LIKE almost everything in this world, it started with love and passion.
Anne Malaran, known to her peers as Annielu, has been in love with gold and precious stones ever since she was just a little girl, looking at her mom with envy as she was too young to wear the shiny pieces of jewelry.
As she matured, the love she had for these pretty things also grew, with Anne finally getting the jewels in her hands and starting to collect them.
Unlike other people who eat, party, paint, sing, or bake to relieve themselves of stress, Anne's stress reliever is looking at her collection of gold and precious stones.
"It's my stress reliever. Every time I get stressed before, I just look at my collections. For me it’s my stress reliever," she said.
It was not until she saw an online shop selling jewelry, and growing bored staying in the house while her husband and kids were out, that she got the idea to start a business of selling gold and gemstones.
"One day, I was browsing online on eBay and I saw some jewelries. So the passion was awakened. I asked my husband na 'Can I sell jewelries? Can you finance?' He was very supportive when I told him that because I know na even if there are ups and downs in a business, if it’s your passion, you will find ways to stand up," Anne said.
"It rooted up from the passion and the love for jewelries," she added.
Now at 40 years old, Malaran is the happy owner of the Annielu Jewelry Repair Shop, which is located at Tiano Street corner JR Borja Street in Cagayan de Oro City.
Starting a business
She began her business through online in 2009. It was also in the same year that she had an industrial partner, a goldsmith named Willie C. Medenilla, due to having clients who wanted custom-made rings.
"I had an industrial partner since 2009 because there are also clients who would not only want to have machine-made, in which we can see in the malls. They also ask me to do some custom-made. So I started also with custom-made during that time," Anne said.
However, a few years later, said industrial partner retired due to health and left Anne to take over his jewelry shop: WCM, which was named after the goldsmith.
"At first, I was so hesitant because I really don't know how to manage a business. I am just only into marketing. But when it comes to the shop, how to handle the materials and how it is going to be run, I have no knowledge when it comes to that," Malaran said.
"But he was very good and he helped me and he told me na 'Kaya nimo na (You can do it). I'll be here to teach you.' Because, in his family, no one is interested and then sayangan sya sa place because this has been here for 31 years," she added.
Physical store
In 2016, Anne accepted the opportunity and took over the jewelry store naming it Annielu Jewelry Repair Shop, a shop that offers not only machine-made and custom-made jewelry but also repairs.
"What we're trying to position now are the wedding rings and engagement rings, but more on wedding rings because it’s a whole year event," the shop owner said.
From online selling to having her own shop, Anne shared how the craftsmanship, quality and services of her store differ to other jewelry shops.
"It’s the craftsmanship and then the quality, and services that we are rendering to them. Transparency, because some shop does not really go on to detail when it comes to materials and labor. Here, you really see what you're paying for," she said.
Her products are machine-made and custom-made, wherein they get more orders in the latter rather than the former.
According to Anne, machine-made jewelry are those made by machines and are ordered in a bulk basis as it is mass produced. It is also rare to find a manufacturer for this kind of jewelry in the Philippines, she added.
Custom-made, on the other hand, are those who were made by the goldsmith.
"Hand-made is really different because it’s really the person who does the work in a skilful, different from the machine," Anne said.
Challenges
Challenges and frustration are bound to happen in every business and in Anne's case, these can be found in her clients' orders and her sales.
"The challenge is trying to meet up and to catch the imagination of your customers, especially the women. They want that kind of design and you cannot grasp their imagination until they see the item. I think that's the best everyday challenge. And then our repair as well," the 40-year-old jewelry shop owner said.
She also mentioned the frustrations she feels whenever they experience low sales.
"There are frustration when it comes to naay time nga low (those times when the sales are low), because there are really ups and downs in sales. I think that's the most stressful," Anne said.
But this did not deter Anne from continuing what she loves to do as at the end of the day, seeing her customers happy is worth all the hard work.
"What makes it worth it, every time you deliver an item and the customer is happy, that's the crucial stage in an everyday grilling. Because you cannot catch the imagination of your clients. It’s just then when they see the result of their items," Anne said.
"What makes us say it’s worth it because most of the time, we exceed their expectation. Or at least we level to their expectation. So it’s worth it. It’s worth the labor for all those years," she added.
It started with love and passion, an initiative, then came the opportunity and putting in hard work. A great recipe for a long-lasting business.