Mario Miguel Bautista
Chief Operating Officer
Ishin
“When the pandemic hit, our online marketing business got affected, and we both focused our attention on Ishin. The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for us as people started to purchase Ishin online.”
JUST this pandemic, while everyone was locked down at home with hardly anything productive to do, Mario Miguel Bautista and his wife, Shirleen, successfully started their now multimillion distribution enterprise of quality glutathione and skin care products from Japan.
Although the couple are IT experts by profession and both were business-oriented, their first venture in 2008, when they were just newly married, understandably started with a hit-and-miss proposition.
When glutathione was still unknown in the cosmetics market, they tried engaging distributors of the very first glutathione brand from the United States.
“Back then, the price was very high at almost P3,000, and the profit was very small at only P50 to P100,” Bautista recalled.
“It was natural for us to gravitate toward beauty products. We are always on the lookout for how to innovate and bring down the cost.
“Ishin was started because we wanted to bring a very affordable glutathione product by purchasing everything in bulk. From P3,000 at 30 capsules, now the price is down to P350 to P500 for 60 capsules.”
Bautista’s wife was the first to venture into entrepreneurship after she resigned from her job as manager of an IT company.
“It was a conscious decision from both of us, as we were both oriented toward being entrepreneurs,” Bautista said.
“I, on the other hand, initially focused on my corporate job as the head of operations and sales and marketing.
“I couldn’t give up my job back then, as it was paying good money, which brought steady income, while Shirleen was focused on entrepreneurship for growth.
“We ventured into online marketing catering to telco and education-based clients from abroad. Eventually, as the business grew, I also had to resign from my corporate job.
“The downside with that business was that our working hours were crazy. We were awake in the middle of the night and asleep in the morning.”
The couple subsequently started a new venture, which was a beauty products distributorship.
“I focused on our marketing business, while Shirleen eventually shifted to the beauty products distributorship.
“When the pandemic hit, our online marketing business got affected, and we both focused our attention on Ishin. The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for us as people started to purchase Ishin online.”
Today, Ishin is a successful product not only in the Philippines but also worldwide. It has a total of 3,000 distributors nationwide, not including the ones from abroad.
The product, which got the seal from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is successfully marketed in other countries like Bangladesh, UAE (United Arab Emirates), Spain, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Italy and even India.
“Our Bangladeshi market is very strong, and the locals have embraced the product,” Bautista granted. “We plan to replicate that success in other South Asian and Middle East countries.
“We also plan to expand our product line. We have started Ishin Skin with three, new products: premium lotion, scrub and soap. All are formulated in Korea and manufactured in Japan.
“We hope to extend our presence in other countries. Right now, while there are distributors there, they are more focused on Filipino-based communities.”
As COO of Ishin, Bautista gets fulfillment primarily by working with his business partner, his wife.
“We have a really good partnership and friendship,” he said. “Then, there’s the fulfillment of taking our business to the next level.
“The success stories of our distributors who have improved their own lives also inspire and encourage us to do even better. We are very happy with the success of Ishin.”
Bautista does not hide the fact that in the past, he ventured into a lot of other businesses before discovering gold in the whitening product.
“I personally had an electronics distribution which had a falling out with the partners and a construction company which got really affected during the pandemic,” he shared.
“We also have a thriving online marketing business selling other products. The knowledge that we got there has significantly helped us during our online marketing campaign here in the Philippines.”
More opportunities
The new normal has actually opened up more opportunities for online businesses to grow. People are now more accepting of products being bought online.
“We are very active in the online world,” Bautista said.
“We have a significant following in TikTok at 1.3 million for Shirleen and 180,000 for me.
“We also have various social media influencers that we closely work with who actively promote our product.”
His father, Mario Bautista, is a veteran of the entertainment press. “We plan to maintain our close ties with our friends there,” Bautista said.
“My dad, who I really respect so much, has taught me the value of gratitude to the Lord and generosity to others. We are all active volunteers in the Marriage Preparation Foundation of the Center for Family Ministries that conduct the Discovery Weekend for couples intending to get married.
“In the future, we are planning to ramp up our offline campaigns for Ishin such as promoting our products in festivals like Panagbenga [in Baguio City] and Sinulog [in Cebu City].”
Although his parents were not really into business, it’s the “full support and love” that he and his wife got from his folk that drive them forward.
“They also have us in their prayers. Having a successful business has its perks, as we are able to take them traveling to different places and [dining] out in restaurants. That brings us closer together.”
