73-Year-Old Street Vendor Builds Dream House with Earnings from Shopee
Despite his age,
Lolo Pops, a small business owner from Angeles City, still works hard to earn
money. At 73 years old, Lolo Pops may be a bit weaker and hard of hearing, but
the sprightly man still insists on managing his shop. Together with his son Angelo,
Lolo Pops runs a small online store selling pastillas,
polvoron, and other local goods.
Lolo Pops, who is
something of a local celebrity in Angeles City, was a former street vendor and
enjoyed a steady stream of customers, thanks to residents who used to be sukis when they were school children.
However, as the pandemic set in last year, business slowed down. Lolo Pops did
not give up, citing his wife as his source of strength. With the help of one of
his sukis, Lolo Pops and Angelo
decided to take their business online to reach more customers.
Since onboarding on
Shopee over a year ago, Lolo Pops was able to sell homemade goodies, including
new products such as bagoong and
chili garlic, to Filipinos nationwide. Although they initially struggled to adapt to new tools and
technologies, Lolo Pops and Angelo
found success. They also consider being able to take their business online a
blessing since Lolo Pops is now too weak to go out too much, especially during
the pandemic.
For the
father-and-son duo, selling on Shopee has been a big help. They were able to leave their
ramshackle house and start building a new one in Bulacan with their earnings, a
far-off dream that Lolo Pops never thought would come true. “Hindi namin inakala na makakapagpatayo kami
ng bahay sa ganitong panahon. Dati ay pangarap lang namin ito. Nagpapasalamat
kami ngayong natutupad na ito dahil sa pag-asenso namin sa Shopee,” he
shared.
Although it took a while since they also had to
cover daily expenses, Lolo Pops made sure to save bit by bit for his dream
house every few months. “Kung ano ang
sobra, inilalaan namin sa pagpagawa ng bahay. May mga araw o linggo na hindi
ganoon kalakas ang benta, pero nagtatabi talaga kami. Awa ng Diyos ay sana
makalipat na kami bago matapos ang taon.” Now, as the construction nears
completion, Lolo Pops remains in awe of how much his humble business has grown
on Shopee and feels excited to finally see the fruits of his hard work.
Inspired by Lolo
Pops’ story of hard work, Shopee partnered with Appliance Hub, Firefly,
Gaviscon, Globe, Strepsils, Sustagen, and Unilab to surprise Lolo Pops and his
family with a few gifts and essentials for their new home. They got a new
laptop, phone, and router to use for the online shop; multivitamins and
protective masks to keep the whole family safe and healthy; and a speed fan to
keep their new home well-ventilated. To help the family as they try to save enough money to finish building
the house, Shopee also donated biscuits, coffee, and other groceries.
“Malaking bagay ito para sa amin. Dahil sa
Shopee, may sumusuporta sa akin, maraming
tumutulong sa akin. Ngayong
pandemic, marami tayong ika nga ay mga
problema. Pero walang imposible kay
Lord. Habang nabubuhay ang tao, tuloy ang
pag-asa,” Lolo Pops said.
Watch Lolo Pops’
journey with Shopee over the past year here. Visit Shopee Philippines on Facebook
and Youtube, and Shopee Cares on Facebook.
Support Lolo Pops’ small online business here:
https://shopee.ph/lolopopsph.
Download
the Shopee app for free via the App Store or Google Play.
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