A winner in the 5th Web Awards will launch in mid-August a section that will help young entrepreneurs set up business in Cebu.
Rhee Michelle Gonzaga, head of the group that maintains the website, www.cebu
central.com, said the future business section of the site will provide information on franchising, mostly in the food sector, and frequently asked questions about investing in Cebu.
Coming full circle
See how this self-made dude found his own power center. Aurelia Castro reports.
Not by staying stuck can a spider make his web.
Neither by being still does Rhee Michelle Gonzaga, a 24 year-old Information Technology student, make waves as a web developer. For the record, Rhee’s handiwork (www.cebucentral.com) --- showcasing Cebu’s tourism, business, food, entertainment, and lifestyle to the world--- recently romped off with the Best in Website Award (Open Category) in the 5th Cebu Web Awards.
Restlessness drives him, it seems. Once a stowaway, he he ran the risk of being called a black sheep owing to his independent streak. All because of something he needed to prove. I thought it was time for me to live by myself that I can survive on my own, explains Rhee. I also wanted my parents to be proud of me. I wanted to show them something.
Pursue something that you love to do and work hard, he stresses. That explains why living independently wasn’t as hard as he initially feared. Good thing his parents provided him enough fundamentals to tide him over. In fairness, they taught me the spirit of hard work and determination, concedes Rhee who earning a living by doing some freelance work on web development. My job turned out to be self-sustaining.
Now in good terms with his parents (and keeping his end of a nurturing relationship), he brims with filial gratitude. They have always made me believe that I can do great things, he grins.
He had so much faith that when he was a kid, he thought he was Superman. I stood and jumped from a ledge, he recalls. I hit the ground and almost broke the bone in my hand. Tough luck, or he could have been rendered incapable of his other digital creations such as the dating website (www.pic-link.com) and Astang Web Solutions, an online hosting and development company.
I consider myself as an Internet entrepreneur and I want to be that way for the next few years of my life, concludes Rhee, buttressing his confidence with an equally gung-ho belief in a God more powerful. That he has now tempered his restlessness with a centering force of faith only shows that he’s on his way to coming full circle. Yes, like a spider certain about completing its web.
