A few years ago, I stumbled upon a Facebook ad for the “Bacolod Entrepreneurs United” first-ever event. I was intrigued. Even though I didn’t consider myself an entrepreneur yet, I decided to go. I was impressed by how well they ran things, even for a first edition. Since then, it’s always been in the back of my mind to eventually be part of that circle.
Fast forward to January 31, 2026. I saw an invite for their Business Breakfast & Networking.
To be honest, I was nervous. This was my first “breakfast networking” event, and my brain was stuck on a loop: “Nobody is going to talk to me. Everyone is a stranger. I’m terrible at small talk (unless I’ve had a drink or two).”
But going back to my last post—this was me walking the talk. I showed up.
I even discovered a “networking hack” that actually worked: Always arrive 30 minutes early. (I’ll dive deeper into why that’s a game-changer in my next post).
The experience was eye-opening. I surrounded myself with successful, inspiring, and highly driven people. I was also surprised to see so many young entrepreneurs in the room. It gave me a new perspective on our local scene.
Bacolod has massive potential for SMEs. We have a lot of inspired business owners, and I believe the key to our growth is simple: more collaboration. We need more events like this where we can stop being strangers and start building together.