For Rachelle Flores, selling her baked goodies is a scary thought.
But when she talked to one of the mentors during the Mentor Me On Wheels event initiated by the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 7, she was enlightened and excited to push through with her business idea, especially since Christmas is just around the corner.
"I only bake so I can give it away to my workmates. So they pushed me to sell the goods I bake, and now I'm interested in the mentorship when it comes to product development. I was lucky to have talked to a mentor who was very encouraging to me to launch my products," Flores, who works at a private school in Cebu City, told SunStar Cebu.
Flores was one of the aspiring micro, small and medium business owners who participated in the mentorship held at the SM City Cebu on Monday, Nov. 19.
Established business owners from the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) conducted one-on-one sessions with the participants as their mentors to guide them on how to realize their business plans and ideas.
In line with the government's thrust to pave the way for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to be competitive, one of the topics during the mentorship is geared toward digitization.
According to Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion, they are urging small businesses to put up their products in an online platform to reach a wider market.
"You have to test your product by putting it up on Facebook. But there's also a huge market in Lazada and Shopee. They have to understand the use of the smartphone," Concepcion said.
Since not all business owners can afford a stall in malls and other physical markets, entrepreneurs have the option to delve into the digital market space, especially with the advent of social media.
"Many of these people will have a hard time because of the high cost. In Lazada and Shopee, they teach you how to market your products and they also deliver it to your consumers' doorsteps," he explained.
Michael Lopez, program development officer of the PCE, said the event aimed to impart knowledge on aspiring entrepreneurs, especially on the challenges of scaling up after a becoming a startup.
"Here in the Philippines, enterprises are 99.6 percent composed of MSMEs. In order for them to scale up, we are linking them to entrepreneurs who have the actual experience to do their businesses," Lopez said.
This is the 12th Mentor Me On Wheels that the PCE and DTI launched all over the country, catering to almost 5,000 MSMEs. / JOB