My colleagues and friends fully know that I love my job because I get to travel much. I gain energy being close to nature, thus going to Mindanao, the Visayas and other rural areas provide me motivation and sources of inspiration.
What I love most about traveling is I get to take pictures of people, places, and cultures. The photos that I have taken populates my Instagram accounts and it serves as references for my paintings. Now, I only have the memories brought by my photos and my window entertains me with the view of my lovebirds and the plants that we have grown for the past few months. Yes, my family and I started cultivating vegetables and herbs in pots. Thanks to ECQ-GCQ, we discovered new sources of joy.
Another challenge for me is that I lost a big chunk of my source of income. I lost my travel allowances and as a result, a check I issued for my loan bounced back because my usual cash flow was disrupted.
Financial problem is indeed the best motivator to become resourceful and entrepreneurial. I started spending time in our kitchen, cooking, and preparing kimchi and oatmeal cookies to cut on cost. I can still enjoy foods that I love by making it by myself. Then my neighbors started asking me if they can buy my produce. Why not? But #WorkLifeRealities, it didn't last long though because I have a demanding job as an educator and trainer, and with the work-from-home setup, I spent more time facing the computer.
Then I decided to make products on Saturdays and Sundays. I started learning from YouTube new products that our neighborhood would like. That's how I started making Maki-Sushi and Gimbap during Sundays. I discovered that by posting pretty photos on my FB account, customers who crave the same food that I'm interested in started contacting me and messages come in.
So now, my new project is to promote my kitchen products.
Somehow, the income coming in from my cooking helps. It surprises me that the best thing you can sell online are those things that you yourself are interested in.
I know, if you are reading this blog, you too are looking for means of augmenting your income stream. My tip is to discover first the things that you like and you are good at, and make sure that you'll enjoy the process of selling it. Otherwise, you will just stop. It still holds true that if you enjoy what you are doing, then it is not working but like a child's play, the effort becomes enjoyable too. Learn how and where you can sell your products, understand your consumers' preferences, and start building your small business online.
Attend training in online marketing. There are so many resources you can use online to set up your store. Look at FB's marketplace, Lazada, and even Shopee. They offer a platform for online sellers even if you are just a micro-entrepreneur. Understand their policies. You might be surprised to know that it is not necessary to have a high volume of goods to sell on these online marketplaces.
I hope this article helps. Please do comment if you like it or not. If you have questions, feel free to ask by using the e-mail form in this blog.
