A millennial from Las Piñas City looked back on her humble beginnings after she successfully opened her first physical store in Alabang.
In 2019, owner Bianca Pauline Mina started juggling her full-time job as a cook and her pop-up store.
“Nagshare lang kami ng kiosk ng bestfriend ko. Kasi nga masyadong mahal ‘yung isang slot. 5AM to 2PM nasa work po ako, sa first job ko. 6PM nag P2P ako from Makati to Alabang tapos diretso pop up hanggang 11PM [every weekend],” Bianca told The Philippine STAR.
“Wala akong katulong that time. Ito ‘yung pahinga ko after work. Napapagod physically pero alam mo ‘yun pag gusto mo ‘yung ginagawa mo, hindi mo mararamdaman ‘yung pagod eh. Kasi nga sabi ko at that time parehas kong gusto and hindi ko ma give up,” she added.
According to Bianca, she worked hard to introduce her brand to the public as she recalled her first few days selling freshly baked cookies.
“Nung time na ‘yun, kapag hindi nabebenta ‘yung cookies binibigay ko sa mga maintenance and housekeeping dito sa Molito. Kapag iuuwi ko ‘to masasayang ‘to. Pero kapag bibigay ko, parang next time kasi sila lang din ‘yung tumutulong sa’kin pagdadating ako sasabihin nila “Ma’am Bianca tulungan na kita” tapos dadalhin nila ‘yung gamit ko kasi ang liit liit ko eh,” she said.
She continued that kind of routine for almost a year until the COVID-19 pandemic happened.
When she decided to resign from her day job to focus on her business, the government implemented a nationwide lockdown.
“Para ka ring tumalon habang takot ka. Nag-resign ka tapos hindi mo alam biglang nagpandemic, nagulat po talaga ako. Para akong namutla, hindi ko alam kung pano ko gagawin ‘to,” she recalled.
During that time, she used the power of social media to sell her goods to the public.
“Nag-post ako and then ‘yung word of mouth through customers. Nag-start talaga ako suyuin ‘yung mga customers. Nag-message ako sa customers na, “meron po akong available ngayon baka po gusto niyo mag-order. Then to my surprise, dumating ‘yung day na parang biglang nagdagsaan ‘yung orders. Every day sobrang daming riders po sa labas ng apartment ko,” Bianca shared.
After a year, she decided to open her first physical store at the same spot where she used to set up her pop-up store in October 2022.
“Last year nag-message po sila Molito na we have excess space dito sa gitna and we like you to be here. Nung nag-move na po dito, Syempre may worry pa rin po. na what if hindi naman bumenta or what if hindi ko kayang bayaran ‘yung renta. Pero sabi ko kung hindi ko siya gagawin baka ma-miss ko ‘yung chance na magkaroon ng ganito,” she said.
With less than a year after establishing the store, Bianca now earns six figures monthly and can sell 500-700 boxes of cookies per week.
“Kapag po talaga nagsta-start ka, meron talagang two voices sa utak mo parati. So every time na may doubt po, dapat pinapalitan natin ng more hope. If you want to start a business, kailangan matatag loob mo. Magwowork ‘yan. Through patience and through hard work,” she noted as she looked back on her experiences as a small business owner.
