Long before I discovered e-commerce, online selling, and digital systems, I was already exposed to business at a very young age.

Growing up, our family managed a machine shop business with more than twenty workers. Because of that environment, I was exposed early to responsibility, operations, and the reality that running a business was not always easy. Looking back now, I realize that many of the skills and mindset I have today quietly started forming during childhood.

As early as Grade 4, I was already being asked what kind of negosyo (small business) I wanted to try.

One of the first things I remember selling was buko juice near a Petron gasoline station beside our shop. My family even helped build a sari-sari store (small retail store) for it. I still remember how excited I was organizing things, recording sales, and monitoring what was being sold every day. Even at a young age, I already enjoyed documenting my income and keeping things organized.

Without realizing it, those small experiences slowly trained me to become detail oriented and responsible.

During weekends, holidays, and summer breaks when there were no classes, I would help watch over the shop and assist in different business tasks. I learned how to write receipts, monitor collections, and even communicate with construction firms that were clients of our machine shop.

Maybe that is one reason why I became comfortable speaking with older people early in life. Bata pa lang ko, naanad na ko makisalamuha with adults because of business. (Even at a young age, I was already confident talking with older people.)

At that time, I did not yet know technical terms like “aging of receivables” or “cash flow management,” but I was already exposed to accounts receivable and payables in simple ways. I remember there were envelopes used to track collections and monitor who had already paid and who still had balances. I also helped record incoming and outgoing cash transactions.

I became familiar with checks at a young age too. I learned what post dated checks were and why they mattered, especially during a time when online banking did not yet exist. I even experienced going to the bank myself to deposit money. Looking back now, it feels surreal that at around nine years old, I was already handling and depositing thousands of pesos while slowly learning how businesses operated behind the scenes.

Those experiences taught me lessons that no classroom could fully teach at that age.

I became aware of expenses, electricity bills, collections, operations, and the importance of monitoring money properly. More importantly, those experiences taught me responsibility, discipline, and how to adapt quickly.

Maybe that is why, even today, I tend to learn systems and workflows faster. Whether it is e-commerce, dashboards, reporting, or digital tools, many things feel familiar to me because I was already exposed to business operations early in life.

Years later, during the pandemic, those experiences naturally helped me transition into e-commerce. What started from trying dropshipping eventually grew into building my own online shop and bodega (inventory/storage) setup while selling through online platforms like Lazada.

Looking back now, I realize that God was already preparing me through those early experiences without me fully understanding it yet.

And honestly, I will always be grateful for that season of my life.

Because long before I learned the words “operations,” “receivables,” “documentation,” or “e-commerce,” life was already teaching me those lessons in simple but meaningful ways. ✨