Mompreneur Michelle Go Taruc: Leading with Faith

Running a business can oftentimes be a challenging task. In a typical day, a mompreneur may have to manage not one, but a couple of challenges, making her day hassled and hurried.
Michelle Go Taruc, the mompreneur behind travel specialty brand Keeping It Together (KIT) and nail salon Cozy Nail Lounge, has a simple routine which sets the tone for her whole day, keeping her calm and collected when faced with challenges. She prays.

“I start my day by praying and doing devotion as I seek God for guidance with my plans for the day and plans for the week,” she says.

By placing God front and center in how she manages her various enterprises – Michelle also owns three Lay Bare franchise branches – she has been able to achieve her life-long dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

It was Michelle’s childhood dream to become an entrepreneur. But finding the perfect business which was suitable to her personality and passion was not easy. Some of her ideas did not push through. Others were just not feasible. This dilemma led her to taking business venture courses at the Asian Institute of Management.

As it turned out, the perfect business idea was just right under her nose.

Michelle’s family loves to travel. As a mom, she takes care of organizing and packing what they’d need for their trips. Unfortunately, the range of travel gear in the market is limited. Some of the organizers she came upon were too expensive. Others were of questionable quality. That’s how she came up with the idea for KIT, a brand which provides everything one needs for a more organized lifestyle.

While Michelle was ecstatic to finally find a business idea that she was passionate about, there were certain issues to be solved. She not only needed to source reliable suppliers, she also had to build awareness for the brand. But ever the optimist, she views challenges as opportunities for learning. She says, “These will help us improve and help us explore ideas to better improve our products and the growth of our company. I take each challenge as part of our learning process to improve and deliver well the people’s needs.”

Today Keeping It Together items may be found online as well as in its stores at SM Megamall Mega Fashion Hall, UP Town Center, and Estancia Mall.

Her foray into the beauty business came quite organically.

Lay Bare is an established brand. So when she and her sisters thought of having their own business, they went into something they already knew as customers. It was a natural fit. The nail salon came about because, well, she couldn’t find a good one. As luck would have it, one of the applicants at their Lay Bare branch was an expert nail technician. And that’s how Cozy Nail Lounge was born!

For both these businesses, finding the right people is key. And Michelle is grateful that they have found skilled personnel who have consistently exceeded their expectations. She says, “Not only are we blessed that they are working for us, but we are happy that we are able to help them support their family financially by providing them the right compensation and benefits.”

Running multiple businesses, one can say that Michelle has become an expert of sorts in planning and time management. She says, “I balance my time by giving myself tasks for the day, observing the traffic flow, and fixing my schedule depending on the location and time of the meeting. In a week, I see to it that I get to visit branches and also have a Mancom meeting with my partners.”

Michelle is focused and determined. Apart from making KIT a top of mind brand when it comes to organizing and living a clutter-free life, she hopes to open more branches and offer more organizer kits which are affordable and of good quality. Her end goal is to provide livelihood to her employees while staying faithful to God’s plans for her ventures.

Interested in putting up your business? Focus on your target market and know your interest and passion, Michelle advises. If you’re doing something you are passionate about, it will fuel you to keep going even through tough times. Above all, manage your business with a heart, she says. Always check your intention, pray for the right direction, and make the right choice.