Emmanuel Sison never set out to be an entrepreneur. He was simply a bookworm with a habit of collecting books—so much so that he had two rooms full of them. But his love for reading eventually led him to build Booksale, one of the most well-known secondhand bookstores in the Philippines.
“I’ve always wanted to read, possibly because I could not compete physically. I had polio when I was six, which left me bedridden for almost six months. Because I could not join other kids to play, I went into fantasy land, and all I did was read, read, read,” he shares.
Sison’s academic background in philosophy and literature made him realize one thing—books were expensive, and not everyone could afford them. After studying abroad and returning to the Philippines, he took a job in advertising and started teaching marketing management and research in graduate schools. That’s when he had an eye-opening discovery.
“That’s when I saw the difference between the used book market versus the expensive brand-new books and the market for hungry intellectuals with no money to buy the latest books,” he recalls.
Even college professors—the people who needed books the most—couldn’t afford brand-new ones. Instead, they scoured secondhand bookstores for affordable reading material.
“I had conversations with friends, many of whom were professors in colleges, and they still went to secondhand bookstores kasi namamahalan sila, so sabi ko, ‘This is an opportunity.’ Ang tawag pala doon ay niche,” he explains.
That realization led him to launch Booksale, a business that elevated the secondhand book market, making high-quality pre-owned books accessible to students, teachers, and book lovers at affordable prices.
“I believe that business and success are nothing but looking for untapped niches,” Sison says.
By identifying a problem and providing a simple solution, Booksale became a go-to bookstore for generations of readers. His story proves that great business ideas don’t always come from big industries—they often come from the overlooked, everyday struggles of consumers.
This article includes quotes from an interview originally published by Esquire Philippines, authored by Henry Ong.
