Networking, direct selling uplift an entrepreneur's life

CEBU, Philippines - Inspired to attain time and financial freedom, an entrepreneur ventured into networking and direct selling and was able to invest on an internet café business and a car at a young age of 28.

Gelyn Retuya started with an initial capital of P7,450 in a networking company, the Unlimited Network of Opportunities International Corporation (UNO) in year 2008.

She admitted that she had a negative impression on the industry at first but then decided to grab the opportunity.

On February 2009, she quit her job as a quality assurance analyst in Mactan Export Processing Zone Authority and went full-time in UNO four months after her resignation.

Spending four years in the networking and direct selling business, she noted that it made a 360-degree turn in her life.

She cited that she used to be very shy and pity herself since she grew up with no parents to guide her.

However, the three-day training in UNO and her regular encounters with people helped boost her self-confidence and trust and strengthened her faith in Divine Providence.

Retuya then described networking as the fastest way to earn money that provides an avenue of hope and chance for aspiring entrepreneurs who cannot afford large capitals or those ordinary Filipinos who do not have enough investment for business to be more successful.

She gets a daily income of P2,000 from direct selling and a weekly networking commission that ranges from P15,000 – P20,000. The biggest commission she has received, she added, is P30,000 in a week.

“It has totally changed my mindset. Sipag and tiyaga is not just enough. You should be given the right opportunity where you will exert your effort and time,” she said.

Although there were times that she wanted to give up, deal with various personalities and get physically weak, she cited that her achievements in networking which includes her internet café business and car are living proofs that she was able to overcome those struggles.

With an initial investment, her internet café business has 12 computer units in which she earns P500 everyday as income.

Aside from getting paid insufficiently, she noted that most of the employees do not work for their dreams but for debts.

“Di ko gusto i-control sa tawo. I’m working hard for the dreams anang tawhana unya ang ila rang damgo ang ma-achieve, lain pud na,” she told The Freeman. (I do not want to be controlled. I am working hard to achieve the dreams of others. That’s a different story.)

She began her networking career as an ordinary distributor of beauty and health products, invited more friends, reached a certain quota of referrals, got an award, and has become a leader in a team of networks composed of around 1,000 agents.

Retuya further encouraged aspiring businessmen and ordinary individuals to try networking as such industry does not require any qualifications.

“If you want something good to happen in your life, find a way or opportunities wherein you would succeed. If you want to acquire a certain thing, you will really find way. You’ll never know unless you try. It may be difficult at first to adapt in networking but you have to be practical nowadays,” she stated.

Admitting the presence of networking scams that promise false hopes to their clients, she advised that one must consider the profile, price, product, package, and plan of a particular company.

Even though she is a college graduate in computer programming, she noted that the diploma is not an award to be successful since most of the graduates at present are employed to the field where they do not belong.

“It’s all about unsaon pagdiskarte sa kinabuhi, ikaw mangita og paagi to reach the bridge towards success. Every day of our lives, we have to sacrifice and exert our best effort. You should have the willingness to pay for the price kay dili lalim mag-networking,” she continued.

Her husband also ventured into networking as an additional source of income to sustain the needs and wants of their two children.

Retuya is one of the chosen top 20 finalists of the Search for W.I.N.N.E.Rs (Women In Need, Now Entrepreneurs & Rolemodels) of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry in celebration of the Mandaue Business Month 2012 this month.