SMDC gives this resident an opportunity to live her passion amid the pandemic.
Jenny Maranan’s Saturdays start as early as 3:30 a.m. as she has to begin preparing breakfast ‘silog’ (fried rice and egg) meals that she sells at The Good Guys Weekend Market in SMDC Trees Residences in Fairview, Quezon City.
Jenny is among the resident-entrepreneurs in the community who are given the opportunity to sell goods in the weekend market. For Jenny, the weekend market not just provides income opportunities but also paves the way for her to follow her passion—cooking.
Opportunity during pandemic
Maranan worked as a secretary in a clinic in St. Luke’s Medical Center in BGC for 8 years when she got married and relocated to Singapore in 2018.
In early 2020, Jenny and her husband went on a vacation tour (Taiwan and Manila) and were forced to stay in Manila longer when lockdown was declared in March. Her husband immediately went back to Singapore when flights resumed, but she decided to stay in their Trees Residences.
Shortly after, The Good Guys Weekend Market was set up at Trees Residences, which opened its doors to residents who wanted to set up shop as homepreneurs. Jenny was among the first batch who signed up.
“I am happy because I get to do what I love doing most and I’ve been busy,” she says. “Aside from the weekend market, I also cook lutong-bahay dishes during weekdays. Loyal customers order meals via Messenger. My passion has turned into a lucrative business!”
Giving back
Jenny is also a volunteer-marshal who helps keep the weekend market in her community orderly.
“We feel the support and concern given to all of us by the SMDC management which allows us to set up at this weekly trading place for free. They even lend us tables, chairs, and other materials we need to make this endeavor a recurring success,” Jenny quips.
The company maintains its commitment to further give support through its Resident Entrepreneurship Program, which provides guidance through regular business webinars and facilitates trade venues like The Good Guys Weekend Market.
“SMDC has truly lived up to its name of being The Good Guys through this program. I have seen how it has helped not only the residents who get their essentials right in their homes; it has paved the way for displaced workers to find an alternate source of income in these trying times,” she says.