I AM A FILIPINO
AND THIS IS MY STORY
BUSINESS
OUR FEATURED BUSINESS STORY
Learn from SUCCESS STORIES of Filipinos showcased here!
PAUL AND VERA
OWNERS OF ARTIGIANO
Melbourne, Australia
I am Paul, owner and pit master of Artigiano. Together with my wife Vera, we started our home based business in December 2020. We specialise in American style smoked meat and artisan cheese balls with focus on selling smoked meat platters on weekends.
I grew up in Las Pinas and Vera grew up in Batangas. We met in De La Salle University where we both took Computer Science. We both started our careers in IT right after graduation then moved to Singapore in 2004 where I worked as a Datawarehouse Developer/Analyst and Vera worked as a Test Lead/Test Manager before moving to Melbourne in 2015. Currently, I am a fulltime Data Integration Specialist while she works as Testing Specialist.
Although we did not have any background in food business, our family loves hanging out in the kitchen. We both enjoy cooking and Vera loves table styling and plating with the kids as our food critics. Being in the kitchen has always been a stress reliever for me. I have always been fascinated with all forms of barbeque. Smoking meat started out as a hobby 5 years ago. I would regularly smoke meat on the weekends for family and friends, refining each time I smoke until I got to the point where I am confident to sell it.
We have always had conversations about how we would like to have our own food related business. Whenever I make a good batch of smoked meat, the kids would always tell us “This is so good, you should sell this.” Vera has also toyed with the idea of curating tablescapes for relaxed intimate gatherings which we still hope to do in the future. Sometime last year, Vera prepared a grazing platter as a house warming gift. Our friend kept nudging Vera to consider selling it. This prompted us to start looking at how we should price the platter. We approached another friend who is experienced in setting up a business and he became our mentor.
The rest is history, the future still unwritten. It has not been long since we started but we are learning a lot, like identifying our target market, costing, and knowing what product we really want to sell. We also wanted our values to be reflected in our business – family and authenticity.
We prepare our food the way we would for our family. It is a family affair and everyone is involved. Our son developed the recipe for our swicy wings. He has been helping us in the kitchen during busy days while our daughter helps with the packaging. Our food is meant to be comforting and not intimidating, it is indulgent and will not leave you feeling shortchanged. We try to make it a personal experience for our customers instead of treating it as just another transaction where we hand our product and receive payment.
It has been a good journey and a learning process. Some weeks are quite busy and physically tiring and some are not. We were bothered the first few times we had slow weekends, asking ourselves if we were doing something wrong. Luckily we trudged on. We now see slow weekends as a time to rest and regroup.
If you have been thinking of putting up your own business, stop procrastinating and start asking for help. Target people outside your circle of family and friends. Treat your customers like family and try to establish some sort of connection. Don’t be afraid to take (calculated) risks. Don’t sell your product short. If you are confident with your product, you should sell it for what it’s worth.
Check our Facebook / Instagram page for menu and reviews: facebook.com/artigiano.au and instagram.com/artigiano.au
Paul and Vera
LYANN GRACE
DIGITAL MARKETING MENTOR
Melbourne, Australia
Hi, I am Lyann Grace. I was born in Manila and raised as an only child in Marikina City. I am an alumna of University of Santo Tomas and Ateneo Graduate School of Business where I obtained my Bachelor of Science in Math major in Actuarial Science and Master of Business Administration, respectively.
