March 25 ------ Dingdong Dantes has learned — and continues to learn — the ins and outs of running businesses. His experiences come from both successful ventures and even those that didn’t turn out as expected. The actor-producer is venturing into the food industry next, recently announcing that on his sixth year as Mesa’s brand endorser, he’s taking on a bigger role by becoming a business partner in the popular restaurant chain’s 88th branch. Mesa is aiming to hit 100 stores this year.
Dingdong said he’s looking for a location, ideally near to the school of his children with wife Marian Rivera. Contrasting it with his other business pursuits, he said what makes this different is that he didn’t build it from the ground up. “This one is different; it’s not something I started myself, so in a way, I entered as a franchisee. We can see that other stores have been successful, so that’s an advantage for me. The business is doing well, and at the same time, it’s being managed by super trustworthy people — people of integrity — not just in the food industry but in other ventures as well. The Dee family is different. I know that I’m in the right hands, I’m with the right partners. That alone makes me feel secure,” he said in a recent interview.
While partnering with the resto marks his largest venture in the food industry in terms of scale, Dingdong has also tried his hand in other industries, like transport. He admitted that not all experiences have been smooth. “May mga bad stories din, trial and error talaga,” he said. That’s how business works, he added. You learn as you go. When it comes to investing, Dingdong has also learned to be strategic. “Just invest wisely. Of course, you have to analyze everything — you really have to think it through, study every situation before getting into it, especially in business. Mahirap naman yung hard-earned money mo ay masunog due to a wrong decision. You really need to study it well.”
Looking back on his younger years, Dingdong said never imagined he would be in this position, getting into other businesses besides showbiz. “From my ‘TGIS’ days, when I was just starting, I never imagined these things because my consciousness wasn’t even here, let’s put it that way. But as we grow, our consciousness changes, our understanding of different things expands, and our exposure to opportunities broadens. So I guess that’s how it is — with every growth and every learning, the goal is to never lose the desire to improve, whether as an actor or a businessman. The more experiences you gain, the more you grow as a better person.”
As an actor and as a businessman, Dingdong said he’s the same, describing himself as “very calculated, careful, yet courageous enough to try.” However, for him, nothing is more important than his main profession — showbiz. “But the most important business for me is still show business — what I do. That’s really what I focus on most of the time. The efforts I put in are really in showbiz.” After starring in the highest-grossing film of all time, “Rewind,” he will be next seen in the film with Charo Santos. “It was such a great experience, ibang klase, makakasama lang sa isang kwarto ang isang Charo Santos, how much more makasama mo siya sa isang pelikula. Ibang-iba ang experience para sa akin yun. Something that I will be forever grateful for. And of course, when it comes to other movies, there are movies being lined up. Hangga’t magsimula yun, yun talaga masasabi nating nag-uumpisa na,” he told The STAR in a separate interview for the collab podcast “Meet The Press.”
He’s also taken a bigger role behind the scenes through his production company, Agosto Dos Pictures, which he founded in 2011. “Rewind” was one of its co-produced projects. “In 2011, I set up Agosto Dos Pictures as a platform to do all these films. But the key takeaway there is it gives you a broader perspective of what is happening in the industry. Because as a performer, of course, you have to be mindful of what’s happening to you as an actor, those are the factors that you control. But as a producer, mas nagiging malawak ngayon ‘yung point of view mo, you can see the economic side of it, creative side of it and distribution side of it and everything,” he said.
Dingdong’s producing efforts reflect a current trend of actors taking control of their own projects. With the rise of streaming platforms and evolving audience behaviors, he acknowledges the struggles filmmakers and producers face in getting their stories told. While the industry has seen box-office successes, sustainability remains a challenge. Despite the challenges, he remains optimistic. “So ito ‘yung mga bagay na ‘di mo ma-realize if you’re not part of the producing side. And again, props to our producers, that despite what’s happening, tuloy-tuloy pa rin sila.”
Source: philstar.com
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