“A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.” These words stayed in the heart and mind of Ms. Daw Than Htay, a 53 year old businesswoman in Bago.
Ms. Daw Than Htay, 53 years old married to Li Khin Kyi, and is gifted with three (3) children ages 30,25, and 20 respectively where the oldest and the second one were already married and got business of their own. Together with her husband, Ms. Than established a grocery store eighteen years ago. Aside from the grocery store
, Ms. Chy’s husband engaged in trading woods and supplying wood to some contractors to meet their daily needs.
The family’s main source of income came from supplying construction materials. However, with the growing family, they chose to invest in other business which is the grocery store. The area is a bit far from the market, thus, there is a demand for the supplies that are vital for everyday living. She started the grocery store with an initial capital of MMK2,000,000, and at present, it has reached MMK10,000,000.
The grocery store has been a great help in the income generation not only to Ms. Than’s family, but also to her employees. She was able to employ four (4) staff which has been very helpful and very trust worthy when it comes to managing the grocery shop.
Being a business minded person, Ms. Than knew that it will be good to further expand the business. Thus when she heard about CARD Myanmar Co,. Ltd., she grabbed the opportunity and joined.
“I heard many good things about CARD Myanmar CO., LTD. from people in the market. I always tell myself that I wanted to be a part of that company with the desire to help other people, and in September 2017 I became an official member of it. What I like most about CARD, Myanmar is the systematic way of collecting money; plus, it gives us an opportunity to save on regular basis.”
Ms. Than was granted loan twice. The first loan amounted to MMK200,000, while the second loan was raised to MMK270,000 which were all invested in her business for expansion.
“Through CARD Myannmar CO., LTD., we were able to double our investment because it offers a low interest. It has a very systematic way of monitoring of records and the policies are very comfortable for us. The staff are strict in implementing policy and punctuality which I also like. Through the center meetings, I was able to have new friends at the same time, learn and share experiences with them.”
Through the years that Ms. Than has been managing their business, it is not new that they have experienced challenges along the way. However, Ms. Than has been very optimistic and has always find strategies to better improve their business.
“We maintain our sales because we extend credits to other employees from the nearby factories. They immediately pay their credits after they get their salary. By allowing them to have credits, the customers feel that they are given trust.
About our competitors, to get ahead of them we never fail on showing kindness to our costumers especially to our workers who are our regular customers and we always encouraged them to build a better life. We also join community services to show the people that we have the heart to help others as well.”
Ms. Than shared that in order to be successful in business, the people should have great discipline in keeping the business. Also, it is important to always think of what is best for others, and be people oriented.
