A businessman in his own right

Following the footsteps of his uncle, prominent Saipan businessman Jess Yumul, 30-year-old Butch Sigua has begun a business venture to make himself an entrepreneur in his own right years after starting a career as a computer operator.

A combination of ambition, frugality and vision contributed to Sigua’s establishment of Advance Group, LLC, which he put up with some partners. The company, which began operating in February 2005, has taken over the management of the Pestex Company, which claims to be the oldest and largest pest control company on Saipan.

The company also operates three other ventures: Advance Pest Solutions, a consultancy firm on pest control products and chemicals; Advance Aircondition and Refrigeration, which deals with repair, installation, sales and preventive maintenance of air conditioning and refrigeration units; and Advance General Maintenance, which provides minor structural repairs and maintenance services such as bush cutting.

Advance Aircondition and Refrigeration carries aircon and refrigerator brands such as Amana, Hotpoint, Crosley, Frigidaire, Maytag, and Fedders.

Starting a business was not an easy task, disclosed Sigua. After graduating from Marianas High School in 1994, he studied and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in the Philippines’ AMA Computer School and Informatics Computer Institute, two leading institutions in computer education in that country.

Sigua came back to Saipan in 1998, where he first worked as computer operator for his uncle’s YCO hardware. After about six months on the job, his uncle gave him a break to manage the hardware store.

“After seeing that I can manage the hardware, he [Yumul] gave me a new task,” Sigua said.

The Yumul patriarch gave his son Ralph and Sigua a mission to bring in the Jollibee restaurant to Saipan. Jollibee Foods Corp. has been a leading restaurant chain in the Philippines.

Sigua and Ralph Yumul obtained certifications from Jollibee that they could manage Jollibee restaurants and successfully obtained a franchise for YCO, which gave birth to the first Jollibee restaurant on Saipan in December 1999. Sigua became overall manager.

The management training that he got from his uncle earned for him the confidence of a Jollibee store on Guam, which hired him as store manager in 2001. Sigua spearheaded the opening of the third Jollibee store on Guam at the Micronesia Mall. In 2002, he came back to Saipan and managed Jollibee for two more years.

“It’s hard to save because I did not make that much before. I have to cut down on golf, my favorite hobby. I sold my cars, two of them, a Mitsubishi and a Honda. I just used the company car and hitched for a ride,” Sigua said.

After saving enough money, and with help from his father, Guam’s Oceanic Lumber general manager Billy Sigua and a bank loan, the young Sigua co-established Advance Group in 2005.

When the company started operations, Sigua said it had only one employee who assisted him in doing the work hands-on. He has acquired pest control knowledge through online studies by the Orkin Pest Control and certification courses by the University of Guam.

Sigua disclosed that the venture has been doing well—it has expanded its operations and increased its workforce to 13. He envisions the company to revolutionize pest control and airconditioning services in the coming years.

Sigua stressed the importance of Advance Group’s workers, saying that they are the company’s primary assets. “Who am I if I am for myself? We empower our workers. We treat them like family,” he said.

Although the company has branched out to several operations, Sigua said that those are not sufficient benchmarks of success. He looks forward to the company’s longevity and wants it to survive in at least the next 50 years.

“We want to even go larger and penetrate Tinian and Rota,” he said, adding that a Pohnpeian establishment recently asked the company to provide pest control services there.

While he looks forward to success, he guides himself with a philosophy taken from a quote from former United States President Ronald Reagan: “Be nice to the people on your way up, because you might meet them on your way down.”