Fueled by grit

By: Josephine Ramos

Cabuyao City- Every business starts from somewhere. For Maricel Pumares from Cabuyao City, Laguna, her story started after she met her husband, Greg, through mutual friends.
In the early years of their marriage, Maricel was a full-time housewife, while her husband worked as a mechanic for a well-known motorcycle manufacturer. However, as their family grew, so did their household expenses; Greg’s salary alone could no longer keep up.
Driven by the need to secure their family’s future, they decided to take a risk and opened a small motorcycle repair shop right in their front yard in 2011. Maricel manages the shop and sells spare parts, while her husband handles heavy mechanical repairs on weekends.
With their shared dedication, the shop’s steady income allowed them to purchase four tricycles, creating a reliable source of passive income.
Years later, the motorcycle manufacturer where her husband worked relocated its branch to Batangas. Seizing another opportunity in 2016, they rented a space near Greg’s new workplace and opened a second branch of their repair shop.
According to Maricel, managing the new branch was easy because her husband was hands-on. Right after his shift, he would stop by the shop to check on operations before heading home to Cabuyao.
When their kids started schooling, Maricel decided to work as office staff for the Tricycle Operators & Drivers Association (TODA). She spent her days juggling two roles: selling motor parts at their shop in the morning and working as a TODA secretary in the afternoon.
“Hindi kasi palagi may bumibili ng spare parts o nagpapagawa ng motor, kaya naman may regular na trabaho pa rin kaming mag-asawa para kapag dumating yung panahon na mahina ang kita sa negosyo, may backup plan kami (Since sales from motor parts aren’t consistent, my husband and I choose to keep our jobs. That way, if the shop isn’t making any money, we still have a way to cover our expenses),” she stated.
As their business grew, they acquired a fuel injector diagnostic tool in 2020 that saved them time by eliminating the need to dismantle the entire engine to find the vehicle’s issue.
Just as their business was starting to grow, the 2020 pandemic hit them. Unfortunately, the couple both tested positive for COVID-19, which forced their business to shut down temporarily and their kids into quarantine. The medical bills quickly drained their savings, so to cover expenses, they ended up selling three of their four tricycles. But despite that setback, they refused to give up, and in 2023, they managed to get back on their feet.
Rise with financial support
As they started over again, Maricel became a client of CARD, Inc. (A Microfinance NGO) in 2016. Her initial loan of PHP 3,000.00 was used as additional capital for their Batangas branch. Now, she has a loan of PHP 50,000.00 that keeps their business running. Since repair demands can be unpredictable, she also keeps a portion of the loan as a safety net to cover their household expenses during slow days.
Right now, the couple still works full-time on their respective jobs. Despite their busy schedule, they always find time to manage their shop daily, relying on their three employees to keep the operations running smoothly. Looking ahead, Maricel’s dream is to expand their business further. She wants to build a lasting venture that can support their family in the years to come.