Highlights
- Ninais nina Marvin at Jinky magtayo ng Filipino store bago mag-pandemya.
- Bumuo na lamang sila ng online shop.
- Habang may mga nabago sa proseso, hindi nawala sa kanilang isipan ang dahilan kung bakit nila ginustong gawin ang negosyong ito.
"Whatever changes happen, you have to be able to adapt. The hows and the processes can change. People can change, but mindset and purpose shouldn't."
Nung una, plano ng magasawang Marvin at Jinky Aquino na magtayo ng Filipino store. Ngunit ng mangyari ang pandemya, kinailangan nilang baguhin ang kanilang mga plano.
Jinky and Marvin Aquino Source: Marvin Aquino
Ang Filo store
"My parents are entrepreneurs and I've always been interested in owning my own business. In college, I used to sell food, like brownies. But when Marvin and I became CPAs after we graduated college, we lost our being business-minded," saad ni Jinky.
Bumalik ang kanilang kagustuhang mag-negosyo nang bumisita ang mga magulang ni Jinky sa Australya pagkatapos niyang manganak sa pangalawang pagkakataon.
"We would go to Filipino shops and restaurants and Sydney and my parents told us we should try going into a similar business. It seemed like a good idea," pag-amin ni Jinky.
Dagdag ni Marvin, "Jinky's the creative one. She was already dabbling in Filipino food catering at that time. She's the drive and the passion. I'm the execution."
Being business-minded returned after the couple had their second baby and Jinky's parents visited from the Philippines. Source: Marvin Aquino
Saad din ni Marvin na naisip nilang magandang magtayo ng tindahan sa Lindfield, ang suburb kung saan sila nakatira.
"There were no Filipino shops in Bondi or in the eastern suburbs," saad ni Jinky.
Ngunit habang sila'y nagpaplano, nangyari ang pandemya.
"We had to adapt. We realised that there was also a gap when it came to Filipino goods being sold online," saad ni Marvin.
However, as the two were planning for a physical store, the pandemic hit. Source: Sunbae Legacy from Pexels
Ayon naman kay Jinky, "Personally, we also try not to leave the house because of the pandemic. Our son was requesting for sinigang [a sour stew], but I didn't have the mix at home. We didn't want to go out and there weren't any Filipino stores near us. We realised that an online shop isn't just about the food, it's about convenient access."
Supplies at shipping
Upang matupad ang convenient access na ito, kinailangan nilang mag-imbak ng produktong Pinoy para sa kanilang online shop, ang Suki Kart.
"Before we even fixed the website and began advertising, we gathered as much supplies as we could. We're thankful for the local Asian stores that led us to suppliers; however, some suppliers and wholesalers were a bit hesitant to do business with us because we had no physical store," ang pag-amin ni Marvin.
Convenient access meant gathering as much Filipino goods as they could for their online Filipino shop, Suki Kart. Source: Supplied
"We start with supplies and end with delivery. We found that shipping was also a big challenge for us," saad naman ni Jinky.
"If shipping cost is too much, it would defeat the purpose of being able to ship to anyone and everyone in Australia. People will get turned off if the shipping cost is too high," ibinahagi ni Marvin.
"We start with supplies and end with delivery." Source: Marvin Aquino
May flat rate kada limang kilo, ngunit inaako na rin ng mag-asawa ang shipping costs kung lalagpas ito.
"We had a client who had a 16-kilo package, so we found a way to bring it down to 15. It was an additional 5 dollars for shipping, but we didn't include that to the cost anymore," saad ni Jinky.
"We start with supplies and end with delivery. We found that shipping was also a big challenge for us." Source: Supplied
Ang dahilan
Ang dahilan ng mag-asawa sa pagpasok sa ganitong negosyo ay upang mapakilala ang produktong Pinoy sa buong Australya.
"We're active in the Filipino community and have always wanted to do something to feature our culture. Making our goods more accessible for everyone in Australia will help us do that," saad ni Marvin.
BASAHIN / PAKINGGAN DIN
"We've always wanted to do something to feature our culture. Making our goods more accessible for everyone in Australia helps us do that." Source: Supplied
