The recent heat waves are just unbearable and it prompted our staff to always stock ice water and ice in our fridge, which reminded me of a good memory about ice water.
I can still remember I was probably five when, after knowing that most of my young neighbors were selling ice water at a nearby market every Sunday, I also decided to make ice water at home and then borrowed a basin from a teacher living in the same compound as us so I could also sell my precious items at 25 cents apiece.
I would always go home sold out probably because I was the youngest peddler and no one was immune to the charm of a cute kid trying to earn a few centavos.
It was my first experience in trading. I don’t remember having any capital as ice bags were readily available at home, and I borrowed the basin from a neighbor. ROI was already covered even before I set out to sell. My only capital was labor and yeah, my charm.
Interestingly, all earnings were all mine. No one to profit share and no other fees to pay. Such an experience must have subconsciously impacted me and made me more entrepreneurial since then.
I could recall selling “balut” and “inihaw na saging” (grilled banana coated with margarine and sure) around our neighborhood during summers while on school days I was selling chocolates and candies.
I was not forced to do any of those. There was even no need to do them as my needs were pretty much covered by my parents. It was pure influence from my peers and the experience of earning gave me a sense of independence.
At a very young age, I learned the value of labor and that there are no shortcuts to things. There was no such thing as easy money too. I also learned that with an entrepreneurial mindset, there are infinite possibilities. And yeah, good looks and cuteness come in handy in business.
Not all days were favorable. I had my share of losses too, such as bad debts. One time I was surprised when a friend from high school approached and said, "I'll pay my utang bro nung high school pa tayo!”
Years have passed and business has become my bread and butter now. I had established a total of four resto bars already in different cities where I was assigned a few years back and I am presently running our family business in real estate as CEO.
Also, I'm very involved in the food business here in Negros. But all of these started with baby steps. My first baby step was selling ice water when I was a child, nothing grand at all. What is yours? If you haven’t started yet then maybe you are called to make that first step. Start small.*