#Shemeansbusiness: 3 women entrepreneurs share how they thrive amid pandemic

May 19, 2021 - 7:25 PM
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Women entrepreneurs Maria Tuazon, Michelle Pablico-Zabanal, and Katrina Cortez from Facebook

Three women entrepreneurs shared how Facebook’s workshops helped them cope with the strict lockdowns brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Called #SheMeansBusiness program, Facebook launched this in 2016 to provide support to women’s economic empowerment in sessions that cover three key areas, namely, digital marketing, business resiliency and financial literacy.

Now on its fifth year, the program managed to help over 20,000 Filipino businesswomen in the country.

Here are three graduates of social media giant’s workshop program who are now thriving amid the COVID-19 pandemic”

Home baker

Maria Tuazon turned her baking hobby into business called Hurnohan, which is the Filipino word for “oven,” following the financial challenges during the pandemic.

She creates a variety of flavorful pastries and sells them online.

The home baker initially asked the help of a friend to set up a Facebook and Instagram pages to promote her delectable treats on social media.

Tuazon then immediately signed up after learning about BANGON MSMEs (Boost with Facebook and SheMeansBusiness) to help her business grow.

“I learned from the program that you really need to look at every angle when you decide to go into a business. From financial management down to digital marketing as well as looking at possible sources of materials or ingredients from other small businesses like yours–it’s important to look at different avenues you can pursue to make your venture a viable one,” Tuazon said.

The home baker added that she also wanted to help other local entrepreneurs who were affected by the pandemic.

“I have always been a strong advocate of sustainability, I sourced my products–be it ingredients, or packaging, from local entrepreneurs and farmers. This also gave them business and helped them earn a livelihood,” she said.

Artsy teacher

Michelle Pablico-Zabanal is a teacher in Palawan who turned her passion for arts and craft into a business venture called Sweet Memories in 2017.

Pablico-Zabanal handcrafts personalized invitations and souvenirs for her clients in social gatherings and through an online shop.

When the health crisis hit, she recalled that she had to temporarily halt business operations given the drastic slowdown of the events industry.

“With the events industry severely slowed down by the pandemic, we had to close our business for three full months. My husband and I even started selling plants to keep things going,” Pablico-Zabanal said.

She soon realized that digital platforms are the new go-to resource hub to reach more customers when on-site gatherings are prohibited.

“Using digital platforms is crucial for any business looking to reach more customers. It has tools that allow your content to target your intended audience to increase organic reach and also get new customers you won’t otherwise reach offline,” Pablico-Zabanal said.

Her new-found digital marketing knowledge also became more helpful when her business slowly reopened during the relaxing of restrictions.

Fruit preserve seller

A business owner since 2016, Katrina Cortez had been selling sugar palm fruit preserve products through her business called Katrin’s Sweet Kaong and Nata de Coco.

Like the previous two, the demand for their products were severely affected when the pandemic hit. This situation forced Cortez to diversify their product range.

She signed up for Bangon MSMEs (Boost with Facebook and SheMeansBusiness) program and learned how her business could adapt under trying times.

“Through the program, I learned a lot about digital marketing–something we didn’t do a lot of prior to the pandemic. You need to make sure that digital assets, like your Facebook Business page are helping you generate inquiries while increasing overall awareness online,” she said.

Cortez eventually expanded her offerings to twelve more products from her two original products.

Although their situation now has not yet returned to its pre-pandemic state, Cortez remained confident that the new knowledge she learned in digital marketing and business resiliency will help her recover in the near future.