I was selling homemade donuts on the streets when I was 10. Then my mom would bake mamon and brownies to sell in our canteen. I was tasked to deliver them every morning when I go to school. My schoolmates would see me carrying huge plastics bags and would make fun of me, saying things like, “Eeeww nagtitinda sya!”, “Bata, bata ano tinda mo?” and they would laugh.
I developed low self-esteem because of such treatment towards me. I had the stigma na, “nakakahiyang magtinda.” I wanted to reach school early to avoid those kids.
I wasn’t telling my parents about it, but my actions say that I didn’t like bringing those pastries to school. My mom would tell me not to be lazy about it, else I won’t get my 2-peso daily allowance.
Back then, there were popular TV series portraying how lowly people selling on the streets are. It has had a huge impact on my young mind.
In High School, we would set up a table outside the house to sell home-cooked meals and street foods. I would be asked to look out for it. Because of the bullying from Grade School, there was embarrassment especially when a group of well-off teens would pass by. (Triple that feeling when my crush was one of them.)
The turning point
Then one day, a wise old man told me, “Selling is honorable because you provide answers to people’s needs (and wants). Everybody lives by selling something. So don’t be ashamed because you have the advantage of learning the ropes at an early stage.”
True enough, the Bible also tells us to pursue whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable – anything excellent or praiseworthy. And as long as we’re within ethics in selling, we’re responding well to this message.
So upon hearing that, my perception has changed. I found joy in facing customers. I would sit at the table and hope my favorite customers would pass by. I also gained more friends in the community when I started to love what I was doing.
Not long after, in college, I found myself selling personalized CDs with MP3 – which I consider my first ‘business venture.’
And then I started selling my designs. I sold domain names and web hosting too. Fast-forward today, I’m still selling, shirts and other merch online.
We must do something
This unpleasant part of our past plays a big factor in why some people are still shaming sellers today.
This old-school mindset is very dangerous if not changed – not only on how low they see people selling but also on how this thinking crosses out the idea of entrepreneurship.
Like what the wise old man did, we need to keep telling people that selling is such a noble thing to do. We have a part to do in helping people unlearn those limiting beliefs to stop the transfer of such false ideas to the next generation.
Photo from pexels.
