Pinoy Business Coach

Joel Obsid, a father of four, is accustomed to this environment. At 46 years old, Joel once worked as a medical representative. His wife is a 45-year-old office clerk, and her wage can barely support the family’s basic needs. Three of their children still live with them, all of whom are school-aged.

Total recall

In November 2011 Joel recalls Tropical Storm Sendong struck and took from him everything it could.  He lost his job and his home. His wife and children were spared, but there was nothing for them to return to.

Having no secured income but with a family to tend to, Joel urgently needed to find a new job, which was hard to come by after the storm. This prompted him to start a small hanging-rice business. A trade he learned from his mother-in-law that seemed to be his only option at the time. Still, his biggest concern was his lack of financial capital.

With the three younger children still in school and their home in shambles, there was no money left to build a business. However, what seemed to be one unfortunate event after another took a turn for the better.

Second chances

In February 2012 Joel received a P5,000 loan from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through the Sustainable Livelihood Program. Joel also continues to receive financial-literacy and skills-enhancement trainings from the DSWD through the program. Furthermore, his family also received a housing unit from the DSWD’s partner-organization, Habitat for Humanity.

Less than a year after Sendong wreaked havoc, Joel’s family was able to relocate to a new home in Barangay Canitoan, still within the city. Not only that, but he was finally able to start his hanging- rice business, which he hoped would help them become financially stable.

Sustainable livelihood program

Every piece of hanging rice begins from a carefully woven coconut leaf. After which, uncooked rice or bigas is poured into the woven pocket, and then boiled until the rice is cooked. It is hung when sold, thus the name hanging rice.

Joel’s family is one of the 237,501 poor households assisted by the Sustainable Livelihood Program.  Under the program, participants are provided with capital assistance for starting and managing microenterprises or are provided with employment opportunities through partnerships with other institutions both private and public.

Qualified participants are assessed based on their financial and social performance to identify the requirements of an enterprise for business growth.  Appropriate training activities and other follow-through interventions are continuously provided for the participants to improve their existing microenterprise.

Regaining every fiber of hope

Today, Joel runs the hanging-rice business in the Cogon public market with the assistance of his children. Consuming one-and-a-half sacks of sinandomeng  rice daily, Joel’s business has gained a following and earns a daily net profit of more than P1,000.

He is uncertain if he will find another job. He would not dare leave his loyal customers. He hopes that the business will allow him to send his children to school until they finish college. After all, the business has taken his family from ground zero and into life anew.

In Photo: Joel Obsid makes 2,000 to 3,000 pieces of hanging rice a day and sells them at the market for P3 each.

Now if you think that you need large sums of capital to start that entrepreneurial dream then you must see that other forms of capital like know-how, emotional intelligence, financial literacy and other vital skills are needed to make a business work.