Rizza Badillo

Rizza Badillo, 40, Rizza’s Junk Shop, opened seven years ago, employs 6 people, makes a profit of PhP 396,000 per year (USD 9,000), is now on her 22nd loan in 9 years.

One man’s trash is Rizza Badillo’s treasure. When she put up Rizza’s Junk Shop, her family’s years of struggle by selling vegetables door to door and working abroad has all been rewarded.

But the junk business was aptly named at first because of plenty of problems that threatened to ruin them, which includes unreliable employees and a truck that constantly needed repairs.

“The failures taught me how to run the business correctly,” she said. “I chopped that truck into pieces and sold it. The money I got is enough to start the business again. Now, I pay the workers a little bit every day, instead of every week, so that they will keep on coming back.”

With established prices for metal, car parts and other discarded items that their workers collect, then sell in bulk to a larger shop in the region, business management has become easy for Badillo. However, some problems are unavoidable but her family’s support and her CARD Bank loans gave Rizza’s Junk Shop a strong safety net.

“Sometimes we unknowingly buy stolen merchandise. In this situation, the police will come and we are left with no choice but to settle it with the real owners,” she said. “You need to have wisdom, perseverance, and faith in God to succeed.”

Rizza is currently on her 22nd loan and makes a profit of PhP 396,000 per year (USD 9,000). Next, she will use her savings and borrow enough money from CARD Bank to buy a truck again – a good one this time. She also wants to open a few more branches in other locations.

She sees her business as serving the community, both as an employer and as an environmentalist. Her advise to aspiring entrepreneurs is to pursue dreams that do the same.

“Our junk shop helps our nation by employing people and by keeping our surroundings clean,” she ends

~Rizza Badillo