Small business, big dreams: How one driver unlocked success in his business by choosing the right partner

Establishing a startup, maintaining an already thriving business, or scaling what you have started can be daunting, especially for those who have only just begun. Finding a dependable business partner who will help – and not hurt – your business is key. You will need a partner who understands your needs, offers a share of the financial responsibility, gives you the leeway to make sound business decisions, and is by your side every step of your journey. So the question is, how do you find the right partner to guide you in launching or expanding your business? 

This was the exact dilemma that Joel Herrera Rueco, a dedicated GrabCar driver-partner since 2017, faced when he finally resolved to establish his own business. Rueco’s journey was long and arduous, but he has fortunately found a dependable business partner in GrabFinance.  For years now, he simply merged his daily GrabCar earnings and the support he acquired from GrabFinance credit lines to grow his existing business and launch two more new ones. His intrinsic entrepreneurial spirit has compelled his wife to resign from her day job to manage their businesses full-time, and he has successfully sent his children to school.

From GrabTaxi driver to GrabCar owner

Rueco—who hails from Nueva Ecija and is now residing in Cainta with his wife Julie Ann and their four children—started out as a driver in one of the taxi companies in Manila. When his boss-operator signed up his taxi fleet for Grab, he was one of the lucky few who were selected to handle the company’s GrabTaxi, given his loyalty to the company and hard work.  Like anyone who was first introduced to how the ride-hailing service works, he was daunted with the seemingly complex app.  “I was so proud to be handpicked by my boss, but at the same time I also felt overwhelmed because driving an app-based taxi service was something new to me,” Rueco laughed.  “But of course, it was a welcome opportunity, so I tried it anyway.  I attended Grab’s training and orientation, and what do you know, I have been driving as a Grab driver for seven years now and counting…” he added. 

Back then, Rueco also confessed how he wished to finally drive his own car as a Grab driver, but had no financial means to acquire one.  “Driving a GrabTaxi on a boundary basis daily, I did not have sufficient funds to buy my own car.  But I was steadfast in making my dream come true, so I talked to my boss about this.  Eventually, he agreed to buy me a car, under the ‘Boundary-hulog’ scheme, where an additional amount will be charged on top of my daily boundary payment until I have paid the car fully,” Rueco explained.  

The Grab Boundary-hulog is a popular program for Grab drivers who want to own a car without having to make a bank loan as the operator pays the amortization.  Once all the payments are completed, the vehicle’s ownership is transferred from the operator to the driver.  In 2022—five years after driving a GrabTaxi—Rueco finally drove his own GrabCar. 

Daring to dream big

To better provide for the family, Rueco and his wife already have an existing home-based business where they sell fresh chicken in their neighborhood, but he wanted more sustainable sources of income.  With the unconditional support of his wife, they turned to GrabFinance and loaned PHP 77,000 to finally launch the two businesses which he had been dying to start ever since.  Just like a dependable partner, GrabFinance has given Rueco extra income and further enhanced his entrepreneurial skills. 

“I have always been interested in the drop shipping business and buying and in the selling of scrap steel and copper.  So out of the whole amount, I used P40,000 to establish a dimsum drop shipping business, and the remaining money was used to finance my steel and copper buy-and-sell business,” he revealed. The food franchise allowed them to sell within the community and even online. For the buy-and-sell trade, Rueco personally visits buildings that are about to be demolished and buys tons of steel and copper which he would then sell to a junk shop for a sizable amount. 

As proof of how hardworking he is, he starts driving in the afternoon to scout around for buildings where he could possibly source the steel and copper.  Afterward, he then drives his GrabCar from early evening until the wee hours of the morning.  At the end of his graveyard shift, he drops by the buildings to purchase his share of goods and proceeds to sell these to some friends’ junk shops before heading home for a well-deserved rest.  

Rueco also dreams of purchasing another GrabCar vehicle in the near future but while he is still paying for the GrabCar boundary-hulog and his loan, he is proud to say that he has since doubled the money, expanded his business which, in turn, has helped give his family a better quality of life. 

“I am proud of how much hard work I put into my businesses, every single day, and I will never be ashamed to share that I borrowed my capital from GrabFinance because with this affordable and flexible loan, I launched two businesses, expanded my old one, and sent my children to school,” he beamed.  

He also constantly shares his experience with fellow drivers who want to take on the same journey, underscoring the fact how Grab and GrabFinance, as his partners, have definitely changed his and his family’s life for the better. “I always remind them that work won’t last forever, and I know that there will come a time when I have to stop.  I am no longer afraid when that time comes because I have my businesses to fall back on.  Meanwhile, I will continue to give my all, daily, despite the challenges.  At hindi ako dapat tumigil mangarap  (I will not stop reaching for my dreams),” Rueco concluded. 

INQUIRER.net BrandRoom/JC