‘Kailangan Mo Lang Ma-Inspire,’ Mom With Bedsheet Biz Shares Her Secret To Earning Up To 33K A Day

This story is part of Smart Parenting's new advocacy, For Parents, By Parents, which aims to help newbie mompreneurs and dadpreneurs promote their products and services to our parenting communities. Do you have great products or services for moms, dads, or kids and need a bit of marketing push? Email us at smartparenting@summitmedia.com.ph with the subject, "For Parents, By Parents."

Pearl Montes, 30, opened up to Smart Parenting how the Covid-19 pandemic affected their food cart business.

"Sabay-sabay nagsarado, tapos naniningil pa ang mall kahit wala namang operation. So ang laki talaga ng lugi namin," Pearl shared.

Instead of dwelling on their losses, the army wife from Muntinlupa called it a temporary defeat, and decided to move forward by asking for help from her mother, who has a bedsheet business.

"Meron kaming tahian ng bedsheet, basahan, kurtina. Kaso ang problema, hindi ko kayang gayahin ang ginagawa niya," she said. 

Her mom is already a known bedsheet supplier to retailers in Divisoria. "Sabi ko, saan ako lulugar kung hawak na niya lahat, alangan namang kalabanin ko pa yung parents ko."

This is when she thought of harnessing online selling, which boomed during the pandemic.

READ ALSO: Nagmahal, Niloko, Nag-Live Selling! Wife Earns P300K Selling Cheating Partner's Clothes

Venturing in the online biz

Pearl said, more than finding ways to rise up from their temporary defeat, she found an opportunity to help other moms who got affected by the pandemic. 

"Kaya sabi ko pandemic, lumakas yung online selling, sabi ko ipasok natin sa online. So pagpasok sa online, napansin namin na since madaming nawalan din ng work, mag-supply kaya kami sa ibang momshies, gawin nating reseller yung ibang mothers, para makatulong tayo din. Tapos tayo din, since nawalan kami ng negosyo, nagsusupply kami ng mga bedsheet na pwedeng i-resell ng iba."

She thought that with their bedsheet business, they can already recover their losses. "So yung food cart bumagsak siya, nag-up ulit, nakahanap kami ng paraan mag-asawa by providing na maging supplier sa mga momshies, nagkaroon kami ng resellers nationwide so ang dami."

READ ALSO: How This Single Working Mom Is Growing A Mushroom Biz And Raising A Teen

However, it's not yet a happy ending for Pearl, who became a mom in September last year. When the government eased lockdowns and restrictions when the Covid-19 cases started going down, Pearl faced another temporary defeat: her resellers quit.

"Bumagsak yung food cart, nagkaroon ng bedsheet. Bumalik yung ekonomiya, nawala ulit yung negosyo namin. Nawalan ng resellers kasi may mga trabaho na po sila, then sabi ko susuko na ba ako?"

Having a baby

That's when she found the answer in her son, who was fond of dinosaurs.

"Ngayon, nung nagka-baby ako, na-inspire ako na [gumawa ng bedsheet na] puro baby prints, dinosaurs, planets. Tapos nakita ko na mas mabenta siya!"

She adds, "Without resellers, retail lang ang labanan, okay yung kita niya. Stable na yung income namin ngayon, finally.

Pearl reveals, her business is now earning at least P3,000 to P5,000 a day. And during peak season or when the sales are really high, she can earn up to P33,000 net, in a day.

"Ang swerte ng pagkakaroon ng baby, nahanap ko yung perfect formula sa negosyo, yun lang pala. Kailangan mo lang mainspire," she said.

READ ALSO: I Started My Online Business With Less Than P1,000: 5 Tips From Successful Mompreneurs

Children's bedsheets

Here are some of the best-selling products of MontesCo. Bedsheet Supplier. These are fully garterized bedsheets made of 100% Premium Canadian Cotton.

1. Hello Dino! 3-in-1 bedsheet with 2 zippered pillow cases (from P380-500) 

If your child loves dinos too, here are other designs available:

Buy now in Shopee here.

Tips for aspiring business owners

Pearl, who reached out to Smart Parenting after reading a fellow mompreneur's story, has these tips to moms who want to start a business.

1. Defeats are only temporary

A Bachelor of Science in Tourism graduate, Pearl shared she initially worked as a a real estate agent, and invested her earnings in the food cart business. But the pandemic happened, and she thought there's no way to get back up.

"Opportunity often comes disguised in misfortune or temporary defeat. 'Wag natin i-a-accept or yayakapin yung defeat as yun na, forever na. 'Wag natin siya tatanggapin. Makakaahon at makaka-move forward tayo. Unless i-a-accept natin siya as defeat na talaga, wala na tayong magagawa doon," she said.

2. Believe in your business

She said, "Ang daming platform, Shopee, Lazada, TikTok na pinapasok ng mga mamshies ngayon. Pero na-o-observe ko, parang pabago-bago sila kasi hindi nagcclick yung negosyo nila."

"Gusto ko lang sabihin sa kanila na wag sila susuko na mang-budol! Hehe." she said

"Totoo naman na ang online ngayon budol, ang hirap kasi kumuha ng pwesto ngayon. Ang patok ngayon is sa bahay lang."

READ ALSO: 'Nabebenta Mo Talaga Yan?' This Mompreneur Grew Her Fashion Business From P3K To 6 Figures Monthly

3. Starting a business is taking a risk.

Pearl shares, she won't be able to be where she is right now, if not for the risks she decided to take when she invested in the food cart business.

"Ang daming takot mag-negosyo pero pag iisipin mo yung takot, walang mangyayari sa atin. Lahat ng negosyo nasa hangin lang yan eh. Kung paano binuo yung electric fan, iba-iba yung pinanggalingan [ng parts] niyan, so wag nating sasabihin na wala tayong maisip kasi lahat nasa hangin lang eh."

Reaping the rewards

Aside from the stable income that she enjoys from her bedsheet business, she is also savoring the time she can freely spend with her son.

"Habang nagsosort ako, andyan yung anak ko, gumagapang sa couch. Masaya kasi nasa bahay ka, hawak mo oras mo eh, wala kang boss."

READ ALSO: This Couple Started Burger Biz With P10K, Now Earns P300K A Month!

She adds, having an online business keeps her busy, especially that her husband is in the army. During her interview, she was in Negros with her husband.

"Ang hirap na bumuntot sa kanila kaya kung meron kang negosyong online, meron tayong babalikan na income pag-uwi natin o pagkatapos bumisita."

Read the story of another mompreneur who started a shirt printing business with just a tablet, here.

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