linkedin.com/in/sophia-michaela-abino-15077b217
Abino, M.A. (n.d.). Home.
https://typedream.app/sophiaabino
Abino Coffee. (2020). Purpose of Abino Coffee.
https://www.abinocoffee.com/abino-coffee-academy/post/520067/know-your-coffee-farmerseries-with-criz-casanes
Atwater, E. (January 28, 2020). What Is Entrepreneurial Leadership? · Babson Thought &
Action. Babson Thought & Action.
https://entrepreneurship.babson.edu/entrepreneurial-leadership/
Grant Thorton. (2020, March 2020) Women in Business 2020: Putting the Blueprint into
action. (Report No. 373) Grant Thornton International Ltd.
Kawasaki, G. (n.d.). Better to fail at doing the right thing than to succeed at doing the
wrong thing.
http://www.picturequotes.com/better-to-fail-at-doing-the-right-thing-than-to succeed-at-doingthe-wrong-thing-quote-463224
Ket de Vries, M. (2005). Leadership Archetypes: An Exposition. Insead: Faculty &
Research.
https://sites.insead.edu/facultyresearch/research/doc.cfm?did=1747
Miller, C. A. (2017). Getting Grit: The Evidence-Based Approach to Cultivating Passion.
Sounds True Publishing.
Mukherjee, K. (2016). The psychology of the successful entrepreneur. International
Journal of Advanced Engineering and Management, 1(1), 25-32.
https://doi.org/10.24999/ijoaem/01010004
Mitter, H. (2020) The Effect of Self-Control and Grit on Female Leader Emergence.
ScholarWorks.
Schwantes, M. (2019, September 23). Bill Gates Says This 1 Simple Habit Separates
Successful Leaders From Everyone Else. Inc.Com.
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https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/bill-gates-says-this-1-simple-habit-separates-successfulleaders-from-everyone-else.html
Spinelli, S. MBA’92, PhD (2020). The Courage to be bold.
https://entrepreneurship.babson.edu/magazine-archive/2019/08/07/the-courage-to-be-bold/
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Appendix
Leadership and Decision-Making Approval Form
Members:
Section: MGT 1101 SEC 6
1. Asis, Angela Cae
Date: October 28, 2021
2. Cequeña. Francein Anrym
3. Esteban, Lade Mae
4. Guevarra, Danielle Anne
5. Salingay, Juliet Mae
6. Tanfelix, Alexandrea
7. Yacap Marie Nicole
Leader Name:
Sophia Michaela Abino
Position:
Founder and Head Roaster of
Business:
Abino Coffee
Abino Coffee
Submitted by: Guevarra, Danielle Anne
Approved by: (SGD) Dr. Cada F. Leonardo, Jr.
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