It is not my first time to do a renovation, I always renovates my room. And I had my first boutique, Shabby Chic Style Studio, last 2014. I can say that I have experience. I know the basics, I know the "palitada" of walls, repainting jobs, tiling jobs, drills, fixtures, mechanical(ACU), electrical(I designed the lighting of my first boutique) etc. I am even a valuable member at Home Depot Balintawak- and they labeled me as an Architect as I was an Architecture Student way back 2014.
Since I had experiences in building and renovation, I thought this venture, Bride and Rose, would be easy. But boy! This is the most challenging, excruciating, tiring, and the most terrible test of patience that I encountered in my life, hence, it couldn't skip a blog entry. I will highlight(bold) all the old and new important terms that I learned, through out the journey, that you need to take note. I hope this blog could help future business owners, contractors, or Architects of a boutique that will be located inside a mall.
1.) BE SPECIFIC IN CREATING YOUR PERSPECTIVES
This one is the most enjoyable part. Kasi you are envisioning your dreams eh. My tips are, be specific of what you want, as for me, hinanap ko yung exact materials na gagamitin, and kung saan ko bibilhin, like the lights, then yun yung binigay ko kay designer, para magmatch talaga to reality. As you can see, our perspective is really malapit talaga to actual. Also because, magaling yung Architect na nagrender, Arch De Carlos Daniels. <3 Wala pang struggles sa part na to, and full of excitements pa, so be sure to enjoy every moment of this, hanga't wala pang stress! Kasi papasok ka pa lang dito sa butas ng karayom.
2.) DO NOT settle for the lowest bid. They're SCAMS, and don't know what they're doing.
So, I have friend(I will drop his name, as this is the best revenge that I can do for all the pain in the asses that he did to me), named
Of course I did my canvass. A reputable Interior Design company that I searched in google quoted me a whooping 6Million including all the furnitures. Way out of budget- and I believe I have an experience and I will design the interior myself, so pass on this- I don't need a budget for Interior Designer.
Another schoolmate of mine, quoted me 1.5Million. Again, I told myself I have an experience, so I could settle for the lowest bid- Marlo Mendoza.
I hired him around April 2019 and settled 30% Down Payment so he could start some of the fixtures. I am the one who did the plan, but I am not a registered Architect, so, my contractor, agrees that he will accomplish the Official Plans in Blue Print(these are the Architectural, Mechanical, Electrical, plans that has a signature of a registered Architects and Engineers) that are needed to be able to secure Building Permits.
Of course it will take some time to do the plans and to accomplish documents, most especially if it's a government documents. 3 months has passed, And he accomplished NOTHING. He even didn't start any single piece of the fixture that he could do in his workshop(the place where they do stuff and dirty works, outside the unit/mall boutique). Though I always follows up, he gave me countless reasons.
Ayan sya- Marco Arcolas, may picture kami ng taong di na mabilang sa dami ng beses akong pinaiyak. lol. Walang silbi contracts sa tao na to... Read further para malaman nyo mga atraso nya sakin. Hindi na lang rin ako nagaksaya ng panahon at pera na kasuhan sya. Dahil wala rin akong time and ayoko ng gumastos na naman ng dahil sa kanya. Sabi nga nila, si God na bahala sayo....
3.) BUSINESS PERMITS - DO IT YOURSELF, OR HIRE A LIASON OFFICER. MAKE CONNECTIONS INSIDE. DO NOT LEASE AT IL TERRAZZO. LOL
So, this is really a HUGE PROBLEM. Month of July is the agreed month in where the space will be turned over to us. And it is already July! Little did I know, the 3 months we allotted for the papers and documentations has been wasted that easily. It was really wrong on my part, that I trusted him that much. So yeah, I learned to TRUST NO ONE when it comes to construction.
