Meet Ferdinand Obias
Ferdinand Obias is a chapter member in Cavite, Philippines. Ferdinand owns a business that provides repair services for cellular phones, tablets, laptops, desktop computers and other electronic gadgets.
Unfortunately, on March 17th of 2020, his business was closed due to community lock-downs. For the next ten weeks, his family had no income, and he was understandably worried about what he could do, and what the future would hold. In the middle of this uncertain time, Ferdinand started to attend the webinars offered by the Academy for Creating Enterprise. As Ferdinand explained,
“The webinars gave me hope that things will get better for my business. I was so lucky because I was chosen in one of the webinars to receive mentoring from a great mentor who helped me to see some practical applications of the principles taught by the Academy. After the mentoring session, my eyes were opened to many opportunities for my business to thrive in this time of pandemic.”
Ferdinand began to apply what he had learned from his mentor. Here are some of the ideas he put into action:
Ferdinand stabilized his business by cutting expenses. He renegotiated his shop’s rent and was able to defer rent for 2 months resulting in huge cost savings.
He built better relationships with his customers by staying in touch with them through text and sharing the message that his services would be available soon, and they could stay informed through the shop’s Facebook page.
He stayed in communication with his suppliers to find ways how he could order and pay for spare parts remotely, since this was a change to his regular practice of travelling to Manilla to pick up the parts. He adopted technologies that allowed him to pay remotely and pick up orders by Lalamove delivery.
He created a plan to have customers pay in advance or provide a deposit for their orders, eliminating his need for additional capital for inventory.
Ferdinand was able to reopen his shop once the community lockdowns ended and the results of his efforts were immediately apparent. His new systems not only got his business back on track, he was able to increase his monthly sales thanks to his cost saving processes and his improved relationships with his customers and suppliers.
As individuals learn and apply the principles and practices of self-reliance, they develop the confidence and experience to overcome the obstacles in their lives, whatever they may be.
