Many people struggled at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the businesses at that time faced a lot of problems and some were forced to close. Amidst the time of struggle, a woman from Pila, Laguna, started a small business. She did not look at the negative effect of the situation but grabbed it as an opportunity to put up a small business. At that time, all she thought was how to survive the pandemic. She remembered way back in her younger years that she used to grow different kinds of plants, and she conceptualized something and thought that her little planting skills might somehow help her. Little did she know that her little planting skills would lead her to the start of such a beautiful career.

Mrs. Precy Lorbis, a housewife and a mother of three, started her planting business at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic way back in 2021. During that time, her husband who worked abroad came back to the Philippines and was affected by the pandemic. With their situation, she thought of something she could do for her family to survive. She remembered her planting skills when she was young wherein she enjoyed planting different flowering and ornamental plants. As time went by, these skills were developed through self-education as she watched videos on how to grow different kinds of plants in the Internet. This helped her to master her skills in planting.

During the pandemic, all people were not allowed to go out of the house. This was the moment when most of the people indulged in planting. Lorbis seized this opportunity to put up her small business “Flowerska’s Plants Shop”.

She started her ornamental plant and flower business in her backyard. She used her personal plants to produce other plants. At that time, social media was a powerful medium to sell products in the Internet. She created a Facebook page for her business and then started selling her first 50 pieces of ornamental plants and flowering plants in small pots. After posting, she was very pleased that the locals of the town and nearby municipalities supported and patronized her products. She then started to produce additional products and sold them online. As her business started to gain customers, her family members helped her in the production to meet all the demands. From then on, the planting business became a rising family business.

The booming ornamental and flowering plants business of Lorbis has reached not just the nearby town but also the Provinces of Leyte, Bacolod and Palawan as she received bulk orders online by mall tenants. Every week, she was able to sell 600 orders of plant pots to these places. Her online business blossomed for almost a year and continues. In the year 2022, with the help of the Local Government Unit of Pila, she was identified as one of the beneficiaries of the Department of Trade and Industry – Laguna Provincial Office (DTI-Laguna) Livelihood Program called Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa (PPG), where she was given a kit worth Php8,000.00 to support her business. She also participated in different seminars given by DTI-Laguna to be equipped with knowledge for her growing business. The assistance given by the Department was a huge help as she overcame the challenges in her business.

Some of the challenges she experienced were handling of bulk orders and the production of new plants. The various seminars on Marketing, Business Management and E-Commerce provided by the DTI-Laguna proved to be a great help and served as a guide to her business. The additional livelihood kit she received was used as an additional investment for the continuation and expansion of her business.

Lorbis felt very grateful to DTI-Laguna since she came up with an idea of starting another business such as flower arrangement, money bouquet arrangement and some designing ideas using plants and flowers after she attended various entrepreneurial seminars.

Fortunately, after 3 years of persistent thriving, her business is still operational. This year, she established a physical store located at Brgy. Bulilan Sur, Pila, Laguna, to adjust on the business economy as it gets back to its normal form.

Remembering back the time when it seemed that there was no hope for the future, a FLOWER blooms in a barren land. The flower symbolizes the success of her business and the barren land pertaining to the pandemic. However, the success of one’s person does not just depend on the situation but also the will and perseverance created by the loving heart dedicated to the people we most care for. The will to survive in times of the most critical situation, with the help of the Almighty and the people who care, can develop a creative mind and a successful story. ♦

Date of Release: 19 July 2023

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