I posted in the contractor Facebook Groups- I looked for someone who could help me with the blue prints and building permits. There are many who offered their services, and schoolmate message me. He said he has 6 years experience in the industry and he can help me. Of course I trusted a schoolmate-
Jem studied Architecture in Mapua too, but didn't pass the board exam. He was professional in terms of communication. He can persuade you through words and terms, while Marlo is the opposite-he's ragged and chill. I trusted Jem easily. He promised me that he can accomplish everything in 2 weeks. He was able to do the plans, but without signatures, and 2 months has passed, nothing happens in the permits. Of course I always follows him up, he's responsive naman, but with so many reasons too.
I couldn't let another month pass without doing something. So I had the courage to go to Quezon City's City Hall and figure it out myself. We searched for his name, my name, the name of the mall, and the name of my boutique-Bride and Rose, and nothing was found. It's positive. He never went to the City Hall. He never submitted anything yet. While he always tell me that the City Hall is already processing it.
Little did we know, he was just hiring a fixer lang rin pala. He's a self-proclaimed "Experienced" in in accomplishing papers in Quezon City and didn't even pushed his ass to go there.
It was wrong on my part that I hired someone to accomplish this. I had the typical Filipino Mindset, na when it comes to government papers, laging sasabihin "Mahirap yan, papabalik-balikin ka dyan. Magfixer ka na lang". Ending, I am the one who fixed it and accomplished it myself. Tho, talaga nga namang babalik-balik ka, the reason why I wanted to hire someone to accomplish this, to save time. These costed me a lot of money and effort. So imagine na lang the budget. Plus, we're already paying the f*cking 70k monthly rent. How fucked up is this?
And one thing pa, as far as I know, pinapayagan ng ibang malls to start the renovation kahit na there's no building permit yet. As long as you have a proof that it's in process already and to follow na lang. But no, mukha silang pera. We are paying the rent but we cannot start the construction even the simplest things lang. What's important naman in the permits are the approved electrical and mechanical plans eh, which is later pa naman yun. But the mall admin and the management is really a pain in the ass too! They don't have even 1% consideration! Kahit magdeliver ng gamit, bawal! Pft. I really do regret na dito kami sa mall na to pumwesto. Up to know they're still k*pal!
So, moving on, I still need someone to sign and seal (this is the signature and seal of the registered professionals) the plans, because Jem, didn't accomplished it as well and keeps on reasoning out. So, I did my job now, I hired a real professional, a registered Architect, Architect Albert Friala, he's my squad mate (we're former Mapua Cheerping Cardinals), Architect Friala is a real experienced one. Although syempre, mahal ang talent fee. Like it costed me ata 50k or more, just for the plans lang with signs. Ako pa rin magaasikaso ng papers/documents. So, wala na, ubos na the 500k budget, hindi pa nagsstart construction. Boo.
So, he was honest that he accomplished building permit in Quezon City just once. And when dealing with Architects, they really know what will be approved and what will be not. I turned over to him what Jem has accomplished, unfortunately, there are many errors that will not pass the building permit. So, Architect Albert made a whole new set of plans, and he accomplished everything on the said time. I submitted these at the City Hall and it took me just 5 days (imagine, just 5 days lang! pero si Jem and Marlo, walang nagawa in 2 and 3 months!!!) to get a result. I am so proud of my Architect and his engineers kasi pasado lahat ng plans, however, hahanap at hahanap talaga itong mga buwaya ng City Hall para mamera. May isa lang na na-sita on the electrical plan, not allowed daw the battery operated fire alarm. But according to Architect Albert's Engineer, which is Engineer Raymond Marzo, it' not in the building code daw that it's not allowed. So namemera lang talaga, and infairness, nahanapan nila ng butas the very pulidong plans.
