i wanted to try this new small business but
By hereandthere
@hereandthere (45651)
Philippines
January 12, 2021 6:20am CST
hello and happy new year, fellow mylotters!
sis reminded me about a new courier service that opened in our neighborhood as i left to send a box of preloved clothes to my friend outside metro manila.
i thought they were only for bills payment and money remittance, so i was delighted when i saw big and small boxes inside.
unfortunately, their pickup schedule is only M-W-F and it would take 5 days to reach my friend.
so instead i commuted to LBC where the pickup is every day and will be delivered to her in 2 to 3 days. (it's the most dominant courier company here that their name has become a generic term.)
as i walked home, i passed by a new food business so i searched it online when i got home.
i was delighted that they had other dishes aside from chicken, so we ordered it for dinner. we liked them, so we might order again.
we've been trying out new and small businesses since the pandemic and lockdown started, but it can be hit or miss whether it's food and non-food, online and offline.
how's your experience been with new and small businesses?
23 people like this
22 responses
@allen0187 (58444)
• Philippines
12 Jan 21
I support small businesses and buy when I can from these establishments.
4 people like this
@allen0187 (58444)
• Philippines
12 Jan 21
@hereandthere got a couple of balloons and decors plus some loot bags.
3 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
12 Jan 21
@allen0187 so convenient, right? i thought i would have to go to edsa to buy a cover for my phone, but dropped by one of the stores here and yep, they have the same thing. is the loot bag prefilled or you buy/choose what to put in it?
4 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
12 Jan 21
i remember you mentioned a party supplies store opened near you? have you bought anything from them so far?
4 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
12 Jan 21
even though you're far from things, you don't seem to need much, or you're able to do or make them yourself.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (326063)
• Rockingham, Australia
12 Jan 21
@hereandthere Being older, we have everything we need mostly. And it's true that our needs are few really.
3 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
12 Jan 21
@JudyEv you're both quite self-sufficient and resourceful with whatever you have
3 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
12 Jan 21
what i meant was we've been trying to support/check out/patronize/buy/order from new and small businesses that opened up here in our neighborhood since march last year. have you been doing the same?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
15 Jan 21
but i seem to come across a pizza that you buy?
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458649)
• Switzerland
15 Jan 21
@hereandthere I wanted to try a pizza from a local restaurant that has a real pizza oven. The restaurant exists from years, but the management changed 8 months ago. We finally decided that it was a too big risk, we will try their pizza when the virus is over. I make my pizza in our real pizza oven.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
12 Jan 21
your sister's baked goods is doing well. is she doing it full time?
2 people like this
@sol_cee (38222)
• Philippines
12 Jan 21
@hereandthere she has a full-time job and she still manages her side business well. She’s a single mom and I’m proud of her
2 people like this
@Janet357 (75656)
•
12 Jan 21
Well, you reminded me of this adage: a man who never made a mistake never tried anything new.
I did not try any food business just services. And am still working on it. It is not easy to open a business here but my neighbor bought a franchise of burger machine, it has a lot of customers here.
3 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
12 Jan 21
that's a great quote.
here, it seems like many people do have the capital, but just waiting for affordable rental space. in the market area alone, there are 8 parlors already, big and small.
1 person likes this
@much2say (53952)
• Los Angeles, California
17 Jan 21
Can you believe that in the past year I haven't really shopped other than for groceries and whatever I could find at mass market places? If anything I see many businesses (big and small) closing, especially the mom and pop type ones (but that was even before the pandemic). I can't even think of any new local small businesses 
.
.1 person likes this
@much2say (53952)
• Los Angeles, California
19 Jan 21
@hereandthere There were a few new businesses that were being built before the pandemic . . . but it never came to be. Did they change their minds? Or possibly forced to not go forth with these new projects because of the pandemic? But for sure many existing businesses could not continue on.
1 person likes this
@much2say (53952)
• Los Angeles, California
21 Jan 21
@hereandthere The future of many businesses/companies seem so uncertain now .
