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Mercato Centrale co-founder RJ Ledesma shares tips for aspiring entrepreneurs

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/10/10/20231010-rj-ledesma-abs-cbn-news.jpg"/><figcaption>Mercato Centrale co-founder RJ Ledesma at the launch of their new food market at Acacia Estates. <em>Karen Flores Layno, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- Mercato Centrale continues to expand with the launch of its newest outdoor food market at Acacia Estates in Taguig City.</p><p>Open at 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. every Thursday to Sunday, it features 25 food booths serving different cuisines such as Indian, Korean, Filipino, Pakistani, American, Japanese, and Spanish. </p><p>&quot;We had the opportunity to speak with the team behind DMCI, really great team to work with,&quot; said Mercato Centrale co-founder RJ Ledesma, referring to the property developer behind the 150-hectare community of Acacia Estates, in an interview with ABS-CBN News.</p><p>&quot;They said, &#x27;RJ, there&#x27;s a bustling community over here who will enjoy having a food market,&quot; he added. &quot;So our job is to find out how we can create a place for small food vendors to thrive.&quot;</p><p>Mercato Centrale has been helping food businesses grow through its food markets since 2010. It has launched both seasonal and semi-permanent venues in different parts of the metro, and even as far as Antipolo.</p><p>Ledesma said they go beyond providing a venue for vendors as they also equip them with skills in other aspects of the food business, such as financial housekeeping and social media marketing.</p><p>&quot;We realize they need some handholding with things like pricing their food, operations behind the scenes, good financial housekeeping, or how to make the food look more presentable,&quot; he said. </p><p>&quot;Once they get the hang of it, they expand their business.&quot;</p><p>When asked to give tips to aspiring entrepreneurs, Ledesma said that while getting the right skills and resources is important, the first step is to dive right into it.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2837003" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>&quot;The thing with doing business is that you have to get your feet wet in the first place. You shouldn&#x27;t be paralyzed by analysis paralysis,&quot; he said. &quot;Some people say, &#x27;I have a good concept, but I don&#x27;t know where to try it out.&#x27;&quot;</p><p>&quot;Maybe 90% of the time it would fail... but failure is part of the overall growth mindset. Sometimes you have to go there because you have to understand how the consumers think, how they work, how they buy or live, [then you learn] how to sell to people,&quot; he continued. &quot;And these are only things which you can do if you actually come down and experience it yourself.&quot;</p><p>Ledesma went on to stress the importance of having a unique selling proposition, which he referred to as a &quot;secret sauce.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Make sure you also come up with a secret sauce, a unique proposition that no one else can copy. Have a really great design, then go out there to learn,&quot; he added, sharing that they are also reviving the Mercato Academy to further educate food entrepreneurs. </p>

RJ Ledesma's Mercato Centrale has been helping food businesses grow through its outdoor markets since 2010.