When Joe Soberano III launched Cebu Landmasters, he didn’t have a large team or deep resources — just a vision and the willingness to do the work himself.
“When I started my real estate business in Balamban, I did all the conceptual planning and the legwork,” Soberano recalls. “We were only two in the company.”
Despite the small team, the company pushed forward. For years, Cebu Landmasters handled major real estate projects with just 20 people — while competitors operated with teams 10 times larger. “That’s how efficient we were,” he says.
But as the business expanded, Soberano faced a new kind of challenge — sustaining growth without burning out the team.
It was his son who gave him the wake-up call. “He recommended that we needed to build up our organization,” Soberano shares. “Because we might be strained by our growth.”
The message was clear: as the company scales, so must its internal capability.
Soberano took it seriously. He began investing in systems, structure, and talent. The team grew steadily from 20 to over 300 employees in just seven years. The goal wasn’t just to hire — it was to ensure that every new person added capacity, resilience, and long-term value to the organization.
“For any company growing fast, it’s not enough to land new projects or increase revenue,” Soberano says. “You have to make sure your team is equipped to support that momentum.”
Cebu Landmasters has since become one of the most respected names in VisMin real estate — not just because of the properties it develops, but because of the strength behind the scenes.
The takeaway:
Growth is exciting — but if your team can’t keep up, it can become a liability. For Joe Soberano, scaling isn’t just about building more — it’s about building better, from the inside out.
This article includes quotes from an interview originally published by Esquire Philippines, authored by Henry Ong.
