TikTok Shop and SM Supermalls launched a pop up event at the SM Mall of Asia to recognize and empower female-owned and female-led businesses in the country. With a theme, “She Leads: Fun Beyond Shopping,” the event highlights how women have started to change the game, making a powerful shift in the market where they think not only of creating jobs and generating revenues but also inspire others to pursue their dreams and contribute to their communities.
What makes the event special and the first of its kind is it celebrates the dynamic Philippine shopping scene and the possibility that comes with integrating offline and online ecommerce. This collaboration between TikTok Shop and SM Supermalls also presents innovations in the retail industry.
Actress, endorser, entrepreneur and TikTok ambassador Marian Rivera graced the event, saying she is glad to have an event like this that supports and empowers women.
Rivera also said that women have the strength and confidence in what they want to do especially when it comes to their family. She also said that women can now do whatever men can do.
When asked how does she see TikTok and other platform help women to be empowered and become successful in their business, she said it is now into collaboration to help and support women in live selling, (or showcasing some or all products via live streams using social media platform). She also said she too is into live selling.
There are other women-entrepreneurs who graced the event. These women are chief executive officers (CEOs) and owners of brands in beauty and fashion. These include Rosenda Casaje of Gorgeous Glow, maker of skin care products; Ashley Yap of Sip2Glow, another skin care products brand; Rei Germar of Tapies, a nipple cover ups producer; and Celeste Cortesi of Azul, a lip care brand.
These women shared that as women entrepreneurs, they encountered challenges when they ventured into business. These challenges however made them strong to pursue their dreams and become successful.
Casaje said people would actually give false hope and she also experienced rejections.
Germar relayed that as women, “we experienced a lot of backlash. Sometimes we hear a lot of rumors about us, letting us down.”
For Cortesi, the creation of the product is not an easy task. You need a team that will work behind the brand, and create something that is of premium.
One of the factors that will make a business successful is the people who work behind the product, from creation to the finished product. Yap emphasized that you have to invest in talent. Invest in people that you need in the business and take care of these people. Cortesi, likewise thanked the people working for her and her brand because “me alone I wouldn’t be able to make a brand like Azul.”
These women leaders in their own business advise women to start pursuing their dreams now. To start, you will need trust in yourself, hard work, and work with a team that really cares about you, about the product, and the customers.
