Inspiring Anecdotes:

Chances for Big Bucks

by Pepin

Business opportunities boom in Iloilo as two of its major festivals, the Dinagyang Festival and the Feast of Nuestra Señora de Candelaria, draw near during the first month of the year. And for a business-minded individual, this means lots and lots of money at stake. It is inevitable that people who will be crowding the city will be buying something that will satisfy their needs, and a herd of vendors in the streets will provide them with that, of course for a corresponding cost.

This idea pushes a lot of ordinary folks to become instant entrepreneurs. Most of them will be selling street foods, bottled water, and other beverages. While some will be vending balloons, toys, and souvenir items. But going into business for the month-long celebration requires hard work, for the reason that competition in trade also rises as the number of consumers increases.

To be in the competition, a street trader must think of ways on how to attract consumers. Spectators roaming around the city will scrutinize one product from another, and the persuasive skills of the vendor really matters. Aside from business talks, some would put up banners and decorate their stalls as decently as they can. Others will try to utilize ear-splitting sound systems, and there are a few who will be coming up with unique names and slogans for easy recall of their business.

Any of these schemes works, but at the end, consumers will still be after the quality of the products being sold. It is still important that the value of the product will not be compromised, and that the consumer will really appreciate the worth of his or her money. Moreover, when the quality is preserved, people will keep on coming back to buy the product and that’s when prosperity in business begins. A bibingka vendor shared to me, “We are coming up with ways on how to make our product unique since there are at least fifteen of us selling the same product around the plaza, and almost all the bibingka being sold by these fifteen vendors may have a similar taste. Ours will be different.”

No matter how tough the competition is, it all boils up by saying “It is part of the business world.” The one-month long celebration may end, but the profits that these small businessmen have raised will go a long way.