When I first started WinterBuddy, I remembered a story about two builders who wanted to build a house.
Both started with almost nothing.
The first builder simply began with whatever he had. It wasn’t perfect. He didn’t have enough resources, enough knowledge, or even a clear guarantee that it would work. But he started anyway. As he continued building, little by little, help came along. Neighbours chipped in. Family supported him. Opportunities appeared. Within a year, the house was built.
The second builder spent all his time waiting for the “right time.”
He kept planning, strategising, and overthinking every detail. But because he never truly started, nothing was ever built.
Looking back now, I realise I was probably like the first builder.
When I started WinterBuddy, I honestly didn’t have much.
My capital was very small. I didn’t know the market well. I didn’t know how to build a website. I was terrible at accounting and analysing backend numbers. Most of the operational side of running a business felt overwhelming to me.
What I loved was connecting with customers, finding suppliers, and creating content. But passion alone is not enough to keep a business running.
Now, WinterBuddy has been running for one year.
And honestly, there were many silent tears along the way.
There were days when nothing happened. No try-on bookings. No enquiries. No sales. I would spend hours creating educational content that I genuinely thought was helpful, only to see almost nobody engage with it.
Slowly, doubts started creeping into my mind.
“Am I good enough?”
“Is this business really for me?”
“Did I make the wrong decision?”
Then one day, while scrolling through Instagram, I saw an advertisement about a Digital Marketing Bootcamp for W-SMEs — and it was completely free.
To be honest, I was skeptical.
In my mind, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. I assumed there would be some kind of hard selling involved — maybe they would push us to buy software, apps, or expensive programs afterward.
But I decided to register anyway and just see where it would lead.
After registering, I received a call from the organisers for a short interview. They mentioned they would send confirmation if I was selected.
Long story short, I was chosen as one of the 50 W-SMEs to attend the bootcamp fully sponsored by Blue Horizon Philanthropy.
I came with an open mind, ready to learn as much as possible.
And truly, this program felt like God’s answer at the right time.
It was exactly what I needed.
The lessons were incredibly relevant to the challenges I was facing — understanding how to reach the right target market, improving digital marketing skills, and learning how solopreneurs can leverage AI to work smarter.
But beyond the knowledge and skills, I found something even more valuable: a community of fellow W-SME business owners who were willing to learn, support, and grow together.
And interestingly, there was no hard selling at all — unlike what I had imagined at the beginning.
Looking back now, I feel deeply grateful.
Sometimes, when we choose to take the first step with whatever little we have, God provides the rest along the journey.
Thank You, God, for this unexpected blessing.
Comments
Post a Comment