am i ready to take the big plunge into entrepreneurship?

yeah... i think this is it. it's just either i make it or break it. i've already told one thousand and one people that we (although it's really more of me) will open our very first food store this coming november. the mall owner called for a meeting last friday and told us that ther'e a big chance that the construction of her commercial building, where my store is located, will be finished by end of this month. she would turn over the mall spaces to us--tenants--by november 15th. horrors... that soon! we are looking forward pa naman on the hong kong trip jude's sister is sponsoring next month. but more than that, am not yet finished with my products development and materials sourcing... there's a lot more to be done!

but as i've earlier said, there's no stepping back for me. i must confess that the whole idea of leaving the comforts (and discomforts) of my 9-5 job, which i already did last may, and risking our hard-earned savings in a business is DAUNTING. i would have quiet moments lately and rethink if i can handle all this with jude as my only partner. but knowing myself and how stronghead i can be when i want to achieve something, i know there's a room for me in the business world.

getting into a business is something i really wanted to do ever since i earned my college diploma. i never saw myself employed until my old age. that would be a disgrace for me, i said. i think it was my mother who influenced me to have this mind-set as she had a lot of business ideas; unluckily, most didn't push thru. and at a young age i saw my potentials and interests to become an entrepreneur. i remember back in high school i was selling polvoron and yema to my classmates as we have a neighbor then who's into this hobby-business and i asked her if i can bring some in my school and sell it during breaks. i toted plastic bags of these goodies every morning as some of my classmates even ordered packs to bring home to their parents and siblings. i was only thirteen then but it already dawned on me that making business is more interesting than studying... hahaha!

i did the same when i was already in junior level when a classmate, whose mom was a hong kong viajera, was selling original giordano leather bags to us (remember those semi-luggage bags of giordano?). but this time my customers were my ate's colleagues in the pharmaceutical company she worked for. they were medical representatives and they found my giordano bags very useful to carry all their medicine samples. needless to say that i was able to buy the sanrio items i wanted for myself out of my earnings.

there's a lot more i sold and traded through the years, including wine and abaca bags. would you believe even our wedding rings were funded partly by my rakets? jude gave me the money for the downpayment but instead of giving it to the jeweler i used it first as seed money for a business venture. the profits i raked in were able to cover the balance for the ring. of course, jude was more than happy!

those were happy times. and i know business would not always be as simple as peddling polvorons and giordano bags. but my heart is into it right now and i believe being an entrepreneur is another calling for me. i promised my son that he would see his mother more often in the house. and i promised myself that we will enjoy life better than we used to. business permits me to have both.

all it takes for me now is a little audacity and faith in myself... and a LOT of prayers.

i just want to end this with a quote from my business icon, who else but mr. john gokongwei. in his book "john l. gokongwei jr.: the path of entrepreneurship" published by ateneo de manila university, he admitted that being an entrepreneur is a way to end poverty but is definitely not an easy path to take. but here's his response to the challenge:

“but we have to start somewhere, however small, however difficult...”

inspiring, isn't it? it's all i need to read to boost my morale.

okay, maybe what i'm feeling now is nothing but jitters and i just have to cut down my caffeine intake.