Pursuing a childhood dream

PURSUING one's dreams takes risks but it's worth it.

This is how Anna Patricia Ibarreta-Santos, a 37-yea-old entrepreneur, described her "make or make" move of quitting her day job to finally pursue her childhood dream -- to be a successful entrepreneur.

"While I was working as an Operations Manager for a recruitment firm, at the sidelines I do business. After five years, I finally decided to leave the corporate world and pursue my dream of being an entrepreneur," the owner of FTU Creamery and Shop said in an interview.

She recalled that when she was still a little girl, she already had a penchant for selling, saying she would happily sell anything from candies, baked pastries and pre-loved clothes.

Ibarreta-Santos is a Business Management graduate from Ateneo de Davao University.

Entering the business world as young as 29, Ibarreta-Santos learned that to be on top of her game, she should be committed and determined in attaining her goals and be always motivated to learn and explore new things.

In her journey as a businesswoman, she shared that in order to lead a business and succeed, one must be determined, confident and should have very good, if not perfect, information on the market and competitors.

"Good leadership is inspiring others and motivating them to follow good work attitude and ethics. A leader, I believe must set as an example and not just always give commands," she said.

On business challenges and how she handles it, Ibarreta-Santos said that like any starting businesses, one of the first problems usually encountered is market information and market acceptance.

"Even if you have excellent products and full-proof operation plan, if you have no customers then your business will definitely fail," she said.

The young entrepreneur added that by constant advertisement, it will be ensured that the market was well informed of the company's presence and products.

"As our client base grew, we made sure we provided excellent quality and service to them," she said.

Asked on how she envisions her business five to 10 years from now, she said plans to expand it is in the works. She added that she aims for FTU to be known as a "go to" shop for bag and craft needs since potential export is always considered but the priority is to saturate the area first. And as for the creamery, they plan to branch out in different areas to reach a wider and bigger market.

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