Brand ambassadors
Last January, to further boost its strong presence in the market, Ishin signed up its first celebrity brand ambassadors — young showbiz talents David Licauco and Barbie Forteza. The love team is the favorite of Bautista’s wife on television.
“We are very happy with our celebrity endorsers, Barbie and David. They really resonate with us. They are very active in promoting our brand even on their social media platforms. More than anything else, they are also users of our products. Our inquiries and users have increased.”
Bautista has a degree in electronics engineering from UP Diliman. He also took up a master’s degree in engineering at UP.
“My course has served me well during the first part of my career,” Bautista beamed. “However, what’s more lasting that I learned from UP was my desire to always learn and improve.
“My initial childhood ambition was to become an engineer. I was fascinated with how things work. I was always good with math and numbers.
“I took apart many things from our home such as radios. Some, I was not able to return to their original form.
“I am also fascinated by how our society today has evolved because of the contributions of great scientists and engineers.”
Bautista was also interested in becoming a business owner. It was rather unforgettable for him how he was warned by an adult when he was selling items outside their house when he was younger. Young as he was then, he admirably knew how to use his entrepreneurship skills.
“When I was 8 years old, I was selling stuff outside our house,” Bautista recalled. “An adult approached me and asked if I had a business permit. I asked what that was and he said, ‘You will go to prison if you don’t have a permit.’
“I am happy that I got to fulfill both dreams of being an engineer and an entrepreneur.”
Mario Miguel Bautista and his wife, Shirleen, successfully started their multimillion distribution enterprise after their online marketing business got affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Two years later, they now have over 3,000 distributors worldwide and have managed to sign up their first brand ambassadors — showbiz talents David Licauco and Barbie Forteza. contributed photos
Family time
No matter how busy he is, Bautista consistently finds time for his family, as they come foremost in all his work and other activities.
“I always schedule a date with my wife at least once every two weeks,” he revealed. “I also schedule a separate date with my kids at least once a month. We all go to Mass as a family every Sunday to thank the Lord for all His blessings. Then, we dine out.
“I also take time to play with my kids — Victoria Jane, 14; and Miguel Andre, 9 — on weekends. I schedule a playdate with my young one, and I take him to various places and we play computer games. My young lady likes anime and Japanese restaurants, so we go out on dates there.”
Bautista’s family has embarked on a number of trips together.
“We have been to various countries. We don’t spend a lot on material things. We try to keep our life simple.
“We believe that it’s the experiences that we do together as a family that are more lasting. The material things will fade, but the memories that we build together will last a lifetime.
“The last destination we visited was the US in 2019, before the pandemic. It was a monthlong, coast-to-coast trip — from New Jersey and New York to Las Vegas then Los Angeles. We are going on another one this July.
“In the past, my wife and I have been invited to the US, sponsored by our clients. Now, we travel to various parts of the Philippines to visit our distributors.”
Bautista is always fascinated with billionaires. “I am reading and learning a lot about them,” he said. “Success leaves clues. So my goal is to be one of them someday. But it is also my goal to help a lot of people around us achieve financial success.”
ABOUT ME
ROLE MODEL
My dad whom I really respect so much and has taught me the value of gratitude and generosity. Rod Salazar, retired CEO of Pepsi and Bayantel, was my mentor in business. Sahdguru and Joe Dispenza, whom I follow on social media, are more like spiritual guides. Elon Musk, another engineer, has had success in the entrepreneurship world, creating Paypal, Tesla and SpaceX.
GOAL
To raise my two kids well to be good Christians and have a lasting positive impact on this world
FIRST PAYCHECK
In 2000, after I graduated from UP, I was paid P18,000 per month
MORNING RITUAL
Thirty minutes in prayer and meditation. It puts me in a place of gratitude and a state of blessedness and abundance. I also go to our home gym for about 30 to 40 minutes.
TIME ON SOCIAL MEDIA
I spend about 30 minutes per day on social media. Prior to our online business, I hardly ever spent time on social media. However, I realized that this is a valuable tool for creating our own content, as well as reaching out to the right people
BEST SKILL
I am a good listener and I love working with people. My superpower is a good sense of people management skills. I like mentoring and helping people who are receptive to take it to the next level. When they succeed in their field, our business also succeeds.
LIFE FACT
We have been vegetarians for almost 15 years now. I used to read a lot of business and self-improvement books. But now, I have shifted to listening and learning from podcasts and lectures which I can do during my workouts. I love working out consistently and the energy it brings. I love traveling with my family and experiencing different cultures.
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