(NI RONNIE CARRASCO III)

GMA’s artista search “Starstruck” is back!

Nasa GMA pa kami noong unang umere ito with Jennylyn Mercado and Mark Herras emerging as the ultimate winners. That was early 2000.

The program drew such a huge following which turned to GMA’s advantage makaraang ilampaso ng ABS-CBN sa “Meteor Garden” mania nito. “Starstruck” gave GMA a competitive edge against its rival network.

Pero hindi lahat ng mga pinakasikat na Kapuso artists are “Starstruck” alumni. Isa na rito si Alden Richards who auditioned but never made it to the shortlist. Pero tingan n’yo naman kung nasaan na ngayon ang binansagang Pambansang Bae?

Sa kaso ni Alden, makabuluhan ang kasabihang “Hope springs eternal.” Not because he never hit it big via “Starstruck” meant it was the end of the road, the death of his long-cherished dream.

Soon enough, napansin din siya. He started appearing in GMA’s teleseryes, and would you believe na noong nagkakapangalan na siya nang kaunti ay nasa P15,000 per taping day ang kanyang talent fee?

If that was many years ago, one can just imagine how much he’s generating now. Hindi lang mula sa mga programa sa GMA but from other sources tulad ng movies, commercial endorsements and what-have-you.

Ang maganda kay Alden, sa kabila ng kanyang status bilang isa sa mga pinakamayamang aktor in his generation, he doesn’t rest on his laurels.

Nitong Abril, matagumpay na pinasinayaan ang kanyang franchise ng isang sikat na food chain sa Binan City, Laguna.

A month later, muling binuksan ang kanyang Concha’s Garden Café & Resto branch in Silang, Cavite, bigger than the main branch on Timog Ave. Open din ito sa mga gustong mag-franchise.

This June, may bubuksan pang branch ang Concha’s sa Tagaytay Highlands.

On top of this, may plano rin si Alden na magtayo ng isang boutique hotel. Hindi kami magtataka if other business plans are in the offing.

Sa totoo lang, putting up a resto business is nothing new among celebrities. A good number of stars have invested in such, pero nag-fold up din ang mga ‘yon dahil either mismanaged o hindi natututukan.

Ang iba nama’y ginawang fallback ang negosyo when projects come few and far between. But not in the case of Alden who has so much going for him.

Mahusay sa finance management si Alden. Partida pa ‘yan sa isang tao who’s not a graduate of any business school.

Not only does he possess acute business acumen, Alden knows too well he can’t bask in the stellar glory forever.