MANILA, Philippines – Two women, inspired by their love for family, managed to trick fate by turning ordinary bread into baskets of dough that now feed their respective communities.
Darliza “Tata” Perez was born to a very poor family that, even if she was an only child, could still not send her to college.
They did not have decent shelter; their roof constantly leaked when it rained.
To address their miserable state, Tata decided she would go to Taiwan. Her parents accompanied her to Manila to process her application papers.
Living in Manila did not come easy for Tata and her family as they had to endure living in a small room, using cartons for beds and buying water for drinking, washing and bathing.
Tata’s father worked as a driver and her mother as a maid while they waited for approval of Tata’s papers.
Tata worked hard for two years in Taiwan and saved enough money so she could come back to the Philippines and start a better life with her family.
In 2003 she put up a bakeshop, Nicole’s Delight, from her savings.
She was able to purchase a manual slicing machine and other basic equipment.
One year after, Tata’s business generated bigger demands so she sought the help of Taytay sa Kauswagan, Inc. (TSKI) and borrowed an initial P70,000 for additional capital.
Tata then learned to delegate responsibilities to her family and relatives to improve the operation of their bakeshop.
She personally took care of marketing and sales while her mother was in charge of production.
Today, Nicole’s Delight uses 50 to 60 sacks of flour per week. It has become one of the biggest bakeries and one of the most competitive producers of bakery products in the Liloan area.
Tata sells to sari-sari stores and also to bigger grocery stores.
She even ships her products to their former hometown in Ormoc via ferry.
More importantly, Tata has provided employment for her community, with 27 to 35 neighbors on her daily payroll.
Hands-on entrepreneur
Heidi Ragas is no stranger to sacrifices. Single at 49 years old, she took the responsibility of taking care of her parents when her siblings either migrated or had their own families.
To augment their income, Heidi started her first business – raising chickens and goats. However, when one of her sisters closed her bakery and moved to the US, her mother urged Heidi to take over the business.
She borrowed P1,000 from her niece and P2,000 from a friend to get the bakeshop back on track. Heidi reopened the bakeshop in 2004.
She hired seven bakers, all neighbors, and sold their respective baked specialties like buttered toast, galletas, rosquillos, bao-bao, stick bread, salvaro, cookies, patatas and barquillos.
Heidi was very hands-on with operations, taking care of the administration and marketing by contacting direct consumers and retailers.
When her business eventually grew, she went to the Cebu Micro Enterprise Development Foundation Inc. (CMEDFI), which also financed her first business.
This time, Heidi borrowed for nine cycles with 100 percent repayment record.
Her current loan is P120,000 for the bakery’s expansion.
Today, Heidi’s bakery has 25 employees and monthly sales of P200,000.
Her business site has also expanded and she has bought a vehicle for delivering her goods.
Like Tata, Heidi has also helped her community by employing students and out-of-school youth, providing them with additional income.
Tata Perez and Heidi Ragas are two of the Most Inspiring Cebuano Micro Entrepreneurs to be awarded on June 20 at the Go Negosyo sa Cebu, to be held at the Cebu International Convention Center.
Go Negosyo sa Cebu is the latest leg of the continuing Go Negosyo campaign spearheaded by Presidential Consultant for Entrepreneurship Jose Concepcion III and presented by the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship in partnership with Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Edward Gaisano, Cebu Go Negosyo chairman Jay Aldeguer, and Cebu Business Month 2008 chairman Tess Chan.
Presidential Management Staff Director General Cerge Remonde will also grace Go Negosyo sa Cebu.
Awardees were endorsed by the Micro Finance Council of the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Citigroup, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc., Cebu Micro Entrepreneur Development Foundation Inc., and Taytay sa Kauswagan Inc.
Go Negosyo sa Cebu is made possible with partners PLDT SME Nation, Smart Communications, RFM Corp., San Miguel Corp., Condura, Ariel Detergents, Nokia, Splash Group of Companies, Banco de Oro, Vintel Logistics, Sterling Group of Companies, and Lamoiyan Corp.