The Success of the Unexpected Entrepreneur

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The Success of the Unexpected Entrepreneur

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Generally, we were sent to a traditional school where we are expected to finish through college and then be able to slowly build a good foundation for our future.?Most of us may already have an idea of how we would want to make out of our lives being influenced by the profession of our parents or other relatives. Interestingly, I met a young lady from Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, a full-time artist and a budding entrepreneur whom I could say had an unconventional beginning since she was homeschooled from grade school until high school and has not taken the usual college course which most entrepreneurs have. Unconventional, and yet it led her to the path where most aspiring entrepreneurs would want to be. At a very young age, she has proved to everyone that there is more to life than being confined within the four corners of a room.

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I thought of sharing her story with you to help inspire those who wish to become entrepreneurs and those who may be feeling hopeless at one point in their lives. Denise Vergel de Dios Cacanando’s story is truly inspiring. She told me how she was very determined to finish a course from a regular school back then. However, her dad suggested she take a gap instead, for her to realize which specific course she should pursue.

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While being off from school that time, his dad arranged for her to go through several job trainings in Manila. She tried to work as a waitress at a family friend’s restaurant. A couple of months later, she tried a clerical job from an office owned by another family friend. Having tried different jobs has helped her understand herself better. One thing that she did realize was that living in the city was not for her.

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She immersed herself with the jobs that were given to her and took inspiration from her bosses with regards to conceptualizing and developing unique and innovative products and services. This eventually led her to realize that being an employee was not what she wanted, but rather to become an entrepreneur.

“Pink Flamingo”, acrylic on ostrich egg

Stepping Towards A Better Future

She decided to come back to Bukidnon and share her thoughts with her parents. His parents, being very supportive of her, suggested that she should develop her own business. And that instead of taking a 4-year course, which may not be useful later on, to just take up short courses instead, which were focused on the particular business that she would want to pursue. Her dad, being a businessman, gave her the strength to move ahead, despite knowing that nothing can be so sure unless you get to where you want to be. Needless to say, Denise followed her parents.

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She did know that she wouldn’t want to become an employee, but little did she realize that there was something in her childhood that would eventually make her what she is today. She was very fond of the arts and was also very interested in business. She was 12 years old when she discovered her ability to paint. However, being just a child, she didn’t take it seriously. By 17 years old, she was encouraged to compete in the art division during a National Students Convention, where she won. It was a turning point in her life—she realizes that her talent in painting was a big factor in determining what she wanted to do.

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Blessing From The Sky

A family friend once gave her a couple of ostrich eggs, which she never had an idea how to make anything out of. One evening during a power outage, she just decided to paint on them. Her mother took photos of her painting and showed them to her friends. A blessing in disguise, indeed! Orders started coming in, and since then, it has never stopped.

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Aside from her ostrich egg paintings, she is now pursuing jewelry-making out of hand-painted recycled bottles. Just like how the ostrich egg painting started, this was one of her hobbies, which eventually went “viral” among her friends as orders came flooding in, from which she is still in the process of developing it but will be soon launching the line.

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The Key To Success

I shared this story to let you all know that sometimes things happen unexpectedly. We may be looking so far for something that may just be right in front of our eyes. I can say that somehow I can relate to Denise’s story because I was able to make use of something that I know I can without having to push myself to like something in order to get through life’s adversities. God, being the center of everything that I do, I feel that I am guided all the time. When you have an intimate relationship with God, deciding on things is much simpler. Despite having to go through life’s ups and downs, it was easier to understand and move on and to do better.

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Denise may not be the conventional entrepreneur that you see every day. But apart from her efforts, she listened to that small voice inside her and pursued something that has brought out her passion, which is manifested by her wonderful creations through the ostrich egg paintings and jewelry.

We know that pursuing college can be an essential tool in making a difference for our future; however, sometimes things don’t work positively for everyone, which is why we should all be able to look beyond what is in front of us and nurture the talent or skill that we have.

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“All I can say is that I truly believe God has already blessed each of us with whatever we need to succeed, either in material blessings or in skills/talents, or, as they say, our own individual ‘geniuses’. The best is to look at what you already have (e.g., a family business, existing properties, or available raw materials), or perhaps build a business around your talent or get a franchise based on what and where you’re excellent at. Start small, work hard, and strive to deliver excellent quality and something new/unique to your market, and I’m sure you’ll succeed. My journey has been interesting and fun and I’m very excited about your stories because I’m pretty sure they will be amazing as well." - Denise Vergel De Dios Cacanando, 25 years old, entrepreneur

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A truly inspiring story from a very young entrepreneur, which I hope will ignite your desire to take that step and do whatever it takes to become successful in life. Remember that anything can possibly happen if you always put your heart and mind into it.

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For questions and more information, you may contact Armando "Butz" Bartolome by email: [email protected] or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/philfranguru. His website is https://www.gmbmsglobal.com

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