“If I can do it, so can you.”
A seller on Lazada for five years, Ruby started her store, Precious Cornerstone Shoppe, in 2017. She sells beauty products such as serums, creams, beautifying oils with the help of her husband Lester and their two employees. But things weren’t always smooth sailing for this entrepreneur. In 2005, her gadget and phone accessory store in Valenzuela was broken into and robbed. Though she tried to revive the business, Ruby and Lester fell into debt and had to close shop.
In 2015, Ruby decided to set up a buy-and-sell online business. She bought random items like bags at Divisoria and sold them on Facebook and OLX. The business brought in some money, and in 2017, she received an email invitation to Lazada.
Ruby decided to try it out. She began to research other products that were trending online, and decided on beauty products. Her initial assortment contained five products. To her surprise, her first payout totaled Php54,000. Within six months, Lester had resigned to help her work on the store. By 2018, Ruby and Lester were able to buy a vehicle and move into their own home. When Ruby’s mother suffered a stroke, Ruby was able to cover her medical expenses. “If it weren’t for Lazada, we would not have been able to give her the medical care she needed,” Ruby says.
Today, Precious Cornerstone Shoppe has an assortment comprised of 200 products. Ruby also manages 300 resellers nationwide. “Lazada has drastically changed our lives for the better,” Ruby says. “Everyone was shocked with how quickly the business grew.” In the near future, she plans to move the business to a warehouse and add even more products in her assortment.
Apart from her goals for the store, however, Ruby also wants to give back. In 2020, she became a Lazada Seller Ambassador after a rigorous application and screening process. Ruby aims to use her platform to inspire her co-sellers to improve their stores. “If I can do it, so can you,” she says in a video to sellers. “You might even surpass my success!”
