The saying goes that for every ‘hat’ a man wears, a woman wears two. The concept of a “work-life” balance appears to weigh more heavily on a woman as she’s expected to juggle domestic duties with a career. This rings true for Maryjoy Delara, an entrepreneur and a mother, who has been supporting her family since adolescence while still keeping her dreams alive.
As she tells it, Maryjoy has been in the service of her family her whole life. Starting in the summer of her third year in high school, she has been selling dried fish to support her family in rural Bicol. With school out for two months, she had the idea to do a side hustle; while her mother discouraged her, she was determined to save up for school supplies for her siblings and herself.
“Nag-isip pa rin ako ng paraan na magka-pera. Naisip ko may P500 ako, bibili ako ng dilis, ipapatuyo ko tapos ibebenta ko. Nag-click naman yon. Yun yung tuloy tuloy na pinagmulan halagang P500 hanggang magpasukan na, may pera ako pambili ng gamit. Sabi ko sa mama ko, ito na gamitin mo na pera naipon ko para sa gamit ko and sa mga kapatid ko,” she said.
and tuyo business but also in her partner’s buy-and-sell business
This inherent determination and can-do attitude carried Maryjoy through numerous obstacles, including the death of her mother, and compelled her to pursue her dream of being an entrepreneur. Maryjoy opened a sari-sari store in 2018 in San Fernando, Pampanga with her partner and built up enough business know-how to keep it going —even through the pandemic.
“Naabutan kami ng pandemic —medyo natigil kami nung 2019 pero di kami sumuko. Patuloy pa rin po, hanggang nakabili kami una ng motor ng 2021 dahil sa sari-sari store na ito – buy and sell ng partner ko. Nagsimula ako ng puhunan ng P5,000. Ngayon napalaki namin to more than P50,000 may savings pa kami at insurance. Nabibili ko pa gusto ng mga anak ko,” Maryjoy proudly said.
Supporting her small business through the ups and downs is the Converge Surf2Sawa prepaid fiber, the most affordable product of Converge. Surf2Sawa, or S2S, offers quality connectivity for as low as P 50 for one day, up to P700 for one month usable for 6 gadgets. The prepaid product offers unlimited (no data cap) connectivity, has no contract attached, and is priced at a level within reach of low-income Filipinos.
S2S has not only helped Maryjoy secure more orders, but helps her manage the connectivity needs of her households, including the e-learning of her two kids.
“Malaki din po ang natipid namin sa S2S. Dati sa data, nakaka-P 2000 kada buwan kasi iilan ang cellphone namin dito. Mas okay nung nagpakabit kami ng S2S, tuloy tuloy na ang online class ng mga bata. Hindi na rin nagloloading, at unlimited pa. Pwedeng pwede na talaga ang P700,” noted the 32-year old.
Reflecting on her journey so far as an independent self-sufficient woman who has successfully built a small business, Maryjoy gleaned one pearl of wisdom: your circumstances shouldn’t define you.
“Hindi ko akalain na maabot ko ang ganito, na dating walang wala din ako. Masaya pakiramdam ko na sa edad kong ito, may naipundar na ako. Hindi talaga hadlang ang kahirapan kung may pangarap ka,” she said.