When things get messy, get ready to grow
A pile of old toys and scraps is easy to be seen as a pile of mess. But from this pile of mess, sisters Roma Agsunod and Maan Agsalud were able to build Popjunklove and eventually Common Room. Roomies likely know that the sisters’ journey as creative entrepreneurs has been long, often challenging, and not without a lot of mistakes. What can be overlooked though is that this isn’t just the story of PJL or Common Room. It’s the universal story of growth. Growth in one’s journey, whether it’s for your own self or professional pursuit, doesn’t come easy. It happens during difficult times, it comes from change—when a new chapter is unfolding, when life is in transition.
From how they’ve started, how they’ve struggled through the pandemic, had to close a shop and open a new (digital) home, Common Room has faced its ample share of challenges. “The biggest lesson I got from 17 years of hurdling every moment’s ‘biggest’ challenge is the realization that there is no growth without the challenges, the failures, and the mess ups,” says Roma. “Knowing this truth is our source of courage whenever we take a leap on something unfamiliar."
Expect to be challenged
For PJL and Common Room, there were challenges in every chapter of their journey. The challenge of starting Popjunklove with only P5,000 may seem small now compared to looking for investors to stay afloat during ECQ2 after being a family-owned business for so long, but as Roma observes, “The truth is—it was the hardest at the time. As we grow, we discover more things we haven’t experienced yet and with inexperience comes a new set of challenges.”
They never say yes to an opportunity, thinking there will be no problem. “We know there will be so we brace for it, we face it,” says Roma. That’s why for her it’is a never-ending process of learning. “And that’s okay. That’s a good thing. It means there is a next step, a next chapter.” This means you’re moving forward and here’s another thing you should expect…
It can get messy
Because “a challenge is typically a problem you haven’t figured out just yet,” says Roma, finding a way to confront or overcome it can get messy. “There is no blueprint. No precedent. No instructions that tell you what steps to take. While there may be similar cases that can guide you, the challenge is ultimately unique to you because every business is different.”
Even when you’ve gathered the courage to face the challenges and take the risks, there are no guarantees you’ll succeed. Roma adds, “New problems can arise on top of the existing ones as a result of each mistake. It gets messier and more frustrating.” For example, during the pandemic, Roma and Maan spent all their limited resources to stay afloat in 2020, but when 2021 came with a new lockdown, they had to rethink on how to keep Common Room open (this was where the prospect of new investors came in).
As Maan reflects in a previous interview on their journey to building Common Room, “It’s easy to romanticize being a business owner… it would be foolish to think na masaya lang sya, hindi mahirap. There will be times when you question yourself or your own capacity, you’ll question if the fatigue is worth it.” She adds, “It’s all part of the process. Don’t shield yourself from that.”
Because messes can make you better
It can even make something magical. When Roma and Maan talked about starting Popjunklove in 2007, they also shared their POV when it comes to failure. “You can view it as a learning experience and the reason why you haven’t achieved what you [want] is because you need to learn the lesson first so you wouldn’t do it again in the future. That mistake makes you a better maker.”
Roma adds, “What gets us through is knowing that at the end of each challenge is a chance at growth.” When you say yes to new opportunities and chances to step outside your comfort zone, you’re saying yes to the possibility of growth. For Common Room, their latest “yes” is opening Mess Studio.
“We took a chance on something outside our comfort zone of retail because we wanted to learn, grow, and get answers from the experience,” Roma explains. “Will people go out of their way to support our community? Do people need this space? Can we sustain this outside a prime location? We don’t have answers to this yet but we are one step closer to finding out.” For Roma, Maan, and the Common Room team, the process of learning continues.