Persevere to succeed – Arielou Barsaga

It was only in August 2020 when Arielou Barsaga started selling ‘kakanin‘ (Filipino snack food) mainly via Facebook.

“Napansin ko kasi karamihan (sa nagbibenta) mga burgers, fries, etc (I noted that most people sold burgers, fries, etc),” she said. Since laking-probinsya ako, mahilig ako sa kakanin. Kaya sinubukan ko lang (Since I grew up in the province, I like ‘kakanin’. So I gave this a go).”

And so introducing the kakanin from Dhea & Drei’s Home Made.

The offerings include:

• Buchi with ube filling (P60/pack of six)
• Buchi with cheese filling (P60/pack of six)
• Palitaw with ube filling (P55/pack of six)

It is not always easy since “marami kang kalaban (you have lots of competitors),” Arielou admitted. At times she doesn’t sell a lot, so she loses money. She also trusted some clients who cheated her.

But she persevered.

And yes, this can be a profitable business.

“Tiyaga lang (Just persevere),” she said, adding that it helps doing what you love doing – e.g. in her case, “Mahilig kasi ako magluto (I love cooking).”

In the end, for people who may want to also do business, perhaps aligned to what she’s doing, Arielou said: “Tiyaga at sipag lang. Kahit maliit na puhunan sa simula, lalaki din yan basta my sipag at tiyaga at dasal sa Diyos (Just persist and work hard. Even if you don’t have big capital, that will grow so long as you persevere, have patience, and keep praying to God).”

Visit Dhea & Drei’s Home Made in FB, or contact 09451337537 or 09615991008.