Moms of Moms: Myrna

When asked to describe her in one word, Myrna Tam-Natividad’s daughter says, “Chill.”

“For as long as I can remember, ours was a madhouse. Five kids constantly playing, running, talking, arguing… it was never quiet, and there was always always always at least one child going into our parents’ bedroom, wanting mom’s attention. Sometimes all five would be in the room at the same time! Even today as adults, there is always someone with mom, or calling mom, or texting mom. But she has always been calm, reading or working despite the chaos all around her, and she has always been available, willing to put her book down or switch off the laptop, to listen and chat. I only have three kids and sometimes the noise drives me nuts! My mom has five and is totally chill, so that’s the perfect word for her.”

Not many moms can claim the adjective “chill.” After all, worrying to death and disciplining tend to come with the motherhood territory, but Myrna has taken the raising of five children, being a business owner, and many of life’s challenges into stride.

“Years ago,” Myrna shares. “I read the book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and I heard a Pastor’s wife tell us, “Don’t put your foot down on matters that will not be permanent, or something that will not have a permanent effect so that your kids will listen to you when you put your foot down on something.  For example, if they decide to shave off all their hair and go skinhead, be ok with it as hair will always grow back, but if they do drugs, then that’s when you put your foot down.  So, as a parent, I don’t sweat the stuff that is ‘small.’  I only looked at what will matter in the long run.”

This fantastic philosophy carried her through her first job as a math instructor, going against her father’s wishes and thinking of what she wanted to be in the long run. As a teacher, she stumbled into entrepreneurship when her husband lost his job. She started a small side business selling to her fellow teachers. When she was making more from her business than from her job, she decided to retire as a teacher and take on business full time. 

For forty years she operated her businesses, growing, expanding, and opening new businesses, which include an STI College franchise and a pension house in Zamboanga City. The teacher in her never left, however, and after many years of work she found herself wanting to mentor. It started with mentoring her children to take over the businesses. Soon it grew to other mentees.

She became a GoNegosyo mentor, taking on the name “Mommy N” or “Mommy Negosyo,” while also volunteering at the Negosyo Centers of DTI. She would mentor once a month in the DTI offices, but when the pandemic hit the sessions moved online. Being home and with slightly more time, she created a special program for female entrepreneurs all starting their businesses. She now intends to apply the same program to a group of out-of-school youth, hoping that they can start businesses before the year ends.  As she continued to find joy and a love for mentoring, she felt the need to give herself credentials. 

“I always felt inadequate as a business mentor who did not have a diploma in business.  I learned how to succeed in business from the many costly mistakes I made in the process.  30 years of mistakes led to 10 years of success.  That was the story of my life.  This is why I decided to share the painful lessons I learned with as many mentees as possible.  It’s a huge waste to let the lessons die with me.  After all, how many more years can I live?  In these few years I have left, I’d like to document all these lessons in books, videos, and courses so that others may continue to benefit long after I’m gone.”

This feeling is what prompted her to jump at the opportunity to join the Dreambuilder program, a three-month scholarship that was a collaboration between the United States Embassy, Thunderbird School of Management, American Spaces Philippines, Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, De la Salle University Libraries, and Freeport-McMoran Foundation.  So at the age of 66, where many women may choose to slow down career-wise or choose to mentor based on their life experiences alone, Myrna threw herself into the task of making sure she had the professional training to back what she was doing. 

“Mom’s style has always been to teach, encourage, and empower,” her daughter says. “She is very growth focused. She is still learning new things, growing in different areas, and showing no signs of stopping!”

Despite this insatiable desire to be better, to do more for others, and to keep growing and evolving, Mommy N earned the adjective “chill” as the first word to mind. Very likely because she has always learned to see the big picture, knowing where and on what to focus–something that undoubtedly helped her in business and as a mentor to mentees, but most importantly helped her as a mother.

Mommy N and the Natividad family.

Mommy N finished her Dreambuilder Certificate in September 2021, and is continuing to take on mentees while helping her son with is video editing studio. To date, she has helped over 1,000 mentees.