“I used to travel from my residence in Cavite to Manila at an early age to help my parents through selling Tinapa,”
Perseverance and Resilience are two qualities that Filipinos are known for – and through years of hard work, it eventually pays off with the success they find in their own endeavors.
For 2018 TFT Entrepreneur of the Year Michelle Guinto, she coursed through a path of entrepreneurship with her mom as a tinapa vendor at a very young age and fast forward to decades later, she now has her very own Cargo company that helps thousands of Filipinos ship their balikbayan box cargos back home.
Guinto was born in Cavite to an OFW father and her mother who was a Tinapa Vendor at the Sidewalks of Nichols, Paranaque and Fort Bonifacio in Taguig. “I used to travel from my residence in Rosario, Cavite to Manila at an early age to help my parents sustain our cost of living through selling Tinapa,” said Guinto.
She managed to get to college but unfortunately had to drop out during her 3rd year and began her journey as an OFW in Taiwan in 2000. It was in 2005 when her sisters enticed her to begin a new career here in Dubai where she first struggled with multiple part times before eventually getting a permanent job. “I worked as a telephone operator for 3days, did part time job in a catering company and earned 70DHS from 1:00PM – 3:00AM while looking for permanent job. Fortunately, I got work and was promoted from Receptionist, Tourist clerk, and Department In-Charge in a Tourism company.”
Guinto then decided it was time to transition from being an employee to be an employer herself and begin her own businesses. However – she also faced many challenges, including losing Dh 1.5 million worth of investments on one of her businesses. “After 2 months of operations, we found out huge numbers of absconders under the sponsorship of the tourism license that we have just bought way back 2013 and were transferred to our accountability last 2015, losing around 1.5 million DHS of investment affecting our operational funds for both tourism and cargo,” shares Guinto
Guinto’s resilience and optimism paid off as after such a huge hurdle, she managed to recover and even increase her sales: “Within 8 months, the company is able to stand again and now back to the right track with more business stability thru continuous improvement of operations, business strategies thru innovations & unique selling proposition.”
She now owns, manages, and operates CMG Cargo, helping fellow Filipino expats move their balikbayan boxes and other cargos safely back to the Philippines.
Guinto shares these nuggets of wisdom that she has learned as she managed her business: “Do not grab all the opportunities knocking on your door. Learn to do due diligence, evaluate the risk and stay focused. Discern who’s got your back, especially during your bad times. Above all, give time to yourself, family, socialize with friends out of business and always give time to talk to our God for He will never forsake you nor leave you.”
