How Did 20 Pesos Turn Into Millions?

“Saan aabot ang bente pesos mo?”

We often hear this line from funny Cornetto Ice Cream commercials. Now, let me ask you the same question.

Saan nga ba aabot ang bente pesos mo?

Phone load? Snacks? Jeepney fare? Two cups of rice? Or Cornetto? (even Cornetto costs 25 Pesos in retail stores, Oops!)

For most of us, 20 Pesos can just be a negligible amount, but for one particular couple, 20 Pesos was their ticket for a multi-million business.

Ever heard of Bianca’s Ice Candy? Well, I haven’t heard about it as well until it was featured in one of Ph TV’s documentary shows. This ice candy business was founded by the couple Rudy and Rosiell de Leon.

In fact, the couple is now handling huge production of their ice candy business, leaving them with a multi-million income.

Bianca’s ice candy and its humble beginnings

This promising business actually had humble beginnings. As what the title suggests, the couple started with just 20 pesos, which is barely half a dollar.

But no, they did not use that 20 pesos for making ice candy. Obviously, ice candy ingredients cost more than that.

Rudy, Rosiell’s husband, lost his job. Because of the sudden loss of income, the family had a hard time coping up with the bills, not to mention the two kids they have to raise and the mortgage and credit card bills they have to pay.

What did they do then?

Rosiell used her last 20 Pesos to buy 100 pieces plastic bags to sell ice. The couple had just moved into their new home and knowing that they are the only one having a refrigerator among the neighborhood, they sold it all faster than expected.

Selling each ice at 3 Pesos each, Rosiell accumulated 300P, just enough to buy the ingredients of a 100-piece ice candy business. By selling it for 5P each, Rosiell had 500P proceeds.

She then rolled all her earnings and the rest is history. The humble beginnings of the de Leon family then led to a very successful multi-million ice candy business.

Who would have thought that such small amount most people often take for granted will become the couple’s ticket to their financial success?

Now, let us extract few of the most important lessons we have to learn from Bianca’s Ice Candy business success story:

You don’t have to have thousands or millions to start a business.

With the right mindset and attitude towards business, you will be able to grow your capital regardless of how small it is.

Good feasibility is very important.

Some people fail to realize the importance of feasibility — the likelihood of being able to market your products or services at the current situation you are in.

Most people go into huge debts to start their own business. Though this can be considered as good debts (purpose is for money capitalization), you should always consider whether or not the chosen business would really accumulate more returns than the interest you have to pay for.

Make the problem an opportunity to learn new skills and create innovative solutions.

A problem can sometimes be an opportunity in disguise. Instead of complaining about how life is unfair to you, start looking for solutions and execute plans as diligent as you can.

Roll your profits no matter how small it is.

Make it a habit to roll your profits no matter how small it is. If in case your business is the one supporting your family financially, try to make sure that you take no more than the profit.

Perhaps you could get half of those for expenses and the other half for growing your business even more.

Let’s take a look at the de Leon’s TV interview in Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho way back year 2015:

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