So, I used my charms. Alam ko na na "lagayan" na ito. They said na ibalik raw nila yung plans, ipapaayos ko ulit sa Architects, and ireresubmit, so another process ulit. But syempre, if I choose that way, it will take time pa para irevise the plans, the transportation of documents will take time, my effort to make back and fort to City Hall will cost me time and money, the revision will cost another fee, so yeah, illegal man, but it's wiser. Naglagay na lang ako ng hindi bababa to 15k to the City Halls Engineers, para hindi na lumabas yung papers and magtuloy-tuloy process. Dyaan pala pumapasok yung "lagay" na sinasabi nila. Of course I saved their numbers and made connections, para next time, bago pa man idisapproved, cocontactin na nila ako na may revisions, para tuloy-tuloy na :)
Ang maganda sa QC, they have a "One-Stop-Shop", meaning, sila na magsusubmit all of the documents to all the departments. Architectural, fire safety, etc. Kaya aantayin mo na lang. It took me a total of 3 weeks, kasama na revisions. This was around September 2019 na yata. Imagine, we started with these documents ng April 2020 pa lang! Kaya naman pala ng sa sarili lang. Effort lang talaga. So, during the round 2, nung yung business permits na ang need ayusin, I hired na a Liason Officer para sya yung magpabalik-balik sa City Hall, so everything has to be reported to me. I just gave him an SPA or Special Power of Attorney(the document you need to accomplish if you're going to hire a Liason Officer) to give him the power to sign and receive documents in behalf of me. My Liason Officer is a newbie. Fisrt time nya lang rin, and he's one of my trusted people. But the point is, kaya naman sya matutunan by experience, may step by step process naman and iguguide naman ng city hall.
This is me, one of the many times I've been to City Hall, for this Motherf*cking papers! >.<
4.) MAKE YOUR BOARD UP BANNER SIMPLE
So, this is the day that our contract at Il Terrazzo Mall, has started. Kaya talaga I blogged this today. It's been one year since the start of my struggles!
Our Board Up Banner(The tarpaulin that will be installed in your facade/store front, to cover the inside of the boutique so that the dirty works couldn't be seen by the mall goers) was installed this day. This was happened in between the fixing of papers, nung hawak pa ni Jem Orallo. I even remember he told me na Ghost Month raw and it's better to start the construction ng September, so I shall give him more time daw to accomplish the papers ng August.
At first, gusto ko maging photo wall yung board up banner ko. Like with real silk roses then Bride and Rose logo. I have my own reinforcement team, my wedding team ( I style wedding decorations such as backdrops, ceiling, etc.), so sila na lang yung pinagawa ko nito. Unfortunately, it took us 4 sleepless nights to finish just a fucking board up banner! Bumibigat ng bumibigat the banner because of the roses, e kinakabit yun isa-isa, ilang beses nalalalaglag the banner but I keep on pushing them na gawan ng paraan haha! But ending, I gave up. I just settled for a plain tarpaulin na lang, of the perspective of the store.
P.S. I didn't include this in our capital budget. Imagine, the tarpauline pa lang na that big, costs 8.5k na, Plus the sahod pa ng reinforcement team. Food and Transpo. 2x pa ako nagpagawa ng tarpauline since the first one failed nga :(
5.) HIRE A CONTRACTOR THAT HAS AN EXPERIENCE IN RENOVATIONS INSIDE A MALL.
So, all these happened. Tahimik lang kami ni Marlo. But this is his time to shine again! Kasi we have the building permit na.
Also pala, syempre diba I paid Jem Orallo, despite of their shortcomings, pinagtyagaan ko silang dalawa, Jem and Marlo. Kasi feeling ko I have no choice na. Jem represented to become my Project Manager (the one who will forsee and manage everything) and the 3 of us had a meeting. We revised the costs because there are many mall standards na binalewala ni Marlo. P.S. he had a meeting with the admin too and he has the fit-out guidelines(the terms and conditions of the mall including the standards of the materials they want to use. for example: use of GI pipes(yung bakal) instead of the normal PVC pipes(plastic) and the tape and wires to be used etc.), pero he didn't cosidered it. Sobrang bullshit diba. Pero sige, forgive and forget again. Matuloy lang to. I have no choice! I felt ok naman kasi I hae a "Projecet Manager" kuno na.
Itong bullshit na project manager ko, pumayag naman na magissue ng bagong payment kay Marlo. Another 30%! Kahit wala pang nasisimulan. Need raw ng funds syempre to start. So sige I issued cheque ulit.
