06/06/2026
To God be the highest glory! 🙏😇
Kapag si Lord talaga ang kumilos SWAK! 💪
Somehow effective pa din pala ang old marketing approach na "flyering". Binigyan ng late afternoon. That same evening nag viber. Nagpapadeliver agad. Sinend ang picture ng pwesto nila at kung saan ilalagay ang purified ice cubes. Di man lang nagtanong ng price. Nung una natatakot ako kc baka mag cancel pag nalaman ang price namin. Kc mga existing naming customers na food cart at bars ayaw kumuha sa amin kc super baba ng price na kinukuhanan nila. Kahit sinasabi kong "anong sense nun na umoorder kayo ng purified water pero ang inihahalo nyong yelo is not purified. Pang asar pa ang sagot "pag nasa alak na yan patay na din mikrobyo nyan'.😥
Nung nag viber ulit at humingi ng gcash details hindi pa din nagtanong ng price. Nagaalanganin ako kung ibibigay ko ang prevailing market price o magbaba ako ng price. I prayed. Then i gave him our gcash details and the amount per sack based on the right market price. Hindi ako nagbagsak ng price.
Walang comment. Walang tawad. Pag reply ulit sinend na agad ung gcash receipt.
Duda pa din ako. Baka kako ngayon lang mag order kc baka badly need nila. Pero nagulat ako kc the following night around 3:14am I received a gcash same amount from the same number nung fruit juice kiosk. Pero mga 6am ko na nakita sa gcash. Then a viber message pop up saying "Pakilagay na lang ulit dun sa cooler na blue." I thanked God. 🙏
The order continued for a week now. At heto na nga nagbigay na ng positive comment ung mismong may ari. 👏💪
And just as I am writing this post, my better half called me and told me na nagoorder na yung isang not new, but only newly acquired (new owner) bar near us based sa price namin. Please take note that in our place patayan ang price ng ice cubes at may malakas na yelohan sa may kanto lang namin. So, are we a David fighting Goliath? No. Because we did not start this business to compete with anyone. We just need to simplify our work with the help of this ice machine para hindi na mano mano ang gawa ng yelo. And more importantly to serve the needs of our customers. Coz I really feel unhappy whenever I see the frustrations in the face of the customers na bumibili tapos sasabihin kong "pasensya na ubos na" or "malambot pa eh". I know kung gaano kainit sa mga bahay nila kaya they rely on us to somehow alleviate the heat. Kc most of them boarders lang o nangungupahan lang. Bawal ang aircon. Kaya I really feel the frustrations pag wala kami maibigay na yelo. Imagine purified ice ilalagay lang sa air coolers. And literally, we received nightly reservations of as many as 10packs. Kinokontrata na kami na every night ipagtabi na sila.
Some lessons can be learned:
1. Prayer works. Kapag isinuko mo kay Lord lahat at ibinabad mo sa panalangin may pagkilos. Hindi man agad agad pero nakikinig Siya at handa Syang sumagot.
2. God prepares us. Slowly but surely God directs. Hindi muna ako nag focus sa pagbebenta o pagaalok kahit na may pressure isa na doon ang desire ko na maibalik ko agad sa investment ko ang ipinuhunan ko, at syempre ang pressure ng surmounting monthly bills. at may mga nagooffer na tuturuan ako etc.
3. Old marketing tool is still as effective as online or digital especially in this ice busimess na mas advisable na simulan muna ng pagbebenta sa within reach natin as we are still learning the ropes of the business and its tricks of the trade. May pagkatunaw ang yelo. Pag di mo pa kabisado ang kalakaran at tamang diskarte posibleng malugi sa madalas na pagkatunaw.
Then, pag medyo kabisado na ang kalakaran saka unti unting mag promote online or thru fb ads.
So what I did pinagaralan ko muna ang machine kahit walang concrete technical advise from the supplier. I took down notes. Paano improve ang production, ano ang cost analysis at revenue calculations. Identifying possible problems to come up with a realizable solution.
4. Price is not always the deciding factor. Pano ako lalaban sa competitors kung sagad sa baba ang price nila. While i cannot lower my price kase may quality kang need i-maintain which has a cost involve. Patayan ang price ng yelo dito sa amin.
Hindi ko kailangan makipag price war. Need ko lang to wrestle with God unril He bless me.
5. Learn your true worth and identify where your value will be most advantageous. Wag kang mag stay sa lugar na hindi maaapreciate your true worth.
The Bible said dont throw your pearl into the pig. Kase di nila maaapreciate un. And that if you are not accepted in one place, area or customers, shake off the dust and walk away.
Find customers that will have a need for your kind of stuff. So if ganun kababaw ang pananaw ng isang customer sa importance ng ice cube gaya sa mga bars, then I told myself hindi sila ang customers worth my time and energy.
Then, when I get to that resolve, a door was opened tho indirectly. Tumawag ung isang dati naming customer sa purified water. Nag open ng food bazaar ang SM at isa sila sa nakakuha ng pwesto doon. When we deliver the water nakita ang set up. Inisa isa ko ang kiosk. We distributed flyers. And lo and behold, may isang kagyat nagrespond. No questions asked kahit sa price na siyang kinatatakutan ko. And then yun na. Kaya nga alam kong kilos ni Lord ito eh. Kase sabi nga sa Revelations 3:7 of the Bible "what He shuts no one can open, and what He opens no one can shut".
Also, in Isaiah 60:22
"When the time is right, I, the Lord, will make it happen."
Kaya just in time na nakukuha ko na ang solusyon about the machine, God is slowly sending signals of new customers, of what marketing strategies to apply. 😊
5. Trust God's process. I stick to my business principle when I started Verité, that is, huwag manulot ng customers but rather create and find our own and just make your presence felt.
Many will think na naman na ang laki ng kita namin. Kumusta naman ang electric bill. Sa taas ng rate ng Meralco ngayon, how can? Eh hindi din naman malakihan ang benta dito. 🙄 It is the need to serve that comples us. We love to serve people. After all our mission and vision is "Serving Man, Touching Lives." God will surely bless us in other ways. Iba yung joy na naibibigay ng makapagpasaya ka ng tao. It is worth a million blessings. This is only for me.
In the light of this good development, I know many things I need to prepare, plan and overcome so that His glory will be revealed and our faith strengthened. It is happy development, but I cannot say this is easy. Pero hindi na din naman ako bago sa mga ganito. Perhaps the Lord allowed me to take one step at a time to prepare me lest same mistake might ensue.
Lastly, i will hold on to this: "He who begun a good work in me will be faithful to complete it."
