Success Story: Brent Brichelle Sari-sari Store
There are times in life when everything seems fine and quiet, then unexpected challenges suddenly arise.
With the desire to complete her education, Jennie Dela Peña (now Zamora) decided to become a working student in their province to support herself. After finishing high school, she continued with vocational studies, completing a course in computer secretarial. She took a chance in Manila to find better opportunities which landed her a job in a well-known supermarket.
While working to support her family in the province, she met her future husband. After six years of working, Jennie decided to resign and focus on building their own family. She and her husband decided that he would be the one to work while she looked after their children.
In 2014, Jennie decided to open a small business and named it Brent Brichelle Sari-sari Store in her husband’s hometown in Sta. Maria, Bulacan to contribute to their expenses while being a full-time housewife and a mother with two children. After three years, she decided to take a chance to open a new branch in their secured small house unit in Pandi, Bulacan. She took a loan to start the additional business venture and brought her sibling from the province to manage the store in Pandi. Life went well for Jennie’s family with the two stores contributing to their income.
However, in 2019, her husband fell ill and needed surgery where they incurred significant expenses for his hospitalization. As a result, they faced financial difficulties since her husband could no longer work. Their only source of income are their two sari-sari stores. In the same year, several negative occurrences began, coinciding with the onset of the pandemic.
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, everything became difficult for Jennie. From transportation to reach her suppliers, to the limited number of days allowed for her store to open due to the enhanced community quarantine, contributed to the decreased sales of both stores. The state of her business in Pandi further declined when her neighbors started borrowing goods, and they couldn’t repay due to the unfavorable effects of the pandemic. While she empathized with others, the consequence was a negative impact on her business.
At the beginning of 2022, due to the depletion of her business capital in Pandi, the thought of closing her store crossed Jennie’s mind as she couldn’t sustain the business and couldn’t afford to pay her sibling’s salary anymore. Amid the severe crisis on how to save her store in the town of Pandi, and survive the unfortunate events that were happening, unexpected good news arrived, giving her new hope.
Jennie is one of those included among the beneficiaries of the Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa (PPG) program of DTI Bulacan through the Negosyo Center Pandi in the year 2022. This program aims to assist businesses in recovering from past calamities, including the pandemic. Ms. Jennie received a grant of P10,000 as part of the program. The aid came at a crucial time when hope started fading away. With the remaining capital of P2,000, it increased fivefold, preventing the need for her store to close. Furthermore, she not only covers her sibling’s salary but also manages to meet their mandatory government contributions for future benefit claims.
With the gradual recovery of Jennie’s small business in the town of Pandi, thanks to the assistance of the PPG program, along with her savings and successful application of microloan, she was able to renovate and expand her store, making it even safer, accommodating, appealing, and offering more variety of products. These positive changes had a huge impact on the business, attracting more customers due to the well-organized, comfortable, and accessible merchandise.
Expecting the unexpected not always falls on the negative side but also to the good and brighter perspective.
“Yun sa government kapag magpayment ka sa kanya nakakatulong ka at the same time nakakatulong din sya sakin, tapos napansin ko na yung pinambayad (business registration fee) namin binalik (through PPG grant) lang din po ni DTI, maganda po si DTI”, Jennie expressed deep gratitude and recognized DTI for its amazing services and efforts including the PPG Program. ♦
Enterprise details:
Brent Brichelle Sari-Sari Store
Owner: Jennie Dela Peña Zamora
Contact number: 09479228874
Email: JELIENOPHELYN@YAHOO.COM
Date of release: 22 August 2024
