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| (Image Source: Orange Magazine TV/Lazada Philippines) |
At Lazada, couples who sell together, succeed together. At least two power couple-sellers testify to the statement, having founded and grown their businesses on Lazada while getting to celebrate love every day. Gio and Jerica Espina of online grocery shop ThePlasticPlace and Rochelle and Jay R Agustin of motorcycle parts supplier JCA Motorshop prove that love and work can co-exist. The shops they built from the ground up continue to thrive as they make the most out of Lazada’s best-in-class seller tools, education, and community designed to help sellers succeed. Today, successful power couples enjoy their dream lives while helping others achieve theirs. All this with Lazada by their side as the preferred partner and platform for brands and sellers.
‘We try to help and encourage each other whenever we can’
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| ThePlasticPlace's Gio and Jerica Espina (Image Source: Orange Magazine TV/Lazada Philippines) |
Gio and Jerica Espina decided to begin their online entrepreneurial journey with Lazada in 2021, leaving their day jobs and launching ThePlasticPlace. Within the first few weeks, the young couple already knew they had something special on their hands. After six months — when they started taking advantage of Lazada campaigns, sponsored solutions, and programs — they saw significant growth in sales. By October 2022, the two received an invitation to the Lazada Rising Stars conference, along with other rising and remarkable sellers on the leading platform. “To be surrounded by all those successful and inspiring sellers was a humbling and fun experience we’ll always remember,” Gio says.
Much like for any entrepreneur, however, the journey was anything but smooth for Gio and Jerica. They accepted early on that not everything is going to go their way, that there will be challenges to overcome, especially as a couple who merged their love and professional lives. For one, they had to deal with discovering and adjusting to conflicting work strategies and processes. Eventually, Gio and Jerica learned to compromise and play off each other’s strengths. “Criticism can help correct mistakes but should be done sparingly and said in a constructive way as it can have a negative effect especially if the person is already feeling discouraged,” Gio says. Jerica adds, “The best thing about working with your loved one is learning to communicate better and working as a team. We listen when the other is going through a rough day and try to help and encourage whenever we can.” Aside from their shared love and passion to succeed, they rely on Lazada’s seller tools and resources to make business management easier.
Gio says that the Lazada Seller Center is “really easy to navigate" as it gives them everything needed in order to understand and improve their business. Meanwhile, Jerica is truly amazed by the fast and free shipping that makes it easier for them to win the trust of their customers. Today, the couple find fulfillment as sellers in reaching milestones, seeing growth in sales, and reading satisfied reviews from their customers. With all they have achieved in such a short time, Gio and Jerica are living proof that starting and growing a business with your significant other can be challenging but not impossible. The couple remain inspired by parents and guided by their faith in God. Their advice for other couples looking to follow suit? Keep moving forward and be open to learning, always. Jerica says, "Having a business and becoming a full time online seller is our greatest success to date — we value the opportunity to have control over our time and be able to work from home. Becoming our best selves is a long journey and can be discouraging at times, but thankfully we are together in this journey.”
It’s about becoming an inspiration
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| (Image Source: Orange Magazine TV/Lazada Philippines/JCA Motorshop) |
For Rochelle and partner Jay R Agustin of JCA Motorshop, the sense of entrepreneurship has always come naturally. Rochelle used to work for a company that held offices on the 30th floor, limiting the employee’s access to food. She recognized the opportunity and started selling bread and other snacks. “My first benta felt so satisfying,” she recalls. From that point on, she and her partner Jay R sought other means to earn. They came across Lazada, and, despite knowing nothing about e-Commerce, the pair decided to put up JCA Motorshop, which is positioned as a one-stop-shop for all things motorcycle parts and accessories. Through hard work and Lazada’s help, the self-made couple turned their life around. They evolved from online seller novices to proud owners of a four-story building and a physical store.
Jay R says, “Being an entrepreneur is not about how much you have earned but how many lives you have touched and how you become an inspiration. Sometimes, you will encounter several downs and losses but the most important thing is you continue to try again and persevere.” Rochelle adds that they truly see Lazada’s commitment to its sellers through its full suite of services. “What I love most about being a Lazada seller is that their assistance goes all the way. When they see your potential, they will help you grow and bring out the best in you. They will never let you down,” she says. In particular, Rochelle lauds Lazada’s guidance in expanding her market reach from Taguig to the entire country. She applauds as well the platform’s user-friendly and end-to-end services with active account managers always ready to help sellers in their pursuit of continuous growth.
For Jay R, it’s Lazada’s manifold training for sellers that keeps them on top of their game. “When I was starting, I attended as many training sessions as possible for additional knowledge. I’ve learned how to manage the system, how I can grow the business, and so on.” In terms of working together as partners in life and business, Rochelle and Jay R say it’s an advantage over working with friends or strangers. Both of them are driven by the same goal of providing a better life for their daughters. The key is to set a healthy boundary between work and personal matters. “A good partnership requires honesty, which requires freely expressing opinions, sharing ideas, thoughts and suggestions because you share the same goal,” Rochelle says.
