Follow your heart

Doing what you love and what makes you happy is the best choice you could ever give to yourself. This is what Purita C. Reyes, a 62-year-old mother from Sta. Rita, Karsada, Batangas City, chose to decide for her life.

Reyes is a known cooking contest champion in their town. “I find cooking so interesting. So from there, I pushed myself to read recipe books, watch TV cooking shows, and do trial and error cooking. Over time, I found myself improving and to me, that is an achievement,” added Reyes.

According to her, all of us are born with unique talents and skills but not all of us are financially capable to improve them. “Doing what you love and what makes you happy is not an easy choice. It always requires resources and you have to be ready emotionally, physically, and financially,” Reyes emphasized.

When Reyes figured out that cooking makes her heart and soul happy, she then started doing small income generating activities that would eventually ripple into greater success in the future to support her passion.

“I started selling breakfast meals and snacks (kakanin) house to house. Then eventually, I started receiving orders from my friends and their circle of friends,” shared Reyes.

Reyes is overwhelmed to know that she is one of the recommended caterer for various events in their hometown. Orders keep coming in so Reyes decided to look for a financial institution that can help her finance her passion and business at the same time. “I also need finances to buy raw materials and kitchen wares I need for cooking,” she said.

Heaven and earth conspired, which brought Reyes to CARD SME Bank. “A friend introduced me to the bank. I then applied for an additional capital, which really helped me in keeping my business attuned with the trends in cooking,” said Reyes who is now a 12-year active member of CARD SME Bank. CARD SME Bank is a member institution of CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI) that provides various loans like microfinance loans and SME loans.

To Reyes, a financial institution will help her do the things she loves. “I want to continue cooking because it makes me happy. More than that, seeing my customers happily eating my dishes means a lot to me,” she said.

Reyes, moreover, reminds us that even if we are not financially capable there is always a way to present your talent to the world. “You just have to listen to your heart and everything else will follow. Just be optimistic enough. You can start little by little,” Reyes emphasized.