Mom starts dried fish venture with P300

At 28, Maricel Ygoña didn’t see herself as a stay-home mother of two children.

In February last year, she decided to start a small business. With P300 as capital, she bought dried fish from the Mandaue City public market and sold it around her neighborhood in barangay Tingub.

Before that, she sold Tupperware products but the income was not enough for the family’s daily needs.

“I found selling dried fish more worthwhile so I used the earnings to buy more stocks to sell,” she said.

Ygoña said she wakes up by 4 a.m. to go to the public market, then returns home to prepare breakfast for her  small family.

Rey Mar, 10, and 7-year-old Rica Mae go to Maguikay Elementary School.

Husband Rick works as sample maker at a Mandaue furniture company, earning  P8,000 per payday.

“I also wanted my own source of income to help my husband. Most  furniture companies in the city have laid off people because exports are not doing well,” Ygoña said.

Within a year, the small business grew.

Today Ygoña shops twice a week for dried fish with a P1,000 budget, and has several buyers waiting.

“I buy in bulk now from Tabo-an  market in Cebu City because that’s where to find cheap and good-quality dried fish. I also listen to my customers for requests of specific kind of dried fish to sell,” she said.

Ygoña repacks the dried fish in quarter kilo bags, which she sells for P10 each.  Prices depend on the wholesale price and transportation costs.

“My neighbors buy in smaller packs because they usually consume everything at one time in cooking so I sell my stocks retail,” she said.

She starts selling at about 3:30 p.m. when the sun’s heat is more tolerable.

“I go around our neighborhood carrying a basket of dried fish on my head.  Sometimes I reach barangay Tipolo,” she said.

Her top sellers are “pot-pot” “tiki-tiki” and “bodboron,” which are affordable fish varieties.

“I make sure that my dried fish tastes good and is well dried because most of my customers don’t like it too salty.”

Ygoña said she earns a profit of P200 to P300, which she uses to beef up her  children’s snack allowance.

The extra money has also helped the family spend for house repairs and improvements.

“I’m slowly saving up because I want to grow the business. My dream is to have a shop near my home where I can sell more varieties of dried fish,” Ygoña said.

Ygoña was one of  23 winners from Mandaue City who were selected during the Search for WINNERS or Women in Need Now Entrepreneurs and Role Models organized by the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry during the Mandaue Business Month celebration in August.

Aside from cash prizes, the top 23 were given training sessions.

“We were taught how to make business proposals so that we can also apply for loans  and expand our businesses,” she said.

Ygoña was told her dried fish business was a feasible venture and could be expanded but she said she’s not comfortable taking out a loan and would rather save slowly.

“If I can grow this business and earn more, I think I can send my children to good schools and give them a  college education for a brighter future,” Ygoña said.