The
C's, Pillows, and Dips:
Cello Santos' love for Doughnuts
After
her on-the-job-training, Cello Santos (BS ME '04, decided that
instead of working for a multi-national company, she would be set-up her
own business after graduation. From this decision came the highly popular Cello's
Doughnuts & Dips. In this article, Cello, with boyfriend Jutes
Templo (BS ME '04, who helped her set up the shop, talks about how she
started her business, including her tips to aspiring young entrepreneurs
Hungry
beginnings
"It
all started because of my [and Jutes] sheer love for eating," Cello
Santos says. Jutes Templo brought her doughnuts one day, and that made her
think of setting up an alternative doughnuts shop in Katipunan. "The
other doughnut places that I liked were quite far, and I had to travel by
car and go through traffic just to get some. Since I've lived and
studied in Katipunan all my life, I figured that I was quite familiar with
the market in the area. So I thought, why not a doughnuts shop in
Katipunan?" Cello continues. After a few months of planning, she opened
her first shop on July 10 last year.
Cello's
Doughnuts & Dips sells pillows (soft, tiny, square-shaped
bread) and C's (C-shaped doughnuts) in different flavors (i.e. chocnut,
Oreo, chocolate, M & M's, caramel, peanut butter,
cheese) that come with one's choice of dips (i.e. caramel, dark
chocolate, Nutella, Toblerone, white chocolate-strawberry).
"With the flavors, I asked my friends what new flavors they wanted me to
come out with," Cello shares. "As for the Chocnut flavor, ‘di ba
may (isn't there) Chocnut ice cream? Sabi ko, ‘Uy! I can
also make Chocnut doughnut!'" She adds, "Jutes suggested peanut
butter. Eh I don't eat peanut butter. Ayokong maglabas ng
anything na hindi ko kinakain pero pinilit niya (I don't want to
come out with anything that I don't eat, but he insisted), ‘Masarap
iyon (It's yummy')!" The inspiration for doughnut dips came from
KFC Funshots. "What would make Cello's doughnut shop different
from other doughnut shops? The C's and dips, the pillows and dips,"
Jutes proudly explains.
Setting
Shop
Cello's
parents gave their full support her venture. They lent her money for
starting capital and assisted her with all the necessary procedures. "I
don't really know anything about setting up a business, so sobrang
kapa-kapa lahat (I was feeling my way into everything)," says Cello.
"[I did everything] one step at a time, I asked questions. It's hard,
because there are so many steps that I wasn't familiar with, like
dealing with the city government. It was hell. Do'n talaga ako
sobrang nahirapan (That was where I really had a hard time)," she
narrates
She
herself took care of the details in the construction of the shop. She
shopped around for materials she needed for the shop, like lights and the
furniture. Jutes designed the poster displays, but he got someone to
design the signboard outside and the board where the product offerings and
prices are shown. "Maraming nag-offer (Many offered) to do the
interiors, but all I got was an architect for the construction. He helped
me a little with the ideas, the colors while I took care of the rest.
Limited budget kasi (My budget is limited), Cello happily
recalls"
Baptism
of Fire
At
first, some of her relatives and friends were hesitant about her opening a
doughnut shop. "Many people were against our plans," Cello says. Jutes
explains, "Kasi sobrang bilis talaga (Because everything happened
so fast). Everyone was asking, ‘Wala ba kayong (Don't you have
a) feasibility study? Alam n'yo ba kung gaano kalaki ang doughnut
market sa Pilipinas (Do you have an idea how big the doughnut
market is in the Philippines)'? Basta alam lang namin masarap yung
doughnuts (All we know is doughnuts taste good).
Cello
remembers. "It was a good thing that my parents and close friends were
very supportive…[they] gave me the courage to go on and push through
with it. The whole experience is a challenge for me. What gets me through
each day and inspires me are faith in the Lord, the support of my family
and friends and seeing a customer enjoy and savor every bite of my
donuts," Cello explains. "Nakakapagod talaga minsan pero pinili ko
'to (It's tiring sometimes but I chose this). No turning back.
Things worked out in the end," Cello adds.
Future Plans
Cello
hopes not only to grow financially but also for the shop's employees,
including herself, to grow as persons. In addition, Cello wants her shop
to be known as a happy place where customers can really love and enjoy
eating doughnuts.
"I
hope to open around 5 more branches in the next two years," Cello says.
To be able to achieve her goal, she emphasizes the need to maintain
product quality and make customers happy by continually coming out with
new flavors and products.
"I'm
very happy with my decision to be an entrepreneur. I'm earning my own
money and at the same time I'm able to do what I love every single day
– cook and eat," beams Cello. To budding entrepreneurs, she says:
"If you find something that you will earn from and enjoy doing, take the
opportunity."
Based from the article "Dipping Doughnuts at Cello's (and Beading Baubles, Too!)" written by Shyryl Angeli Lagarde, published online at www.iateneo.com.