So ready na! Pwede na kami magstart. Paid na ulit, may permit na, re-planned na. Pucha! Ito na, ilang weeks kami inabot ng delays nya, nasa province pa raw mga tao nya, may tinatapos pa raw na project. DELAYED na naman! Tho I keep him always updated with our building permit. I always advise him na maaccomplish na so be ready. But yeah, ako ang sinisisi nya na nagaantay lang naman daw sya ng go signal ko, from the first place, sa kanya nagsimula problema, because he's the first one to commit that he will accomplish these papers!
So, naka-tenga lang ang unit namin, despite of the presence of the building permit. HOW TERRIBLE! October na, we paid 4 months of the lease already ng wala pang nangyayari! :( Fast forward after 2 or 3 weeks of his delays, finally, nakapagstart sya, and unfortunately, first day pa lang you'll see already that he's a shit! Magsasama sya ng 3 na tao lang. The whole night will pass and wala ka man lang makikitang changes. 3 nights ata sila nagtiktik ng sahig. Demolish(removing previous construction) raw ng sahig sa unit para pumantay sa sahig mall. He gave me a fucking timeline na 2 weeks nya lang tatapusin. pero 3 days na, nagtititktik pa rin ng sahig!!! Minsan dalawang tao lang papasok. BULLSHIT! Naaalala ko na naman huhu...
One thing pa pala that these 2 guys gave me, they don't know how to accomplish delivery, construction and gate passes(forms you need to accomplish to be permitted to work.) sa mall admin! Ito naman rin si mall, super daming requirements! Isa pa pala yan sa delays, kasi need NBI, Brgy Clearance, ID picture etc etc, ng mga construction workers. Which is hindi nga maprovide provide ni Marlo. At itong Project Manger kuno ko e wala ring nagawa.
So, next time, dapat talaga hire someone who has experience na sa mall like fixing the passes nga, knows the fit out guidelines and all that.
Ito yung itsura ng loob na bare pa. Imagine, wala man lang ilaw sila Marlo. Ni magset-up ng ilaw hindi alam gagawin. nagdedemolish sila ng sahig ganyan lang ang lighting, galing sa pinto from the light outside. at flash light ng cellphone. Mawawalan ka talaga ng pag-asa.
6.) HIRE A REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL. Not self-proclaimed professionals.
Wala na, sumuko na talaga ako sa dalawang PAIN IN THE ASSES na to. I resorted to Architect Albert Friala again. I asked for his help na. He's the "Architect-in-Charge" naman in the permits, so then be it. But syempre, it will cost me way way way more than my budget. Given that wala na kong nakuhang pera from Marlo and Jem, and the 4 months lease I paid to the mall. Tapon na lahat. And this is a brand new start.
We have a friend rin, our pepmate as well (from Mapua Cheerping Cardinals), Paulo Gregorio- who owns, Grecon Construction, and we hired him para sumalo kay Marlo and Jem. Mas makakamura ako sa kanya kesa kay Architect Albert, but Arch. albert will still be my Architect, so I opted for this set up. Another meetings with Architect Albert Friala, Paulo Gregorio and His Electrical Engineer, walang specific cost pero we had an estimate. We agreed na maglalabas lang ako ng money per gastos, and they will be transparent sa lahat ng gastos and he will document all the receipts and all that. At first wala ring fixed price sa labor costs, until we decided na ipafix na like ipa-pakyaw na sa mga tao nya, kasi nga tinatagalan. But their good, so far so good kasi finally, may nakikita akong mga pagbabago! Like there are scaffoldings na inside, light, and many many contruction workers.
The sad part lang with Paulo is that he don't have knowledge rin with the passes as he don't have experience in malls yet. So angdami naming penalties (not in my capital budget too) for not securing gate, construction and delivery passes. Pwede naman kasi yun, pero 3k ang penalty per emergency slip(the form they will give you if you didn't accomplish the pass). Eh ilang passes yun, kasi imagine diba everyday nagdedeliver and nagpupull out ng gamit sa site. The reason why passes are needed, kasi, to know kung ano yung mga naipasok sa site, and nilabas, para hindi nagkakawalaan. I agree with this. Kasi we are the reinforcement team nga, and my husband is the transportation(Als Express), so we pick up the materials sa workshop ni Paulo, or sa hardware, then deliver to the site. So there are instances na may hinahanap kaming cornice, but since passes are not accomplished nga, we don't have proof na naipasok yung mga cornice sa site. Ending, nasa site na nga sya. So, that's the importance of accomplishing the passes.
