LAWRENCE Cruz has been a car enthusiast for as far back as he can remember.
In 2009, he channeled that passion into a career, working as a service advisor for Mercedes-Benz and later moving to the brand’s auxiliary workshop in Bonifacio Global City.
“I was a fan of cars, so I started buying and selling,” said Cruz, now the owner and president of Cruz Motors. “I saw the opportunity. That was my previous work before I joined Cats Motors. But the income was not steady. So, I switched my focus and switched my plans.” During those early, unpredictable days, his eldest daughter, Cheska, and son, Ford, were already around. Cruz recalled that the market then was dominated by older Japanese vehicles, making the flipping business an uphill battle.
“Buy and sell was very tough those days,” Cruz said. “If you don’t have a good capital, you’re just spending your money on the family. If you sold one car, sometimes it just eats your capital, spending it on your everyday needs. So, you don’t have too much money to sustain the family. So, I decided to be an employee.” Cruz subsequently took a position at Cats Motors, staying until 2017 when a series of profound personal losses pushed him to make a brave entrepreneurial leap.
“There’s a lot of reasons why,” Cruz said. “First, my son passed away and then my dad also passed away. Those were the things that really pushed me to give more time because I don’t see myself working for other people for a long time. I think I would be free if I have my own business. I would be free on my own time, eventually.” Immediately after leaving his corporate job, he established Cruz Motors as a solo venture. He started with just himself and a single mechanic. Within days, he hired a helper, followed shortly by a secretary. As the operations slowly expanded, Cruz encountered the universal hurdles of leadership.
“The hardest that you had to put up with — well, the people. It’s always the people,” Cruz said. “Those were the most difficult because sometimes other people don’t see what you see, your vision. You have to make them realize how to look your way.” Capital was another major constraint. Cruz started with a single table and a few rented slots in a friend’s garage. Over the last nine years, however, the business scaled dramatically. Today, Cruz owns the entire 1,600-square-meter facility in Biñan, which can accommodate up to 50 vehicles at a time.
Despite the growth, Cruz remains modest, rating his entrepreneurial success an eight out of 10.
“I think I still have a lot of challenges,” he said. “I’m still proud because I know to myself that I still didn’t give 100 percent — I think I can do much better. So, that’s what I’m doing right now.” Reflecting on the trade-offs of shifting from employee to employer, Cruz noted that while corporate life offers steady benefits and less daily structural anxiety, it rarely guarantees upward mobility.
“Owning a company, it’s very different,” Cruz said. “I love my job. Even though it’s a headache, I love working with people. I love working on cars. You know what they say, if you love your work, you never work a day in your life. It’s really true for me.” Still, the daily grind has its frustrations. “I love solving problems,” he said. “There are challenges every day. But sometimes, I get annoyed because of the same problem, same people.” Cruz’s entrepreneurial drive manifested early. At 21, as a single young man looking for a path to financial success, he tried selling cooking oil, eggs and sugar before working at a computer shop. A subsequent return to the automotive buy-and-sell trade yielded little luck, driving him back to corporate employment.
His journey to the automotive sector was also shaped by a derailed childhood dream. Like many young boys, Cruz initially wanted to be an astronaut or a pilot. Raised in an average-income household, aviation school seemed financially impossible. He initially tried to follow his engineer father’s footsteps by enrolling at the Mapúa Institute of Technology. When his mother went abroad to work, the family secured the financial means to enroll him at Airlink to pursue his pilot license.
However, the exorbitant tuition and rigorous demands of flying school proved too difficult to sustain, prompting his final pivot into the business world — a move he has never regretted.
Family remains Cruz’s central anchor. Last year, he took his wife Jean, eldest daughter Cheska and youngest daughter Summer to Tokyo for Cheska’s birthday. Because of current economic constraints, the family has no immediate plans for further international travel.
Fortunately, his shop in Biñan is located just a stone’s throw from his residence, allowing him to manage his time with strict discipline. He has also expanded his local business footprint by opening Cruise Enterprise near his home and main shop. The second venture serves as the exclusive distributor of Varta tires and German-engineered car batteries.
“Because I have a parts and service business, so mostly European cars, like Benz, they use Varta batteries,” Cruz said. “Instead of getting somewhere else, I would rather put another business to fit into my main business.” The dual-shop operation demands an exhausting schedule. Cruz wakes up at 7 a.m. and rarely gets home before 9 p.m. or 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. To keep up with the physical toll, he prioritizes working out for his health. On hectic weeknights, he unwinds by watching television or using his computer. Weekends, however, have become strictly stationary.
“On weekends, I just want to stay at home,” Cruz said. “Before, we would go out, but now I just want to stay at home, rest the whole day.” Family bonding now primarily centers around meals. Whether they gather at a hotel, a local restaurant or around their own dining table, Cruz treasures Sundays as a holy reset.
Even on quiet mornings, his phone constantly buzzes with text messages and calls from clients seeking vehicle updates. If a rare idle moment arises, his mind automatically rushes to tasks he might have overlooked.
“If I’m in the house, I don’t want to entertain things,” Cruz said, noting a shift from his younger years when he would willingly sacrifice Sundays to chase revenue. “But now, I make sure that I take my rest. That’s very important for me.” Cruz intentionally protects his family from the stressful operational details of his companies, preferring instead to simply soak in their presence.
“It’s my job to do it, so talking to me about family and asking me how the business goes, that’s already enough for me,” Cruz said. “They show a lot of support and love by being around and talking to me.”