25/11/2023
I hesitated to post this because it's not "aesthetic", but perhaps it's worth sharing.
To be completely honest, we're having a tough time as a social enterprise. Imagine being two science graduates who just want to help fishers so much that they end up running a business - with no background in marketing nor finance. 😂
Anyone who has tried making a business successful knows it's hard. But to make it a SOCIAL business makes it twice as hard. Your success is not just about profit, but how much you have improved the wellbeing of the community you're helping.
I found these screenshots and note. It made me look back and smile as I remembered why we started.
3 years ago, Lala made sea glass jewelry alone, wrapping them with stainless steel. Today she's a trained metalsmith equipped with tools to handle high value metals. She has also trained and helped 4 skilled crafters.
3 years ago, I had just recovered from mental health issues. I didn't have a direction anymore, just that I wanted to continue helping Isla Verde. Today I just made it past the first of three terms in business school. I'm learning and slowly improving our small business.
My exchanges with Lala in 2020 were pure as they can get. We were starry-eyed, passionate, altruistic dreamers full of hope.
Has it changed? Perhaps today we continue to look ahead with hope, but with a humbled spirit, hands and hearts healing from painful mistakes, no longer seeing things with rose-colored lenses; Just an acceptance of hardship, risk, and slow calculated steps forward for the hope of it all.
We've come a long way. "Success" suddenly doesn't feel so unattainable because it's in every small win in every small step.
Lahat naman ng career mahirap. Pipiliin mo lang talaga yung hirap na gusto mong panindigan. This one is ours and it has always been worth it.
Love always,
Gela