Super daming loop holes ni mall. Like the double walling(hindi pwedeng galawin yung walls ng mga kapitbahay na units, kaya needs to have a double wall. Hindi sya yung diretso papalitadahan mo na lang. There were aluminums installed, and hardiflex ang wall, not plywood). Like nasa Architectural plans naman yung plans for this, and they approved it, eventually, bigla nilang sisitahin and ipapabago, for example, the height. So syempre all these are extra cost sa labor and materials, plus extended time.
There were problems occurred rin sa ceiling, like a catwalk is needed, suspensions, etc. There were jobs need to be done on the existing water sprinkles etc. Kaya super lumobo ng lumobo the budget.
The 500k budget is a BIG JOKE pala when you are dealing with a Mall, especially Il Terrazzo Mall.
7.) COORDINATION, PLAN AHEAD.
I remember my contractor and my ACU supplier, they are blaming each other who is who. Kasi we're on a rush na nga diba, they are giving me timelines na hindi nasusunod. Kesyo kasi raw si contractor ganito ganyan. Si ACU naman ganito ganyan. Ughhh.. Nagsusumbungan sila ng nagsusumbungan sakin. So dapat talaga plan ahead! And also, as for the ACU, it really needs to be ordered in advanced kasi most units are pre-order. Nagkaproblem kami sa available units na pasok sa watts requirement ng existing pannel board namin and I had no choice but to avail the more expensive unit available in stock. :( So yeah, bloated again the budget.
This is one of the toughest decision making that I made pala. Kasi I can choose a cheaper brand talaga, pero, you'll consider raw the long run. There are many types of acu rin that we can install. Pero I chose the one that will not ruin the aesthetics of my ceiling. And I availed 2 units para hindi hirap, as they advised. I availed the more matibay na brand raw which is Daikin. And I didn't know as well that ACU will cost a whooping 250k+++ so yeah, plan ahead talaga! >.< These are some of the things that I overlooked in planning.
Oh as well as my signages pala, it costed me 100k++ and hindi rin magaling supplier, like hindi maganda the result plus they are delayed! They wanted to make a scene pa during our soft launching party. Very unprofessional. Ugh. Anghirap talaga! Haha!
6.) FURNITURES, AGAIN, DON'T SETTLE FOR LESS.
Just like in my first tip, do not settle for the lowest bid. Mura nga, pero mapapa-mura ka rin! Haha! I didn't know that I could experience such horror in my life. Well, ok sige ofcourse I did my research, magaganda yung mga gawa nila. I asked them if kaya nila gawin yung design ko and told me na madali lang raw. They are very confident ha! So they got me on that.
1st, they are so delayed. Pinagpapabukas nila ako ng bukas ng bukas hangang sa umabot na ng ilang buwan. I realized that cheap finds are unprofessional talaga. Then after the so many delays, they showed me an outcome and napa-mura talaga ako! Like, NO! I cannot place this chair at Bride and Rose. This is so cheap looking. And we are not cheap. Di talaga pwede! Huhu. For the other chairs naman, super obvious na magkaiba ang itsura. Given na I gave measurements. I really had troubles talaga. Like damn! Sila pa yung nangaaway sakin. Like they want me to accept their works na maganda raw. Ayaw na nila baguhin. Like ako pa yung nasasabihan ng maarte. And all of their clients are satisfied raw sa works nila. Ako lang raw ang hindi. Yeah I'm maarte talaga. So hindi talaga ako pwede for the cheap ones. Very wrong move. Kakatipid ko, mas lalo ako napapamahal.
So yeah, I ended up hiring the more expensive one. My dream furniture supplier, Vintage Hub Furniture. And I didn't regret! Sasabihin talaga nila if kaya nila or hindi.
