A 24-year-old business owner from Pasig City became emotional as she looked back on her journey to success.
Lyrra Manabat established her first business in 2018 after she stopped studying due to poverty.
“No’ng college ako, nag-stop ako dahil hindi na sapat ‘yung kinikita ng mother ko and ‘yon na ‘yung start na nag-business ako. May kinuha po akong murang puwesto do’n sa tapat ng school. Nagbenta ako no’n ng snacks,” Lyrra shared with The Philippine STAR.
Lyrra eventually decided to close her business. In 2019, she tried to start a home-based DIY shawarma business without any investment.
“Wala po akong pinuhunan no’n dahil wala akong pera that time. Nagpapa-payment first po ako sa mga customer tapos sinesend ko po ‘yung ID ko sa kanila para magtiwala sila. ‘Yung iba siyempre nagba-backout. Tapos ako po, ‘yung mga nag-go, siyempre po pagka-receive ko ng payment, sasabihin ko sa kanila two to three days bago nila ma-receive ‘yung products,” she recalled.
“Do’n na ako bumibili ng mga kakailanganin ko, like ‘yung ingredients para do’n sa supplies, ganyan. Do’n po ako nag-start. No’ng meron na po akong customer no’n na nakabili na siya, siyempre meron na po akong feedback no’n so nasesend ko na po sa ibang customer para mas magtiwala pa sila,” she added.
With her earnings, she managed to expand her business through the years. In the middle of the pandemic, she was able to reach more customers.
Four years after, she now has an office, a mini kitchen factory and first physical store in Pasig
“Noong 2019 po, one-man team lang ako. Ngayong 2023, nasa 20 employees na po. Nagsimula sa home-based business noong 2019 ngayon kumikita na ng six figures a month,” she noted.
For Lyrra, she’s very happy that she can now provide for her family and sustain the needs of his sick father, who is currently undergoing dialysis.
“Masasabi ko rin po kasi na malaking tulong ‘to dahil ‘yung father ko po, na-ospital kasi siya no’ng pandemic. Dalawang beses siya naging kritikal. And more or less, half a million din po ‘yung nagastos. Ako po ‘yung gumastos no’n pati po ‘yung ate ko that time. Nabigyan po namin siya ng komportableng ospital habang nagpapagaling siya,” Lyrra shared while being emotional.
Aside from that, she shared that her family is also part of her growing business.
‘’Yung kuya ko po nagpapa-aral sa’kin no’ng time na ‘yon. Tapos ‘yung ate ko rin, tumutulong sa’kin sa pag-i-i-school ko. Pero no’ng time na ako ‘yung nagka-business, natutuwa ako kasi ako naman ‘yung nakakatulong sa kanila. ‘Di ko mai-imagine ‘tong buhay ko ngayon. Na magkakaro’n ako ng business at kahit papa’no, maitataguyod ko po ‘yung family ko,” she added.
In the future, Lyrra hopes to have different distributors around the Philippines and build more physical branches, as she aims to help more individuals to establish their own business.
“Sa mga gustong magnegosyo, kahit kulang-kulang sila sa pag-uumpisa, i-go lang nila kahit hindi nila alam ‘yung kapalaran nila do’n sa ipu-push nilang negosyo. Mapagtatanto rin nila ‘yon, at mape-perfect din nila ‘yon habang ginagawa nila ‘yon at habang patuloy nilang ginagawa ‘yon, magugulat na lang din sila nando’n na sila sa pinapangarap nila,” Lyrra said when asked about her message to aspiring business owners.
