Kickstart your dream

The dynamic sister team behind the brand Shortcuts has been taking their business a notch further by giving back to the community by way of helpingchildren with their educational needs.

MANILA, Philippines - Some of the best success stories are those that are often unexpected. And such is the case with the twin-sister duo of Laureen and Lorraine Dizon. At only 22, the dynamic sisters behind the brand Shortcuts have been taking their business a notch further by giving back to the community by way of helping children with their educational needs through their business.

For two years running, the Dizon sisters have been constantly doing their own charity events and using the proceeds of the purchases made from their brand to help children with their education. In line with Sunsilk’s key message “with longer and beautiful hair, I am ready to make life paganda ng paganda,” Laureen and Lorraine effortlessly embody this.

Not only do they make their lives better by challenging themselves creatively through their business, they also help improve the lives of children in need through their education. Together with Sunsilk and their campaign of inspiring girls to share their new and fun-filled stories a step further with their DreamStarter Fair, the sisters are well on their way to further their stories and inspire other young girls out their to work on their own respective success and inspirational stories.

Humble kickstart

“Whenever we’re not doing anything, it is such a waste of time,” the twins share and that is how the brand Shortcuts found itself coming into fruition. The brand goes back in 2009 fresh from graduating from high school. What originally was something conceived to deal with their boredom became a very promising labor of love a couple of years later.

In the beginning, Laureen and Lorraine simply started selling different stuff, from shorts to T-shirts, but discovered that a lot were already selling the same things, so being the types who like to create new stuff and like the idea of being unique, they had to change their game. This is how their very own pocket tees came about. “We always want to be different, that’s why we always innovate our products,” the two add.

Just a few days ago, they celebrated their fifth anniversary and came up with something to kickstart Shortcuts’ anniversary with “Make your own Pocket Tee.” When one purchases a pocket tee, you have the option to give it a more personal touch by adding your initials as a monogram on the tees. Other than that, they have been constantly expanding their product range. They also have been producing drawstring bags that have pockets in them. At this point, it’s very exciting to see what comes next from this dynamic pair, who live by their love for creating exciting new things.

The role of social media

As with most businesses nowadays, the role of social media is something very significant. For the Dizon sisters, social media was what took things to a whole new level.

In the process of widening the reach of Shortcuts, Laureen and Lorraine thought of posting on Facebook about their pocket tees. Clearly, all it took was a post on Facebook and things took an overwhelming turn. An influx of inquiries about their pocket tees came from outside Metro Manila. There were even some inquiries from abroad. It was truly overwhelming, the twins add, and with this came unexpected success for their business aided by social media.

As things kicked up a notch higher for Shortcuts and the Dizon sisters, the overwhelming response from the public prompted them to give back. The twins thought of sharing their blessings, but they had no clue where to donate, and that is how they thought of asking people from their high school which school they could help. And then things took a serendipitous turn as they found themselves helping the elementary school that their high school was also helping out. They provided school supplies for the children of this school, and from then on, the two have carried out their own charity events. Over the past two years they have been doing this, they have also provided for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda and helped a number of schoolchildren in Palawan by sending them school supplies. ?

To the future

When asked about their future plans, Laureen and Lorraine showed a very determined and confident outlook. “Brand-wise, we want to expand, like, go international or have a physical store we can help more children.” And along with helping more children with their education, the twins share that “with everything you do, it’s not about making money. It’s about changing lives.” They also want to remind the other young ones out there to also keep in mind to have fun with what you do and to always enjoy the fruits of your labor, but most of all, to never forget that you have to give back. Clearly enough, given their mix of creativity and innovation along with their good intentions of helping more people, it's going to be exciting to see what’s next from the twins.

Lastly, the advice the two share to other young dreamers out there who have yet to make their own success stories: “Don’t be afraid to start young. Always put your thoughts into action because no matter how simple your idea is, it can grow into something big.” Now, that indeed is a good way to get things working and bringing you closer to your own success story as great things always come from the smallest of things.

Good hair dreams 

The correlation between having great hair and being a go-getter is not apparent at first — but if you really think about it, confidence, whether a consequence of good hair or something else, does give you that little push.

With confidence from hair that stays nourished as it goes from short to beautifully long, young girls everywhere need only Sunsilk Strong and Long shampoo to kick off an exciting journey from the comfort of home to the excitement of worlds unknown. Bad hair days are left in the unimaginative past as Sunsilk’s unique formula co-created with world-renowned expert Teddy Charles has Active Fruitamin Complex that nourishes hair from root to tip. Sunsilk took their campaign of inspiring girls to write their new, fun-filled and inspiring stories by recently holding the first ever DreamStarter Fair at the TriNoma Activity Center.

First stop was the Pop-up Salon, where tresses were pampered using Sunsilk Strong and Long, plus other products from the line. Basking in their after-salon glow, the girls were all business as they headed on to the Hairkada Talks, where Julia Montes shared stories of success. Industry experts shared career how-to’s: from resumé writing to power dressing to skill set upgrading.

There was also a Take a Chance Wall, a montage of statements that ranged from silly to downright daring in the hopes of inspiring the Sunsilk Hairkada to broaden their horizons and show them that opportunities abound. The rest of the fair grounds were dedicated to a mix of activities catering to those who were into baking, jewelry making, and makeup.

The Sunsilk DreamStarter Fair will also be visiting Cebu and Davao, where Hairkadas from those areas will get to experience makeovers, attend talks, and be just as inspired to write their own beautiful and exciting stories with top bloggers and personalities. To join, simply bring an empty bottle of Sunsilk Strong and Long or six sachets of the variant and present it upon registration.

If you missed out on all the fun at the first DreamStarter Fair, you can still kick start your dream by liking Sunsilk on Facebook and follow @sunsilkph on Instagram and Twitter. Then tell us what your dream is and how you plan to achieve it. Tag Sunsilk and share our weekly post with your dream. Don’t forget to add the hashtag #SunsilkDreamStarter.

Photos by RXANDY CAPINPIN, Makeup by HANNAH PECHON of Shu Uemura,Hair by REGIE VILLANUEVA, All clothes from Forever 21