Well, siguro, if you want to settle for cheap furnitures, ok lang if you'll choose their existing work na that you like. But if you want a custom one, di talaga pwede sa mura. At first, my mindset kasi is may mga mura naman talaga pero magaling. But boy, ayoko na. I changed my mindset na talaga. It costed me double!
Kamukha ba ng nasa perspective? No diba? Dinetalye ko pa exactly kung anong dapat baguhin kung saan puputulin and kung gaano kalaking bawas para maging kagaya ng nasa perpective. Boy, di nila alam tumingin ng kamukha sa hindi kamukha. 
Here na final. Atleast after lahat ng sakit sa ulo and pakikipag-sapilitan na ayusin nila. Kahit papano may napala ako sa kanila na chairs.. Sa couch, sumuko talaga ako. Tried everything I can para maging maayos. They re-made it twice. Kayo na lang magjudge. 
Some of my comments "Yung buttons, tignan mo sa picture, hindi dapat kita. nakalubog dapat. malalim yung pagkakalubog ng buttons. Yung back seat, yung sides nya, walang kanto. macurve sya. Yung arm rest, walang tahi sa harapan and hindi ganyan kataas. Even the salong-puwit mismo, wala dapat kitang tahi. walang tahi sa harapan, curvy rin dapat yung sides nya"
The final product. Mas lalong pumangit, hindi ko alam kung nangaasar na ba sila or what. Hahaha tawanan ko na lang ngayon.
8.) DON'T SET A DATE. EXPECT DELAYS
This is the greatest lesson I've learned through out the journey. Kasi naman dba, may date naman talaga dapat for you to be able to plan. Like I have the coordinators eh, suppliers for the party, invitations. So everything should be planned well. And even though we have like a month of allowance na nga for the event, sa sobrang daming delays in the construction industry, hindi pa rin kami umabot in time na perfect ang ending. Sobrang grabe yung iyak ko, the contractor promised me so much like na kaya yan, kaya yan. Then on the day of the ingress, patapos pa lang. Suppliers got mad to me bakit daw nagpapaingress ako ng hindi pa tapos yung site. Haha! Like we waited pa talaga kasi construction workers were there pa. Ako na mismo nagcocommand to them. I remember kailangan ko lang ng mop, para malinis na yung sahig, and super alikabok pa talaga, nanghihiram ako sa maintenance ng mall but they are SO damot. Mop lang ayaw pa magpahiram. Nakikita na nga nilang sobrang struggle. They are not of any help and they are unconsiderate and useless!! Nagii-iyak iyak na ako sa harapan mismo ng mga janitors and crews ko. In the end, nagpabili na lang ako ng sariling Mop. Like grabe noh? Expect the unexpected talaga, who would think na pati mop poproblemahin ko? Who would think na ako mismo magmomop?
The ACU was not tested properly, So the day mismo ng event, it was not working during the waiting period/cocktail hour! So diba, nakakahiya hehe. Buti na lang naayos rin.
I had 2 events. The first one for the VIPs like the people involved, that was November 21, 2019.
