Sidelines: Moms in business

They say that the greatest career in life is being a good mother and wife that is why more and more career women have given up their dreams to concentrate on their reproductive roles and become full time moms and wives.

But although being a mother is an honorable profession it doesn't mean most women have settled to the idea that they should only be content to just stay home. There are some who opts to venture on business sidelines. Take for example friends and full time mothers Razzel Hines, Ma. Socorro Alcover and Shiela Fernandez who operate Tapaeng's Sizzling, a business franchise offering sumptuous food choices that are of best quality with affordable prizes.

The three partners have known each other and have been friends for two years. Their kids go to the same school- PAREF Springdale Exclusive for Boys. They've attested to being full time mothers and wives but they decided to venture on business because according to them " we want to be productive housewives and we want to enjoy our lives even better by fulfilling two things at the same time."

They also believed that they could put great input to their families and the society as well. Mrs. Razzel Hines a media practitioner for five years in Hong Kong, told us she'd wanted to go back to being a career woman but her husband told her to just do business instead so that she'll have more time with the family. Their husbands wanted that if they do something, they should make sure they won't forget about their kids and since its their major priorities, they eventually learned to properly manage and adjust their time in order that nothing would be neglected.

The partners really wanted to put up a business and they got to franchise Tapaeng's Sizzling from a food expo in Ayala Center Cebu. They tried everything and they came to choose it since it's way cheaper compared to other franchise having P150, 000.00 for capital and they also liked its main product which is tapa for its tenderness and delicious taste.

They started with the operation last January 25, 2006 at JY Square Discovery Mall since it was the location the owner chose after a feasibility study was conducted. Their branch became the first to be located on the mall since the rest were mostly located near schools and hospitals. Here in Cebu, there are already three different franchisers. There is one in CIT and the other is a dine-in located at the Gullas Medical Center. According to the business partners, the franchise is affordable considering the fact that there are three of them. The over-all amount they spent from the capital to the equipment, wages for the crew, space rent and other expenses is very reasonable.

Tapaeng's Sizzling started September 8, 2002 in its main branch in Anonas Arcade, Project 3 in Quezon City. It got its name from a combination of the owner Rafael Natividad's nickname "Paeng" and its main product tapa, hence the name Tapaeng.

The business partners take turns in the operation of the stall from its accounting down to the marketing. They are open for improvements so every now and then they solicit feedbacks from their customers and so far, comments they received were positive. For three months their sales are good. Their customers are growing and some even come all the way to JY just to buy their products.

Tapaeng's Sizzling offers varied selection of food choices that are of top quality and affordable prizes. Their main product beef tapa is served with rice or tapa wrap (shawarma) and has three flavors sweet and spicy, garlic (a bestseller) and house special, which is plain served tapa. It's sold at P42 for regular and P52 for large. They also have mouth watering rancho burgers that is a buy one take one treat for only P33 and they have siomai for P20/set with rice which is also one of their bestseller.

Franchisers believe that they have the best tasting tapa there is because of its tenderness and distinct savor. Consumers are assured A1 quality of meat. The beef they use is pre-cooked and came directly from Manila hence preparing is simple by just sautéing it. Their add-ons like the rancho burger and siomai are produced locally through a commissary and the business partners do the marketing of the vegetables themselves.

Surely these women are first and foremost moms and wives. They make sure they're done with their household duties before they oversee the operation of the business and whenever needed, they compromise in order to manage all their duties well especially for their kids.

The franchisers want to make it big and right now they are planning to expand their operation. They do outside catering for functions in government and private offices as part of their marketing strategy since they want to make Tapaeng known in Cebu.

So, for those who are craving for the best tasting tapa and shawarma in town, go on and try Tapaeng's and you're sure to get hooked! Hungry or pretending not to be, you're sure to admit once you get to taste their tender delicious beef tapa. So, when you think about tapa and shawarma, think of Tapaeng's Sizzling located at the entrance of JY Discovery Mall and as its tagline goes "Aminin mo, nagugutom ka!"