.1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
20 Jan 21
@much2say same here. some were already floundering. some just started and never had a chance. and yet, some were actually born during the pandemic, while others changed course during the pandemic.
1 person likes this
@ARIES1973 (11426)
• Legaspi, Philippines
21 Jan 21
I have a small business, my e-loading business. Recently, I started offering bills payment and fund transfer services. It's great to start things that we think would be beneficial to our community. With regards to other small business opening in our place, we sure do patronize when we think it would be of help such as food deliveries. Are you thinking of starting one?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
22 Jan 21
no, but we've been patronizing both goods and services that opened here. we don't have to commute to the highway anymore because our area is becoming more commercialized.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
12 Jan 21
what kind of business did you have?
sometimes it's hard to balance between price, quality and size.
2 people like this
@jobelbojel (34730)
• Philippines
20 Jan 21
Sounds cool. More businesses are opening. I hope that the courier company will cover all days for pick up.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
20 Jan 21
i hope so too, but for the meantime i'm afraid i'll stick to lbc. they were delivered the next day, much earlier than the 2-3 days the staff said.
1 person likes this
@jobelbojel (34730)
• Philippines
20 Jan 21
@hereandthere Yup, stick with LBC for now until the new one becomes established and reliable with their scheduling.
1 person likes this
@brokenbee (11090)
• Philippines
12 Jan 21
Happy new year!!!
There are several new businesses that opened in my hometown this pandemic. Some are milk tea shops. Although my parents and I are not that addicted to milk tea, I had also tried to order twice from one shop. My parents were also satisfied but I find their milk tea too sweet so I don't order that often.
One good thing is that they deliver for free.
We don't have those fast foods here in my hometown, like Jollibee and Mc Donald's so we don't experience having food delivered to us before..
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
15 Jan 21
@brokenbee i think 30 to 45 minutes in the province is really far compared to 30 to 45 minutes in ncr. but maybe times have changed. in our parent's hometown, i remember you have to wait a long time for a jeep to pass by so they're used to walking long distances instead. but then walking in the province is different from walking along edsa or espana, etc!
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
15 Jan 21
happy new year RB!
i can't believe how many food stores there are here now. every time one closes, another takes its place.
i was never into milk teas nor pearl shakes, even from the days of zagu.
it was the coke float i got addicted to, then switched to coffee float (as if it's healthier! hahaha!)
so how far do you have to travel to go to a jollibee or mcdonald's?
1 person likes this
@brokenbee (11090)
• Philippines
15 Jan 21
@hereandthere yes I also switched to coffee float when it was already available..
It's 30 to 45 minutes ride from my hometown. Til now I haven't gone to the city... That's where several McDo and Jollibee stores are located.
I was planning to go there last week but then, there was a sudden increase in covid cases again in that area...
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (129507)
• Israel
12 Jan 21
@hereandthere
I hope your friend gets what you sent her. I am glad that the food place had good food and you enjoyed what you got from them. We have some good businesses around where I live that I like to support by buying from them.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
15 Jan 21
yes, i got a text confirmation from the courier the day after so i was impressed.
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (129507)
• Israel
15 Jan 21
@hereandthere
I am glad you got your confirmation and was impressed with them.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
15 Jan 21
exactly. if it wasn't satisfactory, once is enough, but at least our curiosity was satisfied.
1 person likes this
@Cheyee (8362)
• Pakanbaru, Indonesia
16 Jan 21
@hereandthere true. I experienced that few times.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
12 Jan 21
it is. even if they don't turn out well, at least you've satisfied your curiosity and can cross them off your list.
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
15 Jan 21
the pandemic showed us that we need to help each other than wait or depend for local or national government to save us.
1 person likes this
@Letranknight2015 (51532)
• Philippines
19 Jan 21
Business had always been risky. People send orders online though. They were so many people that sells stuff online during the lock down.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
20 Jan 21
some that were already struggling or just started, yes, and it applies to both goods and services. some decide to go by order only, or by appointment only.
1 person likes this
@misunderstood_zombie (8142)
• United States
16 Jan 21
I just realized I don't normally use small businesses. I should do that more often.
1 person likes this
