00:00 I never would have thought that I would have my own company at this age,
00:05 considering that we have a lot of staff, we operate a lot,
00:09 we take care of a lot of people.
00:11 Hello OG, my name is Raf.
00:13 Welcome to the home of street style katsudon in the country.
00:16 Welcome to Lekatsu, Manila.
00:17 Before Lekatsu, I'm a former flight attendant.
00:29 It just so happens that during the pandemic of 2020,
00:32 we lost our jobs.
00:33 You know what it is, right?
00:34 The story of the pandemic, the airline industry is losing.
00:37 So I was one of those who lost their jobs.
00:40 The reason why it's Japanese is because prior to Lekatsu, Manila,
00:47 we had a franchise ramen store.
00:50 We had the fundamentals of how to do business there.
00:54 But it just so happens that it eventually lost its business.
00:57 And we decided to have our own concept.
01:00 Lekatsu was the result of our concept,
01:08 together with my best friend.
01:10 We've come up with this idea to make a food business
01:14 out of desperation that we all lost our jobs because of the pandemic.
01:19 And our last savings, that's what we saved.
01:22 We only had around 50,000 pesos.
01:24 So most likely, it's 200,000 pesos.
01:27 That's what we spent to create a branch kiosk.
01:31 One of our bestsellers is the shrimp katsu.
01:38 Number two is the tori menchi katsu.
01:42 See, tori menchi katsu, that's ground chicken, right?
01:45 And also, we have tuna katsu balls,
01:47 which are our bestseller.
01:49 The tuna katsu balls, those are tuna flakes that are rolled up.
01:53 And we put some seasoning inside.
01:55 We put some cheese.
01:57 So who would have thought that you can make tuna katsu don too?
02:01 One thing that is unique to Lekatsu Manila
02:08 is that we create these katsu dons very affordable.
02:12 So what Lekatsu Manila does is we create these katsu dons
02:16 by replacing authentic ingredients to local ingredients.
02:20 That way, it's easier for us to sell,
02:22 it's more affordable for people to buy,
02:25 and also, what we do is we create these katsu dons
02:29 using different kinds of meat.
02:31 So our menu is very creative.
02:34 It's not just stocked with normal katsu dons
02:37 that we can usually eat in Japanese restaurants.
02:40 As you may know, we have our own brand ambassador,
02:53 which is Mr. Zeus Collins.
02:55 He's one of the local celebrities here in the Philippines.
02:57 Just so happened, he's going to get my sister married.
03:01 So I'll be his bride.
03:03 He has a co-dancer in a program back then.
03:07 And then, they were the ones who referred us,
03:10 initially, to start a business, which is ramen.
03:13 That's where we first learned.
03:14 We franchised ourselves.
03:17 Ramen store.
03:18 We have this confidence that,
03:20 "Why not do this on our own?"
03:22 So we also started a franchise.
03:24 Right now, we have 61 branches.
03:32 Out of 61 branches,
03:33 the franchisor, which is us,
03:35 we have at least 10 branches.
03:37 Our way to earn more,
03:41 not just only by the sales
03:42 to the people who buy from our branches,
03:44 is we make them franchise themselves.
03:48 And we help small business owners
03:51 like us,
03:52 to earn
03:53 how we earned from the start.
03:55 Silicat in Manila,
04:06 there are certain types of earnings.
04:08 We have earnings from franchises that enter.
04:11 And we also have earnings
04:13 from products that franchises buy from us.
04:16 So maybe, I can say,
04:18 our gross profit per month is a rough estimate.
04:22 In Comisary, by selling our products to our franchises,
04:25 it's around Php 800,000 per month.
04:27 And then, for the profits that we get
04:30 from franchising ourselves,
04:31 maybe around Php 1.5 million per month.
04:34 Future plan for Lekatsu,
04:40 if of course, it becomes profitable,
04:43 and also to sustain the whole operation,
04:46 we will have branches in Visayas, in Mindanao.
04:50 Because right now,
04:51 we only have two Comisaries.
04:53 Number one, it's here in Quezon City, Novaliches.
04:56 Number two is in a clan.
04:58 So,
04:58 we only have a limited number of caterers.
05:02 One thing that I really learned from Lekatsu is,
05:09 you become the leader of a group,
05:11 and how you teach them,
05:14 how you organize them,
05:17 so that you as an organization,
05:19 you are creative,
05:20 you can work harmoniously.
05:22 So, that's what I really learned from Lekatsu Manila,
05:24 is to be a leader of the organization.
05:26 Not just only to our staff,
05:28 but also to my partners.
05:30 So, to those interested franchises,
05:35 you may reach us at our social media pages,
05:38 @lekatsumnl for Facebook,
05:40 and @lekatsumnl for Instagram.
05:42 And if you wanna inquire on our official website,
05:45 just visit our website,
05:47 www.lekatsumanila.com.ph
05:50 If you have an interesting or inspiring story
05:53 that you want to share,
05:54 email us at stories.onlygood@gmail.com.
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