Success in business knows no age. A young entrepreneur shared his inspiring story of how he worked his way up until he could build a successful catering and restaurant business.
Marl Angelo M. Mangalino knew the importance of hardwork in running a business at a young age. He grew up in the market seeing his parents sell fruits and vegetables.
Seeing his parents’ hardwork, Marl was inspired to dream big. With high hopes for a better future, he started venturing into business.
At age 15, while most of his friends were probably enjoying their teenage years, Marl was already in the streets selling different street foods. He would sell candies, ihaw-ihaw, corn, and almost anything he could think of just to earn his own money.
“Bata pa lamang talaga ako hilig ko na ang negosyo. Dahil isa akong batang laki sa palengke, kaya maaga akong namulat sa negosyo parang lahat na yata ng negosyo nasubukan ko na pati ang paglalako ng kung ano-ano,” he shared.
Starting a business at a young age proved to be an advantage for Marl. It gave him experience and an entrepreneurial mindset, which helped him achieve his goals.
When the pandemic struck, Marl took it as an opportunity to earn. He started selling baked macaroni and sushis online. At first, he only had a few orders, but he persevered and continued. Soon, Marl began offering food trays, and it was a big hit too.
He recalled, “Minsan nasa tatlo lang pero gagawin ko pa kahit walang tubo or minsan breakeven lang. Pero nakita ko sa negosyo na parang lumalakas, parang dumadami na yata ang customer ko.”
“Hanggang sa sinubukan kong maglakas loob ng food party tray. Nag umpisa din ako sa dalawang putahe, tatlong putahe pero unti-unti nila itong nagustuhan,” he added.
Marl’s food tray business became so successful that he started hiring workers to help him manage the orders.
With the success of his food trays business, he took a huge risk and opened a catering business, the Kusinegro Catering Services and Events. Soon, he also opened a restaurant, the Kusinegros Kitchen House of Sizzling.
Marl admitted that it wasn’t easy at all. He had to borrow money and times when there were less orders. Due to the pandemic, he also had several cancelled orders.
But instead of being disheartened, Marl pushed through and faced all the challenges.
He shared, “Hindi ako nagpatinag doon dahil lagi kong iniisip na ang tumal, tinitiis hindi sinusukuan. Dahil sa negosyo, kung mahina ang loob mo talo ka.”
Looking back at his journey, Marl hopes he could be an inspiration to many. He is now an inspirational speaker visiting schools to share his story.
He said, “Parang dati pangarap ko lang, ngayon unti-unti ko ng nakamit. At the age of 20, nakamit ko na lahat ng ito. Sana maging aral ito sa lahat na habang bata ka mag simula ka. Huwag kang matakot sumubok at magkamali dahil minsan sa iyong pag kakamali doon ka matuto.”
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