Opportunity awaits ahead

It is best that we know what we really want to achieve in life. This is important so that we could determine which path we have to take. But how can we be certain?

Jessie Oconer, Jr., a young entrepreneur from Subic, Zambales, shared that before he became the owner of Marthina’s Cafe and Coco Corner milkshake stand, he was never sure of his plans in life.

“Nobody can tell what opportunity awaits everyone. Just like me, I never thought that I will be running my own business. In fact, I have no specific plans before and I never knew what I wanted to achieve. But most of the time I’m always doing my best to learn and improve myself from things I was doing,” shared Jessie, as he started to tell his inspiring story.

After high school, he took Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation. It was his choice because it was his dream to travel abroad. Unfortunately, he was not able to finish the degree program due to financial problems.

“I have two younger siblings and all of us were studying in college. I knew it was hard for our parents to finance our school fees considering the meager income they earn from our small “carenderia”. To give way for my younger siblings, I did not pursue my On-the-Job Training (OJT) which was a requirement for graduation,” recalled Jessie.

Three years went by before he decided to look for work. He was hired as a waiter in one of the well-known restaurants near their place. He was then promoted as manager because of his hard work and dedication.

“I was happy that I became a manager. All my hard works paid off and of course, my salary increased that also helped me support my family,” said Jessie.

Though everything at work goes well, the desire to explore beyond the everyday routine drove him to resign from his work.

Then right after, he met a friend and was offered a job opportunity in Manila. It was also a managerial position in a restaurant. Eleven months after accepting the offer, he resigned again and went back home.

“At some point, I was thinking and asking myself what I really wanted to do in life. Honestly, I struggled in finding where my heart is. I was worried, too, because I am getting older and my life isn’t stable yet,” he said.

His girlfriend Krystelmay, who is now his wife, inspired him to start a business a year after his resignation. From the capital he borrowed from his family and relatives, he started to run the small milk tea and shakes stand, the Coco Corner. From a narrow space and a small stand, he was able to open additional two branches of Coco Corner in town of Castillejos, Zambales and Olongapo City after four years.

Jessie’s business continue to flourish so he planned to open a café. He then looked for a bank where he could borrow an additional capital. Jessie met CARD SME Bank, Inc., a thrift bank and a member institution of CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI), which provides microfinance loans to small and medium enterprises with affordable interest rate.

With his first loan worth P1.5 million, he renovated their house to open Marthina’s Café by Coco Corner. The remaining amount was used as an additional capital to buy other needed equipment and ingredients. Marthina’s Café serves specially made milk shake like Melon Smoothie, Choco Loaded, Sago’t Gulaman, Coco Halo-Halo and Caramel Macchiato being sold in very affordable prices. His café also serves meals which are cooked by his parents. To Jessie, he was thankful for having a growing business.

Jessie now opens his business for franchising. “We want more people to taste the new enhanced blend of milk shakes like the Coco Halo-Halo. Halo-Halo is everyone’s favorite; we are sure that customers will like its delightful taste. We’re happy if more people can experience and taste it,” said Jessie.

Jessie believes that he is equipped with the right knowledge and skills to operate a business. Spending years of working in a restaurant is a great help to him. He still has fears of not making it through especially now that his business is continuously growing.

“On September 21, I met Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip, the founder and chairman of CARD MRI. I was glad hearing from him about Mga Likha ni Inay (MLNI), Inc. Dr. Alip said that MLNI helps the clients of CARD in promoting their products to larger markets and also assists those who have potential businesses to go into franchising,” Jessie mentioned.

MLNI is the marketing arm of the CARD MRI that supports the micro-entrepreneurs to strategize on how to promote and market their product. Later on, it started to help businesses expand into the market through franchising.

Like Jessie, there are stages in our lives that we feel uncertain on what we wanted to achieve. However, when the time comes that we find the answer, that may lead us to our happiness and success.