I worked for Cityland Development Corporation right after graduation. The last role I held at that company was Senior Marketing Specialist . From there I moved to Colliers International where I was Manager for Corporate Real Estate. Fast forward in 2006, I decided to migrate to New Zealand. I thought being independent myself, I would be ready and equipped to live in another country. The journey has not been easy to be perfectly honest but has been well worth it. I have dreamt of working for government and that is where I was fortunate enough to have been given a break. I worked for local government in Auckland for 10 years. Firstly, I was assigned as a Leasing Officer then later on as a Property Manager. In 2016, I thought perhaps I can still expand my capabilities and move to Australia given that being a New Zealand Citizen (which I am) it would be relatively easy for me to work and live indefinitely anywhere in Australia. And it’s just across the ditch anyway. So I went to Sydney and Melbourne for a month long holiday to test the waters so to speak, scored some job interviews and got a verbal job offer from a local council before I came back to Auckland. Shortly thereafter I got the written job offer and found myself on the plane to Melbourne in December of 2016. It is leading up to my fifth year of working at the same local council here in Victoria, Australia. And one day I found myself thinking while working from home that I wanted to do something online – that surely there must be something out there that I can do apart from my day job. That it is never too late to learn something new, and have a plan B. Lo and behold – a few days after, a close friend introduced me to an online opportunity. I registered and watched the complimentary webinar and took the plunge shortly thereafter. I just felt it is what I was looking for. A classic example of the saying “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” I still work full time as a public servant and I currently do this online business usually after work or during weekends. If you’d like to know more about what it is, click on www.lyanngrace.com and register for a complimentary webinar. Just see whether it resonates with you as it has resonated with me. It is risk-free, nothing to lose. Personally I have found the following benefits to having this online business:
enables me to stick to my core and grow my self-worth as it is a business that is built on honesty and integrity;
provides another stream of income which changes not only my financial destiny but also of those of whom I love and care for;
empowers me to help others build their own online business which expands their personal capabilities and opens their world to new possibilities; and
prepares me for the time when I find myself on a new path.
I am a work in progress, just like anyone else. And for those who wish to start a business, allow me to leave with you the words below from Tony Robbins, which I wholeheartedly believe in.
“BUSINESS is a SPIRITUAL GAME. As a business owner or entrepreneur, it is your opportunity to do more for others than anybody else — in whatever area or industry you’re in. It’s about what you GIVE, not what you get. When you decide to focus on giving instead of getting, you’ll reach more people and touch more lives than ever before – and you’ll GET so much more in return, too. I promise you, when you focus on GIVING and SERVING, you will experience a deeper fulfillment than ever imagined. The secret to living is giving.”
Lyann Grace
WILLY AND ROSE
OWNERS OF SILOG ATBP.
Melbourne, Australia
I’m Willie, along with my wife Rose, are the owners of Silog Atbp. We are both from Taguig city located in Manila, Philippines. We grew up in the same neighbourhood and lived a walking distance of 5 minutes from each other.
In 2017, the idea of our business came about a few months after the Toyota manufacturer company shut down after 23 years working there. It was not easy. I needed to find a new way to earn a living. My workplace offered transitional courses for up-skilling, and at the time my wife was baking cakes on the side as she works full-time at a hospital. I took this opportunity to help her endeavours by enrolling into the pastry course at William Angliss. I have always enjoyed cooking and would think that one day I will own my own food business, which would soon start to become a reality around the middle of 2018.
A friend of ours suggested an idea to pursue our passion, to create a food business with an empty trailer that was supposedly meant for someone else but was turned down. My wife and I took a chance and went for it. We were not from a business background so everything was new to us. We were learning as we go – researching at Queen Victoria’s food trucks, restaurants and finding inspiration for our business online. It was a lot to take in but we wanted to start with something simple. My wife and I decided to go with what we grew up eating as Filipinos – which was SILOG! A staple comfort food that many Filipinos grew up eating as kids.
In our first year of business in 2019, we have attended at our local rotary events, as well as local Filipino events, at various locations at Bendigo, Ballarat and as far as Pyramid Hill. But thought it was best to grow in our local area here in Caroline Springs. Although it was a slow start, it was also very rewarding. In 2020, many businesses had to stop operations due to pandemic – ours included. However, we took advantage of this time to reconsider and improve our business before our return on February 2021.
So far this year has been very promising. With our return we have increased the exposure of our business to the general Filipino population in Melbourne and we are slowly but surely growing our business to non-Filipinos as well. One of our goals is to one day open our own store in Melbourne – as a dedicated meet and eat spot for our customers who have supported us since the very beginning, as well for new customers who we are quite sure will be excited to try our food.
As for those who wish to start a business:
Willie says:, “If you have always wanted to start a business, I would say take a chance and go for it! It won’t be easy but for me it’s been a very rewarding experience to follow a passion I have had for a long time.”
Rose says, “I would say your reason for starting a business should not just be for the money. But it should be about the people – bringing joy to the people we serve is what motivates us to keep going. Also, to always do your best and don’t give up!”
We have a variety of Filipino specialties that you can choose from. Support and order now at https://www.silog.com.au/
Willy and Rose
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© 2021 i am a filipino and this is my story.