Barely out of high school, Sevilina B. Toong tried her luck finding jobs in factories with the hope that she would land regular employment.
But after a stint in a rattan company, Toong realized that a regular job wasn’t in her immediate future and so decided to start her own business.
“I was never the entrepreneurial type. I don’t like to do business because I was scared I would fail because I don’t have any prior experience. I was scared to waste my time and money to it but I lost hope finding a regular job and so decided to try it once,” she said.
So in 1994, Toong invested her P500 to start a neighborhood business in Labogon, Mandaue City, right at the corner of the Labogon Barangay Hall.
“I started a banana cue business, which went really well until my best friend advised me to add barbecued meat to my menu,” she said.
A year into her business, Toong’s P500 capital earned enough return for her to invest in a lot that her aunt offered her.
“My aunt offered to me her 80-square-meter lot just in Labogon at only P700 per square meters, which I paid by installment,” she said.
There, Toong built a four-room apartment for rent, which earns P1,000 per room monthly.
Toong said her earnings helped her send her three daughters to school.
Her eldest Cherry finished nursing and works in Belgium where she married a national.
Her second child Marie Shiella finished an education course and her youngest Nerissa Mae is on her third year in nursing.
“I’m proud to say that I was able to do it and I’m glad I went into business. Look where my P500 has got me.”
From a makeshift barbecue station, Toong now has her own store in Labogon, Mandaue City, called Inday Vel’s, which she opened last November.
Toong said she still continues to sell barbecue because it is the first business she started in.
Having won 1st runner-up honors in the Mandaue Business Month Search for W.I.N.N.E.R. or Women in Need, Now Entrepreneurs and Role models, Toong said she won’t rest on her laurels.
The former factory worker said she considered herself a winner after being selected as one of the finalists. She added that she hopes her story will inspire other women to pursue their own success.
“If I was able to do it, I’m sure they can do it as well,” Toong said.