A millennial from Marikina looked back on his humble beginnings before achieving success in 2022.
28-year-old Zedric Zaragoza said he started to work hard with only one goal in mind: to buy an aircon for his parents.
“Nung bata ako kaya ako nag start mag business, magraket dahil napakasimple lang ng dream ko. ‘Yun ‘yung mabilhan ng aircon ‘yung Mama at Papa ko. Kasi hindi kasi kami mayaman. Sobrang tuwing summer hirap na hirap kami,” Zedric Zaragoza told The Philippine STAR.
“Pumupunta lang kami sa pinsan namin kasi nung every summer meron silang aircon. First time kong makatulog [na may] aircon. Tapos dumating sa point ng buhay ko na pag ako nagkapera, ang unang-una kong bibilhin is ‘yung aircon. Gusto ko makatulog sila Mama ng komportable, na malamig,” he added.
With his hardwork, Zedric managed to buy an aircon for his parents after working as a makeup artist. He added that he would never forget his happiness after he fulfilled his promise.
As young as 19 years old, Zedric started selling different things to sustain his needs after graduating from high school.
“Bata pa lang, hindi na kasi ako humihingi ng pera sa parents ko. Sobrang dami kong tininda. Nagtinda ng damit, pagkain. Lahat ng pwedeng pagkakitaan actually tininda ko. Then nagstart ako ng business, My first business was a salon way back six years ago. Nung hindi nag click, I changed my business,” he noted.
Zedric’s father has been working as a shoemaker for more than a decade now. But he admitted that at first, he was not interested in their family business.
“‘Yung shoe business namin ang bumuhay at nagpaaral sa‘ming tatlong magkakapatid. Hindi kasi ako in love talaga eh sa sarili naming pangkabuhayan. Hanggang sa nakita ko ‘yung abaca na tsinelas, feling ko talaga na may future sa abaca,” he said.
In 2021, He then asked his father to help him launch his own product that involves abaca.
“Nung nagsisimula ang Zedric Zaragosa na brand, ang nabebenta kasi niya paisa-isa, dalawa. Minsan may dumarating pa nga sa point na sa loob ng isang linggo wala. [Hanggang] pinost namin sa social media, nagulat ako sa feedback,” he said.
“Nag-trending siya hanggang sa na interview ako ni Robin Padilla. Dahil doon, sa interview ‘yun, nakarating sa iba’t-ibang bansa ang aking mumunting tsinelas. After a year, may nagmessage sa ‘kin na isang kliyente at ‘yun ang kauna-unahang big fish ko na client sa Alberta, Canada. Sobrang dami niyang inorder,” Zedric added.
After his products went viral, he received a sudden influx of orders not just locally, but internationally!
“Most of my clients are foreigners. At bilang owner, sobrang tuwang-tuwa ako dahil ikaw ba naman may-ari ka makikita mo ‘yung produkto mo na binebenta na sa abroad. Hanggang ngayon para akong nananaginip dahil may mga distributors ako all over the world,” he stressed.
In November 2022, he opened his second business: a small restaurant near their home.
“Naniniwala ako na lahat ng pinakamalalaking negosyo nasa food industry. ‘Yung tsinelas tyaka ‘yung pagkain sobrang layo nila diba? Pero the marketing is the same,” he said.
Zedric also shared some advice to individuals who plan to start their own brand.
“Hindi po siya madali. Sobrang hirap ng pagdadaanan n’yo. Hindi lang puro talino, hindi lang puro gawa. Kailangan malakas ang dibdib mo na malugi ka. Para ka lang nagtatanim ng palay. Ang pagnenegosyo hindi ‘yan in jackpot, hindi ‘yan one click. Ang tingin ko the only way to become successful is the tiyaga, the sipag,” Zedric said.