Ayan na nga yung mga nasa kwento ko. The second event was December 15, 2019, for the media and bloggers naman. On November 21 event, half lang ng store ang furnished. So ginawan ko na lang ng paraan just to push through the event. Atleast they had a glimpse of the concept. On December 15, fully furnished na dapat and the goal is completed na sya. The contractor wasn't able to do the "finishing" stage. So after the November 21 pa nila yun gagawin. They promised na naman. They didn't work for around 2 weeks ata, so ayan, delayed delayed na naman. My team was the one who placed the fitting room in the store. And to my dismay, pagdating ko kinabukasan during the event day on December 15, 2019, wala na yung fitting room! Tinangal nila! Imagine that. So wala na, the goal was not achieved. There were medias pa man rin and presses. So hindi nafeature the fitting room. :(
Not only that! Hindi kami natulog ng reinforcement team ko for that day. Itong bwisit na Marlo na to, who still tasked to do the cabinets, hindi na rin natapos tapos. Imagine, lahat ng binayad ko sa kanya nabalewala. Ako na mismo nagpapabili ng mga materials out of my own pocket na naman, ang nagpapasahod sa mga tao nya para lang gawin yung mga cabinets! Kasi, hindi na raw sya nagpapakita duon sa workshop nya. So bullshit talaga! So yun na nga, the night before, we picked up the cabinet, na hindi man lang natapos pinturahan! Like alam mo yun, kulang pa ng coatings, pero I have no choice but to settle for that kasi bukas na yun. And we have a wedding event ng December 14!! So imagine the struggles. Ito yung pinaka-nakakaiyak na moment, ako pa yung nagdadrive ng pick up truck!! And I really do appreciate the hardwork of my team, kudos to them!! After our wedding event, I asked them to do some purchasing and pick ups like picking up of the glasses and everything. Then diretso kami kila marlo, then il terrazzo, then fixed things pa, then we checked in sa hotel ng around 7am or 8am na. Woke up at 9am kasi 10am yung event. Like grabe! more than 24hrs kaming gising! And feeling ko super pangit ko sa interviews ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ I was not happy this day. It's not mission accomplished. I was so tired. And the store was not completed :(
But yeah, if I have enough time diba, these things will not happen. So next time, I will make sure first that everything is complete and ok na. Before I set a date for an event, or launching. ayoko ng mastress! Tho syempre, you'll compromise talaga the lease. Kaya naman ako palaging nagmamadali kasi diba umaandar yung bayarin sa upa/lease ng unit. Hence, I want every second counts. But yeah, hayaan na natin yung bayarin. Sabi nga nila, "Kinikita naman ang pera"... Pero yung perfect day, or perfect event, once in a lifetime lang yun and hindi na mauulit. Kaya, ito, babawi na talaga ako sa grand launch! Too bad naman, may covid na :| Super struggle and so many challenges noh? Not to mention that we shut down our store after 3 months from the soft opening. Dahil nga sa lockdown. So ito, magrere-open kami this September, and yeah, no date na muna. We'll polish everything na muna. I've learned my lessons already! Hehe...
Ganito yung itsura ng store the day before the opening. Grabeng kaba ko diba? Magtitiles pa lang and magpipintura.
Ayan yung back-area, the day of the event! E dyaan dapat pupwesto catering, kahit di sila dyaan naka-puwesto, dyaan sila dadaan. So imagine the struggles of my wedding crew team. Sila lahat naglinis and gumawa ng paraan nyan. huhu..
9.) ALWAYS HAVE RETAINERS
I am not sure if this is the right term. Mej nalimutan ko na :D this is the term we use rin kasi with my lawyers. But I am pertaining to the contracted amount sa contractor na hindi mo ibabayad ng buo. You'll just pay the whole kapag natapos na lahat. After the incident na inalis nila yung fitting room and hindi na naman nila natapos on time for the event yung unit, they didn't showed up na. So syempre, ako rin, di ko na sila binayaran sa retainers. Quits lang kasi kami yung magbabayad ng penalties nila na napaka-rami. Which is supposedly, sa kanila dapat deducted. Actually, lugi pa nga, kasi angdami ngang final touch na hindi natapos. Like there are exposed wires pa, uncovered switches, may butas pa na part ng wall... May hindi pa nakakabit na accent light, etc. Na lahat yun, pinagawan ko na lang ng paraan kay Architect Albert at an extra cost na naman like we spent around a 100k na naman just for the finishing.
All in all, and to be fair, satisfied naman ako sa Grecon Construction, kasi after I had Marlo and Jem diba. Atleast ito sila, nagawa naman talaga nila. Goosebumps sa feelings ko yung may mga scaffolding sa loob, and angdaming construction workers sa loob. Like wow, this is sureal na talaga! This is happening! They gave me these feelings. Talagang super daming delays lang, which I think is normal sa construction industry? Although nasusurprise lang rin talaga ako sa billings 😑 Though yeah, I'm still thankful na sinalo nila ako and nagawa ang dapat nagawa. Quality of work though, 50/50.. Sa electrical, very poor, so sad. Nagbiblink blink paminsan yung isang linya ng pin lights ko, up to now :( Architectural, so much room for improvements pa. Professionality, so much room for improvements pa rin. Like they don't know how to accept mistakes and don't know how to apologize to clients yet. Sasagutin ka pa nila 🙈😔 I remember our heated up conversations. I understand naman, bata pa lang talaga siguro sila by age and experience, and tho they are starting pa lang rin kasi nga. I know naman they will improve pa :) At the end of the day, I'm still thankful that they were able to help me in those very difficult times and pain in the ass moments that I had.
Ito yung goosebump feelings ko, first time ko nakita na may nangyayari na talaga kasi may mga scaffoldings na. haha!
10.) DO NOT FORGET THE BUDGET FOR AS-BUILT PLANS
This is one of the most expensive stuff that I wasn't able to anticipate. So yeah, I am listing it down so you won't forget. :) These are the final plans that you need to submit to the mall and the city hall. Ito yung plano where you can see the actual na nagawa. Kasi nga, some times, or most of the times, may mga hindi nasusunod sa original plan. Like for us, sa ACU and some electricals, marami talagang nabago.
10.) HAVE A REVOLVING CAPITAL
This is another important thing that I wasn't able to anticipate. Dapat you always have a revolving capital. Ito yung extra money mo for you to use for unexpected things. On my part, nakita nyo naman super daming unexpected things. Initially, my 500k budget to construction bloated to 3.5Million including the furnitures and damages. Apparently, I used my personal savings na hindi naman dapat nakalaan for Bride and Rose capital. I ended up having more investors and shareholders. Buti na lang, there are plenty of people who believes in me, and they keep on investing. Kaya we were still able to finish what we have started.
If mapapansin nyo, sa perspective, nasa right side yung book shelve, now nasa left na sya. So yeah, as you see, may mga changes talaga na di maiiwasan kaya may asbuilt plan.
LUHA, DUGO AT PAWIS. LITERALLY. Yan ang puhunan ko sa Bride and Rose. Sa sobrang dami kong napagdaanang challenges in life, didn't know that there were these kind of things na literal akong pagdurusahin. Didn't know that there's these kind of people like Jem and Marlo na hinding hindi ko talaga makakalimutan sa daming beses akong pinaiyak. But yeah, I know one day, there will be fruits of our labor. :)
DISCLAIMER: I am not telling that everyone experiences this. Yung iba for sure smooth naman most especially if they settle with the expensive ones. I hope you learn something from these experiences of mine :)
If you read up to hear, THANK YOU! And I hope I touched you, somehow. And I am wholeheartedy asking you to please spread the words, about Bride and Rose. Pagkalat nyo na may bagong wedding store sa Quezon City! The first of its kind! Visit www.brideandrose.com for more information :)
LUHA, DUGO AT PAWIS. LITERALLY. Yan ang puhunan ko sa Bride and Rose. Sa sobrang dami kong napagdaanang challenges in life, didn't know that there were these kind of things na literal akong pagdurusahin. Didn't know that there's these kind of people like Jem and Marlo na hinding hindi ko talaga makakalimutan sa daming beses akong pinaiyak. But yeah, I know one day, there will be fruits of our labor. :)
DISCLAIMER: I am not telling that everyone experiences this. Yung iba for sure smooth naman most especially if they settle with the expensive ones. I hope you learn something from these experiences of mine :)
If you read up to hear, THANK YOU! And I hope I touched you, somehow. And I am wholeheartedy asking you to please spread the words, about Bride and Rose. Pagkalat nyo na may bagong wedding store sa Quezon City! The first of its kind! Visit www.brideandrose.com for more information :)
Super laking pasasalamat ko sa Wedding Crew ko. From weddings, to construction, sali-salitan na gawain. Di nila ko iniwanan sa ere at tinulungan nila ako matapos hangang sa huli. Ultimo pagtatapon ng ihi ng construction workers, pagtatapon ng mga basura, ginawa nitong mga batang to. Huhu. Salute!! A big thanks to my husband as well na naglelead sa kanila :)
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